I was so in love with John Cougar Mellencamp when I was a little kid; I wore a wife beater around the house imitating his music video dance and swagger, combing my hair and convincing myself that we were soul mates. My dream was to grow up and marry him, dye my hair purple, and watch all the horror movies my mom wouldn't let me see. I lost out in one respect to a super model but, you know, while I respect his choice to drop the Cougar, I just can't see him as the man I fell in love with–so we'll just call it even.
While I also can't say that his face and voice evokes the same kind of inexplicable excitement in me today as they did when I was in pre-school, there's still a part of deep inside that smiles when a song of his comes on the radio. I believe it was a guest appearance on SCTV that sparked my love for him and I can't help but remember that too.
Lately his profile is a bit lower than his Scarecrow hey day, but he's outspoken about being a lefty (he even asked McCain to stop using Pink Houses in his campaign rallies, much like Springsteen took on Reagan RE: Both in the USA).
A great American coif, farm fed muscles, and a bleeding heart: He just hurts so good.
But what do you think?