Obsession

I must officially accept it. Because to accept is to move on right? I have a new obsession. John Mayer. Its not a normal "oh my god his new album is out its so great i live by the songs" kind of obsession. But something more unhealthy. I check his blog daily. I have read all of his Esquire articles, most of his interviews, listened to podcasts, fantasize about our imaginary time together...do I really need to keep going? In an effort to purge myself of this obsession, I will write about it here.


His new album, Continuum, is out and it is definitely getting a lot of playtime on my iPod. I (just like all the other reviewers) do laud his effort to breakaway from his pop song image (it must be said though that I loved both of his previous albums and thought they were much more mature than he receives credit for and his pop status is mostly due to the singles that get the most waveplay, i.e. Wonderland). If you listen carefully though, I don't think his recent effort is too different from previous work. My favorite track has got to be Gravity. I can't get enough of this song. It also helps that it was featured in House a couple of weeks ago and now I can't sever the image of Dr. House reclaiming his cane and limp to this tune. Vultures and Belief are also great songs. But you can just see Don't Trust Myself becoming another Wonderland or Daughters. It will get heavy rotation on the radio. I'm glad he pushed for Waiting on the World to Change to be the first single released from this album. It was a good statement to make.

Now if I must criticize, and I think I must, I really really wish he would step up lyrically. He is a very intelligent guy. This comes across clearly in his other writings and interviews. But in writing lyrics for his songs he seems to be holding himself back for some reason. Splendor pointed out to me that this may be because, really the guy lives a blessed life with no strife. But I'm not buying it. Sure its true that grief is great inspiration and the healthy and well adjusted make for boring material, but there's always some heartache you can draw on, if not your own struggles then someone else's. Many writers, photographers, artists seek inspiration elsewhere outside of themselves. No I think its something else. I think he's holding back because he enjoys his commercial success and who wouldn't? But I think he should give his fans and his own writing abilities more credit and express himself lyrically on a deeper level. One not so surface and superficial.