Abstract Story Concept Album #1: Continuum

A quick note on how this is going to go down - although I've obviously heard the albums before, I'm going to present thoughts on each song as if I were hearing them in order for the first time. That way, I'm not retroactively applying what I know to be a theme on a later track to earlier tracks. Also, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the link to the post wherein I explain what I'm attempting to do.

Without further ado, I give you the first of what will probably be several attempts at seeing if my thought holds up under some level of imagined critical scrutiny - one of my favorite albums of all time, John Mayer's Continuum.

1) Waiting on the World to Change - The lyrics don't require much interpretation at all, as this is a blatant protest song. Mayer is pissed that the system (aka the Bush administration, or at least government in general) is the way it is, but resigns himself to waiting until his generation has the power to make their own difference. Or in his words, "It's not that we don't care, we just know that the fight ain't fair." Takeaways: Raging against the system, will wait his turn in line to fix it.

2) I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) - Well, that was a complete 180. It plays almost like a warning to a girl that is falling for Mayer, something along the lines of "Watch out, because I'm damaged goods." Mayer seems to think that he and the girl won't work out (hence the title), but possibly because of something that happened to him previously. As he puts it, "If my past is any sign of your future, you should be warned before I let you inside." Then there's the bit about asking who she loves, him or the thought of him. Seems like Mayer is either a schizo or, more probably, not the ideal this girl has in her head - at least not at the moment. Takeaways: Warns a girl about falling for him, says he's not necessarily at the right place to love her

3) Belief - Another 180 right back to the first song, as this seems to be yet another shot fired across the bow of the system/the government/etc. Now Mayer's raging against the war being fought for people's beliefs, which he apparently sees as pointless. Don't believe me? He blatantly says, "Is there anyone who ever remembers changing their mind from the paint on a sign?" Of course, he also acknowledges the power beliefs can have, conjuring up the imagery of a soldier's funeral to hammer the point home. Takeaways: Disgust at the way that the system is attempting to manipulate people's beliefs, especially because they're so powerful.

4) Gravity - One of my favorite songs, yet I cannot for the life of me figure this one out. I mean, "Twice as much ain't twice as good, and can't sustain like one half could?" Twice as much of what? One half of what? If I had to hazard a guess - based on the few conclusions I can draw from the more straightforward of the lyrics - this seems to be about Mayer trying not to let life beat him down as it has so many others and waste all that he's been given. In the end, after all, "Just keep me where the light is." Takeaways: The desire to not have his life to be a waste, wants to rise above life's designs on keeping him down.

5) The Heart of Life -  So this one basically sounds like Mayer delivered some bad news or something to either a girlfriend or somebody close to him, and they took it pretty hard. Ergo, he's trying to console them by saying that deep down, life is actually a force for good. Or something along those lines. I mean, he spells it right out several times - "No it won't all go the way it should, but I know the heart of life is good." Takeaways: Even amidst a bunch of bad news, life is still good at the end of it all.

6) Vultures - Even though Mayer is obviously not talking about literal vultures, I have an image in my head of either a deserted water hole on the African savannah, or the vultures flocking around Simba halfway through The Lion King. Weird. Anyway, this track seems to be about a desire to matter - "How do I stop myself from being just a number?" - and then, all of a sudden, a desire to stay away from what I imagine are a bunch of hangers-on that are the byproduct of fame - aka the titular vultures. He apparently wants to be rid of them (who wouldn't?), but also apparently understands that if he's going to have the life he's chosen, they're included in the deal - "If this is what it takes to take me even higher, then I'll come through like I do when the world keeps testing me, testing me, testing me." Takeaways: He wants to matter, even though he has to deal with the drawbacks that come with it.

7) Stop This Train - Maybe one of the more existential songs I've heard, which is basically Mayer's description of a life crisis via the metaphor of a speeding train. It's beautifully simple, really - Mayer is scared of the passage of time forward and the uncertainty of the future. "So scared of getting older, I'm only good at being young" - who hasn't ever identified with that? And then the sobering reminder from his "father" that there's no stopping the train, and we all have to move forward with our lives as time passes. Takeaways: Time moves forward even though he doesn't want it to, he's scared of the uncertainty ahead of him.

8) Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - Of all the places I'd like to slow dance, a burning room is not one of them. Great imagery, however, to depict the failing of a relationship. It's tragic in its seeming inevitability, as Mayer pictures him and his lady friend dancing around a room slowly crumbling to ashes. Or at least, that's what the imagery evokes for me. And then the line of "We're going down, and you can see it too. We're going down, and you know that we're doomed" just reinforces the fact that both of them know that the relationship can't last much longer. Takeaways: His relationship is sadly doomed to an inevitable end, and they both know it.

9) Bold as Love - This one's a Hendrix cover, so Mayer must have picked it for a good reason. Then again, maybe it was just so that he could absolutely kill it on the guitar. Anyways, the lyrics. Maybe if I knew what exactly this supposedly all-knowing Axis was, I could ask it - since that's what the song keeps telling me to do. Lots of color references in this one, all somehow describing different shades of love or something similarly poetic. I really like the line "And all of these emotions of mine keep holding me from giving my life to a rainbow like you," even if I can't quite get a handle on how it relates to how one is as "bold as love." My best guess is that Mayer is saying that love makes him do crazy things sometimes, and that he's got a whole range of emotions that have sprung from how he feels. Takeaways: Love makes him feel a whole lot of different things, and it makes him bold in what he does. Or something.

10) Dreaming with a Broken Heart - If you look in the dictionary under the word "depressing," you'll probably find this song. It's just so raw, which makes it incredibly relatable for anyone who's gone through a break-up that they didn't want and been left with only dreams as the place where you're with that person again. If you ever want to wallow in your sadness, just pop this sucker in and let it run - there's no happiness to be found when Mayer asks "Could you stay my love? Will you wake up by my side?" and the answer is "No she can't, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone." Takeaways: Breaking up sucks, and all he's left with is the dream of what was and what he wishes he still had.

11) In Repair - Ah, now we finally may be getting somewhere thematically. Mayer is quite obviously on the back end of getting over a break-up, but is unsure if he's really ready to move on and get back in the game - hence the title, clearly. Love the line "Oh it's taking so long, I could be wrong, I could be ready. Oh but if I take my heart's advice, I should assume it's still unsteady" - it says exactly what Mayer's trying to get across without blatantly saying "I think I may be over you, but I don't really know for sure." And then the conclusion that "I'm not together, but I'm getting there" is devastatingly honest. It's a hard thing to admit that you're not over somebody, but acknowledging that is a big step in moving on. Takeaways: He's not over his ex just yet, but he's on his way.

12) I'm Gonna Find Another You - And boom, perfect ending. Mayer seems almost defiant in this one, and makes it pretty obvious that he wasn't the one who instigated whatever break-up he's coming out of. Like the last two songs, the title of this makes it perfectly obvious what the song is about - Mayer, seemingly all but over his ex, is hopeful about the future and his chances of finding another girl like her. Only apparently one who's "nicer, too." Not only that, but he seems almost glad to be rid of her, crowing that now he's "going to do some things you wouldn't let me do" and that she gave all her pride away. Whatever that means. Takeaways: He's at peace with not being with her anymore, and looks forward to finding someone else like her.

So what do we have, looking back? In order, protesting the way the system is; warning a girl against falling for him; ranting about the attempts to control people's beliefs; desiring to not waste his life; stating that life ultimately is good; wanting to matter and dealing with the consequent drawbacks; meditating on the passage of time; lamenting a doomed relationship; proclaiming his love-inspired varied feelings and crazy actions; dreaming with a broken heart; questioning his readiness to move on; and declaring that he's going to find somebody like his ex, but better.

I think it's safe to say that outside of tracks 8 and 10-12, there doesn't seem to be any consistent story told here. Those four tracks pretty obviously tell the story of the end of a relationship, and work very well together. Tracks 1 and 3 go together as well, but they don't tell a story so much as comment on the way the world is. Tracks 4-7 fit neatly together as well, but again, they don't tell a story. Rather, they read like Mayer's musings on life and fame. Tracks 2 and 9, then, are the albatrosses of the bunch. I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) seems like it could possibly fit into the later narrative of the arc of a relationship, but there's nothing in that series of songs that suggests Mayer was at a bad place to begin with, as he implies there. Bold as Love, meanwhile, has no good spot on the album, really. It doesn't fit with the social commentary, nor the philosophical musings, nor the relationship narrative. Well, it could possibly fit in the last of the three, as I Don't Trust Myself could have. But it would seem to be way too sudden to go from "I'm feeling all these wonderful and crazy emotions" to "oh no, our relationship is doomed" in one song, which is the only logical way the songs could have otherwise proceeded.

So while there certainly is a story to be found on the album, it doesn't run throughout the entire set of songs. Instead, the album touches on a wide range of themes  - and since the name of the album is Continuum, maybe that's the point.

But heck, because I came into this seeking a story to be found on the album, let's make one up anyways. And let's make it concrete, because creating an abstract story from disparate emotions is hard.

A young man is frustrated by the way things are, and waits until his time comes to make a difference. He gets to know a girl who falls for him, but for vague reasons, he's not in a good place to get into a relationship with her. While he's dealing with that, he protests against the government's attempts to manipulate people's beliefs. Suddenly, he doesn't care about the government anymore and starts pondering life's big questions. Most of all, he doesn't want to waste his life and wonders what drives others to do so. He delivers bad news of some kind to that girl from before, who he's now gotten together with, and consoles her by emphasizing that in the end, life is good. Deciding that not wasting his life isn't good enough, the guy decides that now he wants to matter in some significant way despite whatever drawbacks may come with it. But as time rolls on, he becomes scared of the future and his uncertain role in it. He has a heart-to-heart with his dad, who soberingly reminds his son that time stops for nobody. Fresh off this less-than-upbeat pep talk, the guy now realizes that his relationship with his girlfriend is doomed for some unestablished reason, and that she knows it too. But he declares his love for her anyways, choosing to describe it Pocahontas-style with varied colors representing his equally varied emotions and crazy actions. That's all for nil, as they break up and he's left devastated, going to bed with roses in his hand hoping that she takes them in his dreams - which somehow might bring her back. Over time, he recognizes that he's moving on, but is unsure over whether he's all the way there yet. But eventually, he grows defiant and boldly states that not only is he over his ex, but that he will find somebody like her - only better.

There you go. Continuum, re-imagined as the simple tale of a frustrated wannabe revolutionary who warns a girl against falling for him, lets her anyways, suddenly gets all philosophical, and then has a tremendously hard time moving on after a devastatingly inevitable break-up. Yep.

Like I said, this is clearly not - outside of 4 of the last 5 songs - an abstract story concept album as I thought it might be. Reality 1, Sean's Curiosity 0.