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Pop Rock Nation

Category: People

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  • Chart Chat 10/7/09…Like Buttah?

    So you thought this week’s #1 album was gonna be Paramore, huh? Or maybe the new one from Mariah Carey? Thought Madonna might have a shot?

    WELL, YOU’RE WRONG, SUCKERS.

    In a week filled with divas, the Grande Dame of them all came out on top. Barbra Streisand’s “Love is the Answer” scans 180,000 units to land at #1 on this week’s Billboard album chart. It’s the legend’s first #1 in twelve years, and her 9th #1 album overall-tops among female artists.

    Paramore settles for the #2 position. “Brand New Eyes” beats the sophomore jink by selling 175,000 copies, while Mariah Carey’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” is shaping up to be a sales disappointment. Carey opens at #3 with 168K, less than half the total that greeted her in the first week of release of her last album, “E=MC2” just last year!!

    Babs, Paramore and Mariah lead a pack of 8 new releases in the Top 10-a new record. The only holdovers from last week’s Top 10 are Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3”, which slides 2-6, still riding the strength of two hit singles, and Pearl Jam’s “Backspacer”, which slides from the Number One spot to #10. The other releases debuting in the Top 10 come from Breaking Benjamin (#4), the reconfigured Alice in Chains (#5), Madonna (#7), Miranda Lambert (#8) and Selena Gomez (#9). How’s that for diversity? A little country, a little teen-pop, a little leftover grunge for ya.

    Madonna’s album opens with a respectable 72K. Not bad when you consider that most people with a pulse have most of this material already and the two new songs aren’t especially memorable (and can be purchased a la carte on iTunes).

    Further down the chart, AFI must be wondering where their fan base went. After scoring a chart-topper with their last album, Davey Havok and his crew manage a weak showing at #12 with their new one, “Crash Love”, only scanning 52,000 copies in it’s first week.

    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The first holiday album to debut on a chart this year is Michael McDonald’s “This Christmas”. The former Doobie opens at #95, with a whole 2 months to go before the holidays begin in earnest.

    Next week, it looks like KISS will score the first #1 album of their career with “Sonic Boom”, underscoring the fact that the boomer generation is still buying records. This WalMart exclusive has been heavily publicized and it seems to be paying dividends.

    Here’s a look at this week’s Top 20:

    1) Barbra Streisand-Love is the Answer
    2) Paramore-Brand New Eyes
    3) Mariah Carey-Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
    4) Breaking Benjamin-Dear Agony
    5) Alice in Chains-Black Gives Way to Blue
    6) Jay-Z-The Blueprint 3
    7) Madonna-Celebration
    8) Miranda Lambert-Revolution
    9) Selena Gomez-Kiss & Tell
    10) Pearl Jam-Backspacer
    11) Miley Cyrus-Time of Our Lives EP
    12) AFI-Crash Love
    13) Whitney Houston-I Look to You
    14) Harry Connick Jr.-Love Songs
    15) Metalocolypse:Dethklok-Deth Album II
    16) The Avett Brothers- I and Love and You
    17) Three Days Grace-Life Starts Now
    18) Lynyrd Skynyrd-God & Guns
    19) Taylor Swift-Fearless
    20) Drake-So Far Gone EP

  • “Single Ladies”: Better Than Beyonce?

    So, my buddy Kyle hipped me to this version of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”, performed by an indie pop band called Pomplamoose. Not being a huge fan of the original (talk about a video making a song 1,000 times better), I wasn’t expecting much, but these guys did a great job here. I am SO not a hipster, so even though I’m kinda rolling my eyes at the ironic vintage tees and the skinny jeans, I’m tapping my foot to this neat cover.

    If you go over to their Youtube page, you’ll find a lot more goodness from these guys. I’m not sure where they’re based out of (why does something tell me they’re from Brooklyn?), but they’re pretty interesting. I highly recommend their version of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”.

  • New Releases of the Week 10/6/09: Backstreet Boys,KISS & More!

    This week’s a little lighter on the superstar action than the two or three weeks that preceded it, but there’s still a heavy flow of new music finding it’s way into stores and online outlets. Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the highlights…

    Backstreet Boys “This is Us”: You’ve gotta give BSB credit for sticktoitiveness. It’s been a good six or seven years since their sell-by date, and yet they just keep plugging along. “This is Us” is their sixth album over on these shores, and it’s being touted as a return to dance-pop after a couple albums of adult contemporary (and very sleepy) balladry. They’ve reunited with their original producer Max Martin, along with Redone, who’s the producer behind Lady GaGa. First single “Straight Through My Heart” didn’t do anything for me, and BSB have generally never been my cup of tea, but I give ’em props for still trying when everyone else of their ilk has folded.

    Michael Buble “Crazy Love”: Here’s a one-two punch for the housewives. The latest album from the Canadian crooner (which releases on Friday) features his standard mix of standards and contemporary love songs. Among the familiar titles here-“Georgia on My Mind” and a redo of Billy Vera’s classic “At This Moment” (you know, the “Family Ties” song). Buble himself wrote two songs, including first single “Haven’t Met You Yet”, and the album also features an appearance by The Dap-Kings of Sharon Jones (and Amy Winehouse) fame. Unfortunately, I can’t think of Michael Buble anymore without remembering the camera phone pics that popped up on the ‘Net last year and saying to myself “I’ve seen this dude’s butt”.

    Mike Doughty “Sad Man Happy Man”: Yes, folks. I have a man-crush on Mike Doughty. The singer-songwriter and former leader of Soul Coughing is one of rock’s more interesting characters and a genuinely nice guy to boot. Oh, yeah. He also makes good music. His new album, “Sad Man Happy Man” is a worthy follow-up to 2008’s excellent “Golden Delicious”, and also briefly reunites Doughty with David Kahne, who did some production work for Soul Coughing back in the day and is probably best known for producing Sublime’s breakthrough album (did you hear that they’re back together…why??). He also has one of the more interesting blogs of any popular musician.

    KISS “Sonic Boom”: That hissing sound you heard was a million dudes in their late thirties and early forties pissing themselves when they found out that KISS was touring and releasing an album. Gene Simmons and Co., who will probably (finally) get inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame next year, are back with “Sonic Boom”, an album that will be sold only in Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. It’s the band’s first album in over a decade, and you get new songs, some remade classics, and a live DVD. It’s the next best thing to being there, I guess.

    Meshell Ndegeocello “Devil’s Halo”: I must say, I kinda have a crush on Meshell too. She’s been rocking my world for 16 years now and has yet to release an album that’s been less than stellar. She’s changed her sound up on just about all of her albums, going from funk to jazz to hip-hop to folk and back again. This album has a pretty strong pop/rock flavor, and is probably the most guitar-centric of her career. I reviewed it for Popdose. Have a look-see, why don’t you?

    Also in stores today: albums by Blake Lewis, Roseanne Cash, Brandi Carlile, Vic Chesnutt, Toby Keith, and…Lita Ford??

    Get your full list of the week’s new releases here!