On March 10, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted two 80s icons who have stood the test of time. John Mellencamp and Madonna among a few others were both part of the class of 2008.

I admit, I am not much of a fan of Madonna or her music, but I do acknowledge her longevity, huge success and pop culture status. I especially appreciate her contributions to 80s culture both in music and fashion. Here is a link to watch the video that proceeded her Hall of Fame induction.

I would not call myself a die hard Mellencamp aficionado, but I definitely consider myself a fan. One of the best live concerts I have ever been to was a 1998 Mellencamp tour stop which a group of us scored third row seats. We had an absolute blast all night and much of it had to do with the awesome performance of his instant classics. I was a fan before this concert, but appreciated him even more after that show. Here is a link to watch the great video that played before Billy Joel inducted Mellencamp into the Hall.  Be sure to watch those videos because they are excellent career summaries.

No matter if you call him John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp or just John Mellencamp, he is one of the few special musical artists that can generate a legitimate Top 10 list of favorite songs for me. He has released 21 albums (including 2 greatest hits compilations) since 1976 when he released Chestnut Street Incident to very little acclaim. His first few albums were released under the name John Cougar because the record label felt that was more marketable. He never liked that they changed his name, but his growing success made it difficult to change it back.

In 1982, his album American Fool ended up being the best selling album of that entire year. So in 1983, his next album Uh-Huh was released under the name John Cougar Mellencamp (adding back in his real last name). He continued using the combo name until his 1991 release titled Whenever We Wanted which he finally dropped the Cougar and would simply go by his real name. Thirty two years and twenty one albums give me lots of songs to choose from, but I narrowed it down to give you OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 JOHN MELLENCAMP SONGS:
Honorable Mention. "Hurts So Good" from American Fool (1982) - I like this song, but do not love it. It did spend an impressive 16 weeks in the Billboard Top 10 (4 of those at #2) which is longer than any other single during the 80s. It also won the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance so I thought it at least deserved honorable mention. Another candidate for honorable mention was his cover of the Van Morrison great "Wild Night" that he did with Me'Shell Ndegeocello on his 1994 album Dance Naked.

10. "Check It Out" from The Lonesome Jubilee (1987) - The Lonesome Jubilee album marked the addition of Lisa Germano and her fiddle to the band. This created a unique sound that I really like as you see 3 songs from this album made my Top 10.

9. "Peaceful World" from Cuttin' Heads (2001) - The original version is actually a duet with singer India.Arie, but he also contributed a live, acoustic version to the compilation album God Bless America as a benefit for the 9/11 victims.

8. "Paper In Fire" from The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)

7. "Lonely Ol' Night" from Scarecrow (1985)

6. "Small Town" from Scarecrow (1985) - Mellencamp wrote this song about his experiences growing up in a small town in Indiana (having been born in Seymour and then living in Bloomington). The song utters "small town" a total of 18 times. Here is a link to a cool Larry Bird highlight video set to this song.

5. "Cherry Bomb" from The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)

4. "Pink Houses" from Uh-Huh (1983) - Rumored inspiration for this song is that he was driving on I465 beltline that encircles Indianapolis and his eyes met the eyes of a black man who was sitting on the front porch of his pink house. Mellencamp either surmised or found out later that the man lost part of his property when this highway was built. This is the origin of the line, "He's got an interstate running through his front yard." He was so struck by the utter despair of this man that he wrote the song in tribute.

3. "Your Life Is Now" from John Mellencamp (1998)

2. "Jack and Diane" from American Fool (1982) - This song was Mellencamp's only single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for 4 weeks

1. "Ain't Even Done With The Night" from Nothin' Matters and What If It Did (1980) - This is actually the oldest song on the list, but easily my absolute favorite. Here is a link to watch the very cheesy video from back in the day.

There's my Top 10. Several other songs just missed the list and there are some very popular songs that I intentionally left off as well. Mellencamp's most recent album Freedom's Road, released in 2007, hit #5 on the Billboard Album charts which is higher than any album since his 1985 release Scarecrow (which hit #2). This album is probably best known for the song "Our Country" which has been overexposed due to its use in Chevy truck ads. He has another album scheduled for release this year titled Life, Death, Love and Freedom. Mellencamp was a very deserving inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

That wraps up another issue of Kickin' it Old School.  Thanks for reading and to make sure you have not missed any previous issues, be sure to click on the archive buttons in the upper left column.  Also in the links section you will find summaries of some of the past Old School Top 10 lists among other interesting destinations.  Peace and much love.

Check this out:

Here is a novel illusion that is as striking as it is simple. The two images of the Leaning Tower of Pisa are identical, yet one has the impression that the tower on the right leans more, as if photographed from a different angle. The reason for this is because the visual system treats the two images as if part of a single scene. Normally, if two adjacent towers rise at the same angle, their image outlines converge as they recede from view due to perspective, and this is taken into account by the visual system. So when confronted with two towers whose corresponding outlines are parallel, the visual system assumes they must be diverging as they rise from view, and this is what we see.

Quote of the day: "It's what you do and not what you say. If you're not part of the future, then get out of the way." -John Mellencamp from "Peaceful World"

Download this: "Ain't Even Done With The Night" by John Mellencamp - Obvious recommendation since it ranked #1 on the list above, but any of the songs on the list are highly recommended