New John Mayer Tune - Wait, are keyboards cool again????

[o0Ampy0o]

1:55

 

[video:youtube]

[drawback]

 

This song also reminds me of Don Henly solo material.

 

I"d take that as a compliment.

[MathOfInsects]

Since we're on the subject of the 80s....this was the video that prompted the whole conversation about the new John Mayer song. I had never seen this, and fair warning: you will never be able to unsee it.

 

Please don't stop watching until you have seen both the "sax solo" and the attempted James Brown caping.

 

[Shamanczarek]

Alert: John Mayer on Jimmy Kimmel tonight.

[o0Ampy0o]

 

This song also reminds me of Don Henley solo material.

 

I"d take that as a compliment.

It wasn't meant as a negative.

 

It wasn't a compliment either.

[o0Ampy0o]

That John Mellencamp video is the most cringe-worthy performance I have seen since this:

 

[video:youtube]

[o0Ampy0o]

This may have been playing on MTV when the live show took place.

 

With a few differences this one fits within the typical antics of the music video format.

 

[video:youtube]

[CEB]

The dude was doing Katy Perry at one time. He"s a legend.

[Adan]

The dude was doing Katy Perry at one time. He"s a legend.

 

This, in my opinion, is the "John Mayer problem." He's an elite instrumentalist, and his vocals somehow work, but it's overshadowed by John Mayer the Rock Star. Watched an interview of him commenting on his gig with the Dead and he said something like "this should establish once and for all that I'm a musician first and a rock star second." I admire the self-awareness and vague hint of humility in that statement.

 

Why, in this video, is there a shot of a very attractive female photographer taking a picture of John then lowering her camera to stare at him lustily? Does he really need to burnish his image as a stud? I almost hit stop right there but kept going for the sake of science.

 

Speaking just as a music fan, a good litmus test for listening to new music is whether the first song makes me want to go further into the album. This song (I've already forgotten the name of it) does not.

 

So much music and so little time. I can picture myself 30 years younger trying to date a girl who's into John Mayer, buying this album and playing it in the car while driving her home and before asking her out. Good times! (hypothetically)

[ABECK]

Are keyboards cool again?????

One could make a strong argument that keyboards/synthesizers have been the primary instrument of pop music for more than a few years now.

 

dB

c'mon Dave, we all know the chicks go home with the guitarists, while we are looking for someone to help load out our rigs!

 

As for the tune - I like it because it sounds like Phil Collins produced Clapton. I was a teen in the 80s, so this hits my musical magnetic north. Mayer has hits and misses (naturally, as his catalog is HUGE now). This tune will be a popular song for the summer, then be forgotten. They can't all be "Slow dancin' in a Burning room." And that's fine.

[nursers]

Since we're on the subject of the 80s....this was the video that prompted the whole conversation about the new John Mayer song. I had never seen this, and fair warning: you will never be able to unsee it.

 

Please don't stop watching until you have seen both the "sax solo" and the attempted James Brown caping.

 

 

God I can't unsee that. It certainly explains why Mellencamp disavows the vast majority of that period now.

[ABECK]

The rock star you can take home to mother.

[Bill H.]

Are keyboards cool again?????

One could make a strong argument that keyboards/synthesizers have been the primary instrument of pop music for more than a few years now.

 

dB

 

Absolutely... for at least the last two decades. Is playing keyboards spread eagle cool again? Dunno about that one... my guess is that it's cool for a one-off video.

 

Leads are becoming cool again - or at least acceptable if they support the track. Bieber's ubiquitous "Peaches" is another example - a tasty synth lead over the outro. That track has been everywhere this spring, and kids are definitely digging it - including the end.

 

I don't want to get too much into Justin Bieber, but there's a stupid silly track that you can't get out of your head once you hear it a couple of times. The perfect pop song I guess.

 

Edit: Here it is if you've somehow missed it.

 

[video:youtube]

[Morrissey]

Since we're on the subject of the 80s....this was the video that prompted the whole conversation about the new John Mayer song. I had never seen this, and fair warning: you will never be able to unsee it.

 

Please don't stop watching until you have seen both the "sax solo" and the attempted James Brown caping.

 

You warned us and I didn't heed the warning. I have a generally positive view of John Mellencamp, which makes this video even more bizarre and unsettling.

[Moonglow]

"Are keyboard players cool again?"

 

[Moonglow]

Since we're on the subject of the 80s....this was the video that prompted the whole conversation about the new John Mayer song. I had never seen this, and fair warning: you will never be able to unsee it.

 

Please don't stop watching until you have seen both the "sax solo" and the attempted James Brown caping.

 

Man, that was awesome. That sax solo was truly special. I wonder if they held auditions? I'm going to send this to our sax player and advise that he needs cop some of this guy's licks.

[Mitch Towne]

The dude was doing Katy Perry at one time. He"s a legend.

 

 

Why, in this video, is there a shot of a very attractive female photographer taking a picture of John then lowering her camera to stare at him lustily? Does he really need to burnish his image as a stud? I almost hit stop right there but kept going for the sake of science.

 

 

Good times! (hypothetically)

 

Because that"s the gag. 80s videos always had that kind of thing. He"s just sticking to the bit.

[ChiefDanG]

Since we're on the subject of the 80s....this was the video that prompted the whole conversation about the new John Mayer song. I had never seen this, and fair warning: you will never be able to unsee it.

 

Please don't stop watching until you have seen both the "sax solo" and the attempted James Brown caping.

 

 

Thanks a lot, MOI !

You"ve managed to ruin one of the few John Mellonhead songs I sorta liked.

[o0Ampy0o]

Speaking just as a music fan, a good litmus test for listening to new music is whether the first song makes me want to go further into the album. This song (I've already forgotten the name of it) does not.

Many times a band, management and/or label wants the first song to do something while the material on the album is indicative of another mindset. This is subjective but an example is the Genesis album featuring Ray Wilson. The first track released off the album Calling All Stations was Congo. Based on Congo I had no interest in the rest of the album. Whatever the reasoning for choosing to release Congo over other tracks, the points Genesis needed to make were that Wilson's voice was of a quality on the level of Collins and Gabriel and not just capable of covering their compositions and to show that this new iteration of Genesis could produce something good. Not About Us showcased Wilson singing in his element, his key and in his style rather than presenting him as the new vocalist singing with the Invisible Touch band and covering the Genesis library. I believe choosing Congo as the first song to release off that album had a major role leading to the album being rejected, the supporting tour ending early and abandoning Wilson as the new vocalist.

 

There are other cases where there is only one good song on the entire album like Paul Carrack's One Good Reason with Don't Shed A Tear or Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy with Someone Saved My Life Tonight. (Again subjective).

[MathOfInsects]

On the topic of John Mayer...the dbag factor is very hard to get past for me. I appreciate his skill as a technician but not enough to get past the "other stuff." And to my mind the stuff he did that he seems least proud of--that great singer-songwriter material from way back--is still his real strength. "No Such Thing"? Fuggeddaboudit. Great song. Once he decided to go the Guitar God route, I lost interest, and the intervening years of stories about him--many self-reported--have done nothing to bring me back.

[Piktor]

 

Because that"s the gag. 80s videos always had that kind of thing. He"s just sticking to the bit.

Right. From the pink guitar to the CRT monitors, etc, etc., clearly the vibe is intentional.

 

As for lyrics, tastes vary, of course, but I have a much more negative reaction to Beiber's schoolboy-scrawling-in-a-scribbler lyrics than Mayer's words. (Justin, read a book, or something now and then.) Everyone I know finds writing song lyrics hard, especially the guys who are actually good at it.

[pinkfloydcramer]

I like the Mayer song. Not surprisingly, I also really like EC's early 80's music and that period's retro analog keys in general- just more compelling and ballsy of a sound, to me, in comparison to later period early digital. The lyrics may not be profound but with "Daughters" and other songs, JM has proven he can write good (even sensitive) lyrics. Doesn't bother me in the least that he may be an imperfect human. If rock n roll was only written, sung and performed by choir boys we wouldn't have much rock n roll worth listening to.

[elsongs]

This might be how the song started out (Skip to around the 6 minute mark and watch to the end):

 

[video:youtube]

[BRW]

It's funny. At some point, someone (usually a non-keyboard player) always "rediscovers" keyboards. Or the 80's.

 

*

 

Regarding Mayer, check out this video. It looks like a skit from SNL, but it's not - he's being dead serious.

 

[video:youtube]

[TommyS]

Once again upon listening / watching John Mayer, I fly into a rage of indifference,,,

[analogika]

"Are keyboard players cool again?"

 

 

Greg Phillingaines has always been cool and will never *not* be cool.

[ABECK]

"Are keyboard players cool again?"

 

 

Greg Phillingaines has always been cool and will never *not* be cool.

 

No arguments from me on that one!

[Outkaster]

John Mayer seems to have a bad reputation with a lot of musicians? Not sure where that started?

[BRW]

John Mayer seems to have a bad reputation with a lot of musicians? Not sure where that started?

 

As in, how? As an employer, personality-wise, as a musician? Link?

[ABECK]

John Mayer seems to have a bad reputation with a lot of musicians? Not sure where that started?

 

As in, how? As an employer, personality-wise, as a musician? Link?

 

I'll hazard a guess it's as a musician. Over his career, he has had a lot of success trying to sound like other people. This vid is a perfect example...his tone, phrasing and arrangement are 100% Clapton from the Journeyman era. Not just close. VERY close. He's done a lot of that over his career with other artists (e.g. Hendrix/SRV). At times it seems to go beyond influence to straight up mimikry. He does a very good job at it too - he's no slouch. It's odd, because his initial fame came from sounding like himself...then he seemed to work hard to sound more like other people. My guess is that causes animosity (doesn't bother me). Either that, or because he probably gets laid whenever the wind blows.