Songs About Jane introduced the world to a new kind of pop-rock band: One that could deliver on a tacit agreement to deliver catchy, punchy radio hits to the masses while still sounding much funkier and aggressive than the slop of homogenized pop being played around them. Flash forward a decade and now the only reason you can pick a Maroon 5 song out of a playlist is because of lead singer Adam Levine's nasal, vaguely sexual delivery. They are now firmly a part of the homogenization. Levine is suddenly the only band member in Maroon 5 that really matters, as the rest are relegated to tinkering with their instruments in the background. The band's original drummer left after their debut album (who has subsequently proven to be the real heart of that first album), and the others only show up in the studio to earn their obligatory paycheck, and only show up on stage to pantomime and fill space. They certainly don't write their own tunes much anymore, instead bringing on hired guns like Ryan Tedder (who is responsible for serving up the bulk of radio's reheated Top 40) to spew out dance-pop that couldn't be further from from the slinkiness of "The Sun" or the funk blasts of "Not Coming Home."
