Obviously I can’t have a record buying bonanza every week, otherwise I’d go broke. Definitely not a good look in today’s economy. So, this week will mark something of a vacation for me, with only one release that I’m nutso about. Here’s this week’s lineup of releases.
The Streets“Everything is Borrowed”:
Folks on these shores (most of ’em) don’t get Mike Skinner or his style of music. Considering I didn’t think Amy Winehouse would cross over, I think Skinner is long overdue for some American love. “Everything is Borrowed” is his fourth, and reportedly the last album he is releasing under the Streets moniker. Expect more personal raps spiced with enough British slang that you might have to IM your best friend from London to ask “what the hell is he talking about here?”
You know the story about the boy who cried wolf? When the wolf finally attacked him, no one came to the rescue because they thought he was faking? Let’s flip that theory a little bit and apply it to humor. If you’re known for being the class clown, people are at the very least going to be taken aback when you decide that you’ve come to a time when you need to be serious. That’s what happened to singer/songwriter/pianist Ben Folds when he released “Songs for Silverman” a couple of years back. After a decade of delivering bratty humor and sarcasm (applied to very real feelings and emotions), Silverman was a bit of a left turn-and it was stone cold sober. Ben’s fans didn’t really know what to do with the album, and it was a bit of a disappointment. At the very least (for people like me) it took a really long time to get into.
So, the folks who loved “Silverman” are going to see “Way To Normal” (Folds’ third official solo album) as a regression. The people who were turned off by “Silverman”‘s pointed lack of humor are going to see it as a return to form. I’m not sure how I see it. Folds remains a ridiculously gifted storyteller and songwriter-certainly the only person who can deliver a tune with a Broadway-ready melody and follow it with a bit of snotty punk attitude. Even though some of his lyrics are unnecessarily vulgar in that “South Park” GROW UP ALREADY!! kind of way that high-minded folks (like I pretend to be sometimes) won’t appreciate, they’re all very real, even though they might be played for laughs. On this album, Folds hints at the reasons behind the dissolution of his third marriage, his lack of comfort with his celebrity, and on a song or two, is downright goofy for the sake of being goofy.
Editor’s Note: Because the charts have been friggin’ boring lately, I’m gonna turn the Sunday morning Chart Chat column over every two weeks to Mikey so he can discuss the goings on on the rock charts. Take it away, Mikey! (exits stage left…see y’all next week when we can talk about bands (hopefully) other than Metallica and T.I…damn it, his album’s gonna be #1 next week. Oh, well…
Axl Rose. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Mainstream Rock
The Day That Never Comes/Metallica (6 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
Bad Girlfriend/Theory Of A Deadman (18 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
Rock & Roll Train/AC/DC (5 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
Use Me/Hinder (12 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
Believe/Staind (14 weeks on chart, Peak#4)
I Don’t Care/Apocalyptica Featuring Adam Gontier (14 weeks on chart, Peak#6)
Too Drunk…/Buckcherry (11 weeks on chart, Peak#7)
Psychosocial/Slipknot (14 weeks on chart, Peak#8)
Addicted/Saving Abel (34 weeks on chart, Peak#2)
Train/Three Doors Down (19 weeks on chart, Peak#10)
Analysis: Not much to write about this week as no real movement on the chart. Metallica regains the #1 spot, otherwise, there was nothing to get excited about…. I wasn’t joking last week about Tesla, their new song I Wanna Live is a rockin’ tune, and should hopefully see movement soon. Now I’m not the biggest Tesla fan, but I have to give credit where credit is due…. It appears that Chinese Democracy, the much awaited Guns N Roses album, is finally going to come out in November as a Best Buy Exclusive. Does anybody even care anymore? It’s only Axl Rose and maybe some contributions from Izzy Stradlin, and should be noted as an Axl solo album. I don’t expect much…. Speaking of retail exclusives, we already know that AC/DC’s Black Ice album can only be purchased at Wal-Mart, but now a Rock Band 2 track pack featuring AC/DC songs will be exclusive at Wal-Mart as well on November 20th. Guess this means I’m going to have to suck it up and make a spend. I wonder if I already have a Wii Guitar for Guitar Hero and a Mic from the American Idol game, can I just shell out $50 for the game, or do I need to buy the whole shebang for $200?…. The new Buckcherry song is catching on as an anthem, and I expect the song to rise up the charts soon…
Modern Rock
You’re Gonna Go So Far Kid/The Offspring (10 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
Troublemaker/Weezer (12 weeks on chart, Peak#2)
Believe/Staind (14 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
Re-Education (Through Labor)/Rise Against (6 weeks on chart, Peak#4)
The Day That Never Comes/Metallica (6 weeks on chart, Peak#5)
I Don’t Care/Apocalyptica Featuring Adam Gontier (13 weeks on chart, Peak#6)
I’m Not Over/Carolina Liar (22 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
Let It Die/Foo Fighters (26 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
Viva La Vida/Coldplay (17 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
Bad Girlfriend/Theory Of A Deadman (15 weeks on chart, Peak#10)
Analysis: Theory Of A Deadman can now claim the fact they are relevant on both mainstream and modern rock charts, as the song enters the Top 10 for the first time since being on the chart for 15 weeks…Weezer inches one step closer to the top spot with Troublemaker. I’m not sold on this new Offspring song, and think Weezer is going to take the top spot pretty soon… Not much to discuss…
