John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pink Houses": Awesome

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For that matter, the one, two, three punch of "Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses", "Authority Song" on Uh Huh Rules! But as far as "Pink Houses" goes: the first verse is just gorgeous (esp. the "hey darlin' i can remember when you could stop a clock" line), the lead guitar flourishes throughout, the use of hand claps as the percussive backbone when he's got Kenny Aronoff on drums, the cow bell, the way it builds then is brought back down with the slight to people going to work in "some high rise" before taking off into the end where he loses his shit oooh yeahyeahyeahyeah yeahhhyeah... Ace.

― john'n'chicago, Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Still a great song, I'd agree, very good write-up. John C-M or whatever he wants to call himself was more a part of my musical youth than I think I fully appreciated at the time, but pretty much all the singles from 1982 to 1986 are spiff parts of my memories, and this is the dark jewel at the heart of it. (Also, much more deftly effective to me at least at suggesting in a 'roots-rock' (however defined) fashion a certain miserable horror at the heart of the 'American Dream' more than a certain Bruce S.'s work, but I would say that.)

Random fun note -- at Amoeba the other week somebody was selling back the CD reissue of one of his first albums if not the first and the clerk realized that Edith Massey was on the back cover!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:48 (twenty years ago)

AND VACATION DOWN AT THE GULF OF MEXICO-OO-OH

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

aka The Redneck Riviera

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

pretty much all the singles from 1982 to 1986 are spiff parts of my memories

totally. i'd add 1987 for "check it out" and "cherry bomb", too.

― john'n'chicago, Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

Was "Cherry Bomb" that late? I could have sworn that was 1986, first single from Lonesome Jubilee.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

Also, of course, the first time I ever heard Lisa Germano!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

I think I like the Avail version better.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

The really great singles actually kept going all the way up to 1994, imho.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:04 (twenty years ago)

Speaking of one-two punches, Side Two opening up with "Jackie O" going right into "Play Guitar" is a great way to kick off the second half.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:18 (twenty years ago)

My band played with Avail on their first show in Bloomington. My roommate led them out towards Nashville on a pilgrimage to see Mellancamp's place the next day. The cover came out the next year.

Big Daddy is Mellancamps best record that people really overlook, there some really great character songs on that one, especially "Jackie Brown". If you like some of Coug's other albums and haven't heard this one, check it out.

― earlnash, Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, Big Daddy has a wealth of good material. And, in a completely different way, so does 1991's Whenever We Wanted.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:22 (twenty years ago)

The "Gulf Of Mexico" bit bugs me a little, but I spent four years in Bloomington: I love the Coog.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

I have a friend who claims he always heard the line "Little pink houses for you and me" as "Little bitty cows and shit for you and me." Really confused him.

― Burr (Burr), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

"Little bitty cows and shit for you and me."

I'm going to be forced to sing it this way from now on.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:30 (twenty years ago)

Totally! I wrote something about this a while back. Although embarassingly, it was based on the Greatest Hits album.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

Side Two opening up with "Jackie O" going right into "Play Guitar" is a great way to kick off the second half.

i totally forgot about "play guitar". another great one. i'm not so high on "jackie o", though.

today is probably the first time i've closely listened uh, huh and now american fool on headphones, which is what prompted the thread. there is a lot more to these songs than memories of mid-80s radio, mtv or my sister's sears all-in-one "stereo" ever would have led me to believe. i know i shouldn't be surprised, but both are really well produced.

― john'n'chicago, Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:42 (twenty years ago)

It's about the fact that the first part is a great melody and rhythm and arrangement, and then he adds more.

hey eppy, nicely written. i like the above a lot. the song winds up nicely. it's tidal in the way it pulls you in.

― john'n'chicago, Thursday, 14 April 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

Thanks! There's nothing like being in a bar in Indiana when a Mellencamp song comes on, especially this one...

Could someone YSI the Avail cover of this? I'd love to hear it.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

"Rain on the Scarecrow" shits ALL over "Pink Houses".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

best Mellencamp lyric ever: "..suckin' on a chili dog, outside the tastee-free-eeze.."

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

This is his most immediately appealing tune, but I think it's less substantial than some of the later ones (Rain on the Scarecrow probably, Lonesome Jubilee stuff especially). I like the Gulf of Mexico lyric and wonder why Anthony doesn't, but I think the music doesn't quite work at that point.

I really hate "Jack and Diane." Why is that?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:34 (twenty years ago)

you can't handle the truth!

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

I really hate "Jack and Diane." Why is that?

Because it's dreadful.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

I was so planning to start this thread today. I'm seriously not fucking kidding. This and "Rain on the Scarecrow" have been stuck in my head since he played in Tallahassee on the 26th. I didn't see the concert but I heard "Rain on the Scarecrow" being practised and extended for about ten minutes while I was clocking in to work.

AND VACATION DOWN AT THE GULF OF MEXICO-OO-OH

-- j blount (jamesbloun...), April 14th, 2005.

aka The Redneck Riviera
PANAMA CITY REPRESENT! I love how in the video when they show the water at that part of the song it's really California. The Gulf of Mexico has no such outcroppings of rocks anywhere on its shoreline!

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

Does anyone know if Cougar finally gave up cigarettes for good? There's a great article by Erik Hedegaard in the book, Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot to Print, about his sorry addiction to nicotine, despite the heart attacks.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

"Rain on the Scarecrow" is such a great, angry, righteous song...I wish someone would cover it.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

...like Laibach or someone.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

Agree totally about "Rain on the Scarecrow." One of his best songs, hands down.

That whole album is pretty good.

― ffirehorse, Thursday, 14 April 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

I'd throw Lonely Ol' Night into the awesome mix also...

The only one mentioned above that I can't agree with is Jackie-O, that seems kind of tossed off and drunk (not in a good way)...

― Garibaldianne (Garibaldianne), Thursday, 14 April 2005 18:25 (twenty years ago)

OTM on "Rain on the Scarecrow." Everything on The Lonesome Jubilee ("Check it Out" especially) rocks; my favorite later single is "Get a Leg Up," which is raunchy in the best Stones manner.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 April 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

I'm a Hoosier, so naturally I love this song...I was in high school when it came out, and being in Indiana at the time, we were just so saturated with Mellencamp that we figured we were too cool to really like him, being into punk, metal, and all that. But of course as I've gotten older I've given in to my secret admiration, and it's only grown over the years. I get wistful when I hear JCM on the radio no matter where I am, and that line about the Gulf of Mexico kills me: when I was growing up, my dad got two weeks off a year, and our big annual Chevy Chase Vacation-esque drive down to the Gulf was truly the highlight of our lives.

One great semi-recent Mellencamp tune is "Just Another Day."

― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 14 April 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

Everything on The Lonesome Jubilee ("Check it Out" especially) rocks

Geez, yes! Side one in particular is five-star: "Paper in Fire" , "Down and Out in Paradise", "Check it Out", "The Real Life" and "Cherry Bomb". And again, the drums. THE DRUMS!

― john'n'chicago, Thursday, 14 April 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

yeah they show the video for "rain on the scarecrow" all the time on vh1 classicks. it's very very high on my 'songs i'd cover if i was a bigtime country singer and have huge hits with', right below broooce's "one step back".

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 19:56 (twenty years ago)

although half the time i get the lyrics wrong - i suspect very much it's "blood on the plow" but usually i sing it "blood on the cow".

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 19:57 (twenty years ago)

I'm surprised there's so much love for "Rain on the Scarecrow." In its day it was far from a big hit.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:13 (twenty years ago)

but usually i sing it "blood on the cow".

hahahaha

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:38 (twenty years ago)

The blood on the cow was a consequence of Reagan's social policies, ya know.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

dude was trying to get some free chic-fil-a. i cannot blame him.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

actually, metal mike saunders (who was a HUGE cougarcamp fan in the '80s; used to mail him baseball cards and call me up immediately after shows to theorize about setlist order and everything) put out a single (about jerry garcia, i think) called "Dope on the Scarecrow."

Much more on the Coug here:

What is John (Cougar) Mellancamp's best song?

― xhuxk, Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

I'm surprised there's so much love for "Rain on the Scarecrow." In its day it was far from a big hit.

uh, what? it WAS a big hit, silly.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

yeah it wasn't as big as 'r.o.c.k. in the u.s.a.' but it was still a big hit.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

when MTV will show a video in its rotation constantly that's about FUCKING FARMERS you know it's a hit.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

pre-Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie, obv.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 14 April 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

"yeah it wasn't as big as 'r.o.c.k. in the u.s.a.' but it was still a big hit."

It hit # 21 on the Billboard chart and I never hear it on the radio (Classic VH-1 is another story); it's always "Lonely Ol' Night," "Small Town," and "R.O.C.K."

Then again, I was a deprived child. Mom didn't want MTV. If she'd heard the line about blood on the cow, it would have helped her argument...

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:01 (twenty years ago)

Thanks! There's nothing like being in a bar in Indiana when a Mellencamp song comes on, especially this one...

Unless you're Brian Henneman...

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

man i think i'm gonnna cherrypick uh-huh, scarecrow, and lonesome jiggilee and make a cd-r.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

a good ILM thread would be: "Best Post-Lonesome Jubilee Coog Songs"

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

"Authority Song": less than awesome, with its lame "Footloose" riff and toothless lyrical rip-off of "I Fought the Law."

I didn't really love a John Cougar song until "Cherry Bomb," but then, I never bought the albums...

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

>a good ILM thread would be: "Best Post-Lonesome Jubilee Coog Songs" <

As I say on that other thread (where other people touch on this question, too), "Jackie Brown" and "Peaceful World." (Though Metal Mike Saunders seems to make a case for "Pop Singer.")

― xhuxk, Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

"never wanted to be no BOB SEGAR!", i forget whose joke that is, either kogan, eddy, or saunders i think.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

mine, har har (again, see that other thread)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:33 (twenty years ago)

i remember john leland writing in a singles column summing up the eighties somewhat how the bass in 'pop singer' was higher (?) than the bass in most disco songs and how if you could explain how that happened you'd explain the eighties.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 14 April 2005 21:38 (twenty years ago)

peter hook?

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 15 April 2005 00:58 (twenty years ago)

blounty once again YOU ARE ME AND I AM YOU twin sons of different mothers WTF

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 15 April 2005 02:28 (twenty years ago)

Even as low on the musical totem pole as Mellencamp is, Pink Houses might just be his worst.

― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Friday, 15 April 2005 06:22 (twenty years ago)

Great song. I like how Mellencamp uses "I remember when you could stop a clock" as a compliment, just six years after his fellow midwesterner Robin Zander used "she's got a face that could stop a clock" to describe an ugly client in "He's A Whore."

― John Fredland (jfredland), Friday, 15 April 2005 07:11 (twenty years ago)

"R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." is the most important single of the last 30 years.

― billstevejim, Friday, 15 April 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

i can't really go with the mellencamp revisionism.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 15 April 2005 16:23 (twenty years ago)

's funny: Mellencamp always useta throw in those big overenthusiastic gospel-ish harmonies and backing singers (or overdub his own voice, same diff) into his choruses; and he did that on pracically EVERY GODDAM SONG! And if I liked the song I didn't mind 'em, but on the songs I wasn't crazy for they irritated the hell out of me. Those backing vocals became all I could hear, and they defeated any chance I had of growing to like a song. "Pink Houses" wasn't the biggest offender (that would be "Hurts So Good" or "Lonely Ol' Night") but it was close enough. And that's too bad, since it's sandwiched right in between my two Mellencamp faves on Uh-Huh, robbing me of that one-two-three punch that john'n'chicago gets out of it. (Wish "Play Guitar" was there instead.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 15 April 2005 16:53 (twenty years ago)

"R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." is the most important single of the last 30 years.

.....if you're a crackhead.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 April 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

Geez, not the sort of thread I anticipated contributing to. But in my memory at least Big Daddy was indeed pretty good, in a strangely withdrawn and mumbly way. If I recall correctly, he was saying stuff at the time about no longer caring if that record shook off a whole bunch of Lonesome Jubilee fans. And there's more love right here for "Rain on the Scarecow". The sound on that alone makes R.E.M.'s decision to hire Don Gehman shortly thereafter seem entirely understandable.

"Pink Houses" is perhaps not one that travels well though; maybe one needs to be American, to verify that, yep, "ain't that America!", along with the aforementioned mass of insistent backing singers.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Friday, 15 April 2005 19:14 (twenty years ago)

R.O.C.K. was much better when the Fleshtones wrote it first as American Beat.

― Hunter (Hunter), Friday, 15 April 2005 19:43 (twenty years ago)

>R.O.C.K. was much better when the Fleshtones wrote it first as American Beat. <

Except Cougar's band had a great singer. And a great drummer. And did not consist entirely of people seemingly trying to be Fred Schneider.

(That said, "R.O.C.K." is probably the worst track on *Scarecrow.)

― xhuxk, Friday, 15 April 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

Except Cougar's band ... did not consist entirely of people seemingly trying to be Fred Schneider.

now THAT's funny!

― john'n'chicago, Friday, 15 April 2005 21:56 (twenty years ago)

(That said, "R.O.C.K." is probably the worst track on *Scarecrow.)

DUDE, "Justice & Independence '85"!!!

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 15 April 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

"R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." is the most important single of the last 30 years.

.....if you're a crackhead.

I buy my crack wholesale. Then I shoot some crystal while pumping "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." - and when I say that I pump, I fuckin PUMP that shit. Nothin' beats the classic crystal/Mellencamp combination.

― billstevejim, Saturday, 16 April 2005 04:59 (twenty years ago)

the funny thing is, the *sound* of the phrase ("phrase") "R.O.C.K." just sounds dumb. "see-kay"? lame.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

Anyone remember who recorded that song called "If You See Kay"?

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Saturday, 16 April 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

April Wine, right? (Was that a quiz?)

― xhuxk, Saturday, 16 April 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

Poster Children.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 16 April 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

There was an old R&B novelty with that title, too, if I remember correctly.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 16 April 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, Kenny Aronoff -- the only man who could replace Jimmy Chamberlain in the Smashing Pumpkins for a while. (If you've not heard the Atlanta radio broadcast from the Adore tour, seek it posthaste.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 17 April 2005 00:06 (twenty years ago)

also the dude from Filter

― miccio (miccio), Sunday, 17 April 2005 01:07 (twenty years ago)

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