This John Cougar Mellencamp video is... Strange

[Araucaria]

John Cougar Mellencamp is hot as fuck in this video, but it is strange. First, there are five guys in hot pink suits behind him doing nothing But dancing in formation. And is John Cougar staggering around the stage? And finally at the end, a couple of the guys are trying to put what looks like Count Dracula's cape over John. Any thoughts on this?

 

[tommy_tommy969]

That is bizarre...but hilarious...the guy stepping out to 'sing' along with the sax solo had me in stitches!
I imagine that the dracula coat is maybe a homage to James Brown, perhaps? Or keeping with the theme of the song about not being done with the night yet and people trying to send him home?

 

[SFLMAN]

Yes, John Cougar Mellencamp is very HOT in this video!

The cape is an homage to James Brown. The five guys in hot pink suits behind him are an homage to the Motown male groups of the 60's (The Temptations, the Four Tops, etc.)

I saw him live in concert several years ago and he was great! Unfortunately, he has not aged so well! With his heavy smoking he does not look so good!

 

[m1thousand]

5 guys. . . Its called eye candy

 

[Araucaria]

A number of thoughts on this. John Mellencamp is hot in this video, he's dressed like young guys in the late 70s early 80s, going out to the club to pick up a trick for the night.

OK, the five guys dancing behind John are an homage to the male soul groups of the 60s and 70s, but I think the act would have worked out better if they actually sang on stage. And the James Brown cape thing is interesting, but this seems too far removed from what JB was doing to really work.

I did some reading on John Mellencamp after I made the OP. It turns out that like a lot of musicians, John had to do a lot of things he didn't want to, to become established in the world of popular music. The name "Cougar" was forced upon him by the recording industry, and they wouldn't let him use his last name, saying it made him sound like a hick. "But I am a hick!" John supposedly said later. Of course, he also had to do a lot of "pop" music to play along with the industry. He had to push to be allowed to add "Mellencamp" to his name, and had to become well-established over many years, before he could drop the "Cougar" from his stage name.

I gained an appreciation for who John Mellencamp is as an artist and a person. He wants to sing ballads about regular people, the "salt of the earth" types and their struggles, sort of like Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne, and he objected when the Trump campaign appropriated some of his songs. He's one of the good guys.

 

[Araucaria]

A number of thoughts on this. John Mellencamp is hot in this video, he's dressed like young guys in the late 70s early 80s, going out to the club to pick up a trick for the night.

OK, the five guys dancing behind John are an homage to the male soul groups of the 60s and 70s, but I think the act would have worked out better if they actually sang on stage. And the James Brown cape thing is interesting, but this seems too far removed from what JB was doing to really work.

I did some reading on John Mellencamp after I made the OP. It turns out that like a lot of musicians, John had to do a lot of things he didn't want to, to become established in the world of popular music. The name "Cougar" was forced upon him by the recording industry, and they wouldn't let him use his last name, saying it made him sound like a hick. "But I am a hick!" John supposedly said later. Of course, he also had to do a lot of "pop" music to play along with the industry. He had to push to be allowed to add "Mellencamp" to his name, and had to become well-established over many years, before he could drop the "Cougar" from his stage name.

I gained an appreciation for who John Mellencamp is as an artist and a person. He wants to sing ballads about regular people, the "salt of the earth" types and their struggles, sort of like Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne, and he objected when the Trump campaign appropriated some of his songs. He's one of the good guys.

 

[m1thousand]

You had 'double thoughts' ;-)