(quote)
"And BTW, Sting can write song circles around Joni (who I still love) any day."

Hardly "any day". Sting can crank out a clinker just easily; probably more so since he is much closer to playing with "commercial sales" demands. I thought his gratuitous "Jaguar" advert was pretty piss-poor as far as artistic integrity goes and the song was lyrically found wanting. It was also a pure Pop-play for the Mid-east audience as blatant as la Madonna's pretenses to the "fertile crescent" Pop-market.
Sting was also commercially "shameless" to allow the truly talentless Sean , formerly-known-as-"Puff Daddy, Coombs use his song "Ever breath you take" for what amounted to some ridiculous "minstral" number , complete with mock all afro-American white robed gospel choir, commemorating the murdered ex-heroin-dealer-turned-Rapster *property* ( I just can't bring myself to use the term "talent" ) Biggy Smalls on one year's MTV music awards. Not only did Sting agree to allow the sample-meister to alter his lyrics to eulogize this west ocast gangstah-assinated *property* , but he actually appeared on stage to sing it. If that ain't a big fat industry-pandering ass-kiss
then there ain't no such thing as artistic integrity so far as Sting is concerned.

So ,yeah, Sting is still a talent worth listening to , but he can *whore* to *the industry* with the worst of 'em.
Again ,so much for artistic integrity.

Sorry to pop yer idol-bubble ,but if i didn't see it with my own eyes and audinly *wince* in embarassment for him, I wouldn't make the point.

Carry on.