I’m not exactly sure what’s behind this, other than it’s sponsored by ABSOLUT Vodka, but I noticed that it was being tweeted about so I decided to put it here.
It’s only 15 minutes long, shot in black and white, and directed by Danny Clinch. There’s a cameo by the guy who tweeted it (John Mayer) who talks about wanting to play the guitar part of D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune). It mostly focuses around his September 11, 2009 concert at Madison Square Garden.
I will warn you that there’s no real direction to this. Read at your own risk. It’s a bit of a hodge podge.
My main man Money Mike should have a review up of John Mayer’s new album, Battle Studies pretty soon, but after watching John Mayer’s concert on Fuse and hearing Battle Studies a few times, I felt the need to put some thoughts out there about the man of the hour, the man with power, too sweet to be sour (word to Superstar Billy Graham).
He said:
At a John Mayer concert filled with chicks. Guys think machimso wins girls but humble guys like Mayer drive em crazy.
Is John Mayer humble? He seems kind of smug and smarmy to me. Money Mike calls him “douchey”. I wonder what girls think about the way he handles himself. If you’re female (or wish to be female, or have a female understanding, or simply like to wear pink), comment below. We guys might just be hating and maybe ToureX is on the money.
– My friend Carletta tweeted out something pretty brilliant the other day.
She said:
I think Mayer has relationships only to have things to write songs about. Works for me.
It does seem that young John likes to love them and leave them and then write about them and sing about them. Who’s next on his list? My money is on him stealing Scarlett Johansson away from Ryan Reynolds who then goes on a roid rage, only to take a guitar to the face. And then Johansson and Mayer leave to Barbados, happily ever after until he needs a new muse for some breakup songs. Works for Usher right?
– Battle Studies is a pretty good record. It’s doesn’t come close to touching Continuum, which I have given “classic” status to, but there are some good songs on it. Mayer compares the dissolving of a relationship to a battle with lines like, “Red wine and ambien, you’re talking shit again, it’s heartbreak warfare,” in Heartbreak Warfare, and goes a little wacky on us with Who Says with my favorite line, “I don’t remember you lookin’ any better, but then again, I don’t remember you.”
– I think he might have a hit record with Half Of My Heart if he recuts it with more of Taylor Swift on the hook. She is the it girl. And maybe have Kanye West come on and throw 16 on it. Hey, why not? He and Kanye have already worked together before. Check out Bittersweet.
– Mayer in concert isn’t too interesting until he gets to go crazy on the guitar. He performed most of his hits, as well as certain songs from Continuum that Mayer fans adore like Gravity and Belief. But he didn’t perform my favorite Johnny Mayer track, which is the last cut on the album, I’m Gonna Find Another You.
You might have your reasons, but you will never have my rhyme
I’m gonna sing my way away from blue
I’m gonna find another you
– I also noticed that Mayer is way skinnier than you ever thought and that he has arms the size of pipe cleaners.
– Lastly, in the last song on Battle Studies, Mayer talks about how you can only be friends or lovers with someone, and you can’t really have it both ways. In Friends, Lovers, Or Nothing he kind of shows his ass a bit. I’m proof that you can have a dual relationship after the fact, so maybe my main man Johnny Mayer needs to just be a bit nicer to Jessica and Jennifer and maybe they’ll stick around. But then again, he won’t have a muse for the heartbreaks and warfare.
You’re reading the first shot at Saturday In The Park. This is the prototype. We could blog all day long and cover the comings-and-goings of music, but that’s not what we do here. We’re music geeks, not music journalists, although we’ll drop everything to interview an indie artist who is trying hard to make things happen.
This isn’t Brother Mike’s Not Necessarily the News. He’s serious about his music and writes it that way. This is a fanboy snarkfest. Jump in if you like that kind of thing.
Garth Brooks Comeback: Money Mike already wrote about this puppy. Garth going to the Wynn Las Vegas isn’t the same as Elvis‘ 50 show gig in Vegas before his death (hmmm, I always that parallel), but Garth Brooks is one of the biggest selling recording artists ever. When he quit and let wife Trish Yearwood bring home the bacon, their youngest kid was a pre-schooler. Now he’s sort of back. I’m sure the money is too good to turn away from, and a long-run Vegas gig gives him stability while still performing. I may not fly to Vegas to see him, but I’ll catch his show next time I’m there. One of the world’s best selling recording artists ever. You kind of have to see him.
Peter Criss Full Breast Cancer Recovery: We talk about the women we love (Kylie, Olivia, Melissa) battling and beating breast cancer. But KISS drummer Peter Criss did the same, and his speaking about battling the disease is inspirational. This is one of those “oh, you’re weird” stories, and Peter has turned it in to a full-on education campaign. I’m glad he’s cancer free. I’m glad he has the courage and passion to speak out about the disease. He’s been mostly free of KISS for 30 years except for the sporadic appearance and later blowup on stage, but he wrote and sang Beth and Hard Luck Woman so he gets a lifetime pass as a KISS guy, even if he really is a jazz drummer in his early 60s.
NBC Boots Glee From Macy’s Day Parade: You know, I haven’t watched the show. I’ve seen two of the videos. Would’ve made an interesting movie, I think, and probably beter than the Fame reboot. But if I own a network and some clueless development person books a competing act on the show I’m underwriting, well, I probably boot them too. Sorry, Glee gang. Don’t stop believing, okay?
Artist in Residence: Trust struggling NBC to take a great concept (the artist in residence at a venue or with a troupe) and bastardize it for their own use. Jon Bon Jovi, and we’re just saying that he records on sister label Universal, is NBC’s first artist-in-residence. What’s that mean? More Jon than you could ever imagine on NBC properties throughout November. Look for him on Today, as a Jay Leno guest, on Dateline, in various specials (hey, maybe the parade now that they kicked the Fox Glee kids off!) and anything related to NBC. It’s damn near Comcastic. In a strange twist of coincidence, JBJ’s new album drops November 12 — the middle of the NBC glee fest celebrating his music. Okay, no more NBC/Glee jokes.
But we’ll end with one funny joke. John Mayer’s quote as reported by Gawker.com when asked about healthcare. “Have you ever heard me play guitar? I’m really fucking good. You know what I’m bad at? Answering questions about public healthcare.
Good on you, Brother John. Maybe celebs will take a back seat on policy issues and let the politicos sort it out. Except you, Bono, you already crossed to the dark side. If Michael Hutchens was still alive, The Edge would’ve called him in to a studio five years ago.
