Dear Diary: John Mayer, "He's so pure, it's arresting."
Posted at 4:00 PM Oct 24, 2008
By Sharon Steel
John Mayer has been slacking on the blog front these days, but on Friday, Oct. 17, he posted a brief missive about his fave singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne. He even made us all an iTunes mix! Perhaps Jay-May prepared it to re-woo Jennifer Aniston, the lady who might still think that his body is a wonderland:
If you haven't heard Ray LaMontagne yet, you owe it to yourself to check him out. I've seen him twice in the past two weeks and I can't get over how powerful he is. He's so pure, it's arresting.People ask me all the time what artists I'm listening to, and what I think of certain singers or bands out there.
I think Ray LaMontagne is as brilliant as any artist that has ever lived.
Wait, let me think about that again. That came off pretty bold.
Nope, that's still what I want to say. Ray LaMontagne is as brilliant as any artist that has ever lived.
If Jen is reading this, she might be thinking: "How come John never says I'm so pure, it's arresting? Why doesn't he praise Friends with the same breathless, faux-naif rock critic-y tone he uses to describe Ray's music?" Or! Perhaps she's just rolling her eyes heavenward and sighing like an exasperated teenager. Because really: how is it possible for one human to be so irksome?
And he's getting better; tighter, more focused, more self-assured.But what happens to the back catalog of an artist that begins to truly break through on his third record? What happens to the brilliant songs that define Ray LaMontagne's lineage as a writer and a performer?
I took to iTunes and created an iMix of songs I know you'll love from Ray's previous two albums. Like musical Cliff's Notes.
If you want to know a songwriter's songwriter, and a singer's singer, it's Ray.
I should be writing songs when his CDs are playing.
ENJOY.
Musical Cliff's Notes, OMG! Nobody has thought of this idea before! Jen, please run. Run far and fast. This claim that you are with Mayer-spawn had so better not be true.
