Music Shuffle: November 21
Taylor Swift shoots to #1, Chinese Democracy streaming and...oh god, a Blink 182 reunion?
Top 5 Billboard Albums
Taylor Swift's barely old enough to vote, but she just accomplished more in the past few days than almost any musician does in their entire lives. Not only did her sophomore effort, Fearless, debut at #1 on The Billboard 200 and Top Country Album charts, but a crushing six songs from the album just debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. Way to go, little lady. Way to go.
The next three spots on the Billboard 200 are also debuts - "American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta lands his monnchichi ass at #2 with his self-titled LP. The "Now That's What I Call Music!" series squeezes out yet another edition (this is the 29th) to begin at #3 with 172,000 copies. T-Pain's Thr33 Ringz starts at # 4 with 167,000 albums sold.
Last week's No. 1 album, the sounds of Hot Topic girls squealing for Twilight, drops to #5. Just kidding about the squealing bit. There's actually a decent variety of songs on the album. But still.
T.I. continues his reign atop the Billboard Hot 100 with "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, and he's got #2 locked as well with "Whatever You Like," but Taylor Swift's gunning for that crown with six new entries, led by "White Horse" at #13.
Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" hops up to #3, while Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" dips to #4. Pink's "So What" rounds out the top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Axl "Guns N' Roses" Rose is streaming the final product, the eternally-awaited, frequently leaked, much-hullabooed Chinese Democracy, awash in a sea of Dr. Pepper, is currently streaming on MySpace, days ahead of its Sunday (Nov. 23) release exclusively through Best Buy.
The album's title track debuts at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, the band's first appearance on the chart since their sublime Stones cover "Sympathy for the Devil" in 1995.
But when I say "their," of course, that's a loose term. Because the only original member is Axl Rose himself. And for a debut solo record, it's astonishing. Look for our review on Monday.
Neil Finn is preparing something of a sequel to his remarkable 2002 live album Seven Worlds Collide. As with the first album, Finn has enlisted a slew of guest musicians for the follow-up, including Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, John Stirrat, Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone, Smiths/Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr, Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg, singer/songwriter Lisa Germano and Finn's own son Liam, who is very nearly as good a songwriter and musician as his father.
Finn and friends plan to record the unnamed project "over the next few months" in Auckland, and it should be released next year. Many of the guest artists are also set to join Finn for a concert series the first week of January at Auckland's Powerstation.
Wilco members aside, all the other guestswere a part of Seven Worlds Collide, which also featured an earth-shaking rendition of the Split Enz classic "Stuff and Nonsense" by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
Blink 182 broke up in 2005, and everybody pretty much had the same reaction: 'bout time. The trio had outgrown their goofy adolescent schtick, resentment was beginning to set in, and the members all seemed eager to move on to other projects.
A few years, a handful of bands, a shitload of tattoos, a plane crash and death of a producer later, Blink are back in communication, naturally raising speculation that a reunion may be in the works.
Mark Hoppus said in an entry on his blog that the recent death of Blink producer Jerry Finn and drummer Travis Barker's survival of a plane crash brought the men back in contact.
"We're just reconnecting as friends after four years of not talking," he says. "It's a good thing. Obviously the first question for a lot of people will be, 'Does this mean a Blink-182 reunion?' The answer is none of us know. We haven't talked about it at all. Right now it's just good for the three of us to see one another, reconnect and let the past be the past."
Amen.
A double-decker bus carrying hip-hop legends and new Jimmy Fallon house band the Roots crashed in Europe yesterday, spinning in a full 360 degrees before settling on top of another van. Crazy stuff - thankfully, all involved walked away relatively unscathed.
Foo Fighters, John Mayer and B.B. King are set to perform at the very first Grammy Nominations Concert, to be held Dec. 3 at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live and broadcast on CBS. Because we need something else to celebrate, right? Why not make a spectacle about nominations?
The event will, of course, also reveal the nominees in several Grammy categories, none of which have been specified yet. Mariah Carey, LL Cool J and Taylor Swift will be co-hosts.
The show coincides with the grand opening of the Grammy Museum in the L.A. Live complex, and proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the museum.
The 2009 Grammys will be held Feb. 8. Yes, you care. Because statues matter.
50 Cent's new album, Before I Self Destruct, has been pushed back indefinitely, which means we won't see another Kanye album release duel. The horror.
Interscope explained that 50 was "rushing" to meet the December date but "with the deadline to secure advertising and retail placement for the album imminent," the rapper decided to hold off until next year.
Hm, couldn't have anything to do with the first single bombing, could it?
A DA's office in Las Vegas is seeking criminal charges against former hip-hop mogul Marion "Suge" Knight. Police claim that they saw the big asshole beating his girlfriend into next Tuesday, while wielding a knife, no less.
The woman wasn't stabbed, but was treated for injuries at a nearby hospital. Police say Knight had the drugs Ecstasy and hydrocodone when they arrested him. Knight was later released after posting $19,000 bail.
Knight is charged with two counts of felony drug possession and one count of misdemeanor battery.
Does nobody see the sickening irony here? Beating. Knife. Misdemeanor.
Paul McCartney wants to release an undiscovered experimental track the Beatles recorded in early 1967.
McCartney told BBC Radio 4 that "Carnival of Light" is a 14-minute piece of, basically, a bunch of noise. "I said it would be great to put this on because it would show we were working with really avant-garde stuff," he said of the recording, which has never been bootlegged. "I said all I want you to do is just wander around all the stuff, bang it, shout, play it, it doesn't need to make any sense," McCartney said of the music. "Hit a drum then wander on to the piano, hit a few notes, just wander around. So that's what we did and then put a bit of an echo on it. It's very free."
The song was recorded for the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave electronic music festival, and was only played once for an audience. McCartney had tried to see it included it on the Beatles' Anthology in the late '90s, George Harrison shot that idea down.
