Wow.
Maybe Sarah's on to something, I thought. John Mayer's songs that I'd heard were pretty cool. Why not grab the album? He's popular, won't be hard to find, bing, bang, boom. So I hopped on my trusty fileshare network and grabbed Room for Squares. Queued it up in Winamp, and I've been absolutely amazed. I was surprised at his lyrical genius - the radio singles definitely understate his ability to turn poetry into a song. His words evoke definite images (the awkward situation in "My Stupid Mouth") and at the same time he can put words to feelings nobody's been able to express before (3x5). What's more, he's an enjoyable singer. He's constantly relaxed - you can tell he never pushes himself vocally; he's comfortable 100% of the time. I'm also impressed by his improvisational ability.
So here I sit, trying to learn all the songs on his album. Yeah, Sarah was right. I'd gladly give up my smarts to have his talent - it's not a sellout kind of talent that's going to leave him working the car wash in five years. No, Mr. Mayer is at the forefront of a new generation of singer/songwriters. And here the old people had given up on us entirely.