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

[Sam Mullins]

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.

 

First, I'll state that I don't get worked up about what other people like: if you are listening to music and enjoying it...hooray!

 

Personally, Mayer doesn't excite me at all musically (leaving aside his celebrity). I bought that first album that made him a budding star and liked it fine as a pleasant folk-pop outing. It was one of the things that everyone in our family (two teenage boys at the time) could get behind....so we all went to the his big arena show in our area. It was easily the most annoying/boring big name show I've seen in my life...so much guitar wanking.

[Al Quinn]

My guitar player friends say John Mayer's not original / innovative and, therefore, they don't hold him in as high regard as the legends. I'm not really hung up on originality because if you go down that path the list is very short. I enjoy a lot of John Mayer's music and have seen him in concert twice. He puts on a great show and his sidemen are amazing. Last time I saw him he had Larry Goldings on keys, Steve Jordon on Drums, and Pino Palladino on bass. One of the best bands I've ever seen and John Mayer played his ass off. He was also humble in acknowledging how fortunate he was to be surrounded by such great musicians.

[MathOfInsects]

For me it's because I never found him as compelling a Rock Guitar God as he was as a songwriter. He plays fine, there is just nothing that special going on there, for me. But I did find him to be a very strong songwriter--much "better than others" at that than he is as a noodle-maker. And in general the Rock Guitar God thing is an acquired taste anyway, so in his quest for capital-R respect, I think he might ironically have limited his appeal--which, as someone else said, does not mean he's not getting laid more than all of us put together. It's just not winning him any personal-popularity contests among the "shorter poppies."

[hipogrito]

Love the song, the sound, the arrangements, the 80's feel and will totally filter the lyrics as I've been always doing since the 80's (you grow that filter when you are born in a non-English speaking country and, even when you learn the language, you can still tune out the lyrics at your pleasure).

 

Fran

[BRW]

I only just now listened to the song. God that sucked. So - this 'new' song (which, as a composition is like 99% of Mayer"s other songs) is built around the "Africa" beat, he"s got Phillinganes playing a very similar poly brass sound and Lenny Castro. Don"t know the others, but is that also Toto"s new drummer.

 

His guitar sounds like 80"s Clapton, the video is shot like 'Forever Man'. Surprised he didn"t have Phillinganes doing those spin dance moves too.

 

I don"t think he"s humble enough to do a full-on homage. He probably thinks he invented that sound just now.

[MathOfInsects]

I only just now listened to the song. God that sucked. So - this 'new' song (which, as a composition is like 99% of Mayer"s other songs) is built around the "Africa" beat, he"s got Phillinganes playing a very similar poly brass sound and Lenny Castro. Don"t know the others, but is that also Toto"s new drummer.

 

His guitar sounds like 80"s Clapton, the video is shot like 'Forever Man'. Surprised he didn"t have Phillinganes doing those spin dance moves too.

 

I don"t think he"s humble enough to do a full-on homage. He probably thinks invented that sound just now.

:roll: :roll:

[stoken6]

Larry Goldings on keys, Steve Jordon on Drums, and Pino Palladino on bass.

Absolutely zero complaints about that lineup. The groove must have been immense.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[o0Ampy0o]

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.

 

In defense of John Mayer:

 

Citing "Hendrix/SRV" counts as one example. Other than this current Clapton tone which is current and not "over his career" what else supports this assertion, "Over his career, he has had a lot of success trying to sound like other people." ? I would not characterize his digging in and using the Hendrix/SRV tone as trying to sound like other people anymore than I would describe that of SRV trying to sound like Hendrix. There are a limited number of tones. Everyone shops around for "used tone" at the Used Tone lots. You grab a Strat and chances are your tone is going to sound like thousands of other Strat players. If you are going to play the blues with a Strat chances are the tone will be derivative of either the neck pick up Hendrix tone or the one a thousand other guys have used in every other genre. Granted Hendrix had a special way and it sounds sweet applied to blues. Of course if you like him at all you are going to incorporate some of that when you play. That is how it works.

 

Mayer is not trying to pass off Hendrix licks as his own. There are videos of him referencing Hendrix. He has been openly into Hendrix getting genuinely excited when he played licks through that Dumble-toned Two Rock. Yet when he wrote his own songs and played lead during this period he made the style his own. That is not mimicry. That is what EVERYONE does, everyone who is good enough at least. You cannot play guitar without utilizing 99.9999% of what has already been used countless times. And he certainly has created his own licks and composed songs displaying his superior skill even singing as he played what most guitarists cannot play. How many of these guitarists can play let alone sing along as they play Neon for instance? Who is he mimicking there?

 

 

A bit of rant about the consequences of John Mayer doing a video for GQ describing his style:

 

More power to him for dressing the way that he wants. However, I am not looking forward to, I am looking away in embarrassment for those who will copy his style when his clothing line is available. This reminds me of a guy I saw dressed in an all white casual suit like Don Johnson out of Miami Vice at a car wash overtipping the help trying to live up to the image. I doubt he fooled anyone except himself. As for Mayer's style of dress, in that video with the Akai MPC X he reminds me of Lucille Ball in character from I Love Lucy.

[DJkeys]

The title of this thread got my hopes up for something interesting, but as far as keyboards that just left me with a "been there done that" feeling.

 

Mayer is a guitar player for the ages, yet despite that I can't get into his work. This tune certainly doesn't help.

 

Agreed, he is a good guitarist but I can't stand his music-

 

-dj

[Spider76]

The JCM video was clearly a parody.

The John Mayer sounds and looks 100% like one, but I'm terrified it may be not.

[MotiDave]

I don"t know what 80s you guys enjoyed, all of my favorite 80s songs involve whiskey, strippers, heroin and/or blow. The only train we sang about was night train, when we couldn"t afford proper whiskey.

 

I think its a cool vibing tune. He"s not my thing so his good music vs his boring music is a dog whistle difference. i just can"t hear ya.

[Adan]

My main reaction to this thread is "dammit! here am I spending time thinking about John Mayer!" But it's good policy to revisit your opinions. Mayer's music has never sunk hooks into me, but if 40 bazillion people love him, maybe I'm just not opening my mind up in the right way. If nothing else, that's what a forum like this, with people of diverse tastes contributing, should be good for.

 

So several days after my initial listen to the video, I listened to it again. And wow, this song really does not "age" well. I found myself thinking not of Mayer but of Peggy Lee singing "is that all there is, my friend?" But wait, over to the right in the line of click bait is video of Billy Gibbons' new music. Never been a huge ZZ Top fan, but listening to Gibbons' golden years' output, I'm struck by its authenticity, grit, and lack of pretension. Is than an objective judgment, or am I just comparing it to Mayer's stillborn anthem to sex on trains (which I assume his song is about, but I really have no idea)?

 

Then, to truly cleanse the palette, I go back to the video I've been obsessing with the past few days: Freedom by Jon Baptiste. And there is Jon, bursting out of the screen in his pink and multi-colored suits. He doesn't need a 5 minute interview explaining why a lack of style is, ironically, a style. HIs tune, Freedom, doesn't give you time to become bored -- it's a constantly changing pastiche. And the video doesn't seem filtered through any commercial lense. Baptiste is larger than life and unfilterable. He seems incapable of wearing a disguise, he is just himself.

 

To be fair to Mayer, even the best artists produce dreck now and then. I will try again next year to see in Mayer what his fans see.

[ABECK]

Never been a huge ZZ Top fan, but listening to Gibbons' golden years' output, I'm struck by its authenticity, grit, and lack of pretension.

 

I was first exposed to ZZ Top during the Eliminator years, which I never liked. It took me a long time to discover the real ZZ Top. Agree totally, Billy is legit and seems (to this aging fan) to be getting better every year.

[Bill H.]

So several days after my initial listen to the video, I listened to it again. And wow, this song really does not "age" well.

 

Several days after my initial listen, I don't remember a damn thing about it - other than Greg Phillinganes playing keyboards spread eagle in the video. Love 'em or hate 'em, most tracks in the Billboard Top 10 have something that sticks in my mind. Not this time.

 

This thread may end up having longer legs than the song it's about.

[Sam Mullins]

I don"t know what 80s you guys enjoyed, all of my favorite 80s songs involve whiskey, strippers, heroin and/or blow. The only train we sang about was night train, when we couldn"t afford proper whiskey.

 

I think its a cool vibing tune. He"s not my thing so his good music vs his boring music is a dog whistle difference. i just can"t hear ya.

 

My 80's was Thomas Dolby, Elvis Costello, Prefab Sprout, Los Lobos, etc. When my eldest son (who listened to things like Jaco, Glenn Gould, Chill Peppers, Hendrix, etc in high school) went through a 80's hair metal phase when he was in college, I told him "Hey...that's our sh*tty music...your generation should find their own sh*tty music."