My 2 cents on the Billy Joel thing - he's never been a favorite, but he's a very long way from the worst thing in popular music. In fact, I'm surprised that his music would engender such a passionate dislike - I would have thought that offhand dismissal would be more appropriate. He's written some good songs and a lot of junk. I've always thought that the amusing thing about Mr. Joel is the difference between his own self-image and the way the rest of the world sees him. The article touched on this - he describes himself as a rock and roll badass, but he is pretty much universally seen as an adult soft-rock crooner.

Taking up Stuart's challenge to admit some musical guilty pleasures, I was a Neil Diamond fan long before it became cool. To be precise, I like the early ND - not "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" and beyond. I started with "Hot August Night" and went backwards from there. I've also been a John Denver fan since way back - still waiting for that one to become cool.