The Suedehead Chart Commentary

Posted April 6, 200916 yr

I've been posting a chart commentary elsewhere for a while. Mine tends to be rather opinionated and I think my opinions wouldn't be in tune with most Buzzjack members. That's why I haven't posted it here before. However, this week I've not been quite so rude about my least favourite acts. It helps that Halo is Beyonce's best single by a long way and that Jai Ho is the best thing the Pussycat Dolls have done for some time.

That means that this may be the only time I post my commentary here. Ethan is doing an excellent job with his commentary. He's developing a style of his own and I hope he carries on with it.

I feel it's only fair that I should promote the footnote to the beginning of this commentary as some people may not be used to my style. Feel free to say it's the biggest load of rubbish you've ever read.

This is the first April chart commentary of 2009. Some of the “facts” contained herein are not entirely true.

No change at the top of the singles chart but Lady GaGa moves to the top of the albums chart to claim a double.

Lady GaGa holds on for a third week at number one this week meaning that the Noisettes have to be content with the runner-up spot again. A R Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls move up to number three, Flo Rida falls another place to number four and Beyoncé’s Halo slips to five.

The only newcomer into the top 10 comes from La Roux who move up to seven after two weeks stalled at number 11. It’s far better than the Kelly Clarkson effort it replaces in the top 10.

Kings Of Leon’s Use Somebody – a non-mover at 15 - has now spent 26 weeks in the top 40. That is an impressive achievement in itself. However, it is made even more remarkable by sharing all 26 weeks with Sex On Fire – back up to 27 this week. This means they become the first act to spend a full six months in the top 40 with the same two songs. Use Somebody did drop out of the top 40 for a couple weeks but Kings Of Leon have still set a record which will be hard to beat. For a few weeks they had a third single, Revelry, in the top 40 but that has not hung around for so long – yet.

The only other artists to have spent at least six months in the top 40 with two songs (though not simultaneously) are Jim Reeves and Timbaland (two different collaborations). Englebert Humperdinck is the only artist to have achieved this feat three times with Release Me, The Last Waltz and There Goes My Everything. Thanks to King Of Skiffle for that piece of research.

It’s a good week for Jacks with new entries for two of them. Just Jack had a big hit in 2007 with Starz In Their Eyes. His spelling seems to have improved since then and Embers enters at 17. Two years ago he would probably have called the song Embaz. Just Jack got his name as a result of a mix-up in completing his birth certificate. When his parents were asked if they wanted to give him any more names they replied “No, just Jack”. Fortunately the registrar didn’t include No on the birth certificate as well as Just. That would have been silly.

Jack Penate also made his chart debut in 2007. He returns this week with the confusingly-titled Tonight’s Today at 23. Thankfully the song is better than the title.

Doves return to the charts after a 3 ½ year absence with Kingdom Of Rust at 28. This is nowhere near as good as songs like Pounding and There Goes The Fear but is pretty good nevertheless. I still prefer everything Doves have done to the stuff they turned out in their original incarnation as Sub Sub. In their spare time, Doves like to make soap.

Pink’s new single Please Don’t Leave Me enters at 31. At least it’s better than So What. That’s not saying much but I’m trying to be nice. Pink has said she wants to work with a re-formed Blue under the name Notso Deep Purple.

White Lies climb a whole one place to 33 with Farewell To The Fairground which has now out-peaked To Lose My Life. This excellent song was written to encourage people to destroy every remaining copy of Simply Red’s number one single Fairground.

Last week I reserved judgement on Asher Roth’s I Love College on the entirely reasonable grounds that I hadn’t heard it. I’ve heard it now and wish I hadn’t. I’ll never get that three minutes of my life back. :cry:

Flo Rida is the latest artist to inflict two singles on us at one time. Sugar (which features someone called Wynter) enters at 35. The song - which contains an Eiffel 65 snippet - was written as a tribute to Bob Mould’s band Sugar. Mr Mould, incidentally, has a new solo album out tomorrow.

So, Human dropped out of the top 40 last week but So Human enters the chart this week. Lady Sovereign enters at 38 with her first hit since Love Me Or Hate Me in 2007. It starts well with the intro from The Cure’s Close To Me. Then Ms Sovereign opens her gob and ruins it.

This year’s second Comic Relief single has already left the top 40 after just three weeks. This equals the record for the shortest top 40 run by a number one single.

With a lack of major new albums released this week, Lady GaGa takes advantage to claim top spot in The Fame’s 12th week in the chart. It thus provides a rare case of an act doing the singles and album chart double with the second single off an album.

My thanks to the ChC members for their efforts in unearthing previous examples. Thanks, in particular, to Hitstastic for providing the example of Shaggy in 2001 and Robbie who pointed out that John Lennon achieved the feat, albeit posthumously, in 1981. His Double Fantasy album spent seven weeks at number two immediately after his assassination before finally spending a week at number one in the same week that Woman topped the singles chart. Thanks also to ad1 who has added the example of the Grease soundtrack which didn’t top the albums chart until Summer Nights was number one.

The highest new entry comes from Flo Rida whose second album Routes Of Overcoming The Struggle enters at five while Annie Lennox moves back up two places to three.

It’s a good week for James Morrison. His second album Songs For You, Truths To Me re-enters the top ten at nine while his chart topping debut, Undiscovered, climbs to 16. When he was three James Morrison (then known by his full name of James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree) took great care of his mother.

The second highest new entry comes the veteran Leonard Cohen at 19 with Live In London, helped no doubt by the success of various versions of Hallelujah late last year. It gives him his highest position in the albums chart since Songs Of Love And Hate spent three weeks at number four in 1971. This must be close to some sort of record for a living artist.

P J Harvey and John Parish made their first album together, Dance Hall At Louse Point, in 1996. Since then they have continued to work together but A Woman A Man Walked By is the first time they have done so on a formal basis since then. The album is the third highest new entry at 25.

The fourth and final new entry is the eponymous debut from Metro Station at 35. For their next album, they plan to adapt the Jam classic to make Down In The Metro Station at Minuit.

One of the best debut albums of the year re-enter the top 40. White Lies are back at 37 with To Lose My Life. There are also less welcome new entries from Pink and – I kid you not – Nickelback.

Thanks, as always, to ChC, chartstats.com, chartsplus and Music Week for the bits I didn’t make up.

April 6, 200916 yr

It’s a good week for Jacks with new entries for two of them. Just Jack had a big hit in 2007 with Starz In Their Eyes. His spelling seems to have improved since then and Embers enters at 17. Two years ago he would probably have called the song Embaz. Just Jack got his name as a result of a mix-up in completing his birth certificate. When his parents were asked if they wanted to give him any more names they replied “No, just Jack”. Fortunately the registrar didn’t include No on the birth certificate as well as Just. That would have been silly.

:heehee:

Nice B)