# Bruce Springsteen vs John Mellencamp (who do like best) no groaning



## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

Click at the end of songs to roll through hits.


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

I like Springsteen's songs more. But he is such a controlled character in public (nothing wrong with that choice) that I don't like him nearly as much as I used to.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

They both sound a little too mid to mid-west america for me. Middle ground. Neither appealing or unappealing


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Mid to mid-west america? I don't think of wheat and corn fields.
"She'll let you in her house
If you come knockin' late at night
She'll let you in her mouth
If the words you say are right
If you pay the price
She'll let you deep inside
But there's a secret garden she hides"




Mellencamp maybe and he's ok but you can't beat Springsteen even tho he can be as mid america as Stienbeck and Woody Guthrie.




This could be mid to mid-west.....


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2019)

I despise Springsteen, and I only hate Cougar. That mericana is so bad.


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## Jimmy The Gent (Sep 4, 2018)

I Like them both, although sometimes they overplay the common man theme, both being multi-millionaires.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

Early Bruce....amazing. To me, Mellancamp can't hold a torch to the Born to Run, The River and Born in the USA albums. I wore out the needle listening to the Born to Run album. His early poetic storytelling is almost unmatched, one listen to Thunder Road and I was hooked. JCM had one good song...I Need a Lover and the rest are mostly overplayed channel changers, to my ears anyway.

"There are ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away.
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets.
They scream your name at night in the street.
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet.
And in the lonely cool before dawn, 
You hear their engines roaring on.
But when you get to the porch they're gone...down the road"

Or 

"Little ditty 'bout Jack and Diane, two kids growing up in the heartland.
Jack wanna be a football star, Diane debutante backseat of Jackie's car"

One is lyrical genius.


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## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

If you ever went to a Springsteen concert, you'd know that writing and recording great songs isn't what he does best. Seen him several times and blown away every time! He's not a bad guitar player either.


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## JCJ (Jan 3, 2008)

The Lonesome Jubilee is a great record. To me, it transitioned JCM from pop guy to highly relevant songwriter. Springsteen is great, too, obviously. I like both, just Mellencamp from Jubilee onwards...


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

What no love for Cherry Bomb ?


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

leftysg said:


> Early Bruce....amazing. To me, Mellancamp can't hold a torch to the Born to Run, The River and Born in the USA albums. I wore out the needle listening to the Born to Run album. His early poetic storytelling is almost unmatched, one listen to Thunder Road and I was hooked. JCM had one good song...I Need a Lover and the rest are mostly overplayed channel changers, to my ears anyway.
> 
> "There are ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away.
> They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets.
> ...


And the other is telling about his life in small town America (and Canada is about the same). Gets his girlfriend pregnant and watches his life drift away.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

aka the Simpsons .... "so you've gone and ruined your life" pamphlet that Hibbard handed Marg.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

Electraglide said:


> And the other is telling about his life in small town America (and Canada is about the same). Gets his girlfriend pregnant and watches his life drift away.


You are referring to The River by Bruce, correct. Great tune


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

leftysg said:


> You are referring to The River by Bruce, correct. Great tune


Nope, Jack and Diane. Most of Springsteen's weren't "small town".


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

@Electraglide - Lyrics go in one ear and out the other 90% of the time for me. I tend to hear the human voice as a musical instrument more often than not. So in effect, strictly speaking, lyrics play a *very minor role* in a song for me. Therefore I am talking about the whole musical feel of the song.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

I think Bruce had a number of small town rural feeling songs. Glory Days definitely had that nostalgic feeling. The River album had many songs with that out in the country feel. I lost touch with Bruce's recording after BITUSA, but by the title I'd guess that Nebraska would seem to have rural ties. I guess I have my listening homework assignment! Interesting that Bruce recorded My Hometown in 1983 but released it within a week of JCM's Small Town, both released in November, 1985.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Saw them both live when they were at their peak. No contest, Springsteen by a country mile.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2019)

Robert1950 said:


> I tend to hear the human voice as a musical instrument more often than not.


Same here. And I remember reading somewhere, Zappa too. 
Record companies wouldn't let the Mothers do just instrumentals, hence, the outrageous, sarcastic (and excellent) lyrics.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Is this poll backdated to say, 1987 or so, when these guys mattered a bit?


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Robert1950 said:


> @Electraglide - Lyrics go in one ear and out the other 90% of the time for me. I tend to hear the human voice as a musical instrument more often than not. So in effect, strictly speaking, lyrics play a *very minor role* in a song for me. Therefore I am talking about the whole musical feel of the song.


You've been married to long Robert. To a certain point that's why I like things like Throat Singing and Bagpipe music more than I do songs from the 1980s up but I find that sometimes that limits my enjoyment of the whole musical experience no matter what genre it is.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

LanceT said:


> Is this poll backdated to say, 1987 or so, when these guys mattered a bit?


Even tho this vid is a few years old, to a lot of people Springsteen still matters and so does Mellencamp. Unless of course you're one of those people who disregards anything older than about 3 years. Check out the crowd here.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Electraglide said:


> You've been married to long Robert.


I haven't been married for 25 years.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

laristotle said:


> Same here. And I remember reading somewhere, Zappa too.
> Record companies wouldn't let the Mothers do just instrumentals, hence, the outrageous, sarcastic (and excellent) lyrics.


Oddly, what lyrics I do remember, more often than not, are Frank's


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Personally for me it’s no comparison.

John Cougar is lots of feathers and not much chicken to my ear.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

We saw him on this tour.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Springsteen is about the only artist that, when he comes on the radio, I change the channel right away. Can't stand him. Particularly the out of breath, off key wailing in Born to Run. Such horridness. About the only tune I like of his is Blinded by the Light, but not done by him. I'll take the Manfred Mann version thank you, because I can't stand Bruce's voice.

On the other hand, I own a couple of CD's by John of varying last names. Scarecrow and Lonesome Jubilee are in regular rotation.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Polled flawed. Needs a "Neither" button.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

High/Deaf said:


> Polled flawed. Needs a "Neither" button.


typical , haters got to hate.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I never listened to either of them.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

OK , then 
" I prefer the beach" option .... (neither for or against)


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

Not sure which song I like more...

Bobby Fuller Four singing I Fought the Law or John Mellancamp singing his Authority Song...they sound so much alike to my ear.

[h://video][




[h://video][


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and stepping out over the line...…….


Meh, people like what they like. I came to appreciate Springsteen as a writer first and as a performer second.


I saw the Born in the USA tour at the CNE in Toronto.


I'm not fussy about huge crowds like that but he owned that place.

He did write Blinded by the Light by the way and quite a few others worth noting.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

I find when you're doing a road trip.....pick your form of vehicle.....and can choose what tunes you are listening too Springsteen (for me) is a better choice. Especially when the road is clear and twisty.


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