What ever happened to the “counter culture”? How much did they donate to his favorite charity? 
“Counter-culture?”
We ARE talking about a guy who changed his last name to “Cougar” and threw himself a parade in his hometown, right?
The name change to “Cougar” was made by his agent at the time, Tony DeFries. Mellencamp has always maintained the change to John Cougar was made without his knowledge or consent. It wasn’t until American Fool became a hit that Mellencamp was able to assert himself, first as John Cougar Mellencamp with the album Uh-Huh, then just John Mellencamp on Whenever We Wanted. He’s called himself John Mellencamp far longer than he was known as John Cougar.
As for licensing “Our Country” for a Chevy commercial, I have mixed feelings on this. It goes against his previously announced proclamation that he would never license any of his music for commercial use. On the other hand, he let the producers of the TV show Ed use his song “Your Life Is Now” as the theme song. But he has a new album coming out in January, and he’s trying to get himself back in the public consciousness, since radio stations don’t commonly play new music from older artists. I’d buy anything with Mellencamp’s name on it anyway, but it’s sad to see him so much in need of exposure these days.
He’s not the Rock & Roll rebel he fancied himself to be 20 years ago, and good God, who honestly is?
The only “cause” the guy ever seriously avowed was Farm Aid, and I think he’s given to them in an exemplary fashion. Now he’s facing retirement. It’s just wrong to begrudge him this one thing.
He’s not Abbie Hoffman or even Neil Young, and at my age I can’t say that’s a bad thing. There aren’t many counterculture icons I’d want to know socially anyway. I’d rather he shilled for Chevy than, say, Budweiser or Phillip Morris. I drive a Chevy.
The counterculture is idiotic anyway. Left-wing stupidity about keeping art away from ‘the man’ and staying ‘pure’. That sounds good when you’re riding around in a VW van at 18 and enjoying a life of smoking doobies and living on your buddy’s couch, but at some point you have to grow up.
Many great writers, singers, painters, and other artists have worked for no reason than to put food on the table.
‘Selling out’ means compromising your art for commercial purposes. But making the art you want to make, then finding that there’s a demand for it and cashing in on that, is perfectly okay in my book.
I wouldn’t have heard this new Mellencamp song if it weren’t for the commercial, so there you go.