On the Charts: Slipknot Edge The Game In Battle for Number One

The Big News: It was a wild week at the top of the charts. Initial reports showed that a mere 13 copies separated this week's first and second place albums, with the Game's LAX outpacing Slipknot's All Hope is Gone. However, Nielson SoundScan broke out their calculators and determined that Slipknot did in fact outsell the Game last week, thus awarding Slipknot this week's top spot and placing the Game at two. The margin of victory has not yet been announced. The slug out at the top unseated the Jonas Brothers' A Little Bit Longer, which dropped from one to four. Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus downshifted from two to three and the Mamma Mia soundtrack rounded out the top five.

Debuts: Outside the top two, other notable debuts included the Now That's What I Call Country! comp at seven, Solange Knowles' Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams at nine and metal act Dragonforce's Ultra Beatdown claiming 18. The Verve's reunion album Forth grabbed 21, blues legend B.B. King slotted at 37 with his One Kind Favor and Motorhead's Motorizer busted in at 82.

Last Week's Heroes: The biggest victims in this week's charts shuffle were Staind's Illusion of Progress and Ice Cube's Raw Footage, last week's three and five, as both records tumbled out of the top ten to 13 and 14 respectively. Miley Cyrus' Breakout also dropped out of the top ten for the first time since its release six weeks ago, dropping from six to 11. Next week's chart should be an interesting throwdown between Young Jeezy, New Kids on the Block and Brian Wilson.

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

More Song Stories entries »

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