Continuing the vein of my last post, I again raise a similar question, to myself this time: does anybody -really- want to hear my versions of 2 John Mayer songs? Last week I was weighing whether to post the individual tunes for y’all and made my decision when I opened my phone to 2 JM related posts on Instagram. Yes, it was completely random, no, I didn’t say his name out loud, yes, I guess phones read your mind. One was a very relatable interview where he discussed his reasons for being sober. The guy is thoughtful, perhaps he is becoming my guru. I was inspired to post the songs (listen and download below!).
When he came up on an early podcast
I did a quick stab at his Waiting On the World To Change. It’s a perfectly lovely song in the style of an early 70’s R’N’B rumination on the state of the world. I like Waiting.. because it has a sense of 2000’s helplessness about it. What do I mean by that? I’m not sure. The song was released in 2006 and seems full of post 9/11 uncertainity. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On is pretty specific and addresses early 70’s urban decay and social crisis in a wistful, angry but loving way. Someone has probably written a whole book about it.
In true Gen X fashion, Waiting On the World To Change almost gives up on itself. Like, there are plenty of things to fight for and against, but, overwhelmed by information, we’re just waiting for nature to take it’s course. “It’s hard to beat the system when you’re standing at a distance” is a real good line.
My version of the song was recorded in about 20 minutes and dropped directly into the ‘cast. Izzy and Adelle did first-take backing vocals, Mayer’s gorgeous solo is turned into random plunking on a toy piano. I like to think I did a decent job on the vocals though. No irony, no effects, in some ways it charts a soulful territory I rarely enter. What do I mean by that? I’m not sure.
The second song I attempted, in a following episode, was Gravity.
After Waiting On The World To Change Adelle and I became more interested in John. He’d been a fixture for awhile and until then seriously considering him seemed, maybe, unneccesary. Blues Rock is not my favorite genre, he’s way too handsome, that kinda stuff can be a turn-off. On the other hand he did an insane interview for Rolling Stone in 2010 where he detailed his masturbating-to-porn ritual. We dipped a toe and went head over heels for a bit.
Truthfully, I had a moment with Gravity years before, probably in a store. The lyrics and melody stopping me mid-shop. When I listened to the song for the purpose of recording it my affinity was confirmed. This time, I took a different approach. Instead of playing it on a standard tuned guitar and learning the chords online, I used my baritone guitar (with 4-strings) in one of my alternate tunings, and recreated the chord progression in my own way. The instrumental was then recorded on to cassette, then back to digital, vocals were added, things slipped out of tempo and tune and I ended up spending a perverse amount of time trying to bring the whole cloudy, melted mess into focus. That’s always been my approach to home recording: shoot myself in the foot, learn to walk, repeat.
When I finished it I played it for a friend and asked them to guess who had written the song. Their answer: Daniel Johnston. That is victory. John Mayer mistaken for Daniel. That’s why I take on these nonsensical tasks for RAW impressions, the element of surprise , a fleeting moment of relief!