Mary Timony discusses the most “hateful” song in the world
Mary Timony has long been a catalyst for creativity in indie rock, starting with her early ventures in bands like Autoclave and Helium. As she shifted towards a sound grounded in transcendent and post-punk elements through collaborations with artists like Carrie Brownstein, Timony consistently ensured that her vocalisation and guitar work commanded the spotlight.
Timony’s musical style often leans more towards the weighty and ominous, skilfully employing drones, beats, and modal melodies that evoke the spirit of European Medieval music. Her mastery extends to various alternate guitar tunings, influenced by the likes of Wire, the Slits, Fugazi, and Television. As a result, Timony crafts a sound that echoes both the intensity of rock and the intricacies of experimental music.
In the current chapter of her musical journey, Mary Timony fronts the band Ex Hex, a group comprising Timony along with Betsy Wright and Laura Harris. The band’s debut album, Rips, showcases Timony’s guitar prowess in a poignant burst of energetic garage rock. With Ex Hex, she masterfully combines influences from her past projects while injecting a fresh and invigorating sound into the indie rock scene.
Once asked about her most hated song in the world, Timony pinned the spotlight on John Mayer’s ‘Your Body Is A Wonderland’, describing a distaste so vast that she eventually grew to enjoy the song. As she explained to The A.V. Club: “I just had always had a gut reaction whenever I heard it, of just like, ugh. It fascinatingly grosses me out. There are a few songs I could have chosen, but this one, there’s the most stuff to think about.”
Continuing, she added: “Something interesting happened actually as I was listening because—like you said—I had never really spent a lot of time listening, but I [went through] a few phases of my relationship to this song as I was listening. My initial phase was just kind of like, ‘Oh God, I hate this song’. That lasted for a little while. And then as I was listening to it a few more times, I started to have this Stockholm syndrome, where I was like, ‘Oh, actually the song’s pretty good’. I can’t say I’m full of hatred for it anymore. I can’t tell you why that happened.”
Over the years, there has been considerable speculation surrounding the song, with many initially believing it was written about Mayer’s ex, Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, the singer clarified that the inspiration was an unidentified high school romance. Frequently labelled as a womaniser, the song has not been without its share of controversy.
“I think the lyrics are really, really horrible,” Timony says, but the song’s jazzy element, along with Mayor’s skilled guitar playing, eventually caused her to enjoy it. “I guess I don’t love it,” she concludes, “but I think I got a little bit lulled into the stupidity of the song or something. It kind of hypnotised me.”
