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On John Mayer

 One "student" of Tom Petty is John Mayer; once again, we see quietly witty verses and a simple chorus:


Take all of your wasted honor--
Every little past frustration--
Take all of your-so called problems.
Better put 'em in quotations.

Say what you need to say.

Mayer is arguing with himself; he is lightly mocking his own self-seriousness. This is just appealing.

Walking like a one-man army--
Fighting with the shadows in your head.
Living out the same old moment--
Knowing you'd be better off instead, if you could only--

Say what you need to say.

Mayer scolds himself for being emotionally tight-assed, "fighting with the shadows in your head." (Notably, Mayer mocks himself for being the opposite thing--a verbally flatulent Hannah Horvath--in the song "My Stupid Mouth." "I'm never speaking up again....it only hurts me....")

Even as the hands are shaking--
And your faith is broken--
Even as the eyes are closing--
Do it with a heart wide open--

Say what you need to say.

Mayer risks sentimentality in the last verse; he observes that the cost of repression is a wasted life. At some point, the eyes will close; you will die.

All this looks easy. Simple syntax, well-chosen images. Suspense and humor and a smart kind of resolution. This song is evidence of talent.
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