I suspect Michael Jackson's ride at the top of the charts is about to come to an end, just as his family, loved ones, and fans (finally) lay him to rest. I know it hasn't impacted him in any discernible way but I'm kind of creeped out by the long gap between his sad passing and his burial. It disturbs me and I'm glad it's over. As for his resurgence on the charts, I don't care how long it lasts. I suspect we're about to see it slowly fade.
What isn't fading is the force that is the music download. Even before the economy went in the terlet, we were hearing about how the music industry was about as healthy as the buggy whip market. While the industry won't be doing cartwheels over this news, it's not nothing. Music downloads were up in the first half of 2009 compared to the first half of 2008. The catch, if there is one, is that while single tracks are doing well, albums are not. I don't know what the industry perspective on that is, but I'm not happy about it. I'm thrilled that music fans have the choice, but I still love the album as an artform and I hate to see anything that erodes it.
The Black Eyed Peas continue to sell those singles, but "I Gotta Feeling" has eclipsed "Boom Boom Pow." They hold the one and three slots this week with Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" sandwiched between. Sean Kingston continues to hold on to his spot in the Top 5.
Outside of Michael and the Black Eyed Peas, we have new/recent entries from Linkin Park and Colbie Caillat. LP entered the charts last week with their song from the Transformers 2 soundtrack. At least they aren't announcing a new record yet and it's the first new song in two years. Two years wasn't long enough for me. I've gotten as much of a break as I can reasonably hope for. Colbie Caillat's music is reasonably insipid but it's tuneful, pleasant, and inoffensive. If this first single is already Top 10, it's a good bet her album Breakthrough is going to do well when it's released August 25.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
for a few weeks MJ connected me to these lists. see you later, pop music
2 - Josh Hathaway
MJ's singles are as close as I came to connecting. I know the feeling.