John Mayer holds quite the reputation as not only a great rock artist, but a womanizer. It makes sense really, I mean he's not the ugliest guy in the world and he has the voice and guitar playing skills that could make a wolverine purr.
Perhaps my personal favorite song from the album Battle Studies, “Assassin” is a catchy look into the differing stereotypical role of sex between males and females. The masculine definition tells men that sex is much more of a recreational act – a game, sport.In this song, the term assassin refers to the male character in the story. Just as an assassin has to remain emotionally detached from what he does, the male must remain emotionally detached from the women he seduces. In the narrative of this song, he has taken this role and mastered it saying “I was a killer, was the best they’d ever seen, I’d steal your heart before you ever heard a thing.” But the story takes a turn when a woman, who is typically just submissive to his actions, uses his own tactics on him. She gets him to become emotionally attached, but she herself has no attachment.
The music follows this progression as it sounds very calm and constant, then getting worked up and frantic sounding when he realizes what has happened. He realizes what he has been doing to women once he experiences it from the other side.
This is an interesting piece to look into in terms of how it might support or challenge the stereotypical male or female role. Do you think this narrative supports the masculine role of domination by initially glamourizing the “assassin,” or does it challenge stereotypes in the self-realization the character’s experiences?
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