I don't know why this image popped into my mind, or why it makes me laugh, but I get cracked up at the thought of Punxsutawney Phil retiring to his underground den after having seen his shadow, sensitively singing this John Mayer song, as he resolves to return above ground.
I’m a good man with a good heart
Had a tough time, got a rough start
But I finally learned to let it go
Now I’m right here, and I’m right now
And I’m hoping, knowing somehow
That my shadow days are over
My shadow days are over now
I didn't want to add this one because I don't want to think about John Mayer dating my daughter.
When I saw this song on the "Born And Raised" track list, I smiled at the title "Something Like Olivia," because that's my daughter's name.
But when I actually heard the track, it made me feel queasy.
Now, it's not at all unusual to hear John Mayer sing about girls. It's not too unusual to hear John Mayer sing (overconfidently) about his own sexuality. It's not unusual to hear John Mayer put the women in his songs in a space where they seem a little like props to be moved around within in a Mayer-sexual diorama.
But what IS unusual, is to imagine your own daughter, in that role.
When John Mayer keeps singing her name, it's hard not to. And it's hard not to become enraged.
Hey, I know it is totally cliche for a parent of a young child (Olivia is 5) to obsess about what might happen during the teenage years when your kid discovers his/her sexuality. But every time one of my friends who had kids a decade earlier than I tells me a story about some misadventure their teen was involved in, cliche or not, it feels real.
And certainly, having once been young, I have first-person knowledge that the world does have more than its fair share of lecherous, John Mayer-like lady-killers.
So, back to the song.
Are my misplaced hang-ups a good reason to not play a particular tune on mvyradio? Am I perhaps unfairly projecting parental anxiety onto Mr. Mayer?
No. And Yes.
So we'll play this song on the station.
And when you hear it, you can imagine me sitting in the mvy studio, queasy with misplaced paternal agita.
As I've written before, I've got some ambivalent feelings about John Mayer.
At times, I've been a John Mayer apologist, saying that even if you don't like his Middle-Of-The-Road-Singer-Songwriter Stuff, don't write him off. If he can stand on the Crossroads stage with Clapton, et al, then he's For Real, and someday he may make a record you'll like.
The problem with the former of the two arguments, is that there hasn't been a ton of evidence to support it, at least as far as radio songs go.
But with "Queen Of California" I feel like I have something to talk about.
Now, how much you like this song is entirely dependent on your appreciation for a certain Classic Jam Band, but for me, the playing, the music, the groove on this track brings out something I haven't felt before, about Mayer's music. There's a level of substance there that was heretofore lacking for me.
Maybe in a few albums, the idea of being an apologist will fade, and I can just be a fan.
Postscript: While I wanted to write something positive, because I really, sincerely love this track, I can't let it go without saying that there's an amazing lyric, that drives me just a little bit nuts. "Joni wrote 'Blue' in a house by the sea/I gotta believe there's another color waiting on me." While, at first, I was struck by the cleverness of the line, I then was kinda put off because it sounds like John is equating himself with one of the most acclaimed songwriters of all time, suggesting that he probably has an album on the level of "Blue" within him. Change the line to "I wanna believe . . ." and it takes out the certainty of his statement.
I'm the Program and Music Director of mvyradio, a broadcast and internet station on the Island of Martha's Vineyard. You can hear it here.
I've been in radio since the early 90s, programming shows. As Music Director, I receive dozens of CDs and songs every week, from Record Labels, Promotion People and Independent Artists. I try to listen to everything anyone asks me to.
So the old iTunes list is pretty long.
The idea of this blog is to go to that list, grab one (usually at random, but not always) and write about it. Every song has a story. How it fits into the artists oeuvre. What it meant to me when I first heard it.
I'll try to post the song in full, whenever possible, and I invite you to listen and tell me what it makes you think of.
And for more great music, you can stream mvyradio from anywhere in the world, here.
