By Chloe Melas

CNN

(CNN) -- John Mayer, you've come a long way.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the singer said he's coming into adulthood as he approaches 40.

"I'm 39. It's funny, I was 31 for 8 years, then I became 39," he told the magazine. "And there's something that happens that's really great with that."

The interview is a stark contrast to Mayer in 2010, when he made a series of now infamous sexually-explicit and racially insensitive remarks while discussing his previous relationships.

When asked by the magazine to comment on his former girlfriend Katy Perry, who recently called Mayer the "best lover" she's ever had, his response was measured.

"I don't have a cool-enough thought for you," he said. "I've hacked this game. I pay very little of the price of fame now. I get to play the music that moves me the most. I'm having the time of my life. I'm 39 -- I remember 32. I don't wanna do it again."

Mayer also spoke about how he's given up drinking.

"I put [weed] where drinking used to go, and the quality of life has gone up considerably. Drinking is a f*ing con. How much is enough?" he said. "Every time I drank, I was looking for some sort of regulated amount. It always feels wrong for me. I always feel like I went overboard."

So why replace one substance with another?

"I was always the guy saying that I didn't like altered states," he explained. "Once you know who you are, then it becomes OK. I'm much more open-minded to small changes in consciousness."

The seemingly more mature Mayer sounds content prioritizing music these days, instead of courting drama.

"My path is gonna be: 'I'm going to continue to do what I do, and that's going to change in the way it relates to whatever's happening in the world that year," he said. "What I was able to do is go, 'This is your lot. This is your lane. You're going to be making records for the rest of your life."