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I've never had an easy relationship with critics. I hold a lot of homicide in my heart. If this was another time, I'd be packing a piece.

You never want to sound bitter about critics, because they're entitled to do their job, too, but I place much more trust in a person who I can look in the eye and someone who I know I share some kind of taste with - so my friends, for instance. For me, a critic is unknown and therefore irrelevant.

A friend is a lot of things, but a critic isn't.

I've lost many of my best friends... I'm going to satisfy myself now, not the critics, not even my friends.

I think critics are very useful. But I think that they, in a way, betray their position when they stop people looking for themselves.

Some critics have been very harsh. That's okay. I like honest criticism.

If critics have problems with my personal life, it's their problem. Anybody with half a brain would realize that it's the charts that count.

Have you ever noticed how most critics disagree with the public? That should tell you a lot about critics.

I'm not trying to brainwash my critics. If they're critics, they're critics, and that's their job to be critical, but I certainly enjoy the involvement I have with my fans. I enjoy the time I get to spend with them, and I don't waste time with someone stubborn who is not going to come around.