So, Mayer captured your attention much like he did mine. A 28 year-old suburban mother of two children under the age of 3, I am atleast 5 years past the college music/club scene, let alone the typical highschool and even middle school girl fanbase Mayer seems to attract. I had begun to feel a little foolish spending my children's naptime surfing the web for more information about Mayer, only to come across a bunch of teeny-bopper commentary on how "hot" he is. I have to admit, when I first "discovered" him while flipping through the channels one night in Novemember 2003 ( on a replay of Austin City Limits on PBS) I was taken by his boyish charm and unusual facial contortments while pouring his heart out, seemingly genuine. Usually I would just flip on, but something mesmerized me about him--again, those uninhibited facial expressions-and then when I actually listened to the words-Wow! For the first time in years I heard lyrics that got my attention! I had to know, is this guy as real as he seems? I too, found myself at Target, buying his latest CD-Heavier Things! By the way, I am so out of it musically, that I didn't know this was not his first CD until a friend heard Heavier Things and said, "Yeah, that's the guy who sings 'Your Body is a Wonderland' and that other song about running through the halls of your highschool screaming at the top of your lungs! So, sorry it took me so long to respond--I'm probably not the typical John Mayer fan, but, then again, that's probably a good thing, right?

I didn't hear John for myself. A friend of mine suggested I listen to him & I fell in love right away. I have 2 children ages 2 & 4 & even my 2 year old knows some of the words to his songs. Ask my 4 year old who is the best singer in the wold & she will tell you John Mayer. I didn't put that in her head either, she just has great taste! Anyway, was curious if your kids like him or not...

My daughter is 2 and my son is 10 months. They rock to anything I do, for now, anyway. That will change soon enough, I'm sure. . .especially when they hit the teen years, right? My husband says he feels sorry for them, though, because, "Heavier Things" is the only thing that we listen to in the van. I never get tired of hearing John's voice, his guitar, the lyrics. I mean, how often do you find a CD in which you enjoy every single song--and it's not because they "sound" similar? Actually, it's like therapy for me. And then the songs are stuck in my head all day, and strangely, unlike an 'I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner' tune, I don't mind! I have yet to tire of John Mayer. That is refreshing for me considering before I "discovered" him on PBS that one late night, my enjoyment of music consisted of toddler tunes and stopping the perpetual scan mode of the car radio for an occassional eighties "oldie" (ahh. . .can you feel the generational shift?!)

My 8-year-old son prefers Tool, Rush, and The Fixx over John Mayer and similar strummer-type music. I guess musical taste can develop quite a bit in six years, because his favorites at age 2 were the Teletubbies theme, the X-Files theme, and Ironic by Alanis Morrisette (sp?).

Driving in the car the other day, listening to John Mayer, of course, I noticed that my 10 month old was banging his plastic key rattle and "singing" along with NEON. Which, might I add, was cranked up because Mom was jammin' as well! So, maybe there is hope for some good musical taste to run in the family!

i have to admit that what i've heard of Mayer (basically, "Your Body Is A Wonderland") hasn't done much for me...but then i heard an interview with him on "all things considered"...and it made me want to pick up one of his cds. the guy is clearly very talented and puts a ton of thought into how he constructs his music.

Mark, I heard him on ATC as well, and though I had already been considering a purchase, maybe, that caused me to order two of his CDs. <grin>

I find his vocal affectations and facial contortions annoying as hell - he seems like a 2nd-rate Dave Matthews to me, and given how much I like Dave Matthews - very little - this is not good. But then, I'm an asshole.

I LOVE John Mayer - so go shove it down your piehole Eric.

I would but John Mayer's facial contortions ruin my appetite

yeah right, nothing ruins your appetite. just admit it John rules and you are jealous, you didn't even like Eminem and see how wrong you were there!!!

This guy seems like a big put-on to me. I saw an interview with him and he's full of the kinds of sentiments aimed specifically at getting women to swoon for him, things like saying he still sleeps with a teddy bear, stuff like that. He's so calculatedly "adorable" that he's just creepy. His whole vocal style is a put-on, too, he does everything he can to sound like Dave Matthews - it sounds like he's doing a voice, not actually singing in his own real voice. The only thing I can think of when I hear about his adoring fans is that he's a Dave Matthews knock-off for the people who think the Dave Matthews Band is, somehow, too weird. Like, "Eww, there's violins and saxes and flutes. I wish DMB didn't have that yucky stuff, because I like Dave's voice. Oh, wait, here's John Mayer - he doesn't have all that blechy stuff. And he still sleeps with a teddy bear! Isn't he cute?!"

that's it! both you and eric are assholes!!

;-)

Right on, Tom. I actually like a fair amount of the music of both DM and JM - I just hate their voices.

I used to love the Dave Matthews Band while also loving Tool and Death Metal if you can believe it, but I had a slow falling out. I hate Dave Matthews fans so much because they are "Dave" fans and not music fans. Many of them don't realize other music exists other than "Dave" songs, albums and bootlegs. They probably are or once were in a frat or sorority. Anyway, this has nothing to do with the music. The music is fine and good, and for the most part very original.

John Mayer on the other hand really sounds like he is doing a Dave Matthews impression and he doesn't seem to have the same songwriting ability. If you look at the intricacies of DMB lyrics and then listen to "Your Body is a Wonderland" it really seems like DMB Lite. All the pop and fizz without the substance.

Okay, that's it, Eric, Tom and now Craig, you guys are total assholes.

Long Live John Lennon!

that's it...i'm gonna go out at lunch and buy a John Mayer cd.

if i can muster up the nerve to brave the zero degree weather, that is.

Mark, get the Room For Squares one, because the new sucks gonads.

that's exactly what i did...it was a total pop haul:

John Mayer - Room For Squares
Prince - Diamonds and Pearls
James Taylor - October Road

OK, the cat's out of the bag. Tom (#13) nailed it. Mayer has contrived his whole act so as to appeal to touchy feely VH1-type women. That running through the hallways, holding hands, wonderland stuff. I know a woman who practically swooned at the mention of a guy whose "typical date" would involve holding hands and skipping --- that's right --- skipping! That's the kind of woman who goes for Mayer. It's such a non-musical reason to like this guy. It's all image (and a creepy one at that), as usual for a pop idol.

I mean Tom Johnson comment #12.

Hey Dawn, you must be a big fan of cover bands or something. Sometimes Asshole and Critic are synonymous.

My 4 year-old daughter very much enjoys skipping although she was quite disturbed when she saw Mayer start making those faces like he just licked old Faygo off an ICP CD.

Mark, I'm so disappointed. First The Apprentice and now John Mayer. I'm afraid to ask what's next . . .

cripes....prolly Brittany Spears or somethin'

Hey I just like the catchey tunes!

On a serious note, perhaps it is relevant that I have almost no knowledge of Mayer as a performer or person. I have no real conception of him visually since I don't watch MTV, VH-1 or TV much for that matter. I just bought the CDs and enjoyed them. Maybe someone more caught up in the music scene would tire of his personna. Also, I have not bought his newest CD.

P.s. Just because he appeals to women doesn't mean he is bad. I hope I have some appeal to women (at least my wife).

Appealing to women isn't bad, but positioning yourself, marketing yourself or otherwise artificially changing who you are or what you do in order to attract a specific demographic makes a kind of music less appealing to me. If he is doing what he loves and it happens to attract women that's cool, but if he writes and acts specifically to make women swoon as some people have suggested with his interviews and things, I get turned off a bit. I like to think artists that I like are more genuine than that.

Kev, very good review by the way, fine explanation of why and how. I saw him on SNL recently and felt the need to pick on him. There certainly isn't anything particularly offensive about him, and I don't even think his thing is contrived - it's just him - I imagine it was his very pleasantness, combined with the Dave Matthews-sound-alike voice and the weird screwing up his face like it hurts to breathe that I was bitching about.

"Just because he appeals to women doesn't mean he is bad."

Well, that's true, although Justin Timberlake, Michael Bolton, Kenny G, and Milli Vanilli come to mind. But the problem is that if you got on VH1 and started singing about what a sensitive guy you are, a lot more women besides your wife would find you appealing, a certain kind of woman, and they would make you rich. Good for you, bad for music, because although it's bad enough to have Mayer doing a watered-down version of Mathews, who is already watered down, now we will have to suffer imitators of Mayer. To quote Kurtz, "The horror. The horror."

Um, Justin Timberlake is kind of appealing, in a girly-man sort of way.

i did hear one tune (no wait...i saw the video) from the latest timberlake thing...it was actually pretty good.

not good enough to actually get the cd though.

Dawn, look who is calling who an asshole. Timberlake was entertaining on SNL and I am willing to admit it, but his music is less than stellar and certainly less than original. That being said, were you commenting on his music or that waifish frame and boyish good looks? :-)

Yeah, but how do you like your new John Mayer cd Mark? Don't listen to these knobs, they are merely jealous of your eclectic taste and joie de vie!

I find it both refreshing and alluring in a sexy, manly way.

i like it a lot, though i keep making all these facial contortions while i listen....

Hey does anyone know JM middle name?

John M. Mayer. M for Milquetoast. I think that's it.

Whoa! Where did you guys come from?! I take a break and come back to find this. Though it reads sarcastically, I am quite thrilled to have so many joining the discussion! First of all, if you like someone's music, you like their music, regardless of the persona they project (real or fake, because unless we marry the guy, we'll never really know!)And let me reiterate, what first attracted me to Mayer TWO years after his breakthrough success was his passion and "realness" on Austin City Limits. In an interview on VH-1, John himself says that he doesn't care what people think of his funny facial contortions because he is confident that his "talent is contained in (his) music" and not what people think about how he looks. And, he is still making those faces, on purpose, because he can, and no record exec is holding him back! (Oh, John, your singing is great, but could you try not to look like. . .well...I won't say it, but you get the point!) If you listen to Mayer's lyrics you should be impressed. This is genuine--from experience-- (Home Life, Daughters, My Stupid Mouth) and if it's not--kudos to him because he's making alot of money off of fiction--that's what we call talented, either way, right? Eric, have you see Dave Matthews lately? His music aside, he's not exactly a looker! And who cares if the two are compared. It's a compliment to Mayer and Matthews for that matter, perhaps Matthews moreso! I mean, it's not like Mayer is a coverband trying to perform Dave Matthews songs! Then I would be a bit dismayed! Tom! Hello! Hello! Are you paying attention? Kevin is and I bet his wife takes notice! John Mayer is seling himself to women. And this is wrong because he is actually writing an accurate textbook as to what women want? Buy it! Buy it! Buy it all up and ask for more! Speaking of Justin Timberlake and Eninem, who would you want your daughter swooning over? What a double standard. What are Brittney Spears and Christina A. "putting-on" lately? Should I say, very little when it comes to clothing?

Um...oh forget it (borrowing my favorite retort from Lyndall).

Amy, that all makes perfectly good sense and there is nothing inherently wrong with John Mayer - I freely admit it's just me. I probably was pissed off about something else when I got into this because at WORST my feelings toward him are mild irritation. He is clearly connecting with an awful lot of people, so long life and happiness to you all.

I apologize, too, Amy. I actually have a lot of respect for the guy. Did you know that he went to the Julliard School of Music? Any guy that can write his own music, keep a band working behind him, make a career out of entertaining people, and not go crazy in the glare of the spotlight is OK in my book. We were just having some fun. Love, peace, and happiness stuff.

Thanks guys! Atleast we can have a half-way intelligent exchange here--some of the "other" sites are dripping with "I'm going to marry John Mayer" "He's soooooo hot (notice the soooooo)!" and other teeny bopper mentalities. That was what got me responding to Kevin in the first place--people over the mental age of 16 who want to discuss John Mayer! By the way, the still sleeping with his teddy bear thing isn't exactly a turn-on for me. Actually, it causes me to make those funny facial contortions thinking about it. I never remember sleeping with a stuffed animal. A favortie blanket, yes. And I'm thinking if this wholesome, down to earth, in touch with life and women's needs image is working for him, he's cuddled up with his soul mate as we speak and no stuffed animals are involved! He is a grown man, right?

Amanda-John's middle name is Clayton. I am starting to know entirely too much about him.

I would just like to say that coming across your comments on John Mayer, I felt it my duty to reply. John may seem like a knock-off Dave Matthew's to some but being a devoted fan of both, I often wonder, how? Their voices are completley different and unique, and their lyrics almost complete opposite. The point truly being, John Mayer happens to be a lyrical genius merely caught in the generation of meaningless rap and Britney's. John has a down to earth quality to him that shows in his music. He is growing up and sharing it with us through his lyrics. Dave is beyond that point and simply focuses on different styles of writing. And as for John not using saxaphones and violins check outHevier Things, or try his first album Inside Wants Outs, where in one of my personal favorites, Comfortable the entire song consists of guitar and violin. So if you haven't noticed, I'm a fanatic and possibly in need of therapy because my love for him is beyond unhealthy however, I just think before people go running their mouths off, they should educate themselves and make sure they know what the hell they're talking about so their opinions look educated and worthy.

i think your whole view on john mayer is sweet but so ignorant and naive. if you think only adolescent girls and his music is bubbly and poppy then think again. you by far do not see the messages and poetry of John Mayer and he is better than the beatles... plus - please dont ever mention John mayer in such an inferior way again. Listen to the music and find out his expression inside there. once again, ive never seen john next to britney's name and i hope never to see it again. although at least you bought his albums. have a good day.

I just say John Mayer last night. Not really my cup of tea, but he was pretty good, easily self-effacing, and chock full 'o' grimaces. I'd only heard a couple of tunes on radio before. Seemed like mostly an easy listening type crowd and definitely skewed female late teens to early twenties. My estimation of him went way up last week when I saw him in a cameo on Chappelle's Show.

"chock full 'o' grimaces"

classic

Open letter to John Mayer:

All this grimacing and making funny faces will get you nowhere.

Signed,
Joe Cocker, David Byrne, Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones, (the late) Marty Feldman

CC, so do you like him better than Norah Jones?

troublemaker!

I actually haven't given Mayer the time I have given Norah. That Wonderland thing sounds like a radio hit, though.
His similarities to Matthews make me run the opposite direction, though.
I will say that even if Norah were to make the funniest of faces, she'd still be adorable.

I've been a fan of John Mayer's since around 2001 and I learn to love him even more year after year. He has a great voice, great guitar skills and is a lyrical genius.

I just saw him in concert in Los Angeles and he is such an awesome live performer. It was really cool to see the diversity of the audience. You got your 40-year olds, 20-year olds and the teenagers. And being a teen myself, i have to say that just because i'm a teen, doesn't mean i don't have good taste in music. Why is it always stereotyped that it's bubble-gum-pop-crap when a musician has a female teen audience?!?!

And i'd also like to say ...
It's REALLY sad how people judge John Mayer based on his so-called funny facial expressions and his so-called attempts at being the next Dave Matthews. All i have to say is GET A LIFE. If you don't like him, shed a tear, move on and don't spoil it for others.

john mayer cool. but whoever said that rap was meaningless is an idiot and probably doesnt know anything about it. Eden is a loser and has obviously never listened to 2pac.

i am (and will never be) a fan of rap.When i see rappers videos on t.v. or hear a song it's ususlally all about hot girls and drinking.Though i will never talk down about jay-z.i have respect for him,he has shown me it's not all about image and that there is acually a message in his songs.Though it's no enough to buy his cd it made me always think twice about saying all rap is bad.

just so you know,john mayer isn't all about winning over the ladys.you would know that if you listened to "clarity,bigger than my body,somethings different,new deep,home life,83,3x5,no such thing..."none of those songs are about women or are an attempt to win women over.

Wow. I'm impressed. I never saw this topic before but Olsen, Duane, and Tom Johnson (especially) were holding it down. People on BlogCritics are capable of accurate criticism?

John Mayer is a soulless, wimpy hack. He reaches for the cheapest sentiment possible with his childish yuppie-in-training lullabies -- "I wanna run through the halls of my old high school" -- and his Dave Matthews Light vocal affectations and facial expressions are annoying. Yeah, we get the point, John. You're singing about very personal thing because your face is all scrunched up.

The sensitive mama's boy sex appeal is BS too. The man isn't attractive. He's a big goofy dork and the only reason women enjoy his music is because they perceive it to be non-threatening eunuch background music, the soundtrack to their empty, unfulfilling, paint-by-numbers lives. John Mayer is "the guy friend" who never asks you out and welcomes being emasculated writ large.

The problem is that I think a lot of his songs are creepy, particularly the ones that are innuendo like "Your Body is a Wonderland." That may well be the creepiest song I've ever heard. It's the ultimate stalker anthem, replete with the breathy, childish lyrics and obsessive tone. I can't believe lamoids actually find this song romantic and make it "their song" with their equally ugly, dorky boyfriends.

Another problem with John Mayer is that he's clearly influenced by previous wimpy suburban songwriters like Ben Folds and Dave Matthews but without Ben's irony and scrubbed clean of the hippie stink and ADD-challenging pseudo-world music jams (and threatening multi-racial tokenism) associated with Dave Matthews. John Mayer writes the anthems for the narc generation, songs to plan your future responsibly to, song that quite intentionally exclude or offend no one and challenge no thing. John Mayer represents the epitome of rock's increasing blandness and asexuality. He welcomes being feminized and welcomes a sensitive world where passion is muted and quiet, insecure meekness is rewarded. What makes it worse is that it's all calculated, as you others have already pointed out. John Mayer's targeted directly for the middle, for people without identity or convictions, people who literally reject art and taste in favor of "fitting in" and being super super white. John Mayer is the childish comfort of lullabies for underdeveloped adults who miss their cribs and value safety, security, and conformity above all else.

No offense to any of you who have posted, but I noticed you're all soccer moms. Do you like ironing and doing the dishes with a lil John Mayer in the background? Do you rock out and give those expanding hips a lil wiggle as you rock the Palmolive? When you heard him on your alarm clocks, you unknowingly fell back asleep and still haven't woken from your consumerist, anti-intellectual, Pleasantville slumber. Lyrical genius? Please.

Any guy who likes John Mayer is questionable. John Mayer represents the death of rock, moreso than even Dave or the various other hideous bands that have emerged in that genre.

That is all.

I fully believe "Your Body is a Wonderland" is what Jeffrey Dahmer would have listened to while working on his victims if John Mayer were around then. Harsh? Yes.

But you realize how much I hate your awful awful music now.

That is all.

I'm a fan of John's music. Sure his lyrics aren't the best and he looks like he taking a crap on stage with his facial expressions but his abilities in playing guitar are great and writing music along with guitar is great. As a guitarist I admire his ability to make great riffs into a song. I think people who actually play guitar and write their own songs really understand how good he is. There are a lot of people that criticize him who are not musicians and don't know how hard it is to create skilled riffs, while singing good off the beat of the guitar at the same time and form it into a song. I know that sounds like it isn't a big deal, but it is. If it wasn't a big deal there would be an increasingly numerous amount of famous people in the music industry. Bottom line: he's making loads of money and he's famous. That's a position I would take in a second if I had the chance. There are hundreds of thousands of musicians who have tried so hard for years to break through into the music business but have been unsuccessfull because they didn't have the abilities whether it be singing, lyrical, or musicial. I can also guarantee you that almost everyone one of those musicians would gladly take the chance to be as big as Mayer has become. If you still think Mayer sucks, go download neon acoustic version and tell me that you could do the same thing and Mayer sucks blah blah blah because I can almost guarantee you the people who criticize the most are the most talentless, naive people.

For the moron who said "Neon" was supposed to hold "amazing" talent for this jackass - go download some George Lynch, Jason Becker, Phil Keaggy and discover REAL talent. Dear God for the people who hold this guy high on skill, he doesn't know shit about harmonics, wouldn't know a C seventh suspended fourth if it bit him, and has taste in instruments like a redneck does his teeth...the only naive and talentless thing is your mouth.

Holy shit I forgot about George Lynch and Jason Becker!!! Holy Shit!!! WHO THE FUCK ARE GEORGE LYNCH AND JASON BECKER??? Dude get ur head out of ur ass and out of the 80's. Sure these guys are better guitarists than mayer, no one's disputing that, but thats not the fucking point. There are thousands upon thousands of kick ass guitar players in the world like Clapton, Leo kottke, Dan Crary, Doyle Dykes just to name a few. Hell there are guys who play around at guitar center who are kick ass guitarists. If you think of it that way then there would be tens times as many famous musicians as there are now. GET THIS THROUGH UR FUKING NARROW MINDED HEAD!!!These guys play different kinds of music than Mayer!!!! If they tried to play a Mayer song, sure they could fucking match it note for note on the guitar but with the exception of Clapton THEY CAN'T FUCKING SING!!! Don't sit there and tell me Jason Becker and George Lynch can sing, because they simply can't. Mayer combines good singing, with good guitar playing, and self-made orginal catchy songs. Therefore he is famous end of discussion. Your ignorant remarks lead me to believe that u are some old man who worships cliche 80s rockers with long hair and spandex even though they made garbage music in a decade filled with synthesizers and metal rock trash. You're probly stuck in a nowhere job getting minimum wage and extremely pissed off because you can't sing worth a fuck or write an even halfway decent song to save you from your pathetic existance. Just stop hating.

Hey [edited]

I never said there was a dispute against Becker/Lynch, so stop pretending. If you stopped saying random crap (i.e. FUCK, SHIT, NARROW-MINDED,ETC), you'd find it very clear what my point was. Modern music is anything but guitar-oriented and has been that way for over a decade. The modern generation is thus ignorant to anything in the guitar sphere. When someone like Mayer comes along, they praise him as if he's God. All these Mayer fans bitch left and right on how he's the greatest and the media follows closely. Mayer posesses this ego like he's zappa and makes raunchy comments about other guitarists, just read his interview with Fender - the man has no modesty. I have nothing against a man making music. I may not like the tune, but I certainly have nothing against it. But someone like Mayer needs to shut up and his fans need to do a little research before they open their mouths. Talk to any REAL guitarist and they would understand. It's irritating to hear such ignorant remarks from the mainstream public/media.

Next, I highly doubt my head is in the "80s". I chose Lynch because he is still very relevent in the guitar world to this day, not just limited to Dokken, pal. Becker is ANYTHING but 80s metal. His virtuoso style is up to date with anyone who plays guitar. And, a person you completely neglected to mention, Keaggy, is considered the best in the world by many standards. Did you leave him out just so you could bitch about the 80s or because your ignorant dumbass doesn't know who he is???

I love when you said, " Mayer combines good singing, with good guitar playing, and self-made orginal catchy songs. Therefore he is famous end of discussion. " ==>That is fucking priceless.
[edited]

LMAO!!!!!

good stuff Mike

well,

i've never been here before and Mayer is on ACT right now which is why I googled it and found this page.

I will probably never come back here either, because the commentary is atrocious. Most of you people wouldn't know music if it bit you in the ass.

As a pro musician who has done everything (prog, country, jazz, industrial, etc.) and done it well, let me just say that it doesn't matter if you LIKE Mayer or not because what he does is speak to the soul which is what art is for.

1. separate the art from the artist. judge the art and the artist independently.

2. being able to write a good song around fancy chords may be a challenge, but it's even more a challenge to write a song around a few simple chords that actually speaks to people on some archetypal level. Just listen to Sting's "Message in a Bottle" solo guitar versions.

Sheesh, why did I even bother to write this? I was listening to Dream Theater's latest excessive fret masturbation CD and turned it off when I flipped on my TV and heard what Mayer was doing.

And whether you like it or not, in the annals of real music, people are always going to turn off the crap for the stuff that speaks to the soul.

Don't like it? Get a soul.

What?

This was such a stupid comment.

"separate the art from the artist. judge the art and the artist independently."

What do you judge them on then, especially if your standard is whether they "touch your soul"? Do you judge them on their giant heads and tussled "I just woke up" haircut?

You start by talking about how only musicians can understand the technical, geeky side of making music and how hard it is, yet you then say that John Mayer's not technically complicated and uses simple 3-chord pop.

So John Mayer's soulless AND lacks any musical gifts. I think you proved our point.

That is all.

Eric-John Mayer calls that face his 'note squeezer'. I don't care about that in particular; his facial expressions mean nothing to me as long as I can see his face. Ahaha.

People call him gay because 'he sings about feelings and love and he's a man'.

What is our world coming to?
Every song is different though. You go from a catchy tune to a love ballad to a medium rate song; it's nice.

FWOJM, I have reconsidered my view of Mayer and now think he's pretty great.

Dear John, i have a great respect for your art... Regards Eric C.

Wow. I can't believe I read ALL those comments and I tried SO hard not to laugh at a few of them. If people hate John Mayer so much, what are they doing on a site reviewing his CD in the first place? I mean it's about how someone likes an artist, if it was titled "Why I hate John Mayer with a passion," there you go. But it's not. Deal.

I love John Mayer. I'm a college student (not a 'soccer mom' and I DON'T lead a 'empty, unfulfilling, paint-by-numbers life' thank you very much) and I've seen him twice. At first I hated him. He was the 'upcoming' artist on VH1 years back and I was like 'ugh, that's annoying' but somewhere along the line I listened - really listened - to his songs on the radio, researched him and how he makes his music, and fell in love with his songs. I saw him in concert this year with Maroon5 and was amazed at how well he played a guitar and how great his voice sounded live. And I'm not some teeny-bopper teenager. I love all kinds of music and like to think of myself as well rounded. The Beatles, Aerosmith (my Boston boys!!!), Lenny Kravitz, Bon Jovi, ACDC, Maroon 5, and John Mayer. I've seen a ton of people in concert. Some great (Kravitz, KISS, Aerosmith) some okay (NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Alannis Morsette) and some GOD awful (Ashlee and Jessica Simpson - the thought makes me shudder) But John Mayer I had the chance to see twice. He's something else live.

I was raised on rock from my dad and my father even hears a John Mayer song on the radio once in a while and goes 'he's good, who's this?' I think Mayer is someone who many people connect with, not just 'soccer moms' or 'teeny-boppers' but people of all ages and genders. My friend Chris and I saw him at the Mixfest in September in Boston and he loved it. My friend Bethany loves him too. My mother calls him her 'adopted son.' My grandmother even thinks he's a good artist. I give the credit to John Mayer for not caring what people say about him and knowing who he is and what he's there to do. It's about time SOMEONE does. And he's a well welcomed artist in my mind.

I saw John Mayer at a small bar here in Houston with about 100 people around 4 or 5 years ago. With that said, I consider myself somewhat of a nexpert given I have seen him a number of times. His art is his career, and in order to be sucessful, his songs have to be played on the radio. I hate when people consider being "pop" as a downfall. After all, that does mean popular. I read up there somewhere that he lacks musical ability. John Mayer is one of the best guitarists out right now. He doesn't throw it in your face like past guitar greats, but he plays the best blues guitar I have seen in some time. His influence growing up was Stevie Ray Vaughn and he used to play Stevie covers in small blues joints before he started writing his own songs. For those of you who think he is just some pop sensation for teenage girls, you are in fact mistaken.

Go to johnmayer.com and play the london home video in the media section. He plays a nice little guitar solo around the 5 minute mark.

Also, watch Austin City Limits with John and Buddy Guy and Double Trouble. Lastly, John went lick for lick with Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, and some other guitar greats at the Crossroads guitar festival. You should try looking into something before making outlandish statements.

Wow, little did I know that this "Soccer mom's" (a title I fully reject-a narrow-minded and stereotypical label sprouted from a one-dimensional mind) response would elicit such chaos. All I can say to the haters of John Mayer are, "So young, so angry!" Passion is good, but channel it in another way. You have to ask yourself why you are so upset to the point of unecessary vulgarity. Dude, if you don't like John Mayer, then fine, I personally could care less. Your comments and personal insults don't insite me to anything but laughter. But you have to ask yourself why you are so threatened. And why are you searching sites about John Mayer if you don't have an interest? Either way, John and his fans have the last word. Whatever you think and say, the point is you are thinking and talking about John Mayer! Ha!

jesus...what a buch of whiny hippies.
please don't tell me how bad his music and how great dave matthews is. give it this much...he writes his own stuff...it sells, and he is making plenty of bread, and has a bangin woman. i'd say he's content. i'm sure he enjoys what he does and many other people do enjoy it too. no it's not the next evolutionary step in music, but it isn't that bad. please inform me what is so superior? i listen to plenty of stuff that ranges from drum n bass to hip hop to rock to metal to whatever. i find john mayer to be perfectly fine for what it is. at least it's not ashlee simpson. it does what it's supposed to. it sells. musically it is well produced also.

and i will say it. the majority of you have no idea what quality in music is. i am an engineer, a musician, and ivolved very heavily in music production, and i can say this much...you'd be surprised how much you're spoonfed...even while you're "bucking the system". you're not as elite as you think. humble yourselves and speak with integrity.

"I fully believe "Your Body is a Wonderland" is what Jeffrey Dahmer would have listened to while working on his victims if John Mayer were around then. Harsh? Yes."

while i defend his music to a degree...this has to be the funniest things i've ever read. lmao. listen to that song and think of that. i appreciate your humor and will continue to laugh everytime i hear this song from here on out.

Even young at my young or as you would say 'niave age of 16'- i see the talent in Mr John Mayer. Regardless to if you like him or not you cant help but appreciate him. I, like many of the other guys on this forum was not overly impressed by his poppy acoustic style-as i felt you cannot combine the likes of 'elliot smith with the spice girls'. This was until i heard him sing "message in a bottle" live- that song blew my mind and although far from the vocalist that sting is *am a serious sting fan*- he gives it his own unique spin and am sure if you give that a chane you will see what a genuine, naturally talented, guitarist and vocalist he is. Now song lyrics *someone who cares* view was spot on- beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you can only appreciate the words which connect with your soul- and if you think song like "your body is a wonderland" and "love song for no-one", a personal favourite, are not of a high quality- then you need your head checked.

Dear John,
When I first heard your song (Daughters) it blow me away because you have such an incridble vocie and such talent playing the guitar. and I would love for you to come to Tucson Az. because i thing your the best singer in the world. And please let this dream come true!

John Mayer is full of himself, and is a punk. Saw him on Matt Pinfield's show and couldn't believe what a pompous asshole he is.

I agree with Woody. It's entirely obvious to me that he views himself as God's gift to music and the guitar. He also talks in so many metaphors, it makes your head spin. WE GET IT, YOU'RE SMART! Just STFU and play.

It's too bad I really dig his music, and he actually is such an amazing songwriter and instrumentalist.

I'm puzzled by all this speculation lately about whether that John Mayer is or is not gay. Buy the new CD "Continuum" --- listen carefully to each tune in succession .. consider the title and the CD that immediately preceded "Continuum" .... consider the backstory of what's actually gone on in John's life. Even a cave man with 9 brain cells could figure this one out.

john's cocky because he wants to be great and to be great it's like john lennon said to be as big as the beatles were you had to be bastards and the beatles were the biggest bastards, so john being cocky is a good he's just trying to hone is his craft

I think it's possible to like both Dave Matthews AND John Mayer. Take it from me. I'm a living, breathing example. And I never really made the connection between the two artists... still don't. Especially now that John is into more blues, which is a good thing. Let Dave be Dave and let John be John. You don't have to compare the two. And in this case, it's kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

When I first heard Mayer I thought he was trying to be like Dave Matthews because you don't hear that style of voice very often. But the more I have heard John the more I don't think he sounds like Dave. Let me get this straight, I am a HUGE Dave fan so I didn't take too kindly to someone trying to imitate him at the beginning. I still don't own a John Mayer CD but I respect him for what he does.

Dave, to me, is on a different level than John. That does not mean he can't get close to there at some point in his career but you have to realize that Dave has A LOT more experience in writing, doing albums and doing concerts. I personally don't think Mayer will ever have the following that Dave has but he will be respected and will do fine. He is very talented. Those who really HEAR Dave and not just LISTEN to him can make the distinction between the 2 very easily. The more Dave I listen to the more I have separated the 2. Dave has a lot of different sounds in his music than Mayer. I will always love Dave Matthews but I only like Mayer.

I am sooo Glad Jessica Dummped his sorry ass....She is soo Hot right now!
What kind of guy get colligen in his lip's anyway.What a fag!Don't even talk to me about the flowers on his pant's! GAY!!!!
He is a no talent hack! Self proclaimed "artist"
Self proclaimed genius...OK if he's soo smart.Why then would he attempt to embarras An Angel like Jessica by presenting her with a Thesaurus.Well Jokes on Him because everyone Hates him and his Knob sukking lipps.
Self proclaimed Rebel....Hahaha NOT!
John Mayer Claimes to never associate with the "Hollywood" Party scene. well he's probebly too busy making it with Chris Angel.Not only that,but he's never invited to party with the "IN" crowd.
John Mayer U SUCK!

Well that's what we like to see here, a nice mature comment like the one above.

>_<