One of the best music critics writing today is Alex Ross, the classical music critic at the New Yorker. I've mentioned him before because of his splendid article on Radiohead ("The Searchers"), from which I learned a lot about their unique working process. I also enjoyed The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, his 2007 book that lives up to its title, and I continue to enjoy his blog - here's a link: http://www.therestisnoise.com/noise/. But yesterday, while having a look at NPR's excellent music site (http://www.npr.org/music/), I found an interview with Ross regarding his just-released book (Listen to This, which I will look forward to reading soon) wherein he answered a question regarding music that he doesn't care for, with this: "I respect Anton Bruckner and The Rolling Stones — to make a weird duo — but I can't say that I love either of them. I try not to dismiss things too quickly, but the 'blech' reaction is hard to ignore once it kicks in." This surprised me, and I've decided to take it as a challenge. And since I've learned a great deal from his writings, I'll try to reciprocate in writing a defense of the Stones, starting tomorrow, and after some research and listening, Bruckner in a couple of weeks. By the way, here's one last link - to the interview in question: http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2010/11/08/131169818/get-to-know-a-critic-alex-ross-of-the-new-yorker.