"I could be happy with less, I guess, if you told me that less is more."

Since part of my job description is to offer my opinion on music and art, I get on people's bad side a lot. And, as I am of the opinion that the majority of popular music and art is watered-down and those who like it have no taste, I get on people's bad side a lot more often than I probably need to.

This really bugs me. Not the getting hate mail part (I squeal with delight whenever I see a letter to the editor slagging me,) but the fact that these same people who are so apathetic to the local music scene and the promotion of quality artists turn around and act as though they've sworn a blood oath to stand up for a major-label band churning out by-the-numbers music free of passion or individuality.

Some pop star puts out a boring album and I say so, but you'd think I stomped into the listener's home, slapped their mother, then made their puppy cry. I understand people grow very attached to their art. I can admit I might have a raised eyebrow and harsh words for anyone who would say Dylan can't write or Hendrix can't play.

It's when people whine that I've been mean to Fergie that I get confused.

I recently got a double-dose of this on Monday, when two letters were published about my review of the recent Angels and Airwaves gig at the BJC. (To recap what I said: I personally hate all of their fans and am glad for all the personal suffering Tom DeLonge has endured in his life.)

On one hand, as always, I was excited to see that people read my stuff and cared enough to compliment it. On the other hand, it was a lousy gig by a mediocre band, and I panned it thusly. Yet people are up in arms about it. I try my best to mix my criticism with solutions and pointing in better directions: I support local bands, I highlight albums I enjoy, etc. But I get the same tired "oh, man, everyone there liked it, just shut up" e-mails. As if it's the job of a critic to just regurgitate what the fans think.

I'm glad that people at least cared enough to buy tickets to a rock concert, but I'm sad that standards have fallen so low that people are praising the weak show. Maybe if the average student here put a sliver of the energy they spend into defending tripe into searching out better music, they would't have to settle.