John Mellencamp "Cherry Bomb"

We all exchanged wordless looks across the Pizza Hut table, a mix of mild amusement and mild annoyance.

The restaurant's Jukebox (remember Jukeboxes?) was skipping. And skipping. And skipping.

John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb," stuck, forever repeating the line, "We were young~~We were young~~We were young~~We were young~~We were young . . ."

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In adulthood, you become friends with people because of the things you have in common.

But in middle school and high school, it seemed like many of the people I aligned myself with were guys who could make up for my deficiencies. They were outgoing when I was shy. Bold when I was cautious. Fun when I was responsible.

I'm sure it worked both ways. I'm sure I brought things to their lives that they felt was lacking within themselves. That's how it works.

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So there I was. In Pizza Hut. Bemused, but becoming increasingly annoyed at the skipping John Mellencamp disc.

I just sat there, waiting for the Pizza Hut people to do something.

Waiting. Waiting.

The same thoughts, I'm sure, were going through Tip's head, across the table.

But he was my flip side, and Waiting, Waiting, was anathema to him.

He quickly stood up from the table, crossed the room to the jukebox and fished his hand behind the machine.

Here is what we heard over the Pizza Hut PA system. (Listen to the full 30 seconds)

Part of me feels like if Tip wasn't there to pull the plug, I might've just sat through the noise for my entire meal. I think that I literally didn't know what to do.

But I had Tip, who could do the things I couldn't, and who, in that moment taught me a little bit more about how to be a complete person.

John Mellencamp "Save Some Time To Dream"

We live on an Island known for celebrity visits.

But the Vineyard is also known for not making a big f-n deal about celebrity visits, so you kind of forget that there could be some famous person within earshot.

Yesterday, the gossip blogs were all blaring "Meg Ryan quietly dating John Mellencamp" (yes, quietly, until now) and making mention of the fact that they were together on the Vineyard last week.

I'd kind of forgotten that Meg Ryan is here. She keeps a low profile. But I would be unlikely to mention her name on the air.

John Mellencamp however . . . well, he's someone I might say something about.

I'm kind of here and there about John Mellencamp. I have gone through periods of really liking him. Stretches of not being able to listen to a note. And miles and miles of ambivalence.

So how relieved was I, to flip back through my mental notes, and recall that the only time I mentioned Mellencamp last week, was in a warm way, saying something to the effect of "(his new song) 'Save Some Time To Dream' is the loveliest song he, or anyone, has put out in recent memory."

Despite my generally "Meh" feeling about his recent work, that tune actually struck a pleasant chord with me.

So I was pleased to think that on the off chance he and Meg were listening, 59 year old Mellencamp, known to be the feisty sort, would not have been motivated by a snippy comment on my part to drive down the dirt road and stomp my 17-years-younger ass.


And in all the gossip about the visit, here's the weirdest note: They may be working on a musical together!

Even better, maybe they can get some help from Lady Gaga!

John Mellencamp "Small Town"

On Tuesday I wrote about Josh Ritter's "The Curse" and on the mvyradio Facebook page, I was asking for feedback. One of my concerns is that the song was too long.

mvy listeners Michele commented:

I say run it. I think MVY listeners are appreciative of good song writing. It's sad to think it wouldn't air b/c it's too long. What does that say about us as music lovers.

I thought about the phrase "too long" and I realized that I wasn't asking if the song WAS too long. I was asking if it FELT too long.

While DJ's live and die by the length of a song---I can make it to the bathroom and back during John Mayer's "Why Georgia" but not his "Who Says"---actual song length doesn't probably register to most radio listeners.

But time is elastic. Songs can FEEL long.

Sometimes it has to do with tempo. Sometimes it has to do with a repeated vocal or musical phrase.

When we played Lucinda Williams' song "Are You Alright?", while the song was popular with some listeners, it seemed to get under the skin of others. It's no longer than, say, "The Weight" by The Band. But it felt longer to those listeners who complained, because of the repeated refrain.

And going way back, people used to make fun of John Mellencamp's "Small Town" because it seemed to endlessly say those two words. The song is only 3 minutes and 41 seconds long---which is pretty much dead average for a song on the radio---but it drove listeners nuts.

So nuts, that irritated folks would call up, just to let me know just how many times he says the phrase "Small Town." Care to count for yourself?