His first tour since his vocal cord troubles cleared up kicks off on the 4th of July, and includes a stop at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 6th.
In addition to preparing for a tour, he's been finishing up work on a new album called Paradise Valley, and just released the first single.
It's called Paper Doll, and the scuttlebutt is that it's about his old girlfriend Taylor Swift.
For some odd reason, Mayer decided to release the song with this disturbing Prancercise lady as the visual. Maybe you should try to listen to the song without watching. Just a suggestion.
It does have some nice guitar work and a melody that just floats along..but I would prefer him to be a little bit more feisty.
Now that everybody has a camera on their phone, and now that Facebook is a greedy beast that must be fed, it seems parents take WAY more pictures of their kids than was the case back in the 1960s and 1970s. It seems we only brought out the cameras for birthdays or Christmas.
That got me to thinking about which of my childhood memories I wish came with photographic evidence. Here's the list I've come up with so far.
1. The play the kids in our neighborhood did called "Curse of the Two Twins." This original play, the brainchild of my friend Gale and me, involved cops who turned into monsters, a letter carrier/vampire, and Baby Tenderlove dolls that were transformed into hideous melted antique dolls. You'd think somebody's parents would have brought a camera!
2. The neighborhood playground we spent so much time hanging out at. All the dangerous playground equipment has been removed from the playground at St. Joe's School...I would love to be able to see it one more time.
3. Any of my first days of school. Apparently this was not a big deal in my family.
4. My first bike ride..or any of my early bikes. The purple Schwinn with the flowery banana seat was amazing.
5. Our backyard carnivals. Inspired by the Carnivals for Muscular Dystrophy, we had our own for-profit carnivals, complete with bean bag toss and other games, and prizes we'd saved up from cereal boxes.
Sigh. The pictures in my mind's eye are probably in better focus than the ones my family would have taken anyway.
People have been wondering why Billie Joe jumped off the bridge since this song came out and made it to number 1 in 1967. Singer Bobby Gentry says people always asked what was thrown over the bridge and why did Billie Joe jump. She never would give a straight answer. The question was eventually answered in a movie and a book.
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like "he's left-handed" are widely known.
Are any of these facts new to you?
1. Paul's real first name is James.
2. He was the tallest Beatle. At 5'11" he was half an inche taller than George.
3. Paul makes whooping noises in the background on "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan, and sang backup on Elvis Costello's "Veronica."
4. He was named an honorary detective by the New York Police Department, after performing at a post 9/11 benefit concert.
5. He has a minor planet named after him. Planet 4418 was named "McCartney" in 1983.
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley topped both the pop and country charts with "Harper Valley PTA". She was the first female singer to accomplish that feat and it wasn't repeated until Dolly Parton did it in 1981 with the song "9 to 5". The song was written by Tom T. Hall and eventually lead to the creation of a movie and a television show. Barbara Eden starred in both as the sassy mom who reminds the school board to be careful when criticising someone else's life choices.
This week we're doing story songs on the World's Worst iPod. We start with the story of Billy who really wanted to be a hero. He was a hero, but didn't live to see it and his girlfriend was pretty angry. The song was originally done by Paper Lace in 1974 and was a hit in the UK. A few months later, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods recorded it and it went to number 1 in the U.S.
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television shows like ABC Family's " Pretty Little Liars" and MTV's " Awkward".
ZZ Comes to the Majestic Theater in Madison on June 26, but FIRST she will make an appearance in Studio M, so if you can't make the show, be listening for the airing of the Studio M.
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really taste like cand corn, but were just non-specifically overpoweringly sweet.
And I'm thinking that will also be the description of the new Watermelon Oreos, with pink and green filling. One reviewer compared the flavor to Bubblicious bubble gum. Yecch.
It's obvious that the Nabisco folks were not going for any sort of accuracy at all. If they had been they would have included seeds! That could have added a whole new dimension to the annual Watermelon Seed Spitting competition that happens every year out in Pardeeville.
As for me, I think I'll pass on this new summertime limited edition flavor. I'm holding out for corn on the cob Oreos.
By the way, have you heard the new Oreo song, performed by Owl City?
If you believe the hashtag, #johnmayerisback!
His first tour since his vocal cord troubles cleared up kicks off on the 4th of July, and includes a stop at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 6th.
In addition to preparing for a tour, he's been...
Are kids today over-photographed?
Now that everybody has a camera on their phone, and now that Facebook is a greedy beast that must be fed, it seems parents take WAY more pictures of their kids than was the case back in the 1960s and 1970s. It...
People have been wondering why Billie Joe jumped off the bridge since this song came out and made it to number 1 in 1967. Singer Bobby Gentry says people always asked what was thrown over the bridge and why did Billie Joe jump. She never would give a...
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like...
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley topped both the pop and country charts with "Harper Valley PTA". She was the first female singer to accomplish that feat and it wasn't repeated until Dolly Parton did it in 1981 with the song "9 to 5". The song was...
This week we're doing story songs on the World's Worst iPod. We start with the story of Billy who really wanted to be a hero. He was a hero, but didn't live to see it and his girlfriend was pretty angry. The song was originally done by...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
