When I flipped through the latest issue of Rolling Stone, I was shocked to not see yet another article on the Shins or some insipid actor. What I got instead was a topic that seemed so ancient and out of place that it actually came off as refreshing. The topic was a list of the new guitar gods in music today, and it excited me because this wasn’t coming from the pages of Guitar World or some other dorky musician’s only magazine. But, with Rolling Stone being a mass consumer magazine, there were some choices that absolutely made sense, and ones that made me spit out whatever I was drinking at that moment.

There were some good choices in the article, such as Tool’s Adam Jones and the always mind blowing Tom Morello. Guys like that encapture the true guitar hero spirit. Also, guys like the double headed guitar monster of Gossard and McCready from Pearl Jam and the surprise addition of High On Fire ’s Matt Pike were more than welcomed additions to this countdown.

But where Rolling Stone went wrong was when they tried to anoint the new Eric Clapton and/or Stevie Ray Vaughan. And their choice almost seemed as surprising. After teasing us, thinking they were going to pick John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the magazine anointed John Mayer to be the next in line to be the next Eric Clapton.

Excuse me?

John Mayer. The same John Mayer who sang “Your Body Is A Wonderland” to screaming 14-year-old girls early in his career. The same John Mayer that is dating Jessica Simpson right now, even though he denies it (On a side note: any man who denies dating Jessica Simpson is someone you have to think is a couple sandwiches short of a picnic).

Now, it’s not like I hate John Mayer. I really don’t, and I think he has a flash or two or brilliance per album. But to try and compare him to Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan is assnine, to say the least. Mayer is trying to crawl out of the realm of teenie-bopper pop-rock and out of the early Jr. James Taylor comparisons, into a bluesy and rock guitar god. And if Mayer is trying to break that mold, it’s going to be a tough road.

He’s not like guys like Devon Allman and Derek Trucks (who were also mentioned in that same breath); and can hide behind their music to achieve their status. Mayer is already a platinum-plus level star and it’s going to be tougher for him to be mentioned on that same level for a long time.

But even with the debate of Mayer’s pending guitar god status, one question remains; Is this debate even still relevant?

If you believe the mass media; unless we’re talking about the greatest MC’s of all time or most fashionable musicians, then the answer is probably not. Something like this wouldn’t make the lists in Blender magazine or anything, but I think it’s commendable that we can even have this debate in this age of mass consumerism and style over substance.

Having this style of medium to discuss this reminds me of being in high school, and debating if Slash was a better guitarist than any of the grunge guys. But even with this article, I still gotta ask; John Mayer, are you serious?