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This Week's Desert Island Mix Tape Poll

Nothin' matters and what if it did? (choose one for your desert-island mix tape)

Hurts So Good	2 votes
Small Town	0 votes
Lonely Ol' Night	2 votes
Pink Houses	4 votes
Jack & Diane	1 votes
Paper in Fire	0 votes
I Need a Lover	2 votes
Cherry Bomb	0 votes
Check it Out	0 votes

Johnny Dickshot Jun 28 2007 07:59 AM

We're video deficient for a few of those choices, but have a listen to the poor farmer's Bruce Springsteen. Remember, you have to include one JCM song on your desert island mix tape. Write-ins are legal this week! "Hurts So Good" "Small Town" "Lonely Ol' Night" "Pink Houses" (Guest mic-chewing vocalist: Maria McKee) "Jack & Diane" "Embedding disabled by request" division (worth listening to anway) "Paper in Fire" [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4DBLaplmv4[/url] "I Need a Lover" (worth seeing this vid just for his hair) [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aRMxoqdLAw[/url] "Cherry Bomb" [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGoQNXWgopg[/url] "Check it Out" (He does a nice dance at 2:40. Check it out!) [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5XCVCvmalo[/url]

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 08:05 AM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Jun 28 2007 08:10 AM

The Camp's got a longer and broader legacy than most of the Mix Tape All-Stars. "Hurt's So Good" and "Jack and Diane" are as annoying a pair of breakthrough singles as any major artist can claim. At least it took eight or ten years of "Piano Man" before hating Billy Joel. I wanted to thrash Cougar about three weeks into the summer of American Fool. I'm going to think on this one.

metirish Jun 28 2007 08:06 AM

I voted for Pink Houses....an easy choice because it's one of my fave songs ever,it's an impressive list.....like his cover of "wild night" with whats her name...

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 08:17 AM

I'm going off the ballot with a write-in for the sixties soul prom-song stylings of "Ain't Even Done with the Night": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fCuDwdz6Rg Don't try to ignore how overmatched the pasty-faced stringy-haired mid-westerners are trying to swing the vocal soul aesthetic. Rather, enter into it and celebrate it. You still can, you cynical bastards.

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 08:23 AM

My word, I just got to the sax solo.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 28 2007 08:27 AM

I agree with Edgy's point about the irritation factor, and I allowed write-ins to cover any favorites not offered up here due to his abnormally long career. That said, to me this is the slam-dunkiest poll I ever put up here, I think. Lonely Ol' Night is not only the best JCM song ever, it's prolly one of the Top 20 rock singles ever. He turns the guitars to 11, the drummer just pounds those skins and the singer joylessly indulges the neighborhood slut. In a car. How can't one not love this song.

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 08:32 AM

Dont' forget the high harmonies shrieking, "CAN I PUT MY ARMS AROUND YEW?!"

Willets Point Jun 28 2007 08:53 AM

"Arms Around Yew" of course is a key part of the solstice ritual in Glastonbury, England.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 28 2007 08:56 AM

That "Ain't even done" video is pretty creepy. Comments indicate one of the actors made it to "America's Most Wanted."

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 09:08 AM

I'll recommend heartily this self-titled Maria McKee album: If you like that I'll push parts of the rest of her catalog, but recommend you stay away from her most recent Peddlin Dreams.

seawolf17 Jun 28 2007 09:17 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 28 2007 09:56 AM

I'm going with a write-in also. I like Mellencamp; his [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_That_I_Could_Do]GH[/url] disc always comes on long car trips, because it's good kinda-listening-kinda-not music. I'm going with "Peaceful World" (unembeddable link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0jgUbB1Igg ). It came out right after September 11, and is one of those songs that will stay with me for a long time. (Off topic: there are probably about 12 or 15 songs that I could put in that same boat.) We saw Mellencamp on tour that summer, and three songs really kicked our asses: Peaceful World, his single-guitar acoustic version of Women Seem, and his cover of Gimme Shelter, which he opened with. I like all the hit singles, but the songs you left off are the ones I enjoy much more (Ain't Even Done With The Night, Lonely Ol' Night, Key West Intermezzo).

smg58 Jun 28 2007 09:23 AM

I'll write in "When The Walls Come Tumblin' Down."

TransMonk Jun 28 2007 10:57 AM

I'm not a big Lonely Ol' Night fan...but anything off of Uh-huh and Scarecrow are pretty much my favorite Mellencamp. I also like Whenever We Wanted which I thought was a good album in between some so-so ones. My favorite Mellencamp songs I would choose in order: Authority Song R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. Play Guitar Crumblin' Down Rain on the Scarecrow Get a Leg Up Last Chance Pink Houses Pink Houses is the first one listed on the poll, even though I would choose at least 7 other songs before it. I voted for Pink Houses.

Frayed Knot Jun 28 2007 10:57 AM

I always liked JCM's version of 'I Need a Lover' better than Benetar's - mainly for the extended instrumental intro - even though he didn't look nearly as fetching in spandex. But, despite all that, there's only one answer here: Lonely. Old. Night.

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 11:06 AM

I don't think we should be clickin' a polling option if our true preference isn't on the menu. That's voting twice. TWICE! I always thought "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. " was a ripoff of the Fleshtones' "American Beat," which, when remade for the Bachelor Party soundtrack as "American Beat '84," featured the same kind of shoutout to the litany of classic rock 'n' soulers:

TransMonk Jun 28 2007 11:17 AM

Edgy DC wrote: I don't think we should be clickin' a polling option if our true preference isn't on the menu. That's voting twice. TWICE! I thought that was how Dickshot had explained these Desert Island Polls last week. We don't necessarily pick our favorite song by the artist, just our favorite out of the ones he puts up there. But...I didn't read his caveat about write-ins. For the record I'm not voting twice, I chose Pink Houses because it was on the list. If Authority song was on the list, I'd have chose that one...but I'm on a desert island...in my mind. Pink Houses...yea!

Johnny Dickshot Jun 28 2007 11:18 AM

^Cool song. I always found something pandering about R.O.C.K. and those songs sending shout-outs to cities and/or rockers. I mean, if you wanna "spotlight" Martha Reeves then spotlight her, don't just name-drop her among the Young Rascals and Mitch Ryder, who by the way "were rockin.'" No f-ing kidding, John. Great drums in that song too. More love for JCM than I expected in this thread. Where are the haters?

Willets Point Jun 28 2007 11:24 AM

No hate. Just indifference. Seems like a good guy and good background music, just not my thing.

Edgy DC Jun 28 2007 11:27 AM

I hate American Fool-era Cougar a lot. He worked hard to win me back, even going so far as to change his name, so I gave him the slack he was begging for. Clearly he's worked very hard in his career, and --- though second- and third-hand reports and my own suspicions suggest he's one of rock's bigger dicks --- I've got to give him his propers.

sharpie Jun 28 2007 02:58 PM

I was glad that that recent song of his became a car commercial because all of his songs sound like car commercials to me.

Rockin' Doc Jun 28 2007 04:57 PM

I have nothing against JCM. He has an extensive catalog with a surprising number of good songs. On the whole, he is probably not fully appreciated for his body of work. Of the songs listed I went with Pink Houses. I always liked Rain on the Scarecrow, but not quite enough to go with a write in vote.

Batty31 Jun 28 2007 06:30 PM

A write in vote for Rain on the Scarecrow from me as well. Saw him on tour the year that album came out and had seats in the 6th row. Back in those days I always wore a handcuff belt. For the encore, they turned on all the houselights. I took the handcuffs off my belt, and when John was looking in my direction, I pointed to the handcuffs, then pointed to him. He just shook his head and laughed. :P