QUALITY COUNTS

Does the staff of Calendar have some stake in Pearl Jam’s and R.E.M.’s record sales? I can’t think of any other reason why they would continue to hammer away at these bands for not selling truckloads of albums with their latest releases (Pop Eye, by Steve Hochman, Nov. 10).

Both groups have put out breathtaking, beautiful pieces of work that, by any standard, are among their best yet. Pearl Jam has produced its fifth album (including “Mirror Ball,” the group’s collaboration with Neil Young) in five years. Combined sales of their albums exceed 15 million. R.E.M., rather than sit on an album’s worth of material for two more years until the hype was sufficiently stirred, has managed to sell a tiny 30 million records in the last decade.

So what if Pearl Jam sold less than 500,000 in its first week? Do you think R.E.M. really cares about making record industry shills and chain store owners happy? Calendar is missing the point: These groups don’t care how many records they sell, and neither do their fans. If they were entering the charts at No. 75, I’d be concerned. The fact is this: Without the hype, without the b.s., without the videos and megatours, the true fans will remain. And there are plenty of us.

DANIEL JIMENEZ

Berkeley