Shadowing Practice: John Mayer, 'Recovered Ego Addict' | msnbc - Learn English Speaking with Video
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John Mayer is a seven -time
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Grammy winner, a multi -platinum selling artist, and a prodigious guitarist who's played with everyone from Eric Clapton to Ed Sheeran.
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But in recent years, you might know him better for making headlines than for making music.
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From tabloid -ready falls in and out of love with famous women to a notorious tell -all Playboy interview.
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Then, he disappeared from the spotlight, avoiding social media and interviews and building a quieter life in Montana.
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I caught up with him in L .A as he works on a new,
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deeply personal album and tries to put the focus back on his very first love.
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When I discovered the guitar when I was 13, all of the creative energy went into that.
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So I was sitting in class writing lyrics.
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I was in math class on one of those uneven desks, writing lyrics.
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One story that's out there is that
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Back to the Future was the genesis of the guitar idea.
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That was the big
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Rocky moment for a lot of kids who were into music.
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And that for me was like the moment the nerd gets revenge, right?
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Like, who is this nerdy Marty McFly kid and then he gets to play basically...
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Blowing people's minds.
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Yeah, blowing people's minds.
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Which is a child fantasy, being the quiet kid in the room all of a sudden plugs in and plays.
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Were you an outsider?
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Were you popular?
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That's a good question.
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I had created this alter ego which was, by day, this sort of mild -mannered kid kid who nobody really saw
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and then by night I would be in a room listening to Charlie Parker
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and John Coltrane and Freddie King and and Jimi Hendrix
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and Eric Clapton and I was playing along with CDs and then I went to school and
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it's very difficult but then you ultimately got to do
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that you pursued
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that as an adult it happened really fast for me really really fast by 2000 I I signed my record deal.
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2001, record came out.
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Roof or squares.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Body is Wonderland is everywhere.
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Radio loves you.
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Runaway.
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You're transformed.
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Yeah.
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What's that experience like?
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It's just a rocket ride.
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Were you ready for it?
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Yeah, I was ready for it.
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Everything that happened was, it made perfect sense to a guy like me.
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If you'd asked somebody from Fairfield, Connecticut, what do you think's gonna happen to John?
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So you go, oh yeah.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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He was going to hit it so hard that at first people were going to go,
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great job, and he was never going to stop until he went off the rails.
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I think you went off the rails, though.
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You used that term.
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In my way, based on what my payload was, I didn't have a drinking problem.
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I wasn't...
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It was a thinking man's...
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It was a thinking man's fiasco, right?
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It was like...
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And it's a lot harder to explain to somebody.
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When you're 23, three, and you begin your life at the top of the chart, and you've got that spunk,
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and you go bring on the world, and you go, okay, here's a Grammy, and here's an audience, and you got it.
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Now, when you invariably do find out that not everything you touch turns to gold, you've got a choice.
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You either bleed out, or you tie off, right?
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So what's the point at which you tied off?
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I tied off after I went, all right, dude, you did a couple interviews where you were out of touch
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and you were being a ham and you were basically breakdancing into a nitroglycerin plant, right?
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Now you don't even have the chance that everybody's gonna love you ever again.
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They handed me the Playboy interview before it came out and I knew that,
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I knew, you could have sat down in front of me and said, John, that's not getting printed,
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but I wanted you to know what would have happened had I not stopped that interview.
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But do you think they shouldn't have printed that?
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No!
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I do think they should have printed it.
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You just think there's a place for that moment of mercy.
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Well, you give it to yourself.
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You give it to yourself.
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You know, you gotta give it to yourself.
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But, you know, um...
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In that period of time, I would have rather killed myself than been killed.
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I was never gonna wrap my Corvette around a tree.
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My high -speed crash was an intellectual one.
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What was the moment where you first thought,
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Okay, this is not what I want to be known for oh man the first time somebody misunderstands you
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and says you're a womanizer
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You don't consider yourself a womanizer no no absolutely not but
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when you're crafty and you're clever and you go well I'm just going to
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Be as Strange as they think I am so okay now you're on TMZ
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And you're playing into the role you're leaning into the role right?
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And then you lose, number one, you're not playing music anymore.
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Number two, you're not feeling anything honestly.
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And number three, you're not saying anything honestly.
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You once said you abused the ability to express yourself.
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Oh, yeah.
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What's different now?
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Oh, I know what I want.
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I don't care if this video gets 500 ,000 views or 50 ,000 views or 5 ,000 views.
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I'm not out to affect that anymore.
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That's for me to care about.
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That's for you to care about, man.
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Are you susceptible yourself to...
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Wanting the Twitter feedback, wanting the approval?
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Yeah, that's why I pull myself off of it again.
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I'm a recovered ego addict, and the only way that I can be sure
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that I don't relapse is to admit that I constantly have this ego addiction every day.
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So I do the Grammys and I go home, because if I stayed, I'd get high again.
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And then I'd get high, and then I'd get low.
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High on the approval.
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Well, yeah.
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You've already looked through Twitter, Everybody goes, it's great.
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And then you're low again because you can't stop looking, or you get low because you read the one negative thing.
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So I'm a recovered ego addict.
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Like, this is not the first outfit I put on today.
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I'm admitting that because that's my AA for being an egomaniac.
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Are you gonna check
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Twitter after this interview?
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I will not check
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Twitter, but I checked the mirror, the original Twitter.
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The mirror, I checked my mentions in the glass how has this changed since you broke
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there's new technology now instant feedback now right the technology
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that I think I'm I'm confident enough to say is hurting music is
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that musicians are are very self -conscious now they're very self -aware I see people sing
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and I go they're hoping they do okay and they're gonna find out
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if they do okay they're looking for the feedback they're singing
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They're just hoping that when they get in the car on the way to dinner,
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their face is lit up and they're checking to see if they did okay.
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I could go on a sermon if I wanted to, but I just don't know how old fart it would sound.
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I just don't want to call BS on things that aren't for me.
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You have two choices.
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You can look at Sam Smith and you can say, you can be all cynical and go,
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well, I knew sam smith when it was that because yeah
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but they don't are you implying
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that sam smith is trainer wheels for people who haven't heard
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that no i don't i mean it but if you wanted to be cynical
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you could listen to it and go oh i've heard that
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when it was x y and z or something
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and i'm kind of picking the guy out of a hat
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because i like sam smith and i would use sam smith as an example for
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so many great things i go oh well that they're doing that again like that's been done but you
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You go, wait, don't hold your age against other people.
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You know what I mean?
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Because it's the first time they've ever gone da -da -da -ba -da -da -da -da.
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And they go, wow, I've never heard someone sing like that.
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You go, have it.
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I want you to have it.
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You think it's getting worse?
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Yeah, because there's nobody to tell you what to do anymore.
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Artists overthrew the record company heads, and the record company heads cannot tell an artist when to put a single up on their own,
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you know, on their, you know, They put a clip of your song on Instagram, SoundCloud.
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And they can say whatever they want.
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And they can say whatever they want anytime they want.
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There's no checks and balances.
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And how's technology changing that?
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When you look at, say, Taylor Swift coming out and saying, and I'm talking about Taylor Swift professionally here.
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We have to be able to talk about Taylor Swift professionally.
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We have to be able to talk about Taylor Swift.
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So tell me about that.
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When she comes out and says, I'm not putting it on Spotify.
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Right.
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That doesn't respect the artists and the writers enough.
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I think that's cool.
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I think that's really cool.
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Uh, artists need the person with the loudest voice to speak for them, and...
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Is she doing that?
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I think so, when you say that.
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You can go to the Met Ball.
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You know, that's great.
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That's a great way to use your voice.
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You can go, I'm wearing Valentino.
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Or you can use your voice to give things.
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Well, now, some people that are cynical could say you're helping yourself, but it's trickle -down.
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You're not saying I want this just for me.
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I think that's a really cool thing for a musician to do.
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Like, there's only, like, 2 % of the music industry has 80 % of all the media about it.
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You know what I mean? there's like four people in the media who get all the press and
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if any of those four people say
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i want to speak for the other people who just would never make this a story the only reason
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that we're talking about taylor swift taking spotify on is
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because she's taylor swift and that's great you said you could do that
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or you could go to the met gala yeah yeah i'm going to the met gala does it bother you
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when you look at her or anyone else we're talking about in this conversation
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and they've got that side of their public persona, too.
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No!
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Not at all.
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Not at all.
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Nothing bothers me anymore, man.
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Do you still have that emotional reaction, though?
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Yeah.
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Taylor Swift, one of those four people.
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I checked myself with it, but yeah.
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Yeah.
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There are gonna be times when I make music as popular or empirically valuable as that, in terms of making pop music,
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that won't sell as many copies, and I'm fine with that.
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You get to an age, you go, look, if I save a baby from a burning building and Kanye saves a baby from a burning building,
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there's more Google News hits on Kanye.
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I'm fine with it.
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You and Kanye saving babies from buildings is a movie I want to see.
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Now, together, this is what I'm trying to tell you, is together we're unstoppable.
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But that's a great episode.
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That's a new ER right there.
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But all we're talking about is, like, um...
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Being honest with yourself and what to ask for in this life.
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I put out a song called Paper Doll.
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The song never got listened to as a song.
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It became a news story because of the lyrics.
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But you must have known that that's what it was going to become when you wrote it.
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I'm not in the business of telling people what the song's about.
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I never said anything about it.
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And now I just go, look, I can say the name Taylor Swift she's an artist, I'm an artist, let's just, everybody stop.
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Nobody's got an incurable cancer.
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We're rich people who get to live out our dreams.
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Let's just stop it.
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I'm a musician who's bigger than one song or one record.
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So it's really more about the longevity of all the work that goes together.
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And I'm just not interested in the things that won't last forever.
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What have you found in Montana?
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I just found home, man.
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And it gives you outside perspective.
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I'm going to have one wife, a certain number of children,
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friends that are set, fans that will listen to the music that I make.
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And the greatest moment for me was giving up the big fight.
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The big fight to be this thing that gets off the airplane at LAX and floats through.
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And I have a lot of admiration and envy sometimes for people that large.
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I'll be standing by the front desk sometimes, being like, you know...
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Anyone want to notice me?
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Anybody want to notice me?
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Is there a party that still wants to be One Direction?
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Oh, that's such a good question.
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Sure.
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But it wants to be One Direction via Neil Young.
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If you could say one thing to young John Mayer, say right before
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Room for Squares, what's that message?
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Just give him a hug, I guess.
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There's nothing you could tell that kid.
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There's nothing you could tell that kid.
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I'd give him a hug, and then I'd go, this guy.
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I'd say, that guy's really, really talented, but I don't want to be anywhere near him when that thing goes off.
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You know what, this is what I would tell my young self.
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You are now my young self.
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What a handsome young me you are.
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I'm trying.
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There was never a shot.
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There was never a shot of doing this perfectly.
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It was never in the cards.
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That's what I write people.
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I wrote, I don't want to bring her into the conversation, but I wrote this new up -and -coming Australian rapper.
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I don't want to give her name away, because there's so many of them, so she's hit.
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And I said, this is it.
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I said, don't be upset that you're feeling like you're just an inch away from having your cake here.
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This is the new way it's going to be.
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You're never going to do it seamlessly.
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Success comes with hatred now.
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Yeah, it just comes with, yeah, that's how we learn about things now.
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And I write, hey, I'm John.
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I just want to let you know that this feeling you're having, that you've become successful, but the world won't stop hating on you.
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This is not a broken version of success.
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This is the new version of success.
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So we're doing this series on genius, and I promised you I would not put you in the position of describing yourself as a genius.
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I think I've proven through this interview I am not a genius.
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There's this other side you get to, and you don't get there very often.
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I call it this other side, where while you're writing, you speak so much of your truth that you're even learning from it.
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John Mayer it's like it's like a therapy session every time
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I talk to you thank you man well for who is
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that and now it's America's therapy session now it's America's that'll be three hundred
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and twenty -five dollars insurance doesn't cover it
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “John Mayer, 'Recovered Ego Addict'”. This video has 260 sentences and 2612 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:40. The speaker talks fast, about 191 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| swift noun | /swɪft/ | A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight. |
| lyrics noun | /ˈlɪɹ.ɪks/ | The words to a song (or other vocal music). |
| genius noun | /ˈd͡ʒin.jəs/ | Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art… |
| feedback noun | /ˈfiːdˌbæk/ | Critical assessment of a process or activity or of their results. |
| musician noun | /mjuˈzɪʃən/ | A composer, conductor, or performer of music; specifically, a person who sings and/or plays a musical instrument as a hobby, occupation, or profession. |
| cynical adjective | /ˈsɪnɪkəl/ | Of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness. |
| guitar noun | /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ | A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). |
| mirror noun | /ˈmiɹɚ/ | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| rail noun | /ɹeɪ(ə)l/ | A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing. |
| bother verb | /ˈbɑðɚ/ | To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for. |
| recover verb | /ɹɪˈkʌvɚ/ | To get back, to regain (a physical thing; in astronomy and navigation, sight of a thing or a signal). |
| professionally adverb | As a professional; for one's paid career. | |
| addict noun | /ˈæd.ɪkt/ | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug. |
| gala noun | /ˈɡælə/ | Pomp, show, or festivity. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| go off verb | To explode. | |
| tie off verb | To close, seal, or end something by tying a knot. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| go together verb | To be in a relationship. | |
| live out verb | To not reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.) |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Were you ready for it?
- You know what I mean?
- You think it's getting worse?
- Do you still have that emotional reaction, though?
- Anyone want to notice me?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | You've already looked · haven't heard · i've heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been killed · be known · is lit |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | kids who were · ego which was · people who haven |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 106 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, overthrow /ˌoʊvɚˈθɹoʊ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/, addiction /əˈdɪkˌʃən/, admiration /ˌæd.məˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlɛkt͡ʃʊəl/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, notorious /nə(ʊ)ˈtɔː.ɹɪ.əs/, admiration /ˌæd.məˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, longevity /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like swift, lyrics, genius.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.