Oops, looks like I've been neglecting my blog for a while. :P

Okay, I finally have a day off after a long stretch of work. Boy does it feel good! Like Clay said, after getting the Double Platinum Award and being asked what he wanted to do the following week: "Hopefully, take a nap!"
But I never sleep when I'm off. Time is too precious for that. I usually use it to catch up with reading, writing, some exercise, maybe meeting up with friends/family, watching TV or movies, surfing the Net... Should study a bit as well, but it's difficult when your brain isn't functioning optimally due to a sleep deficit. ( Excuses, excuses :))

Anyway, here're bits of a rebuttal from Raymond Goh, aka the assistant editor of 8 Days, a local entertainment magazine. This was his response to emails from Clay Aiken fans here, after his bad review of Measure Of A Man a couple of weeks ago.

"Yes, I gave Clay Aiken...a bad review. Some of the Clay fans out there, after reading the review, probably wanted to shout in my face, what the hell were you thinking?! Well, I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I gave Clay a bad review. Maybe -- just maybe -- I was thinking, it's a bad album!!

(The fans sent me) a fistful of emails to protest my lack of love for Clay. But to their credit, none of the emails were rude or belligerent. Some were, in fact, cleverly caustic and very, very lucid. But most importantly, none of the Claymates threatened me with bodily harm or Barry Manilow ballads. They all had a point to make and put it across very eloquently -- that they wanted to tear me down like a daffodil.

"How on earth does a music critic like Raymond Goh come to the conclusion that Measure of a Man is only worth 2.5 stars?" questioned one indignant Claymate. "Does he have any music sense at all?"

Look, lady ( let's call her 'lady'. 'cos using her real name, Charlene, would just be unethical ), I don't know how the rumour got started in the first place, but the myth that all music critics have "music sense"? Completely bogus. I mean, if we had any music sense at all, we wouldn't be music critics, we'd be Simon Cowell. And since none of us are Simon Cowell, the logical conclusion here would be that all music critics are really Paula Abdul.

Clay got 2.5 stars because I was torn between mildly liking his songs ( which would earn him 3 stars ) and mildly disliking them ( which would earn him 2 stars ). If Clay's album made me want to dance the funky chicken, then I would've given it 4 stars.

Another grouse with my review was that I called Clay a "marketer's problem". The email pointed out that he had sold 613,000 copies of the album in its first week of release ( and over 200,000 in the second week, meaning over one-third of them bought the album again ), and Billboard magazine called it "the best pop album of 2003".

So Claymates are of the view that these dazzling sales figures, further compounded by such unequivocal validation from the music industry's most illustrious trade rag, means that Measure was certainly not, as I had put it, "a marketer's problem". My response to that is -- I cannot hear you, I cannot hear you. "

The bits I omitted were left out because they didn't really make much sense to me ( e.g. his metaphors involving buttercups -- huh??? ). Anyhow, once again, a reporter ( sorry, can't bring myself to call him a journalist ) has disappointed me. I was privy to the second email that he mentioned -- I know this lady, and read her letter before she sent it to 8 Days -- and just want to say that it was heavily edited, so that its message was horribly truncated, and all the intelligent wit contained therein completely lost to the wind.

And as I told my fellow fans just a few moments ago -- "Charlene" is NOT the correct name, Mr. Rayson Goh -- the problem with a lot of reporters here is their inherent inability to accept opinions that differ from their own. I mean, if you're going to put yourself out there and get paid for it, you've got to develop some pretty thick skin. I myself write for the Singapore Medical Association newsletter, and run this blog -- doing both without any monetary compensation, mind you. I've had people tell me they don't agree with what I write on a few occasions. One blog reader was pretty nasty even, saying my "schoolgirlish gushing" over Clay was making him/her nauseous. My answer: if it makes you feel that bad, then don't read my blog, 'cos I'm certainly not going to stop supporting this talented guy because you're unhappy. Which planet are you from?

Of course, Raymond Goh can't tell readers to stop buying the magazine he writes for. So he has no choice but to make fun of them. Smart move. That's going to help sales.

But fret not. There're a few journalists out there who deserve our respect for staying open-minded and polite, even in the face of hate mail. My top picks are Helmi Yusof and Sumiko Tan from the Straits Times, both of whom have received heated correspondence from me on previous occasions, but who truly surprised me with their immense graciousness. The result? I read their columns regularly, and defend their writing when others pass critical comments.

It's part of human nature to get fed up when one's views are questioned. But what really matters is how you handle the situation. Lashing out and insisting you're right is the cowardly way. Searching for valid points in your opponent's arguments and making concessions where they're due will win you even the most stubborn detractor's admiration and respect. If only more journalists possessed this rare quality.

And for the record, even though Clay Aiken has been the victim of unduly harsh comments both on and off American Idol -- remember Simon Cowell? and Clive Davis / RCA giving him a hard time? -- he has always demonstrated amazing self-restraint, taking criticisms in his stride, but also accepting praise with humility and grace, and taking a stand only when the time was right.

Perhaps Raymond Goh can get past his dislike for Measure Of A Man, and take a good look at the man himself. Clay could teach him a thing or two.