If i recall correctly he said it wasn't a cd he'd be listening to alot, because it was so 9/11 oriented. I have to say I agree with him. While I love the songs on this record, every time I hear them images of 9/11 pop right back into my head. At the time Bruce fans took Jon's comment about it as a public slam against the record, which I don't think it ever was. Jon didn't say it was a bad record or that the songs sucked, I think he just felt it was too closely associated with the horror that was 9/11.

As for the Bruce fan thing, I think the tension and controversy between them is a fan built thing, and has nothing to do with Jon and Bruce themselves. Bruce is a very private person, unless he's out playing he's pretty reclusive alot of the time. Plus he's been known to take forever between records which means there's alot of time when he's out of view.
Jon, and BJ on the other hand work alot more, and Jon is much more public than Bruce, whether it's with the Soul, or Habitat, or making movies etc....

I think they are two very different people who like, admire and respect each other, that who privately probably have a good time together, but have over the years, have figured out the best way to stay friends is to keep it private for the most part. I'm sure when Jon was younger it did bother him to be constantly referred to as the poor mans Springsteen or the wannabe Bruce, but my guess is that these days, they are both comfortable about where they are in life and what they have accomplished, and that any tensions or controversies are in the minds and hearts of fans, not the two of them.