FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Untitled Document

The time is nigh! Many of you are already down in Texas at SXSW, while others are leaving very soon. Mike Bacon and I will be joining the fray as of tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully we’ll see you around. If you haven’t checked out FMQB’s Unofficial South By Southwest Music Guide, make sure to take a look at it to help you attempt to organize some semblance of a game plan in Austin. Let’s take a look at this week’s charts before doing some last-minute packing!

Surfer Blood is one of the trillion bands playing in Austin this week, and their album Astro Coast hits #1t, with “Swim” also landing at #1t on the singles chart. Broken Bells apparently played a surprise gig in a parking garage today, and their self-titled debut climbs to #1t this week. Two tracks make the singles chart: “Vaporize” at #10t and “The Ghost Inside” at #15t. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists’ The Brutalist Bricks lands at #3t, while “The Mighty Sparrow” is tied up at #1 on the singles chart. Lightspeed Champion climbs to #4 on the album chart and #3 on the singles chart. We say goodbye to Winter in a few days, but Frightened Rabbit’s The Winter Of Mixed Drinks lands at #5t. “Nothing Like You” is at #6t. Aloha is one of this week’s Buzz Bands and their new album Home Acres debuts at #5t, with “Waterwheel” appearing at #15t. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club land at #7t with Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, while the title track is at #15t. Plastic Beach from Gorillaz is at #7t as well, with the depth track “Some Kind Of Nature” landing at #20t. Mumford & Sons, Two Door Cinema Club, Alkaline Trio, Local Natives, The Constellations, Malachai and Ruby Tigers all show up on both charts as well.

The wild new MGMT single “Flash Delirium” debuts at #3t, followed by “The Overachievers” from Liars at #5. Codeine Velvet Club’s “Hollywood” is at #6, while “Here We Are Juggernaut” from Coheed & Cambria lands at #8t. The new Pavement best-of set Quarantine The Past debuts at #9, with The Bird & The Bee’s Hall and Oates tribute record moves up to #10.

Read about Free Energy and Aloha as well as up-to-date retail data, a complete list of songs and albums that are available for airplay, and the weekly FMQB SubModern singles and albums charts. Don't forget to send your playlists and add dates in to specialty@fmqb.com and we’ll see you in Texas!

~ Joey Odorisio

Philadelphia-via-Minneapolis rockers Free Energy released their long-awaited debut album Stuck On Nothing digitally last week (it’ll be out physically on May 4). The five-piece channel shiny classic rock riffs in big hooky tunes like “Dream City” and their own theme song, “Free Energy.” (In fact, the opening riff of “Dream City” appeared in a camera phone ad a few months back, when the band only had a 3-song EP out.) The stomping lead single “Bang Pop” rounds out this catchy 1-2-3 punch that opens the record. Produced by LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy, Stuck On Nothing isn’t the electro-dance sound you immediately associate with Murphy’s DFA label. Singer Paul Sprangers and guitarist Scott Wells were formerly in the Minnesota band Hockey Night, before starting over in the City of Brotherly Love with the rest of Free Energy. Elsewhere on Stuck On Nothing, “Bad Stuff” echoes “The Boys Are Back In Town,” and “Young Hearts” also mines Classic Rock radio for its opening riffage. Free Energy will be appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, and playing at least nine gigs around Austin during SXSW throughout the week. Get energized at freeenergymusic.com or astralwerks.com.

~ Joey Odorisio

Free Energy
Stuck On Nothing
(DFA/Astralwerks)

Indie rockers Aloha got started in Bowling Green, OH, not Hawaii as you may presume. (Or would it be too obvious to name a Hawaiian band Aloha? Maybe I should ask Shane Victorino.) Founded in 1997 by Tony Cavallario and Matthew Gengler, the band has moved around the country and picked up its other members along the way. Drummer Cale Parks was added to the group, and T.J. Lipple climbed aboard in 2003. The band has released a series of albums, EPs and singles over the years and now comes Home Acres, which debuts at #5t this week on the SubModern chart. Sonically, Aloha fit in just fine among the current scene, with Cavallario’s vocals often evoking Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws. The fuzzy “Moonless March” is an early high point on Home Acres, which takes its name from a suburb of Rochester, NY. Most folks gravitated towards “Waterwheel,” which lands at #15t on the singles chart. Also check out the driving “Searchlight” and “Blackout.” Aloha will head out on an East Coast tour in April, starting in Princeton on April 9 and winding up in Pittsburgh on April 25. Say aloha to Aloha at alohahomeacres.com/ or polyvinylrecords.com.

~ Joey Odorisio

Aloha
Home Acres
(Polyvinyl)

updated 03.17.10

#	Artist	Track	Label
1t.	Ted Leo & The Pharmacists	“The Mighty Sparrow”	(Matador)
	Surfer Blood	“Swim”	(Kanine)
3t.	Lightspeed Champion	“Marlene”	(Domino)
	MGMT	“Flash Delirium”	(Columbia)
5	Liars	“The Overachievers”	(Mute)
6t.	Codeine Velvet Club	“Hollywood”	(Dangerbird)
	Frightened Rabbit	“Nothing Like You”	(Fat Cat Records)
8t.	Coheed & Cambria	“Here We Are Juggernaut”	(Columbia)
	Two Door Cinema Club	“I Can Talk”	(Glassnote)
10t.	Broken Bells	“Vaporize”	(Columbia)
	Local Natives	“Airplanes”	(Frenchkiss)
12t.	Alkaline Trio	“This Addiction”	(Epitaph)
	The Constellations	“Felicia”	(Virgin)
	Nada Surf	“Electrocution”	(Mardev Records)
15t.	Aloha	“Waterwheel”	(Polyvinyl)
	Arctic Moneys	“My Propeller”	(Domino)
	Black Rebel Motorcycle Club	“Beat The Devil’s Tattoo”	(Abstract Dragon/Vagrant)
	Broken Bells	“The Ghost Inside”	(Columbia)
	Mumford & Sons	“Little Lion Man”	(Glassnote)
20t.	Andy Clockwise	“Love And War”	(unsigned)
	Gorillaz	“Some Kind Of Nature”	(Virgin)
	Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings	“I Learned The Hard Way”	(Daptone)
	Malachai	“Snowflake”	(Domino)
	The Middle East	“Blood”	(self-released)
	The New Pornographers	“Your Hands (Together)”	(Matador)
	Quasi	“Repulsion	(Kill Rock Stars)
	Ruby Tigers	“The Deal”	(RBE Music)

updated 03.17.10

#	Artist	Album	Label
1t.	Broken Bells	Broken Bells	(Columbia)
	Surfer Blood	Astro Coast	(Kanine)
3	Ted Leo & The Pharmacists	The Brutalist Bricks	(Matador)
4	Lightspeed Champion	Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You!	(Domino)
5t.	Aloha	Home Acres	(Polyvinyl)
	Frightened Rabbit	The Winter Of Mixed Drinks	(Fat Cat Records)
7t.	Black Rebel Motorcycle Club	Beat The Devil’s Tattoo	(Abstract Dragon/ Vagrant)
	Gorillaz	Plastic Beach	(Virgin)
9	Pavement	Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement	(Matador)
10	The Bird and The Bee	Interpreting The Masters Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall and John Oates	(Blue Note)
11t.	Mumford & Sons	Sigh No More	(Glassnote)
	Two Door Cinema Club	Tourist History	(Glassnote)
13	Local Natives	Gorilla Manor	(Frenchkiss)
14t.	Alkaline Trio	This Addiction	(Epitaph)
	The Constellations	Southern Gothic	(Virgin)
	the morning benders	Big Echo	(Rough Trade)
17t.	The Boxer Rebellion	Union	(self-released)
	The Hotrats	Turn Ons	(Fat Possum/RED)
	Malachai	Ugly Side Of Love	(Domino)
20t.	Biffy Clyro	Only Revolutions	(Warner Bros.)
	Quasi	American Gong	(Kill Rock Stars)
	Ruby Tigers	The Deal	(RBE Music)
	Various Artists	Almost Alice	(Buena Vista Records)
24t.	Beach House	Teen Dream	(Sub Pop)
	Jason Collett	Rat A Tat Tat	(Arts & Crafts)
	The Soft Pack	The Soft Pack	(Kemado)
	Spoon	Transference	(Merge)

LW	TW	DAILY TOP 20 SUBMODERN ALBUM SALES - TUESDAY 3/16/10			%
**	1*	DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS	BIG TO-DO	ATO	**
1	2	CRAZY HEART	SOUNDTRACK	NEW WEST	-46
**	3*	DROPKICK MURPHYS	LIVE ON LANSDOWNE BOSTON MA	DROPKICK MURPHY	**
19	4*	IRISH TENORS	VERY BEST OF THE IRISH TENORS	E1 MUSIC	104
6	5	VAMPIRE WEEKEND	CONTRA	XL	-4
9	6	JOANNA NEWSOM	HAVE ONE ON ME	DRAG CITY	-2
**	7*	WHIGS	IN THE DARK	ATO	**
2	8	BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB	BEAT THE DEVIL'S TATTOO	VAGRANT	-85
11	9	MUMFORD & SONS	SIGH NO MORE	GLASSNOTE	-13
4	10	FRIGHTENED RABBIT	WINTER OF MIXED DRINKS	FAT CAT	-72
5	11	PAVEMENT	QUARANTINE THE PAST: GREATEST	MATADOR	-69
14	12	JOHN HIATT	OPEN ROAD	NEW WEST	-12
3	13	TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS	BRUTALIST BRICKS	MATADOR	-75
**	14*	IRISH DRINKING SONGS-ALL TH	IRISH DRINKING SONGS-ALL THE B	MADACY	**
13	15	XX	XX	XL	-23
20	16	PHOENIX	WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX	GLASSNOTE	0
**	17*	GRAHAM PARKER	IMAGINARY TELEVISION	BLOODSHOT	**
**	18*	YEASAYER	ODD BLOOD	SECRETLY CANADIAN	**
**	19*	STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO	99 SONGS OF REVOLUTION	VICTORY	**
8	20	TITUS ANDRONICUS	MONITOR	XL	-52