srsly though... i'd pick "half of my heart," but i can only ever remember hearing that one, "waiting on the world" (snoozy, stars-in-yr-eyes passive anthem for "change"), "yr body" (smarmy) and "heartbreak warfare" (ugh son)
― i genuinely thought when i first joined that he was the admin (ilxor), Thursday, 16 December 2010 17:34 (thirteen years ago) link
Waiting On The World To Change (live)
i only know like three of these, i guess i would vote for this one, altho i have no idea what the "live" version is about
― *plop*timist (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 16 December 2010 17:56 (thirteen years ago) link
"no such thing" obv
― The Reverend, Thursday, 16 December 2010 17:59 (thirteen years ago) link
no such thing
― ok (Tape Store), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:58 (thirteen years ago) link
I've learned to love "Half of My Heart."
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:33 (thirteen years ago) link
― *plop*timist (J0rdan S.), Thursday, December 16, 2010 12:56 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
i fucked that up, the song before it "Who Did You Think I Was" is from a live album and i added the (live) part to the wrong title. that song is ass, though, you should vote for something else.
― some dude, Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:34 (thirteen years ago) link
I'd like to say 'Clarity by a mile', but I like "Bigger Than My Body" a lot too. But after that it's a drop.
― da croupier, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:10 (thirteen years ago) link
The relative failure of "Clarity" to "Daughters" couldn't have helped him on his path to ultimate douche-itude
― da croupier, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:12 (thirteen years ago) link
aw, you should vote for "Clarity," you're the only other person i know of who knows how good it is. surprised you don't like anything since then, though, imo "Half of My Heart" and "Say" and "Heartbreak Warfare" are all top notch.
― some dude, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:26 (thirteen years ago) link
I've never been able to decide if "Waiting on the World to Change" is intended as a critique of passivity or just as an honest expression of powerlessness. I don't like the song very much, but I think it's sort of a good cultural signpost. Of some kind.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Christgau's 2008 presentation at EMP asked the same question.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh, I def voted for "clarity." Just had to admit I loved "bigger" too. Liked about half of continuum, but the singles weren't so hot ("Belief" is probably my fave by default, "Waiting" is like Randy Newman without the irony). The Battle Studies stuff just seemed really bland and trite, feels like his whole smart-guy-who-knows-he's-hot-shit thing has curdled since it went tabloid.
― da croupier, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:29 (thirteen years ago) link
what was the answer?!?!
xp
― goole, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:29 (thirteen years ago) link
nothin mayer has said implies its a critique, there's a whole thread about it somewhere.
― da croupier, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:30 (thirteen years ago) link
wish Randy would actually cover "Waiting" just to point out the absurdity of it
I don't remember. I think he accused him of wanting it both ways. I know I was thirty and ran out for a water.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah Randy Newman w/o the irony sounds about right.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:31 (thirteen years ago) link
is why georgia the one where he goes OOHHHHH BUT YOU KNEW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MILES AND COLTRANE
― da croupier, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:35 (thirteen years ago) link
woops, no, that's the album track "comfortable"
"Why Georgia" was big on adult contempo station i'd have to listen to when working breakfast shifts at a shitty sandwich shop circa 2003. just thinking about the song reminds me of making egg sandwiches, but i really do think it's got a pretty great melody.
― some dude, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:39 (thirteen years ago) link
afaik "waiting on the world to change" is the last of these i've heard
― The Reverend, Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:54 (thirteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 00:01 (thirteen years ago) link
dreaming with a broken heart
― Bitch, it cold outside!!! BURR (San Te), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 01:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Heartbreak Warfare
i heard this song on the radio today & it totally rules -- would like to change my vote
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 22 December 2010 01:52 (thirteen years ago) link
it's pretty decent, though I've always been kind of lukewarm on that one, mostly because it clearly signified him moving back away from his blues-infused pop on Continuum and headed to something that wasn't even as engaging as what he did before.
in fact the whole album is pretty boring sans a few songs. even the singles didn't seem to be up to their usual standard.
― Bitch, it cold outside!!! BURR (San Te), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 01:54 (thirteen years ago) link
red wine and ambienyou're talking shit again
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 22 December 2010 01:56 (thirteen years ago) link
I know I was thirty and ran out for a water.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, December 16, 2010 2:30 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark
an unsung typo
― congratulations (n/a), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 02:00 (thirteen years ago) link
J0rdan S., your taste in rock/pop deserves its own forum separate from ILM
― 486.52 (CaptainLorax), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 03:54 (thirteen years ago) link
i don't even know what that means -- not to mention that my tastes in rock & pop are not really abnormal by ilm standards (except for maybe extreme blink 182 stannery)
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 22 December 2010 04:43 (thirteen years ago) link
heard "No Such Thing" in the mall yesterday, that is a good-ass song
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 13:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 23 December 2010 00:01 (thirteen years ago) link
http://cdn.20minutos.es/img2/recortes/2011/10/06/34013-944-550.jpg
― markers, Friday, 16 August 2013 17:22 (ten years ago) link
glad "no such thing" won because if not that would've been stupid
― markers, Friday, 16 August 2013 17:23 (ten years ago) link
fathers be good to your markers, markers will love like you do
― some dude, Friday, 16 August 2013 17:29 (ten years ago) link
i actually like "bigger than my body" a lot
― dyl, Friday, 16 August 2013 21:27 (ten years ago) link
this guy can really shred!
― ( (brimstead), Friday, 16 August 2013 22:00 (ten years ago) link
thought this revive was gonna be the album out next week with Frank Ocean and Katy Perry features and a Taylor Swift diss
― some dude, Friday, 16 August 2013 22:38 (ten years ago) link
wow that is a hideous sentence
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Friday, 16 August 2013 22:41 (ten years ago) link
he moved to some ranch in montana and listened to the dead 24/7.
― ( (brimstead), Friday, 16 August 2013 22:41 (ten years ago) link
http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18mkzdvkkinc8jpg/original.jpg
― markers, Sunday, 8 September 2013 06:49 (ten years ago) link
makes sense, he's kind of the Ben Affleck of music
new album is boring even by his standards
― suggest ban & threadban method man & redman (some dude), Sunday, 8 September 2013 16:34 (ten years ago) link
i wish i was paying attention to apple when he was doing shit w/ jobs during keynotes
― markers, Sunday, 8 September 2013 16:35 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MRDDJjTwTw
wow, kanye IS the new steve jobs, he knows john mayer too
― suggest ban & threadban method man & redman (some dude), Sunday, 8 September 2013 16:45 (ten years ago) link
http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/761181fda92ac8f1225f7a1a29509c3d753cce2c.jpg
― markers, Sunday, 8 September 2013 16:51 (ten years ago) link
thread need more pictures of the modern day john mayer that gets to see katy perry naked
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/ac1394dbdcca6a36cbf486633b129cd813095ac3/r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/07/13/1373736450003-AP-People-John-Mayer-1307131332_4_3.jpg
http://www.billboard.com/files/styles/promo_650/public/media/john-mayer-press-2013-650-430.jpg
― suggest ban & threadban method man & redman (some dude), Sunday, 8 September 2013 16:56 (ten years ago) link
Craftsman, feh. I wouldn't sit in his chairs -- and he'd use that one as a sex metaphor.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 11 May 2018 01:26 (five years ago) link
Oh please.
Sob Rock. July 16. pic.twitter.com/Hhn2sO9KRY— John Mayer (@JohnMayer) June 1, 2021
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:40 (two years ago) link
You want to play with yourself in a hotel room and cry, go right ahead.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:42 (two years ago) link
is there an album cover he's directly aping or is it just a general 80s AOR look?
― JoeStork, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:43 (two years ago) link
Are we sure it's not "SOB rock"?
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:43 (two years ago) link
that song did the most with the concept. where the synths actually came to the forefront and were percussive and stabby rather than kind of laying in the background.
good lead single choice, adn now I have another karaoke tune to sing.
― making splashes at Dan Flashes (Neanderthal), Friday, 16 July 2021 14:46 (two years ago) link
he says "i loved seven other women and they all were you", barf.
"Four of you that want to own meTwo of you that want to stone meOne of you says she's a friend of mine"
― “Heroin” (ft. Bobby Gillespie) (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 16 July 2021 15:00 (two years ago) link
The video just reads to me like a low-budget parody of the style. Maren Morris’s involvement is pretty random.
― aging goth couple™ (morrisp), Friday, 16 July 2021 15:11 (two years ago) link
I mean, she sings backup on three of the album's songs, so probably not that random.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 16 July 2021 15:16 (two years ago) link
I mean on the album generally (I guess she does love her 80s Mercedes…).
― aging goth couple™ (morrisp), Friday, 16 July 2021 15:18 (two years ago) link
I was preparing a guy for his 'contemporary guitar' college audition about 10 years ago. All he wanted to do was John Mayer tunes.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Friday, 16 July 2021 15:33 (two years ago) link
which ones
― making splashes at Dan Flashes (Neanderthal), Friday, 16 July 2021 15:44 (two years ago) link
I like this album, but the 80s-ness of it mostly begins and ends with Last Train.
However, Why You No Love Me instills me with a murderous rage.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Friday, 16 July 2021 16:24 (two years ago) link
I skimmed thru it on my morning drive. His gtr is sort of Knopfler-esque on "Wild Blue," but mainly it just sounds like an album of bad John Mayer songs. (And as already pointed out, the melody of the final track is totally "I Want It That Way.")
― aging goth couple™ (morrisp), Friday, 16 July 2021 16:31 (two years ago) link
He should have hired Hornsby to play on Shot in the Dark. It's clear the song is modeled on him, so not hearing his distinctive sound on it is a big letdown.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Friday, 16 July 2021 16:41 (two years ago) link
They're both in the Dead family, too.
― aging goth couple™ (morrisp), Friday, 16 July 2021 16:48 (two years ago) link
"Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and "Come When I Call". There were a couple of things you were required to play as well but these were the 'own choice' tunes. He was really good. xps to Neanderthal
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Friday, 16 July 2021 16:49 (two years ago) link
He already knew these songs. I was helping more with the required pieces and theory/reading. I was just reminded of it by the 'guitar guy's discussion.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Friday, 16 July 2021 16:53 (two years ago) link
lol missed seeing this ad
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E6HKGQ0WYAILHX4.jpg
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 16 July 2021 17:40 (two years ago) link
this guy is truly one of the dumbest fuckin lyricists in history
'm the boy in your other phoneLighting up inside your drawer at home all alonePushing 40 in the friend zone
I mean...I dunno, the mimicry of a certain mid-to-late 80s Hornsby/Dire Straits/etc production style is impressive in a way but he just doesn't really have the goods in terms of songs
this feels like a 1988 album that would have had 2 singles that peaked at 28 and 32 on the Billboard charts then disappeared
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 16 July 2021 17:59 (two years ago) link
Are we supposed to be believe that Mayer has a hard time getting laid? His penis's well documented white supremacy views aside
― chr1sb3singer, Friday, 16 July 2021 18:10 (two years ago) link
I think the angst being expressed in these songs is that he gets laid all the time but not by The Right Girl.
― aging goth couple™ (morrisp), Friday, 16 July 2021 18:22 (two years ago) link
"Wild Blue" stands out on the album because the lyrics are simple and the guitar noodling goes on a long time, and it's just good chill beach-and-bistro music.
I wish the album were as playful and funny as its ad campaign, but I do think he's thoroughly self-aware as a pop songwriter and not aiming for confession any more than Diane Warren is.
I think a lot about the post in the Ryan Adams thread a couple years ago that suggested the music industry invested in Adams to be what Mayer ended up becoming: a pop songwriter, connected to the lineage of those before him in fun ways (touring as part of The Dead), connected to pop culture beyond music (doing shows with Chappelle), and so on.
― ... (Eazy), Friday, 16 July 2021 19:54 (two years ago) link
honestly didn’t know he wrote his own songs, Dianne Warren analogy makes sense
― brimstead, Friday, 16 July 2021 19:58 (two years ago) link
thats why all the guitar hero dad nerds love him - he writes his own stuff and has guitar chops and brings in a bunch of great studio cats to work with him
― pure rim rest (Spottie), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:04 (two years ago) link
I've yet to hear any guitar work from him that seems the least bit compelling to me, but he definitely seems to get a lot of kudos in that world
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:08 (two years ago) link
think he says on record he just dumbs it down and keeps it simple
― pure rim rest (Spottie), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:16 (two years ago) link
Continuum has most of it but honestly the most he shredded was on Chappelle's Show lmao
― making splashes at Dan Flashes (Neanderthal), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:17 (two years ago) link
lots of 'tasteful' playing yeah
― pure rim rest (Spottie), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:17 (two years ago) link
Yeah his studio stuff isn't really where to hear it. But I'm also not going to waste any energy trying to convince anyone on ilx that his playing with Dead & Co is occasionally worth hearing.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:18 (two years ago) link
this is his best work IMO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynq7pAEwp6Y
― making splashes at Dan Flashes (Neanderthal), Friday, 16 July 2021 20:22 (two years ago) link
Given the period detail, will be funny if this is his New Jersey!
― ... (Eazy), Saturday, 17 July 2021 17:15 (two years ago) link
20 years deep in a steady career, it seems unlikely he'll ever have a New Jersey—unless his debut album counts. I imagine he shed some "Your Body..."-only fans/album buyers by the time of his next one.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Saturday, 17 July 2021 21:31 (two years ago) link
I looked up his stats for the NJ thread, and, well, yeah he doesn't really qualify. Big debut, followed by several solid sellers albeit with ultimately diminishing #s, ala Pearl Jam.
It's not the same, but I do recall tons of copies of his Trio live album hitting used bins shortly after it came out.
― “Heroin” (ft. Bobby Gillespie) (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 17 July 2021 22:12 (two years ago) link
Something I made and posted elsewhere on ILM
https://frinkiac.com/video/S04E05/ZcxmdX47EyOkm0rfXgzDlPTKch4=.gif
― “Heroin” (ft. Bobby Gillespie) (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 17 July 2021 22:27 (two years ago) link
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, July 16, 2021 3:08 PM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink
― pure rim rest (Spottie), Friday, July 16, 2021 3:16 PM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink
I've said before I'd like to hear him stretch out on something, maybe take some risks, make mistakes. Even in the Dead & Co footage I've seen he plays it safer than I'd like, part of why I more enjoy Billy Strings with Billy and the Kids even though you could make a case for John Mayer as the "better" guitarist. Like Mayer is obviously a guitar wiz -- if you've ever seen his guitar tik toks where he breaks stuff down, he is undeniably brilliant. But there's something about him that just can't bear to allow any cracks in the perfect facade. Even this new record, the concept, the way it's marketed, the sound, really "nails" the aesthetic. Does it do anything else?
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 22 July 2021 19:33 (two years ago) link
Fwiw, part of the thing with Dead & Co, especially in the early tours, is that Bob Weir is the de facto leader and he can be weirdly risk averse for a guy who built is legacy with a band like that. There were several times I'd get really interested in what Mayer was playing during a jam, only to have Bobby ripcord and overpower him with the song's main riff to bring it back in. It's gotten a lot better in recent tours though.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 22 July 2021 19:40 (two years ago) link
"his legacy"
MORE LIKE SAAB ROCK AMIRITE
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 22 July 2021 19:43 (two years ago) link
https://img.discogs.com/aEDzC0rVjpqPJTTvL1C7LDg4kSA=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-4096718-1355103855-8401.jpeg.jpg
― Max Ice (morrisp), Thursday, 22 July 2021 20:11 (two years ago) link
continuum: really good lowkey neo-soul record. so good that i look at most of what he's released since and think wtf happened to this guy
― ivy (BradNelson), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 15:16 (nine months ago) link
otm. Continuum is his classic, and then he abandoned that and went back to mostly middling stuff
― sad Mings of dynasty (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 15:18 (nine months ago) link
actually remember being surprised when I first heard "Vultures", as I hadn't heard anything of his after "Your Body is a Wonderland", and was like "this is THAT guy?"
― sad Mings of dynasty (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 15:22 (nine months ago) link
"vultures" sounds like a freaking maxwell song, it is outrageously wonderful
― ivy (BradNelson), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 15:24 (nine months ago) link
Surprised “vultures” was not released as a single, it’s one of his best songs and sounds to me very radio friendly.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 15:55 (nine months ago) link
I did have to endure an xgau panel paper where he went all-in on "Waiting for the World to Change."
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 15:57 (nine months ago) link
But yes, agree that Continuum is his definitive album.
Great production, great musicianship and his songwriting improves a lot from previous efforts. It’s the one that best balances his pop, rock, blues, soul influences into a John Mayer cohesive style. This album and the live performances around the era showed and undeniable skill and knowledge, shame he wasn’t up to continue on this path.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 16:04 (nine months ago) link
i dont trust myself sounds like a dangelo song
― Spottie, Tuesday, 27 June 2023 16:27 (nine months ago) link
that song was weird for me because I got into this album because the girl I was dating at the time was obsessed and both of us identified HEAVILY with "I Don't Trust Myself" lyrically at the time, but for different reasons.
was a beautiful bonding experience listening to the songs together.
― sad Mings of dynasty (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 27 June 2023 16:34 (nine months ago) link
best Mayer song is Back to You imo.
― dc, Tuesday, 27 June 2023 17:06 (nine months ago) link