This is the official discussion page for our group! Since we don't have a general meeting time, this seems to be the best way to go about our discussions so that everyone is involved.
I'm going to use the original topic that sparked this group as the icebreaker for the blog... John Mayer vs. Eric Clapton, can you compare? If so, which one sets the bar?
9 comments:
You can't compare Eric Clapton and John Mayer. I'm partial to Clapton just because I grew up listening to him but then again I'm no musician. Who's better? I'd say Clapton. On what terms? I'm not sure.
I have a hard time thinking Mayer compares to Clapton. Maybe it is just that I feel Mayer's lyrics are so sappy ... he is a great musician, but he seems to be writing for a singular audience for his songs. Clapton has a broader appeal -- and therefore I think is a stronger musician b/c he does is willing to try different things.
I vote for Clapton too for the same reasons as those already stated.
Ugh... No one is ever going to let me live this down! In my opinion, the important thing to consider is HOW these musicians are being compared. Contrary to popular belief, I would choose Clapton over Mayer any day when it boils down to overall musicianship... They are both phenomenal musicians... But I still want to defend Mayer because I'm probably the only one who ever will. John Mayer really has talent as a musician, and it wasn't until I started listening to his blues playing that I truly gained respect for him as an artist. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that most of his mainstream stuff is terrible and "sappy". I can honestly say that I have never heard a good John Mayer song on the radio, and I believe that this in turn gives many people a biased opinion about his work. After I became intially interested in his music, I learned more and more about his playing styles and was blown away. Listen to some of his less popular songs, and you can begin to realize why Rolling Stone called him "slow-hand junior". If anyone is interested look up the song "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"; it's not only one of my favorite songs done by him, it's also one of my favorite songs of all time... it's that good!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LrZKcp2ZcQ
Take a look at this... it puts Mayer with two of the best guitarists around in an interview and jam setting, which might shed a little different light on the subject.
I think that both are excellent musicians, but comparing the two is near impossible. I think that a lot of what goes into an artist's writing is how they were raised. Mayer grew up in a middle-upper class family, and went to college to study music. Of course, his chops might be better than Clapton's merely because he studied music. Clapton, on the other hand, was dirt poor, and was told to believe that his grandmother and her second husband were his parents, and that his mother was his older sister. If I lived a life like that, I would probably pick up a guitar to escape my problems, too. Therefore, because Clapton lived a tough life, I think that he has more emotion than Mayer, because what Clapton is playing reflects his life style.
Mayer is a nasty blues guitarist. It doesn't matter how he was raised, he still feels pain just like anybody else, an he can make his guitar cry when he picks it up. We're not just talking about chops here, he can convey a devastating sense of emotion through his playing. Clapton is washed up. I can respect him for what he's done, and there's no doubt that the man can play, but I think that Mayer just might have him licked. Clapton has been talked up over the years, you know? Eric: the man and the myth. I'm not a huge fan of John's lyrics, but if we're talking about who can play better, I think I'd have to say John Clayton Mayer.
Think about it in this perspective... can a comparison be had considering that while John Mayer may have mastered the genre, Eric Clapton was one of the pioneers that DEFINED genre. Chops may or may not be a contributing factor here, as music is in a constant state of evolution and change within every genre from classical to hip-hop. Your thoughts?
I agree. Defining a genre is a lot tougher than taking an already existing one and making it better. That's why bands like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones are considered to be the best bands of all time. They took basic chord structures, and turned it into Rock and Roll. Could you say the same for Mayer?
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