Post Sunday night dinner I threw on an oldie (in relative terms) "Spoke" by Calexico from 1997. Allmusic gives it a paltry 3 out of 5 compared to the 4 they give "Feast of Wire" and 4.5 handed out to their sophomore record "The Black Light". Pitchfork gives these last two 8.9 and 8.5 respectively and don't even have a review for "Spoke". But for me the debut record is far and away the record for me that just clicks on every level. Despite many repeat listens to the supposedly superior follow-up discs they just don't register the way "Spoke" did and still does.

It's not as if I'm trying to be a "I was there for the first disc" snob. Burns and Convertino are part of Friends of Dean Martinez and their first two albums preceeded "Spoke" and as much as I enjoyed those albums I don't ever seem to traipse back to them and throw them on when the mood strikes. Which brings me around to the often unwarranted cachet we place on the voice of the critics whether they be internet or journal based.

3 cases in point are to be found on Metacritic's best of 2005 list.

http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2005.shtml

#4 is Antony and the Johnsons, #8 is Wolf Parade and #17 is the Eels. The highest ranked of these albums is for me almost unlistenable. Actually I listened to the album in its entirety 2 months ago and have never gone back to it. Wolf Parade's album doesn't kick in until track 5 or 6 and as I mentioned to Stuart last week the opening track "You are a Runner and I am My Father's Son" might just be the worst opening track of any album I know. Any suggestions for any other truly vile album openers?

As for the Eel's disc it's two CDs worth of mostly forgettable music much in the vein of their previous 5 albums. I fell for the critics fawning over this one and made the purchase despite my stoic reaction to their first album almost 10 years ago.

So do critics play a large part in your purchase of new music? Do you give your music listening pals' advice more credence and if not why not? Is there any one critic you can rely on more than other's?

Check out the latest episode of NPR's "All Songs Considered" (episode 93) with the best song from the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah disc, cool new stuff from Portatsatic and Elbow, and for those who want more Kozelek (not me) a song from his new album of Modest Mouse Covers. Feel free to skip the Fiona Apple track (nothing new here) and Sinead's baldy spastic white girl attempt at reggae.

Best of all is "Carpet Crawlers" from the 3 CD set Platinum Collection of Genesis which amazingly enough shares disc space with "Illegal Alien". As another diminutive baldy Chuck Brown once said "Aaaaaargh!".

http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/