He may be a notorious womanizer, but as John Mayer sees it, he's holding back, in large part because of that label he can't seem to shed (fairly or otherwise):

“I should be having sex with more girls.”

This is what the douchebag concluded to the New York Times in an interview that ran over the weekend. But alas, the celeb gossip sites have taken their toll.

“It’s crazy to me that in my head, that being 32 and dating women is going to get me in trouble,” he said. “I can’t even explain how terrible that feels."

"I equate dating a woman with punishment, shame, guilt, disappointment, reproach, reprimand, persecution," the self-pity party continued. "It’s a nightmare.”

For John Mayer, being an ambivalent, self-aware heartthrob has its downside.

In the three years since his last album, the double-platinum Continuum, was released, he’s become a notorious tabloid staple as well as a singer/songwriter.

Mayer is known arm candy - Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston - and his tests of will with the media as much as he is for his music. But now it’s music ... right?

His new album, Battle Studies, released on Tuesday, seems to suggest it ... but with a hint of cynicism and bitterness that may stem from his personal life.

Most of its tracks are about love, and about lovers, and about anyone who might be looking and passing judgment from the outside in. Aww. Poor John Mayer.