Hole Debut in Top 10

Courtney's back, but does anybody care? Punk queen-turned-Hollywood diva Courtney Love returned to the rock arena with her band Hole's anxiously-awaited, four-years-in-the-making release, Celebrity Skin. But are fans of Love and her grunge past ready to accept the New Courtney and Celebrity Skin's pop sheen? After one week in stores, Celebrity Skin debuted at a respectable No. 9, but sold an underwhelming 86,000 copies for the week ending Sept. 14, according to SoundScan. (By comparison, in its first week, the Beastie Boys' Hello Nasty recently sold eight times what Skin did.)

The week's other big arrival belonged to rapper Canibus, whose debut Can-I-Bus (produced by Fugee Wyclef Jean) came in at No. 2, selling 127,000 copies. Like Hole, Canibus' numbers were lower than expected considering the buzz that has surrounded the rapper. Neither were able to oust hip-hop's Lauryn Hill from the top spot. Her Miseducation of Lauryn Hill hangs on to No. 1 for the third week running.

Both Canibus and Hole used live performances on last week's MTV Video Music Awards show to promote their new records. Other beneficiaries included Madonna, who performed and also walked away with Best Video of the Year honors. Her Ray of Light climbs from No. 42 to No. 36. Meanwhile, Dirty Boogie by the Brian Setzer Orchestra, which closed the MTV show with the swingin' sounds of "Jump Jive An' Wail," inched its way toward the top ten, landing at No. 11. (Even acts that didn't perform on the VMA's squeezed out small sales gains last week, including Garbage, Green Day, Aerosmith and Radiohead.)

From the top, it was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (selling 214,000 copies) followed by Can-I-Bus; 'N Sync (111,000); Hello Nasty (110,000); Back to Titanic (107,000); the Barenaked Ladies' Stunt (104,000); the soundtrack to Armageddon (92,000); Backstreet Boys (89,000); Celebrity Skin; and Alan Jackson's High Mileage (82,000).

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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