Not just a Grumpy Old Man Song today, but the first legitimate 2022 contender: the new album from John Mellencamp ticks a number of boxes. Over the past few records, Mellencamp has slowly been morphing into Tom Waits, as his voice grows older and croakier, and on Strictly A One-Eyed Jack, that transformation appears complete. I'm not entirely sure why he's taken to dressing like a pirate, eye patch and all, but it's a welcome turn in a career I've followed almost from its outset.
There's no shortage of contenders when it comes to selecting a Grumpy Old Man Song either, from the opener I Always Lie To Strangers...
I always lie to strangers
I am a man of low degree
This world is run by men
Much more crooked than me
And as far as I can see
I don't trust you
And you shouldn't trust me
...to the stompy Waits-meets-Eels grouch-fest I Am A Man That Worries...
JM even ropes in a Grumpy Old Contemporary who's no stranger to these parts to help him out on a couple of tunes. They have worked together briefly in the past, but this feels like a fully-fledged collaboration, and the two aging heartland rockers fit together better now than they would have done at any earlier point in either of their illustrious careers. Hard to believe either of them could ever be accused of having Wasted Days though...
How many summers still remain?
How many days are lost in vain?
Who's counting out these last remaining years?
How many minutes do we have here?
Wasted days
Wasted days
We watch our lives just fade away too
More wasted days
What a truly awful video. I'm sure they both thought that two men of a certain vintage, looking earnest as fuck, would yield a zillion more streams (and they may be right), but it just looks smug & self reverential.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm guessing that makes *me* sound like a grumpy old man. D'oh!
I'll get my coat.
You can direct the next one, John.
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