good or great.

Listening to ‘Battle Studies’ by John Mayer.  Good record.  I like the tunes.  I don’t think he could write a bad song if he tried.  I just don’t think he tried to write ‘great’ songs on this one.  It lacks that ‘wow’ factor that he usually brings out of recordings.  Please don’t get me wrong.  I’ll probably wear this CD out like I have the rest of them. I’m just not supper impressed.

Maybe that was the wow factor of this record.  As an artist, I’ve come to realize that my work does not define me.  It comes from me.  I define it.  I hope people love what I do, but I can’t hold it against someone if they don’t like it.  It doesn’t mean they don’t like me.  They just don’t like what I’ve done.

Artists tend to put their heart and soul into projects.  When critics tear the work apart, it’s like they are tearing the very soul out of the artist.  We can’t keep defining ourselves in these products and dealings.  I am not what I do:  what I do is A PART of me.  Not the whole.

Having said that, I try to make what I do GREAT.  I believe that good is the mortal enemy of Great.  They battle back and forth in our lives for control of our mind and our actions.  We by nature will want to settle for good.  That shouldn’t happen.  We only have a certain number of days.  We should be able to look back with no regrets on what we’ve done.  Fight the natural tendency and make your life GREAT!

Sure, John Mayer will sell millions of records and concert tickets this year.  People will still dig his stuff.  I will still question whether or not it’s ‘great’ rather than just ‘good’.

I believe that in the end, he won’t care:  because he has stated that this record is a snapshot of his heart. (paraphrase)  I am glad to hear an artist do the art, and then offer it with little thought of positive reaction.  He’s just doing his thing.

So, hats off John Mayer.  Way to wear your heart on your sleeve.

I hope in the end that people love what I do.  I pray that in the end, I have loved others more than myself and made sure everything I did had purpose and meaning in some one’s life.  This is the ‘greatness’ I want to achieve more than anything.