#8 – Continuum – John Mayer
John Mayer usually goes over about as well as Milli Vanilli on this blog, but that won’t keep me from putting him out there.
Mayer’s third album, 2006’s Continuum, is particularly praiseworthy, and a record I have returned to again and again in the seven years since its release.
Top Songs of 2012 – #9
First things first… Merry Christmas, everyone! This post marks my fifth Christmas since starting the Song of the Day series, and I still haven’t missed a day.
Now, on to the matter at hand.
John Mayer returned to form this year with Born and Raised, his best album since 2006’s Continuum. The record has a laid-back 70s California vibe, complete with mentions of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan and backing vocals by David Crosby and Graham Nash.
Including this one, the last three songs I’ve featured have all mentioned the years 1982 or 1983. Surely that’s a coincidence, as each of these songs would work using any other year, but it’s striking nonetheless.
I was 11 in 1983, five years older than John Mayer, but I nonetheless share his fond memories of that much simpler and more carefree time.
Some frequent readers of this blog might consider it appropriate that I’m posting a John Mayer song on September 11 — one painful experience commemorating another, or something like that.
I know Mayer has many detractors, but he also has legions of fans, a surprising number of which are critics. He’s the rare lightning rod who seems better respected by serious music critics than serious music fans.
It’s a testament to how good this year has been for new releases that John Mayer’s Born and Raised can climb to only number four on this list.
Since his great 2006 record Continuum, Mayer has made headlines for everything but his music. He gave two disastrous magazine interviews, had ugly break-ups with Jennifer Aniston and Taylor Swift (with the latter excoriating him in song on her most recent album) and developed granulomas on his vocal chords that prevented him from singing.
Meet Me In Montauk 