Mellencamp Covers Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'"

"The Times They Are A-Changin'," or at least John Mellencamp hopes. With the main theme of this upcoming election being "change," Mellencamp has recorded a cover version of Bob Dylan's famed "battle-cry for a generation." Mellencamp's version, recorded in stark black and white with Cougar performing solo on acoustic guitar, can be exclusively viewed now on his website. And as Mellencamp has made pretty clear in the past, he hopes the change comes from Obama and not McCain. Mellencamp has covered Dylan's songs many times in the past, from performances of "Farewell Angelina" to "All Along the Watchtower" to "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," but none of the covers thus far carry the political weight and "relevant ideals of the past" of his rendition of "Times."

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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