John Mayer and Kings of Leon will headline the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, TN.
My Life In 35 Songs, Track 4: “Wheel” by John Mayer
And if you never stop when you wave goodbye, you just might find if you give it time, you will wave hello again…
I was a man on a mission. I had about 20 minutes to myself in the local mall while my mom and sister went off to shop for something, and I knew I was going to need every one of them to accomplish my task.
Walking briskly, I dodged around families with young children and groups of lackadaisical teenagers, making my way across this crowded retail mecca to find my destination: FYE, with its rows and rows of pristinely shrink-wrapped CD and DVD cases. The album I was looking for had just dropped that week, so it was right there at the front of the shop, just waiting for me to pick it up off the shelf. Then, I made my way to one of the listening stations, where you could scan the barcode of the CD you were thinking about buying, put on a pair of communal over-the-ear headphones (in retrospect, eww!), and sample the tracks. A quick listen through various clips from the album confirmed that it had more to offer than the lead single I’d had stuck in my head for weeks. And so, convinced, I marched up to the checkout counter and handed the cashier $15 or so of my hard-earned cash. It was the first CD I’d ever bought with my own money.
The date was Sunday, September 14, 2003, and the album was Heavier Things, John Mayer’s sophomore follow-up to the 2001 smash Room for Squares. At most, I’ll say I’d been a casual fan of Squares: I liked most of the songs, but none of them had become obsessions in the year or two since my sister had gotten a copy of the CD for one of her birthdays. But “Bigger Than My Body,” the lead single from Heavier Things, had absolutely become an obsession since it had dropped on August 25. That song had a dynamite earworm chorus and some of the coolest guitarwork my 12-year-old ears had ever heard on a pop single, and I was tired of holding my breath and hoping I’d hear the on the radio or catch the video while flipping channels after school. I needed to be able to hear “Bigger Than My Body” whenever I wanted, and it led me to do something I’d never done before, but would do many, many, many times in the decades to follow; it led me to buy the album.
For the next two months, I listened to Heavier Things every single day when I got home from school. It was just part of the routine: get home, fire up my portable CD player, hear those opening piano strains of “Clarity,” and do my homework while the album played. I loved Heavier Things right away, but I came to develop an extremely meaningful bond with it over the course of that fall, as I listened over and over again. I was particularly taken with a pair of songs in the second half: “Split Screen Sadness” and “Wheel.” Both are ballads and both are songs about goodbyes – albeit, different kinds of goodbyes.
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John Mayer has begun working on a new album.
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Dead & Company have announced a new Vegas show at the Sphere.
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John Mayer is on the latest episode of Conan O’Brien’s podcast. (Overcast link.)
John Mayer Talks Next Album Plans
John Mayer talked a little about his upcoming music plans. He’ll work on a new album after the current tour, has about half of it written, and doesn’t want to release too many new songs early because he thinks it dilutes the album experience.
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John Mayer performed “It Shouldn’t Matter But It Does” on The Tonight Show.
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John Mayer shared some details about his new Martin guitar.
Read More “John Mayer Details New Guitar”When @martinguitar and I first developed the OM28-JM back in 2003, I could never have imagined the relationship would span 20 years, so when the idea for a very special anniversary model was brought up, I jumped at the chance to develop something extraordinary with the Martin Custom Shop. The result: the new Martin OM-45 John Mayer 20th Anniversary edition. The guitar is the pinnacle of what can be executed by hand by the Custom Shop’s world class master builders. Together with Martin, we developed a new wood stain named Platinum Gray Burst. Two things immediately became important to me: first, that we offer the same new color on the standard production model OMJM guitar, so that it wouldn’t be out of reach for anyone who wanted to own the OMJM, and second, that the guitars not be limited by number but by being available for only one year.
John Mayer Talks with Rick Rubin
John Mayer is on the latest episode of Rick Rubin’s podcast.
John Mayer Performs on Colbert
John Mayer performed “Waiting’ on the Day” for Colbert.
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John Mayer has announced a solo tour.
Read moreJohn Mayer Reflects on ‘Born & Raised’
John Mayer posted up some thoughts on the ten year anniversary of Born & Raised.
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John Mayer has announced he’s not renewing his contract with Columbia Records.
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John Mayer has shared a ballad version of “Last Train Home” on all streaming platforms.
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John Mayer has released a video for “Wild Blue.”
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