Dittoes to both questions: who or what is a John Mellencamp, and who cares what he /she / it says?
A minor, very minor rocker with a rather interesting history. He was first introduced in the late 70s, if memory serves, by Columbia Records, as a synthetic pop idol named "Johnny Cougar". That campaign failed, so Columbia renamed him "John Cougar". That failed too and Columbia (again from memory) gave up. But the kid was tenacious, even if he wasn't very talented (I recall all the scathing reviews at the time) and remade himself as a sort of poor man's Bruce Springfield (songs for and about the working men) under his given name.
He's a guy who lives in a little pink house with Jack and Dianne...used to call himself Johnny Cougar.
HA!!!
I'd only just begun reading the 150+ comments & it sure didn't take long before I hit #4, the first question which sufficiently answers the only question concerning *the* motivatation behind the puny moron sudden appearence.
The question's of course, "Just what is Mellentramp's babbling really all about?"
Well fqued since you've never been introduced, meet John Cougar Mellencamp. (Grrrrrr)
John was once a musician & like most others of the times, John possessed a modicum of talent.
So while he may have been (at times) entertaining, he was also absolutely *clueless* about most everything outside music, too.
When John *did* venture outside his area of "expertise" say on matters of politics et al?
He quickly morphed into the biggest-smallest boor one could possibly imagine; of course, *unbeknownst* to John & his drug addled brain.
Nevertheless John attained a brief -- albeit shortlived -- run of popularity, mostly amoung our pop culture's prepubescent crowd of yesteryear, cica 1985-89.
Here fifteen years later we're all hearing from "Little John" once again & on matters he hasn't any more a clue now than he did then.
What this means is that it's finally dawned on John his time in the limelight represented little more than a "flash in the pan."
But what has certainly had to represent an even darker epiphany for this *little* egomaniacal hasbeen has just got to be the reality there're people [like you] who sincerely don't know -- nevermind care -- *who* hell he is!!
Yessiree Bob, he's just another Minnie Pearl now days, in the scheme of things.
~sigh~
Yea, appears no one told John growin' old ain't for sissies.
And here's a little more *trivia* about John that'll help you come to know "who" JCM really is, as a person.
John Cougar Mellencamp was [much] better known by a *pet name* given him by those who had to work closely with him during his haydays & as such, knew him best.
John's *friends*..
They called him, "The Little Bastard" :o)
...oy vey. {g}