Billy Joel Bashing Just the Latest Instance of Uncontrolled Critical Narcissism

As both a huge fan and occasional reviewer of music and film, I've grown to have rapidly decreasing tolerance for showboating critics who seem to have little regard for the entertainment niche they're covering. Instead reveling in every opportunity to lambast and thereby exercise an arrogant wit, many critics miss the point entirely by turning what they write into ego-stroking tirades rather than serious analysis if not celebration of entertainment forms they're purported to value. A recent calculated online annihilation of the highly popular but less often critically celebrated Billy Joel has garnered significant Internet attention for its highly specific, almost personal attack on that particular artist. Just do a little Googling and you'll see.

I'm not so much stepping up as an ardent Joel defender here as I'm speaking out as a music fan disgusted by all the people so enthusiastic to put on the critics' hat for almost purely self-serving reasons. Now, I'm not saying I've never produced a negative review or taken a cheap shot at an easy mark for the sake of a nice phrase, but when condescension and the easing of an apparent inferiority complex seem to be the primary reasons for creating a piece of writing, I say it's time to close the laptop and take a moment for personal reflection. If you read the above article and find yourself even in modest agreement with me, I humbly recommend my list of the Top 7 Billy Joel Songs of the '80s for a quick way to wash your mind clean of all the bile undoubtedly still staining your brain. That stuff just can't be healthy; besides, Glass Houses ain't just the name of a classic '80s pop record.

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Columbia Records