So I’m sitting here on the 3rd of January thinking about what to blog about. It’s the third day. Not looking promising, considering one of the two posts made previously in the year was the obligatory “I’m doing a post everyday now” post. Nevertheless I tried something I put off for a while. It’s not rock climbing, zorbing or anything cool. It’s actually listening to that critically acclaimed Madvillainy album that came out six years ago.

I’m not update on music by anyone’s standards but after being berated to listen to it by many friends, it was Metacritic’s best music of the decade article that pushed me over the edge. Madvillainy’s 94% average score suggests that it’s worthwhile, yeah, for an album 94 is an exceptionally great score because music critics actually critique things. The clue is in the name.

After a few listens, it’s hard to believe that this is the fifth best album in the last ten years. Granted, it’s not bad and it’s definitely unlike anything you’ve heard before. But is that all critics really value, originality?

I for one, if I may call myself a Games Critic, value this above anything else. I’ve happily given sparkling reviews to games like Mirror’s Edge, Skate and Fahrenheit. Meanwhile I’ve been spotted giving average reviews to Gears of War 2 and Killzone 2. I’m trying to figure out why this is.

Yeah, reviewing, playing and constantly reading about games for two years is a surefire way to get burnt out on the generic carbon copies of the latter list. That’s not to say that those are bad games but we’ve seen hundreds of FPS clones and whether they are first or third person, it’s all the same to me. Yeah Killzone 2 looked great but I might as well be playing any other shooter. So I guess I’ve got to decide what’s going on here. Am I not enjoying Madvillainy because I don’t listen to new music every week or is it because my tastes haven’t matured?

I guess journalists who play, listen or watch everything lose touch with the person they are talking to. I know loads of people who really enjoyed World At War but didn’t they play the exact same game, the year before? Didn’t anyone else notice that?

The answers to those questions aren’t that important but I would like it know; Is this all a case of being overexposed, journalistic snobbery, out of touch journalists or people not knowing a good form of media if it hit them in the face?