Confronted by Richard Marx

Impressed with Richard Marx going alone, to a strange bar, to confront the writer. That's impressive.

All of this could've been avoided if the blogger would've bagged on Right Said Fred instead.

 

I agree.

 

GEICO would've made much more bank hiring Marx than Eddie Money.

 

Exceedingly well-played.

 

First, I'll say I have crossed paths professionally with Ted McClelland elsewhere, and he and I get along dandy. So I guess I have a side I would pick automatically.

What I thought reading this piece -- and what Ted himself has opined elsewhere in reactions to it -- is, basically, why is Richard Marx expending all this energy on him? Even Ted can't figure it out. I guess much of it has to do with Marx being particularly rankled when criticism comes from anyone in his hometown.

By the way, Ted isn't the only local with whom Marx has battled. Recently, he got in a Twitter way with a local public radio producer over Marx's no-show for an interview at WBEZ-FM with longtime Chicago media type Rick Kogan. Marx's contention was that he was promised a parking space and didn't get it, and he couldn't walk in the bad weather with bronchitis he was having. The producer pointed out that those issues didn't seem to stop Marx for showing up to TV interviews. And then IT WAS ON!

Actually, I suspect Marx doesn't slough this stuff off from small-time locals because he figures he can push them around. A smaller man than his old pompadour.

 

Hey, if you call someone "shameless" in print, you're accountable for the words you choose. That word offended Marx, and maybe -- probably, even -- for good reason.

 

I think Marx came off far better than the writer. He actually showed up at the bar.

25 years ago, Marx emerged from the abyss of songwriting for a remarkable four year run. Sold millions of records, even without using cowbell.

I guess I don't understand what led to calling him "shameless". Perhaps others had bad experiences with Marx. Even if the "parking space no show" is true, I would counter with this. If Marx is performing, he can't go out in the cold of a Chicago winter. It would effect his voices.

It's one thing to rip an artist's work. Sounds like Marx understands this. But questioning someone's character without any proof in print is a slippery slope.

On a much much smaller scale than Marx and a 30 million album sales history, I have a sizable presence where I live. At times a target on blogs for my work. That's fair game. But if someone writes on a blog that I am a shitty parent or questions something about my character that isn't true, I reach out to them and ask them to explain further.

They almost always apologize, tell me they're shocked I wrote and take down whatever character assassination they posted.

 

I think including these type of anecdotes would have been much more effective about revealing how the author thinks about Marx — and how he appears to think we should think about Marx — instead of the snotty one-liners he used instead.

 

you mean, "everybody's jerking off this weekend."

: :

 

Here is the reality of the world we live in now (I'll say this at the risk of ignighting the same boring ass feuds I'm always engaged in here): A lot of people are emboldened to say snarky mean shit about people by the Internet, and when confronted by those people, their weakass mumbling response is "Gawd, have a thicker skin. But yeah, I would not have said that to you face or if I thought you'd actually READ it."

I'll fully admit I'm guilty of it too. It's fun and therapudic to rip at celebrities and mock their bullshit. But part of that comes from the disconnect of living in a world of computer screens. Its harder to grasp that even a dude like Richard Marx is human and he really isn't harming anyone with his milquetoast music. It's a weird show-off-y part of modern culture. Look at me talking shit about this guy! You see it frequently on Twitter where guys put a period in front of a Twitter handle as they sling some shit like they're really shouting "See how brave and bad ass I am? I'm calling Richard Marx a douche!"

Richard Marx might in fact be a douche. I don't know. But trying to seem cool or clever by calling out a celeb has a weird desperation and dickishness to it that's a bit sad. Again, I'm 1000 percent confident I've been guilty of it and some examples can almost certainly be found within this site's archives so I'm not sure what that says about me either.

 

Marx also is married to the blond dancer from "Dirty Dancing," so, as Drip's close personal friend Carl Spackler would say, he's got that going for him, too.

 

I think the colonics commercial made me like Richard Marx more. Like I said, he seems to be fairly self-aware. Shameless to the hilt, but he makes fun of himself for it. The author of this piece came off as a huge douche and I don't understand the point of even writing this story. What was the motivation? It's like he was saying, "I am a bigger pussy than Richard Marx." If that was what he was going for he really hit it out of the park.

I also heard Marx say he gets fans at concerts that yell "Fountain of Health" at him because they want him to play it. I think that's hysterical.