Man oh man, the people behind “Glee” make even Jack White look lazy. We were impressed that the Dead Weather cranked out two albums in ten months, but it’s only been four weeks since the last “Glee” soundtrack, um, came out. Strike while the iron’s hot, right? Get while the gettin’s good.
Meanwhile, 76,000 people decided to check out or “upgrade” their copy of the greatest rock and roll statement of all time.
1. “Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers” – 136,000 (debut)
2. Rolling Stones – “Exile on Main St.” – 76,000
3. Black Keys – “Brothers” – 73,000 (debut)
4. Justin Bieber – “My World 2.0” – 62,000 (up 3%)
5. Nas and Damian Marley – “Distant Relatives” – 57,000 (debut)
6. Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now” – 46,000 (down 15%)
7. Band of Horses – “Infinite Arms” – 45,000 (debut)
8. Usher – “Raymond v. Raymond” – 41,000 (down 6%)
9. AC/DC – “Iron Man 2” – 32,000 (down 33%)
10. LCD Soundsystem – “This Is Happening” – 31,000 (debut)
Further down:
15. The National – “High Violet” – 22,000 (down 57%)
17. Janelle Monae – “The Archandroid” – 21,000 (debut)
18. Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek) – “Revolutions Per Minute” – 21,000 (debut)
27. Rolling Stones – “Exile On Main St. – Rarities Edition” – 15,000 (debut)
30. Dead Weather – “Sea of Cowards” – 13,000 (down 72%)
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending May 23) totaled 5.31 million units, down less than 1% compared to the sum last week (5.32 million).
I just noticed that Billboard recently started posting digital track sales in their album sales roundup. Surely a clear sign of the dwindling relevance of the album chart. This past week totaled 21.9 million downloads.
Additional sales data via MTV.
Alright, I’ll bite. Exile, for as great of an album as it is, is not “the greatest rock and roll statement of all time”. I’d personally ascribe that to Radio City; some might say Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Still others might even say Sticky Fingers. Depending on the day, I might change my vote to Plants And Birds And Rocks And Things. Or Spilt Milk. Or even, gasp, Cheap Trick ’77.
See what I mean? And yes, I get where you’re coming from, it was a tongue-in-cheek joke…
Black Keys and Band of Horses debut in the Top Ten? What a world we live in…
They both just finished brief stints opening for Pearl Jam
Murph, no offense but none of those albums have even close to enough nastiness required to qualify as the greatest rock and roll statement of all time. Exile has it all. In droves. Exile has everything. Exile is dirty, mean, and dangerous. Exile is fun, exciting, and beautiful. Exile is Anita Pallenberg wearing a leopard-print bikini for three months straight without washing it. Exile is offensive. Nothing surpasses Exile.
Jake, I’m curious: Does the “greatest rock and roll statement of all time” crack your top three favorite albums list? I love the album, think it is part of the Stones unassailable four-album run (“Beggars Banquet” through “Exile”), but it’s probably not even in my Top Five albums of all time.
Probably not even my fave Stones. I think I like Beggars better. And maybe Let It Bleed too.
But if I could only take one to a desert island, it would be Exile. It’s deep enough to hold up to a lifetime of scrutiny. Plus, you know, the sunshine bores the daylights out of me.
yep–I feel exactly the same way about it as Jake (above). Those other two have better songs, but Exile is more of an “album’s album.”
Now, I’m going to pretend I didn’t just type that.