Tuesday, November 28, 2006
John Cougar Mellencamp's "Scarecrow"
"The highway between John's house and the studio where these songs were recorded cuts through a stretch of Indiana where the land is fertile and full of growth. It is from this land and its people that these songs are born, and though it not necessary to know this to enjoy and appreciate them, it does lend a certain understanding for those who care to think about such things."
Every now and again an artist finds their voice to communicate something that truly comes from their heart, and it resonates with us because they paint such a clear vision of what they are trying to say. Before 1985 JCM was considered a pop musician whose music had very little to share with visionary rockers like Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) who rocked our conscience while they rocked our ears. Although there was greatness in some of his earlier work it went unappreciated.
Then "Scarecrow" was released. The album arrived in the midst of a terrible time for the American farmer. The "Reagan Recession" may have been an economist's wet dream because it paved the way for future corporate expansion, but many Americans were badly wounded by its effects, and it was often the "little guy" who got screwed, (as it is so often in life.) Reagan said a few words of sympathy for men who likely voted for him, then let them sink as banks foreclosed on their family farms in record numbers.
A lot of old farmers died, many young ones committed suicide, and families were torn apart by the stress of a failure not of their making. How were they to know the Agrarian Age was being replaced by the Technology Age? While people in my hometown (Palo Alto) were enjoying the fruits of the computer revolution people in John's hometown were going hungry, losing land that had been in their families for generations, and wondering why the American Dream had abandoned them.
"Grandma's on the front porch with a Bible in her hand. Sometimes I hear her singing "Take me to the Promised Land." When you take away a man's dignity he can't work his field and cows – There'll be blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plow."
A friend talked me into going to the "Scarecrow" concert. I wasn't a JCM fan at that time and I was reluctant, but the promise of imported beer and good weed tipped the balance. To this day it's one of the best concerts I've ever seen, and I've seen some amazing shows. I'll always be grateful to my friend, Mike, for talking me into going. Halfway through the first song we all knew we were witnessing something special, an artist at his peak pouring out his heart. JCM owned us that night.
In addition to putting on one hell of a show for a seminal album, JCM had an honest humility and humanity that made him one of us, and all of us like him.
"I'd like to thank you for being so nice to me tonight," he said halfway through the show. "I played down the road a few year's back and they weren't as nice to me." I laughed because I remember that he'd played a local amusement park and someone had hit him square in the head with a beer bottle. The amazing thing was, after being knocked out and taken off the stage for 20 minutes, he came back out and finished his show.
Nobody was going to throw anything other than roses at JCM that night.
"Oh when a nation cries. His tears fall down like missiles from the sky. Justice looked into Independence's eyes. Can you make everything alright? And can you keep your Nation warm at night?"
This is one of those rare albums without a single bad track. The hit single, entitled "Small Town" still gets regular radio play over 20 years later. I put "Scarecrow" into my car CD player and within 30 seconds I'm hitting that volume button until the windows start to vibrate. It's one of those timeless pieces of music that resonates just as much the 100th time as it did the 1st.
"Life turns to minutes and minutes to memories. Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned. You are young and you are the future, so suck it up and tough it out, and be the best you can."
In addition to bestowing upon JCM the status he so richly deserved, "Scarecrow" brought the plight of the failing American farmer into the public spotlight, long after the mass media wanted us to forget him. The result was a series of concerts known as "Farm Aid" that helped some of those farmers keep their land and keep their family whole.
Today I see a sad parallel in the current housing market. Between the corporate layoffs to keep that stock price artificially inflated and the recklessness of the Bush Administration there will be many families losing their home in 2007. Some made bad buying decisions, many out of ignorance – but making a mistake in America today can mean families on the street without anyone there to lend a helping hand.
Just like the American farmer in the 1980's.
So if you own a copy of "Scarecrow" take it out and give it another listen. If you don't, put it on your holiday wish list, or just go to Amazon and buy a copy. If you like rock that resonates and conveys true artistic integrity this is a must-have for your collection. Let yourself hear its mournful recognition of a dark and terrible time in America, then keep it around as we enter 2007. You're gonna need it.
"The highway between John's house and the studio where these songs were recorded cuts through a stretch of Indiana where the land is fertile and full of growth. It is from this land and its people that these songs are born, and though it not necessary to know this to enjoy and appreciate them, it does lend a certain understanding for those who care to think about such things."
Every now and again an artist finds their voice to communicate something that truly comes from their heart, and it resonates with us because they paint such a clear vision of what they are trying to say. Before 1985 JCM was considered a pop musician whose music had very little to share with visionary rockers like Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) who rocked our conscience while they rocked our ears. Although there was greatness in some of his earlier work it went unappreciated.
Then "Scarecrow" was released. The album arrived in the midst of a terrible time for the American farmer. The "Reagan Recession" may have been an economist's wet dream because it paved the way for future corporate expansion, but many Americans were badly wounded by its effects, and it was often the "little guy" who got screwed, (as it is so often in life.) Reagan said a few words of sympathy for men who likely voted for him, then let them sink as banks foreclosed on their family farms in record numbers.
A lot of old farmers died, many young ones committed suicide, and families were torn apart by the stress of a failure not of their making. How were they to know the Agrarian Age was being replaced by the Technology Age? While people in my hometown (Palo Alto) were enjoying the fruits of the computer revolution people in John's hometown were going hungry, losing land that had been in their families for generations, and wondering why the American Dream had abandoned them.
"Grandma's on the front porch with a Bible in her hand. Sometimes I hear her singing "Take me to the Promised Land." When you take away a man's dignity he can't work his field and cows – There'll be blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plow."
A friend talked me into going to the "Scarecrow" concert. I wasn't a JCM fan at that time and I was reluctant, but the promise of imported beer and good weed tipped the balance. To this day it's one of the best concerts I've ever seen, and I've seen some amazing shows. I'll always be grateful to my friend, Mike, for talking me into going. Halfway through the first song we all knew we were witnessing something special, an artist at his peak pouring out his heart. JCM owned us that night.
In addition to putting on one hell of a show for a seminal album, JCM had an honest humility and humanity that made him one of us, and all of us like him.
"I'd like to thank you for being so nice to me tonight," he said halfway through the show. "I played down the road a few year's back and they weren't as nice to me." I laughed because I remember that he'd played a local amusement park and someone had hit him square in the head with a beer bottle. The amazing thing was, after being knocked out and taken off the stage for 20 minutes, he came back out and finished his show.
Nobody was going to throw anything other than roses at JCM that night.
"Oh when a nation cries. His tears fall down like missiles from the sky. Justice looked into Independence's eyes. Can you make everything alright? And can you keep your Nation warm at night?"
This is one of those rare albums without a single bad track. The hit single, entitled "Small Town" still gets regular radio play over 20 years later. I put "Scarecrow" into my car CD player and within 30 seconds I'm hitting that volume button until the windows start to vibrate. It's one of those timeless pieces of music that resonates just as much the 100th time as it did the 1st.
"Life turns to minutes and minutes to memories. Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned. You are young and you are the future, so suck it up and tough it out, and be the best you can."
In addition to bestowing upon JCM the status he so richly deserved, "Scarecrow" brought the plight of the failing American farmer into the public spotlight, long after the mass media wanted us to forget him. The result was a series of concerts known as "Farm Aid" that helped some of those farmers keep their land and keep their family whole.
Today I see a sad parallel in the current housing market. Between the corporate layoffs to keep that stock price artificially inflated and the recklessness of the Bush Administration there will be many families losing their home in 2007. Some made bad buying decisions, many out of ignorance – but making a mistake in America today can mean families on the street without anyone there to lend a helping hand.
Just like the American farmer in the 1980's.
So if you own a copy of "Scarecrow" take it out and give it another listen. If you don't, put it on your holiday wish list, or just go to Amazon and buy a copy. If you like rock that resonates and conveys true artistic integrity this is a must-have for your collection. Let yourself hear its mournful recognition of a dark and terrible time in America, then keep it around as we enter 2007. You're gonna need it.
# posted by Phillip T. Alden @ 10:22 PM 
