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Artikeltje gevonden met 3 goede punten: John Mayer, James Blunt en Rob Thomas. Waar positief over geschreven word...het is bijna een magisch artikel
Grammys can't save John Mayer
Poor John Mayer and James Blunt are getting beaten up badly by media bullies who lambaste all music, film and TV with heart. You know, those same macho goons who launch nuclear attacks whenever they hear Celine Dion songs. Because, of course, their manhood must be protected.
Music critics are just like their equivalent film and TV thugs. They're mostly guys blinded by hormones while claiming to make high-minded aesthetic judgments that, curiously, seldom seems to favor chick-friendly fare. You've heard my rants on this topic before, specifically when this gender bias skews the results of journalists' awards bestowed by the Television Critics of America or the New York Film Critics Circle. Happily, we see less of it among the peer-group industry prizes where, hallelujah, Celine Dion reaped Grammys for Record and Album of the Year ("My Heart Will Go On," "Falling Into You") and John Mayer won Song of the Year ("Daughters").
But now Mayer is growing weary of the scorn and ridicule that tough-guy journos continue to heap on him for having the audacity to become so successful singing sensitive music full of personal ache and romantic yearning.
"Go ahead, lynch me, I wrote a hit!" he recently barked back at journalists who mocked his chart-topper "Your Body Is a Wonderland." They accuse him of writing it as a cheesy heart-tugger designed to bamboozle female CD buyers. But, no, he says. Think of things from his point of view: "Imagine that you write it before you ever get a record deal. You're 21 years old and you write a song that's so good at reaching people that they feel almost manipulated. Imagine that you're writing it in your $600 a month apartment with a stained rug. You're writing about this because you're very, very innocent. People don't like hearing about that much innocence. They say, 'You're toying with me.' How bad is that?"
Mayer suffers from the same problem as music-heartthrob-of-the-moment James Blunt, who recently said, sadly, "I'm too good looking. Men don't take me seriously as an artist."
Mayer and Blunt are both superb talents — nay, mega-talents. Their best tunes — and there are many of them — are masterpieces of simple song construction exploring complex feelings. Best of all: Mayer and Blunt are not afraid to surrender to utter romantic abandon and it's obvious from the ache in their voices that these guys mean it. Women are flabbergasted at what their existence suggests: beautiful straight men do exist who love as deeply as they do!
Obviously, these chaps pose a serious threat to the vast majority of straight guys who fake all that schmaltz just to get laid. It's outrageous how fiercely Mayer and Blunt get punished for it by the press.
In response, Mayer and Blunt should follow the lead of another Pretty-Boy-Crooner-with-a-Heart: Rob Thomas. The Matchbox 20 frontman has been bruised and battered for years for daring to sing unapologetically about his tender heart, too, but he's managed to fend off the worst of it because he retains a slight edge of Macho Cool. Meantime, the music industry sure takes him seriously: the Grammys crowned him with Record and Song of the Year in 1999 for "Smooth," his coventure with Carlos Santana.