Record Numbers
People still buy albums, and HEAVE breaks down the numbers.
All power and glory must be given up to the market force that is Oprah's subjective opinion of something's worth. After pushing Josh Groban's Noel to the top of the charts two weeks ago by featuring the album on her show, Oprah continued to give the younger singer an early Christmas gift this week. Pushing its sales up 8% (which isn't too shabby for an album that has been out for nearly three months), Noel moved 581,000 copies, easily holding the top spot on the charts.
Alicia Keys jumped a spot to number two, with 234,000 in sales of As I Am, while the ever-awful Eagles fell to number three, selling 204,000 units of Long Road Out of Eden. Now 26, which initially underperformed when compared to other titles in the series, pushed its sales up 25% to capture the fourth spot with 158,000.
The Disney company is holding strong at the heart of the charts, with the "Hannah Montana 2" double-disc pushing its sales up 37% to 132,000. Right behind it at number six was the "High School Musical 2" soundtrack with 128,000 copies. This is the third week in a row that "High School Musical 2" has landed in the sixth spot. Carrie Underwood, who must be filthy rich at this point, is still in the top ten at number seven. She pushed 107,000 copies of Carnival Ride, barely beating out the 105,000 of Garth Brooks' greatest hits collection, which took the eight spot.
The only new faces on the charts come at the very end. Taylor Swift's debut album leapt up 39% to 99,000, pushing it from the twelfth spot to the ninth. And "American Idol" runner up Blake Lewis enters at number ten, with 98,000 copies of his debut Audio Dream Day.
Posted by Ryan Peters on Dec 14, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Your Listening Pleasure
New Music from Gogol Bordello, Jens Lekman and MY!GAY!HUSBAND!.
Gogol Bordello - "The Last Wish of The Bride" - The self-proclaimed Gypsy-punks are back at it again with an eclectic, high-energy blend of Eastern European folk traditions and a modern sensibility. "The Last Wish of The Bride" starts off with an old-world dance beat, and later kicks in horns, more drums, flute and vocals. The ultimate result is what "world music" would sound like if it were actually fun to listen to.
Supter Taranta is out now on Side One Dummy Records...
Posted by Jason Prechtel on Dec 14, 2007 @ 12:00 am
We've Got You Covered
HEAVE delivers more Christmas gifts with Lisa Loeb. No yankee swaps, we promise.
"Jingle Bells" is an old song, a very old song. Copyrighted in 1857, this popular Christmas tune has stood the test of time, and is essentially the first song a child learns when trying to be charming and cute in order to assure maximum present receiving. Apparently, "Jingle Bells" was the first song to be broadcasted from space. The song has been parodied many times over, and just yesterday I sang the Batman version that involves Robin laying an egg and the dastardly Joker getting away.
Lisa Loeb is not very old; but she is very cool. Loeb hit it big with the song "Stay (I Missed You)" in 1994. Since then, Loeb has seen a few singles get moderate radio play and branched out into acting. She voiced Mary Jane Watson in the short lived Spiderman cartoon on MTV, and has also done some voice acting for video games and short films. She was back in the spotlight last year with her popular E! show called "#1 Single," something I completely missed the boat on.
"Jingle Bells" has been covered more than any other song, but Loeb's version is one of the better "alternate" versions that exists. She doesn't follow the exact form of the original and doesn't sing in it the "old timey" way that most versions of "Jingle Bells" are presented. Loeb makes "Jingle Bells" pretty hip, and could you really expect anything else?
STEAM: Lisa Loeb - Jingle Bells
Posted by Wes Soltis on Dec 13, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Across The Pond
Echo and The Bunnymen, Cut Off Your Hands and Bauhaus in the week's Across The Pond
Nick Johnston, frontman for Australia's Cut Off Your Hands, broke his foot this past Thursday in a less than glorious 15 foot balcony jump. The singer received treatment at the Royal Sussex Hospital and is now sporting a plaster cast, which has delayed his return to his native Australia, forcing the cancellation of two gigs. I will refrain from the obvious kangaroo joke.
The untimely death of Joe Strummer in 2002 left many unanswered questions about his life and how he died...
Posted by Joe Roth on Dec 12, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Takin' You Back
It's a rock n' roll circus with the Rolling Stones
December 12th 1968 is the day that The Rolling Stones started filming "Rock & Roll Circus." The Who, Jethro Tull, Eric Clapton, John Lennon and many other famous musicians were featured in this documentary. This was intended to be a television special, but it never actually aired until 1996. The movie is only 65 minutes long, but that's plenty of time to get punched in the face with some blistering rock music. Interestingly enough, this was Brian Jones' last performance in the band...
Posted by Greg Herald on Dec 12, 2007 @ 12:00 am