On the Charts: Conchords Fly Above Ashlee, Land Below Mariah and Leona

Tweet

The Big News: An engagement and a (possible) pregnancy wasn't enough to help Ashlee Simpson, as the singer's new album Bittersweet World landed at number four with 47,387 copies sold. Simpson was beat out by Mariah Carey's E=MC², which took number one for a second consecutive week, Leona Lewis' Spirit at two and, surprisingly, Flight of the Conchords' self-titled debut, which grabbed the third spot with 52,133 copies sold. That's right: Pete Wentz's fiancee got edged by the comic duo who were on the show that followed Big Love on HBO. Atmosphere's When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that Shit Gold rounded out the top five in its debut week.

Debuts: Story of the Year's Black Swan scooped eighteen, the Weepies' Hideaway took thirty-one and Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy's H.N.I.C. Part 2 claimed thirty-six, giving the jailed rapper something to brag about to the other inmates. Tokyo Police Club's freshman Elephant Shell nabbed 106, while Elbow's Seldom Seen Kid placed in at 109.

Last Week Heroes: Carey and Lewis remained in the one-two spot. R.E.M.'s Accelerate finally fell out of the top ten after a month, dropping to seventeen, along with the suddenly-mortal Alvin & the Chipmunks soundtrack, which dropped to twelve. But the biggest drop from last week goes to Rush's Snakes & Arrows Live and Thrice's Alchemy Index: Vol. 3-4, as Rush plunged from eighteen to 110 and Thrice followed from seventeen to 111. Also, shoulder-bearing Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana 2 soundtrack went triple-platinum.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES The 10 Best Zombie Movie Scenes
• 
  TV The Most WTF? Moments of 'Mad Men'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie”

The Joy Formidable | 2011

The opener off the Welsh group’s The Big Roar album was an epic one, but the band was worried that track had polarized fans. “The first song is eight minutes long,” Rhydian Dafydd, the Joy Formidable bassist, said. “If you did that in the Seventies people would be, ‘Whatever.’ You do it now, people think, ‘Holy s---!’ Some people think it’s the f---ing greatest track on the entire album, and some people think it’s f---ing boring. It’s that element of needing to challenge people.” The band concluded through the song’s lyrics that love was the “everchanging spectrum of a lie.”

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter