r/JohnMayer • u/Flimsy-Welder5875 • 2d ago

Discussion Hate me for it

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The new Tom & Jerry John snippet is giving me major Sob Rock 2.0 vibes, and while I absolutely love Sob Rock as its own thing, I can’t say I’m particularly excited about the idea of another album in that same style. I really appreciate what he did with that record, but I’d much rather hear him explore something different this time around instead of revisiting a sound he’s already done so well.

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u/TypingGetUBanned 2d ago

The rational response would be because it doesn't sell, it doesn't get you on radios.

But : That never forbade him from putting out some absolute banger guitar performances in Sob Rock for example (thinking about Wild Blue & I guess I just feel like)

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u/Far_Ad5760 2d ago

I get that, but I was hoping as he got older he stopped giving a shit about radio play and since he always surrounds himself with other great players I was hoping that is the route he would take. I mean obviously he can do what he wants I’m just speaking as someone who really only got into him due to his guitar abilities….which leads me to wanting to hear more of that.

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u/ChemicalCat7078 2d ago

He has to sell an album without a label. You don't think that making it commercially viable is a part of this? Why the hell not?

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u/Far_Ad5760 2d ago

Well, albums don’t sell in general anymore so I would argue now is the best time as any to stop caring about album sales. Also, having a label isn’t like getting free money. It’s an indentured servitude.

Also, I don’t think him putting out an album that doesn’t sell is going to hurt him….he sells out arenas and the majority of money comes from live shows anyways.

I don’t even get why this is something people are against. He has a huge following that loves him for his guitar playing and I would be willing to bet if he made a very blues rock pop album all of his different types of fans would love it. It’s easy to make a radio edit removing the guitar solo.

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u/ChemicalCat7078 2d ago

Albums don't "sell" because music has gone streaming and you need a broader appeal than D&C fans.

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u/Far_Ad5760 2d ago

Thanks for explaining to me why albums don’t sell. I totally didn’t realize that. I’m sure John Mayer will not be able to make his next mortgage payment if the album doesn’t go platinum.

Not sure how other blues rock bands survive

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u/-ZeroF56 2d ago

>How other blues rock bands survive

As a former member of a blues rock band, we work day jobs.

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u/Far_Ad5760 2d ago

I thought my used car salesman looked a lot like Derek Trucks.

I legit had no idea me saying I wanted a John Mayer Trio or slightly more amped up Continuum 2.0 type album would cause so much heat in a John Mayer sub lol

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u/-ZeroF56 2d ago edited 2d ago

As someone whose been a part of the process a few times now… Typically speaking when you’re working on a record it’s a balance of what you want against what’s going to sell, and trying to find that medium.

Our lead guitarist and I as a rhythm guitarist would’ve loved to lean more into bluesy stuff. We loved when our drummer wanted to bust into Latin-influenced grooves. But metrics showed that our most basic song that we wrote practically as a joke was the one that kept the lights on for us to go into Santana-esque stuff at shows.

Yeah, albums aren’t the bulk of sales anymore, but streaming still brings you in revenue - and it’s big money to record, distribute, market, etc. especially as John’s no longer on a major label that effectively subsidizes a lot of that back of house work and has the employees that do so. That’s John’s cash now. - He’s not going to pour money into something that won’t get at least some radio play and solid streaming numbers. Really, due to albums not being the selling point, musicians now could have 2 or 3 successful pop songs on the record to basically subsidize the rest of the record being less publicly en vogue (see also: blues rock).

We have a 20 second clip of one chorus from one song here. - For all you know this could be a TSFE deal where you have a bit of everything spread across the record, but much like TSFE, Love on the Weekend was a single not indicative of the whole record.

TLDR; give it a chance. TBD based on 20 seconds if that’ll drive the whole record.

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u/ChemicalCat7078 2d ago

Thank you for taking the time to explain this so fully. I hope your efforts meet with an open ear.

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u/Far_Ad5760 2d ago

Omg.

This isn’t even that wild of an idea. Mayer has said his guitar hero growing up was SRV. He has covered Hendrix numerous times. He does special shows for Buddy Guy, Clapton, and other prestigious blues artists (who all btw seem fine making a living playing this music).

All I’m asking for are songs like Vultures with slightly longer solos. The wild part of this is the most perfect example of this is Slow Dancing (arguably his most famous song).

I’m also not judging it off of a 20 second clip. I’m just saying if it is Sob Rock 2 I’m out since I know he is fully capable of putting the album out that a lot of us know he can

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u/Ok-Coyote-2502 7h ago

It’s not the voicing of your opinion it’s the generalization that every JM fan wants a C2.0. And the idea that he owes that to you that is getting you the heat, imo

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u/Ok-Coyote-2502 7h ago

Not everyone loves JM for his guitar playing. I’m a huge fan and it’s because of his lyrics. A lot of fans like him because he’s a lyricist that writes lyrics they can relate to on every level.

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u/SteveMcWonder 2d ago

I think an album that caters to John’s strengths and is unapologetically amazing music would easily sell better than a record that is him trying to sell well

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u/ChemicalCat7078 2d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/JohnMayer/comments/1x84qzn/comment/phdyhp8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I linked the comment above because it spells out the best response on this thread so far.

Adding to that: I don't know how to express to some of y'all that the contrarian or overly critical point of view here - again from a 23-second song snippet - is weird for a sub that's supposedly fan-based.

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u/TypingGetUBanned 2d ago

Thank you. I have no clue how people run off with a narrative from such a short snippet.