The Lightweights and the Critically Approved

I don’t know what’s funnier, Richard Marx thinking critics don’t like him because of his hair or Hilburn doing a whole article on people like Marx griping about why people like Hilburn don’t like him. Lighten up, guys!

Ninety-nine percent of rock critics are a curiosity, nothing more. A sensible person gives no more thought to one of these scribblers than he would a television critic, a sportswriter or Geraldo. People like Hilburn are useful in gauging what the middle-of-the-road, hip-trendy, radical chic, yuppie crowd is thinking at any particular moment (these are very fickle people).

Why should Marx, Phil Collins, Billy Joel and the rest of the “outs” care about the likes of Hilburn? As long as “Candy” and “Ronnie” keep buying their music and showing up at their concerts, why should they worry?

They’re never going to make music like Newman, Simon, Springsteen or U2. And the critics will probably turn on these “in” guys someday (they already have, in the case of the last two). Hey, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll.

CHARLES CHICCOA

Glendale