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by David Neilsen
As we discuss bad influences on our children that don't
involve anyone we know personally, one name comes up again and
again: a musician whose hypnotic, cult-like influence over
the young people of today is legendary -- who speaks to them
in terms of angst, despondency, and bleak, dismal emptiness.
We are speaking, of course, of John Mellencamp. A quick look
over his lyrics reveals the messages he sends to his impressionable
fans. Is this want we want for them? What about the children?
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Alienation
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"I need a lover who won't drive me crazy. Some girl who'll thrill me, then just go away." -- I Need a Lover
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Hopelessness
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"They told me, when I was younger, said 'Boy, you're gonna be president.' But just like everything else, those little crazy dreams just kinda came and went." -- Pink Houses
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Despair
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"I fight authority but authority always wins." -- The Authority Song
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Morbidity
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"Gonna die in a small town, that's probably where they'll bury me."
-- Small Town
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Misanthropy
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"Some people ain't no damn good. You can't trust 'em, you can't love 'em, no good deed goes unpunished." -- Crumblin' Down
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Nihilism
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"Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone." -- Jack and Diane
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