web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Blog

  • 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

  • Jackson 5 Unreleased Track – That’s How Love Is

    That's How Love Is Cover
    That’s How Love Is Cover
    Not to be confused with their track That’s How Love Goes, That’s How Love Is is a previously unreleased track that has been unearthed and is now available on iTunes.

    When Micheal Jackson died earlier this year, most figured that we’d hear many songs from his personal vault, but I didn’t imagine that there was anything left from the Jackson 5 era unreleased. But I was wrong.

    That’s How Love Is features Jermaine and Michael going back and forth about love with big brother giving the little brother some of his love philosophy.

    You can listen to the track by going to the J5 website and signing up for their newsletter. The track will immediately be ready for full streaming after you sign up.

    The song is part of an upcoming Jackson 5 compilation called I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters, which features old J5 favorites remixed, as well as previously unreleased tracks. The album comes out on November 10.

  • “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”.