In Continuum.

I do not consider myself a crazy fan of any artistes out there, I don't think I even come close to that. The rational side of me always manages to pull me back from fanaticism, knowing that it isn't worth it to go all the way for such trivial things in life. However, if you really have to pick just one artiste that I have been crazy over the past few years, it'd probably be John Mayer. His music stands apart from most of the things that I love and listen to on a regular basis, and many people who know me would probably scratch their heads at why I love this man's music. Well, I suppose when I first got into his music some time in 2003, the lyrics related to me on a level that no other songs did. You know, about the quarter life crisis, about growing older, about not wanting responsibilities - that kind of things. Besides, that was also the period of time when I got serious with guitar, and I suppose there wasn't a better way to learn the instrument other than to learn it to his songs. I cannot say that I know most of his songs by heart on the guitar, but I can pull off a decent setlist of songs that I already know. I don't think I know many other songs other than his, considering how the rest of the songs in my library are made up mainly of electronica tunes. Those songs are, after all, kinda hard to recreate on the guitar, you know?

Anyway, I've been a fan of John Mayer for a long time now, all the way since he was just this awkward singer-songwriter who couldn't find his foothold in the world of show business. That was his staple, though, that was what he was known for. The sensitive, somewhat geeky musician who'd prove everybody wrong whenever he is standing alongside guitar legends on a stage somewhere in this world. Whatever preconceived ideas you might have of him would be shattered once he shreds the guitar, because he is that good on it. People often call him a "pop singer" because of the pop tunes that he dishes out onto the radio, and there is no denying that. Whenever I tell people that I am a fan of John Mayer, people tend to look at me with an expression of puzzlement, wondering if I was being sarcastic in the first place. "That Wonderland guy?", they would ask, and I'd have to admit it. "Admit it", I said, because it almost sounds like I didn't want to. Saying that I am a fan of this man used to be simple, because it made sense. This is a perfectly talented person with enough skills under his belt to impress and prove everybody wrong out there. If you want proof of why he isn't just another pop singer, you only need to type the words "Gravity" and "live" into the YouTube search box.

That used to be how it was, though, when it was really all about the music and less about his celebrity life. It was always musician first, celebrity second for this man, and I suppose that is something of a rarity these days, after all. When you have cameras following you from your home to the car, from the car to the gym, from the gym to the restaurant, from the restaurant back home, and from your home to a club, you cannot help but realize that your life has been turned into an unofficial autobiography, documented in pictures in tabloid newspapers. So many celebrities have succumbed to the scrutiny of the paparazzi, and it is surprising just how little regulations there are in the United States to govern these people, I feel. I mean, we have celebrity breaking down and turning into a train wreck right in front of the flashing cameras, no thanks to the paparazzi crew involved in that situation. They've crossed the line a long time ago, and no one is spared in the paparazzi world. Even back when it was easier to defend John Mayer as a fan, his life was constantly under the microscope, and America's obsession with celebrities and their private lives became epitomized in the tabloid sales.

Some celebrities are better targets than other celebrities, which is why paparazzi are more interested in some of them more than the others. You don't hear much about Chris Martin doing something stupid in the public because, well, he simply doesn't do it. It has got nothing to do with him being a father, or the fact that he is also a husband. Normal people just don't do stupid things in the public, and the trick is to keep a low profile even when you have cameras following you all the time. When you don't fan the flames, you don't get a bush fire - it's really as simple as that. Somewhere down the road, though, John Mayer decided that it'd be clever and fun to play the media game and try to "fight back" by giving them exactly what they want. You know, pretending to be drunk in public, saying something outrageous on the camera, or running around a cruise ship almost completely naked. Somewhere amidst his odd and twisted sense of humor, he feels that that is the best way to deal with the celebrity side of his life, the side that people are obsessed and crazy about. He feels that the best way to stop a train is to run head on into it, and most of his fans brushed it off as "John being John", that it is something he does.

His humor hasn't always been easy to understand, and they can become overwhelming even to me sometimes. If you are following him on Twitter, for example, there are times when his Twitter don't make any sense. They are sometimes crude, somethings crass and weird but, they are all a part of who he is and his so-called wit. Many of us defend him and say that because the general public knows him by what they read in the tabloids, they obviously do not understand the context and what he is trying to say. His humor has always been harmless for the most part, just him being a goofball and playing his "games" with the media. It has been harmless for the most part, until recently when he decided to give an interview to PlayBoy magazine. It is a long interview in which I will not go into detail, but let's just say that it has stirred up quite a lot of dust in the media regarding its contend. Everything from the usage of the word "nigger", to how he described his penis to be a "white supremacist", all of those things have caused him to become a giant douchebag all over again. In an effort to be clever and witty, he has also spoken way too much and said stupid things in a magazine - and what for? What was he trying to do?

I've been giving this a lot of thinking, simply because I care. I care enough for his music to know that I don't want people to give me "that look" when I tell them that I am a fan. It's never about the person - never. I do not care what a person does in his private life for the most part, just as long as he can justify himself in his music. I don't care if the members of Oasis are a bunch of douchebags, but the fact is that they make good music and they continue to do so. I try to be objective most of the time, but then sometimes enough is enough, you know, when too much is simply too much. There are times when what that person does in real life is so stupid, that you cannot help but hear the stupidity between every line of every song. It is especially so with John Mayer, a guy who has written songs about saying too much in songs like "My Stupid Mouth", and songs about people not knowing who he really is, and basing their judgments solely on what the media says in "Who Did You Think I Was". I remember he once said that he likes to prove people wrong on stage, with his guitar and his music. I get that, I really do. But I'm not sure he had to go out and stir up shit just to prove people wrong, you know. That's like becoming a pastor after masturbating in the public just to prove to everybody that he isn't a pervert after all. No, people are still going to think that you are a demented freak.

If I don't want to stand out in a crowd, I usually try to keep quiet and stay in the corner of things. If you don't want the tabloids to write about your private life, then don't air your dirty laundry in the public when the cameras are all pointed at you. If you don't want people to make your past relationships a big deal, then stop telling people about how great somebody was in bed or stupid statements like that. I believe that he is a smart enough man to know that, and yet something went wrong in that interview that caused me to rethink my stance about him as a human being. Perhaps there was a case of over-estimation, perhaps I've got it all wrong from the very smart. Maybe he just isn't all that smart, the way that he feels that he can defeat stupid things by doing stupid deeds. It doesn't work out that way at all, and he of all people should have known that a long time ago. It doesn't matter the context in which he used the word "nigger", which wasn't in the malicious context at all. He meant the exact opposite, but then the general public isn't very smart either. You know the consequences and repercussions that come along with using such a racially charged word, and everybody knows it. What in the blue hell were you thinking back there?

In the act of being clever, you obviously weren't too clever. It is a shame really, and this is the part when it becomes impossible to defend. I cannot find the words to defend your words and your actions, and I am sure many people out there feel the same way about this situation. From this day on, people are going to think John Mayer fans as the kind of people who supports the idea of a "white supremacist penis". For some reason, "being a fan of his music" is suddenly the same as "agreeing with everything that he says". I think he is a douche bag not because the media tags him as being one. I seriously think that John Mayer is a douche bag, and he made himself to be that way. There is always a choice when it comes to doing or saying things. You know, not doing something or not saying something. Once you've made that choice, it becomes very difficult to turn back now. I'd hate to be your publicist or your manager, seriously, because of all the stupid things that you go out to do, night after night. This isn't even the first time that something you have said got turned into an overblown issue like that. So many times, you have said that it should be about the music, that it shouldn't be about the spotlight, that you should just stick to what you do best. Then what do you do after that? You go out, do some interview and say stupid shit. Your stupid mouth just doesn't know when to shut the hell up, does it?

I am continue to listen to his music, and try to be partial about it. I've always known the fact that when I meet the musicians or the actors that I admire and respect, I am not going to like them as human beings. I love Steve Jobs, but I think he is also an asshole - same thing. I think John Mayer is a great musician, but I am going to want to punch him in the face if I have a drink with him in New York City. For the most part, I am the kind of person who cannot care less about what a famous person does in his or her life. As big of an asshole as Tiger Woods was to his wife by sleeping with a thousand women out there, you cannot deny that he is a great golfer. Just stick to playing your golf, hitting the balls, and everybody will forget about this shenanigan sooner or later. Not unless, of course, you appear in front of paparazzi cameras and start telling people about why you broke up, why you did the things you did, and all that kind of retarded things that'd only cause people to dig deeper into your life. Tiger Woods was stupid enough to not cover his tracks after cheating on his wife, but I think he handled himself pretty well with the apology and everything. I'm not even sure if he had to do a public apology at all, since he really only needed to apologize to his wife and everything. But John, I think you are smarter than that. You don't do the same stupid shit over and over again and expect people to still stand behind you. Get your shit together, even if it takes a long hiatus away from everything. The next time a camera comes up into your face, shut the fuck up. The next time an interviewer asks you about your private life, stop trying to act clever by being stupid. That stupid mouth of yours is still stupid, until you decide to get your shit together and wise up.