Studying Battle Studies

I finally got my hands on Battle Studies by John Mayer, and I have mixed thoughts about it.  He appears to be taking a more laid-back, Jack Johnson approach to the music as opposed to some of his previous more upbeat songs. Well, I don't really know that much about either artist to say that with confidence, but thats what it seems like to me.

How many battles has he even been in?

My favorite part of the entire album was the random Taylor Swift part where I was just chillin to JM, and all of a sudden I hear this girl voice come in for two lines...

"I can't stop lovin you!    I can't stop lovin you!"

And then she wasn't heard again for the rest of the album (that one song was "Half of My Heart").  How strange.  It was almost as if an alien had invaded the CD and used a girl voice.  While Swift's voice didn't really seem to fit in too much, it did sound alright.  She has a good voice.

One question, why bother putting her in at all?

Rob, a commenter from Rolling Stone, said this:

John Mayer is trying to leach onto every poplar person’s back. He has sunken so low.

I'm going to ignore the fact that he misspelled popular, and get straight to the point (who are "poplar" people? tree people?).  John Mayer is not leaching onto Swift's back at all.  If he was, I think he would have used more of her voice in the song (and possibly entire album).  I'm pretty sure John Mayer was big way before Taylor was even known.  John Mayer will always be famous, he really doesn't need help in that department.  In fact, this duet probably helped Swift more than Mayer.  I bet he agreed to sing with her so he could take her home one night.

And who else is he "leaching" onto?  "Leach" is also used incorrectly.  Leaching is when you take minerals from soil.  Leeching is when a parasite takes something from a larger, stronger body.

The main point to take from this is...don't trust everything you read.  Most of it is written by people who aren't nearly as smart as you.

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The majority of this album is about love and battles, foreshadowed by the "Battle Studies" title.  After hearing all these news stories about the major sex addiction of John Mayer, it makes me wonder if these songs are truly from the heart, or are they just another way to get the ladies?

I can understand songs like "Perfectly Lonely." Because John Mayer is with so many women, he probably doesn't have a steady relationship in his life.  Maybe that's what he wants.  It is "perfect" loneliness.

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Battle Studies cover art from http://ripgrimey.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/jm_battlestudies_cover.jpg