I used to be on the Nominating Committee of the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. I stopped going when one of the top guys there kept telling me Patti Smith isn't rock'n'roll and shouldn't get in. After a couple years of me not showing up to the meetings they kicked me off. Ironically, the same year they kicked me off, Patti was voted in! I still vote after the nominations are put in by the committee and a couple days ago my ballot arrived in the mail. Voters are asked to pick 5-- in order of preference; it's a weighted ballot.

Let's do a LNMC version tonight. I'll tabulate the ballots and randomly pick one voter to get an Impeach Cheney cap. Send your ballots to downwithtyranny@aol.com. The nominees for the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame-- the one Patti was supposedly not rock'n'roll enough for-- are:

Afrika Bambaataa, Beastie Boys, Chic, Leonard Cohen, Dave Clark Five, Madonna, John Mellencamp, Donna Summer, and The Ventures.

Send 5 picks in order of preference. Your first pick gets five points and your last gets one point. Although I was incredibly nonplussed by this year's crop, this is the band that got my #1 vote, although I had a harder time deciding if I should pick Walk Don't Run or this song as tonight's LNMC track:

[For those of you interested in something a tad classical

tonight, Our sister site Newstalgia has the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in a live concert recorded on October 9, 2007 playing Ravel and Poulenc.]

Hard to believe, but James McMurtry wrote this song five years ago and unfortunately, it's still as topical and powerful as if it was written yesterday.

Excerpts from a 2006 interview follows the jump:

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Three of America's most celebrated singer-songwriters will be touring minor league ballparks this summer. Bob Dylan will be bringing John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson along for this year's ballpark tour, which kicks off on July 2nd in Sauget, IL, a St. Louis suburb.

Dylan will be touring in support of his new album Together Through Life, which comes out tomorrow.

Dates after the flip.

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Ask the average person which John Mellencamp song is their favorite and chances are you'll hear a lot of "Pink Houses," "Jack and Diane," "Hurt So Good," "Small Town," maybe the version of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" he did with Me'Shell Ndegeocello in 1994. Last year's classic "Our Country" didn't chart high but a lot of people who love America discovered it anyway. If the mayor of Jena, Louisiana has his way, Mellencamp's newest single, "Jena," won't chart very high either. Read why here-- or maybe you can just figure it out by watching:

(guest blogged by Howie Klein)

John Mellencamp is an authentic, all-American voice from the heartland. He never did move to L.A.; still lives with his family in his native Indiana.

It's an old story that John's views aren't often in sync with the Bush Regime's. But one thing is clear: even if Mellencamp doesn't support the occupation of Iraq, he certainly supports the troops.

A few nights ago, in the tradition of Bob Hope-- and on the same cramped stage at Walter Reed Hospital where Hope played-- John sang 14 of his most beloved songs for 200 wounded vets and their families. The full story is here and one of the most popular songs among the inspired and grateful audience is tonight's selection: