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| Martha |
At Walter Reed, Mellencamp Shuts His Mouth and Sings
By J. Freedom du Lac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 28, 2007; Page C01
A funny thing happened on John Mellencamp's way to
Walter Reed Army Medical Center: He stuck a muzzle on
himself.
Mellencamp has been a vocal critic of the war in Iraq
and the Bush administration. But last night, the
outspoken singer checked his politics -- or at least
his polemic -- at Walter Reed's guarded front gate.
During a superlative hour-long concert on the
beleaguered military hospital campus, Mellencamp
avoided turning the stage into a soapbox, opting
instead to simply entertain a group of soldiers
wounded fighting a war that the rock star doesn't
support.
"We're happy to be here; we're happy to show our
support," he said during the show. "Let's forget about
any problems we might have and let's just have a good
time."
Performing on a cramped stage in the Old Red Cross
Building, an aged assembly hall at the center of the
113-acre Army facility, Mellencamp worked through 14
songs during a sweaty set that crackled with nervous
energy and was nothing if not apolitical. There was no
"Texas Bandito," no "Rodeo Clown," both of which are
scathing indictments of a certain commander in chief;
just jukebox ditties about "Jack & Diane" and
small-town America and r-o-c-k in the U-S-A.
The show was long on patriotic moments and symbolism,
if you were looking for it. A steady military rhythm
drove "Freedom's Road," and drummer Dane Clark
inserted an Army snare break into the rousing,
idealistic "Our Country." During "The Americans," as
Mellencamp sang of optimism, a woman near the front of
the stage waved an American flag. Extra emphasis was
given to some of Mellencamp's lyrics, too; during the
old hit "Pink Houses," the crowd roared along to the
line "home of the free."
One can apparently appreciate Mellencamp's music even
while disagreeing with his personal politics -- just
as it's possible for the singer to support the
soldiers while opposing the war they're fighting.
Mellencamp, who is 55, got the idea to stage the
concert after performing in January at San Antonio's
Center for the Intrepid, a rehabilitation facility for
injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. When The
Washington Post reported a month later on serious
problems plaguing outpatient care at Walter Reed (mold
on the walls, holes in the ceilings, rats in the
rooms, administrative ineptitude, etc.), Mellencamp
vowed to do something for the soldiers. He flirted
with the idea of staging a benefit show before
deciding to play for the wounded troops.
Live Mold, if you will.
The special concert was broadcast live on HDNet from
the building where Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope once
performed. Aside from all the high-definition cameras,
the setup was plain and unfussy, like Mellencamp's
heartland anthems: no stage decorations, no fancy
lighting, no costumes -- just a taut, six-piece band
behind Mellencamp, who wore bluejeans, work boots and
a black shirt (sleeves rolled up, natch).
About 200 people were in the hall for the concert,
many of them "warriors in transition," as the Army
calls the Walter Reed outpatients.
There were men with eye patches and prosthetic legs;
men getting around with the aid of walking sticks; men
with disfigured faces.
John Callahan watched the show from a wheelchair
parked at the front of the stage. "It's a great morale
boost," said the 42-year-old Army gunner, who took a
bullet in the stomach and another in his left leg in
Iraq. Callahan has been at Walter Reed since November.
On Thursday, he was shocked to see one of his rock
idols wandering through Malone House, a campus hotel
for injured soldiers. "I had to take a picture with
him," said Callahan, who saw Mellencamp in concert
once before, in Springfield, Mass., when the singer
was still known as Johnny Cougar. "The love and
commitment he's showing to us is such a motivation,"
he said. "It's an honorable thing he's doing for us."
The wounded soldiers were surrounded by their
families, along with doctors and administrators and at
least one legislator from Mellencamp's home state.
"I'm here to support the troops and the home team,"
said Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.). "You know, John's from
Bloomington."
The set was heavy on songs from Mellencamp's recent
album, "Freedom's Road." But it also included more
than a few old standbys -- Americana classics,
including "Lonely Ol' Night," which was repurposed as
a solo acoustic song, and the sinewy "Hurts So Good,"
which sounded positively Stones-like, thanks to Andy
York's ringing Phantom Teardrop guitar. After the
latter song, which closed the concert, Mellencamp
exchanged symbolic gifts with a Walter Reed
administrator, thanked the audience and left the
stage. No parting words, no parting shot from the
typically vocal rock star.
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| Nellcote |
There was one person who visited Walter Reed Hospital long before this was in the news, to see the conditions these soldiers were faced to live in, and talked about it on his show ad nauseum.
That same person was responsbile for raising millions of dollars for a state of the art facility in San Antonio for injured military veterans, which opened about two months ago, where Mellencamp also performed.
That same person was responsible chiding Senators & Congressman for an increase in the death benefit for military individuals families, which had been woefully underpaid for decades.
That person is Don Imus.
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| Brainbell Jangler |
quote:
glencar wrote:
Typical horseshit from the peanut gallery. JFK ramped it up & that's when casualties started happening. Under your sophistry, we could say it all started with Adam & Eve.
Hardly sophistry. The invention of SEATO and the "Republic of Vietnam" under Eisenhower/Dulles was the start of the whole mess. The false idea that the U.S. had treaty obligations or a strategic interest in Indochina led directly to the escalation under Kennedy and Johnson. Sure, Kennedy could have reversed that direction, and there is good evidence that he planned to do so after the 1964 election, but then came Dallas, and LBJ's fragile ego would not allow him to be "the first American President to lose a war," as he often put it.
Frankly, your Adam & Eve retort is horseshit sophistry. I doubt that you know much about the shameful history of U.S. involvement in Indochina, starting with the decision to leave Japanese (!) troops in charge after V-J Day so that the Vietnamese could not gain control of their own country before the French colonialists could get back into position. |
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| glencar |
Actually I studied about Viet Nam in college & so I know at least as much as you do. I'm not disagreeing with you that it didn't start from whole cloth during the Kennedy administration but most historians agree that things started at that time. Or else during the garden of Eden... |
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| Martha |
Did Johnny play "Forgiveness"? |
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| glencar |
Mel Belli went to the show, Martha. I'd PM him... |
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| Martha |
quote:
glencar wrote:
Mel Belli went to the show, Martha. I'd PM him...
Good idea. ;-) I can't find the complete set list anywhere. |
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| Brainbell Jangler |
quote:
glencar wrote:
Actually I studied about Viet Nam in college & so I know at least as much as you do. I'm not disagreeing with you that it didn't start from whole cloth during the Kennedy administration but most historians agree that things started at that time. Or else during the garden of Eden...
Most historians? I haven't counted. Have you read Barbara Tuchman's "The March of Folly"? |
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| lotsajizz |
she devoted a chapter just to the loony cabal here didn't she?
I bet they never read 'Guns of August' or 'A Distant Mirror' either...or much of anything for that matter! |
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| glencar |
BJ & His Amen Corner! |
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| lotsajizz |
loogy-boy and his amen corner! |
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| gypsy |
quote:
lotsajizz wrote:
loogy-boy and his amen corner!
they lost any cred they might have had with that tele debacle last year. |
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| Maxlugar |
quote:
gypsy wrote:
I'm HOT! See? Here's a shot of me from this morning!
Va-va-VOOM!!! You aint kidding! {{{GROWL!!!}}} |
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| glencar |
quote:
gypsy wrote:
they lost any cred they might have had with that tele debacle last year.
WE didn't lose any cred. Tele blew his own "cred." He has paid the price. It's a shame. |
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| glencar |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
Va-va-VOOM!!! You aint kidding! {{{GROWL!!!}}}
WHO IS THAT??? |
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| gypsy |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
Va-va-VOOM!!! Now, these chicks are right up my alley! {{{GROWL!!!}}}
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| lotsajizz |
tele was just indicative of the character of the right wing, unAmerican, treasonous cabal of those who would subvert this republic from within....they should be tried and appropriately sentenced....I wonder which next of their ilk will turn on them and screw them?
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| glencar |
Meet you at 1310 Metrocenter Blvd. Warwick, RI tomorrow at 3PM. |
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| Maxlugar |
JIZZY: YEAH! You come down here to 301 MetroCenter Boulevard, #102, Warwick Rhode Island you friggin' cowards! Any time, you wimps...show up if you got the balls...or are you just talk, you.....
JIZZY'S BOSS: HEY! Get out of my office Jizzhole! Get out there and hand out those flyers! And stay off my computer! I'm not paying you to THINK!
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| Joey |
" Meet you at 1310 Metrocenter Blvd. Warwick, RI tomorrow at 3PM. "
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| Fiji Joe |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
Va-va-VOOM!!! You aint kidding! {{{GROWL!!!}}}
Bwhahahahaha...you really do a good impression of a knock-kneed skank
Cue proxy boy in 3...2...1... |
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| Fiji Joe |
Meet me at 1310 Metrocenter Blvd. Warwick, RI
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| Joey |
quote:
Fiji Joe wrote:
Bwhahahahaha...you really do a good impression of a knock-kneed skank
Cue proxy boy in 3...2...1...
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| pdog |
joey...
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| Joey |
quote:
pdog wrote:
joey...
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| pdog |
joey!
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| rasputin56 |
Why is it that Riffy and his ilk automatically discredit any criticism of this current Administration as being done only because they hate Bush? Just wondering. |
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| Fiji Joe |
quote:
rasputin56 wrote:
Why is it that Riffy and his ilk automatically discredit any criticism of this current Administration as being done only because they hate Bush? Just wondering.
In this instance, perhaps it's because treatment and care at VA hospitals has been terrible for a long long time...yet, until now, I don't recall any tears...I don't recall such a level of outrage...The fact that you think that Walter Reed is a Bush Admin. thing just about answers your question doesn't it? |
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| mojoman |
quote:
pdog wrote:
joey...
joeys boarding the muthaship!!! |
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| rasputin56 |
quote:
Nellcote wrote:
There was one person who visited Walter Reed Hospital long before this was in the news, to see the conditions these soldiers were faced to live in, and talked about it on his show ad nauseum.
That same person was responsbile for raising millions of dollars for a state of the art facility in San Antonio for injured military veterans, which opened about two months ago, where Mellencamp also performed.
That same person was responsible chiding Senators & Congressman for an increase in the death benefit for military individuals families, which had been woefully underpaid for decades.
That person is Don Imus.
And now you know...the rest of the story...
[Edited by rasputin56] |
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