Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
There isn't a whole lot of change from last week in the Top 5 Singles from the iTunes Music Store. The same five songs occupy the Top 5, with the only change being Lady Gaga's "Love Game" swapping places with Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me." I still haven't heard any of these songs but did catch the last 15 seconds of Katy Perry's "Waking Up in Vegas" on VH-1 last week. They weren't memorable seconds, but it probably isn't fair to pan the song based on that.
I can pan the song at #6, though. Shinedown's "Second Chance" gets played on VH-1 nearly every morning and for reasons that have yet to be understood, I still flip past VH-1 in the morning. As if Nickelback hadn't committed enough crimes against humanity, we now have Nickelback knockoffs to worry about. There's a special place in Hell for you, Chad Kroeger. Back to Shinedown and "Second Chance." The video is a cheap knockoff of Mr. Holland's Opus. Well, the payoff at the end of the video is anyway, where a young ingenue runs away from home to pursue her dreams, boarding a bus for parts unknown. The lead singer confuses his lungs with heart, mistakenly believing an over-the-top vocal will elevate this generic slice teen angst into a divine moment of self-actualization. He couldn't be more wrong.
Kris Allen's American Idol "upset" doesn't seem to have given him any staying power, as both of his singles drop. Other new additions to the Top 10 include Kerri Hilson, Ne-Yo, and Kanye West's "Knock You Down" and Kristina DeBarge's "Goodbye." I'm old enough to remember when another DeBarge got some singles chart love. Jeremih's "Birthday Sex" comes in at #9 this week. I haven't heard it, but I have the strongest sense this song has the reverse-Midas thing going for it. King Midas could turn lead into gold. I bet Jeremih managed to make the idea of sex on one's birthday unappealing. I'm still immature enough to find something funny about a song called "Birthday Sex" residing one spot above another song called "Poker Face."
Singles:
1. "Boom Boom Pow," Black Eyed Peas
2. "Fire Burning," Sean Kingston
3. "LoveGame," Lady GaGa
4. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho, More English Extended Mix)," Pitbull
5. "Waking Up In Vegas," Katy Perry
6. "Second Chance," Shinedown
7. "Knock You Down," Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, Kanye West
8. "Goodbye," Kristina DeBarge
9. "Birthday Sex," Jeremih
10. "Poker Face," Lady GaGa
Dave Matthews Band is ruling the physical and digital charts, topping not only iTunes' album chart but also the Billboard Top 200. It's interesting the album is doing so well without a Top 10 single. That ought to serve as a bit of a rebuke to everyone who thought iTunes' a la carte approach to music sales would kill the album. In fact, none of the artists in the Top 6 of the album charts have a Top 10 single. Only Lady GaGa's The Fame is represented in the singles chart (and she has two of them).
So, DMB's first album since the passing of saxophonist LaRoi Moore tops the charts knocking Eminem from #1 to #2. I've heard good things about this record, including a favorable review from BC's Mark Saleski. I'm stunned to see 311 in the #3 slot. Those guys haven't been significant sellers since the mid '90s. I completely despised their hybrid of rap-rock, as well as just about every other band who fused those two genres. I never got their appeal and wasn't at all surprised to see them fade. This resurgence — if only for one week — is a disappointing shock to me.
Taking Back Sunday and Green Day both have albums in the Top 10. I don't know if that helps or hurts the cause of those who believe one is a clone of the other. The 'supergroup' Chickenfoot, comprised of former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, guitar great and Coldplay antagonist Joe Satriani, and Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, gets their debut album in the Top 10 at #6. This one got a positive review at BC, although other critics have been less kind.
Albums:
1. Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux – King Dave Matthews Band
2. Relapse – Eminem
3. Uplifter – 311
4. Only By the Night – Kings of Leon
5. New Again – Taking Back Sunday
6. Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
7. The Fame – Lady GaGa
6. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
7. Twilight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Various Artists
8. Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II – Kenny Chesney
