Mellencamp Rips Lefsetz New Asshole

Even bringin’ the wifey into the fight… meow!

By Fred Mills

Music industry commentator/watchdog/gadfly/provocateur Bob Lefsetz recently had some choice words to say about John Mellencamp. In one of his recent newsletters (“Sales-Week Ending 8/3/08”) Lefsetz tallied up Mr. Cougar’s sales tally to date for Life Death Love and Freedom, then proceeded to weigh in with the verbiage, including a none-too-veiled swipe at Mellencamp’s allowing his 2007 song “Our Country” to be licensed by Chevy — Randy Newman also took a potshot at the songwriter for the same offense in “A Piece of The Pie,” from Newman’s just-released Harps and Angels album.

Here’s what Lefsetz had to say:

Why does he look twelve on the cover?

Act your age. Unless you think you’re really gonna get Top Forty airplay and the little kids will understand. You want to be PART of your audience, not miles away. Mellencamp should be showing every line in his face, his history, just like his audience.

If your career is based on credibility, and Mellencamp’s was, don’t do a commercial. It undercuts your cred.

The star here is T-Bone Burnett. He should have his own label.

***

This, you might imagine, didn’t sit all that well with J.M., who is no stranger to sparring with critics. Within 24 hours he fired back thusly:

I thought that you were a fan of music.  Seems that a man of your age would have learned not to judge a book by the cover. Listen to the music, it shows every line and every scar.

As far as credibility goes, 23 albums, millions sold, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, etc. etc. etc.....35 years in the business.  and for commercials, you mean no "cred" like  Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, & U2?

You choose to sit behind your computer and have the illusion that you have an answer....leave your house sometime and get in the real world, the world of struggle, survival and longevity. Nothing is as it seems.

You are either for music or against it. So much negativity, how is that helping?

In the words of the great rock journalist, Timothy White "in the accomplishments of anyone there is real promise for everyone."

PS The one thing you have gotten right is that T Bone Burnett is a wonderful producer and gentleman.

***

Apparently the Lefsetz Letter got passed around the Mellencamp compound, however, because next thing we knew his wife, Elaine, has also gotten ticked off enough to send in a missive to Lefsetz:

You must think that you are a photo critic now too...

I guess that you have become the proverbial cranky old man, hurling insults at the people who are out trying to live while you just sit and criticize.

Obviously you don't have a wife, because if you did, she would have pointed out that when you have absolutely nothing nice to say, EVER, people stop listening.

As you seem overly eager to judge, with no regard to actual facts, I will also address your dig at John's licensing his song for a commercial. John had had numerous opportunities for decades, and has been offered fortunes, to sell one of his songs. So after 35 years of being his songwriter, who are you to judge what he feels is appropriate for his own music or words? Bottom line, there is no longer a correlation to songs used in commercials and the credibility of the artist. Johnny Cash, no cred? Elvis Costello, no cred? Sting, no cred? Wake up to a new day, blame record company execs if you must, for putting the music industry where it is, but lambasting artists for taking matters into their own hands is just plain short sighted. My husband, I'm sure, pines for the old days sometime himself, but they are gone.  We are all looking for a new way. When you write your own song then you can decide its fate.

Elaine Mellencamp

PS I took that photo of John that you mentioned, and he does look rather handsome doesn't he? So nice of you to mention it.

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Guarantee: All dialogue reprinted verbatim. Why? Because we care, gentle BLURT readers, we care….