Some records have themes and concepts, others are built around the radio singles, the aliterate rely on production, but once in awhile, an album is based on the artist growing in life, and the music vicariously lives through those emotions and thoughts.
Album
Album Review: Self Made, Vol. 2 by Maybach Music Group
Released June 26, 2012 via Maybach Music Group
Rick Ross and his MMG affiliates got it right the second time around. Self Made, Vol. 1 is a mixture of unoriginal, repetitive beats and bland lyricism that leaves you feeling slightly abandon by the genre you look to for inspiration. Volume 2 however, is a completely different story.
Album Review: Synthetica by Metric
Released June 12, 2012 via Mom + Pop Records.
“I’m just as fucked up as they say/I can’t fake the daytime/Found an entrance to escape into the dark,” an opening line to set the precedence for the record. According to a letter, not a blog, but a letter frontman Emily Haines wrote to her family, friends and fans, Synthetica is about identifying with your own reflection, deciphering real from artificial.
Album Review: I Predict A Graceful Expulsion by Cold Specks
Released May 22, 2012 via Arts & Crafts.
Her name is Al Spx, the enigmatic Toronto-native records under the name Cold Specks. At 24-years old, this Canadian has released a remarkable debut album I Predict A Graceful Expulsion.
Album Review: Bloom by Beach House
The Baltimore-based dream pop duo Beach House released their fourth LP May 15th via Sub Pop, following their critically acclaimed 2010 release Teen Dream. The predecessor was thought to be unbeatable, to my amazement, Bloom sprung up and surpassed all expectations.
Album Review: Careless World: Rise Of The Last King
22 year old Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson (Tyga) released his sophomore LP February 21, 2012.
2008, Decaydance Records released Tyga’s debut album No Introduction. Being the cousin of Travis McCoy, my best guess is the connection landed him the record deal. With an executive producer like Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), how many of us remember his first record? “Coconut Juice” featuring the Gym Class Heroes’ frontman is memorable because of Madden ’09 and the remix featuring future bossman Tunechi. The record sold just under 7,000 copies.
2009 rolls around and the young rapper has a mixtape with Chris Brown, Fan of a Fan. “Deuces” was taking up space in everyone’s iPod, and “Holla At Me” was being queued in Serato’s everywhere.
2010/2011 the features started rolling in. Birdman, Lil Wayne, Sean Garrett, Nipsey Hussle, DJ Khaled & Drake all enlisted the 110 pound Compton rapper of Vietnamese/Jamaican descent. After two singles, one featuring Chris Richardson and the other, a hook from Drizzy Drake produced by 40 the snowball effect was beginning. Then came “Rack City,” a banger produced by relatively newcomer DJ Mustard that you couldn’t avoid like the plague. Every rapper was freestyling on the instrumental and eventually an official remix dropped. Wale, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, Meek Mill & T.I. all added some fire to the track. The hype for Careless World: Rise Of The Last King was at an all-time high.
Let’s Take A Look At The Album
Record (Adele) Sales: Week 7
Following the hype around the six Grammy awards Adele took home this week, a couple thousand people felt they should pick up a copy of the record, 241,956 to be exact. The phenomenon that is Adele, never ceases to halt or amaze me. Can you imagine a world with a third LP from the British singer?
21 has sold roughly 17 million copies worldwide
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy re-entered the Top 200 after winning Best Rap Album along with two other Grammys for “All Of The Lights.”
Top 20 Records In The Cut
Record Sales: Week 51 12/13/11 – 12/19/11
Drake’s sophomore LP Take Care goes platinum this week. Bublé still taking advantage of the season, as is the teenage heartthrob JB. Black Keys with a solid second week, and Adele’s 2008 release 19 re-enters the top 25 with an impressive 44k copies sold.
Can Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer out-sell the holiday spirit? Check back next week.
LW |
TW |
Artist / Album |
Label |
Power Index |
% Change |
||
1 |
1 |
MICHAEL BUBLE – Christmas |
REPRISE |
444,036 |
-6% |
||
3 |
2 |
ADELE – 21 |
XL/COLUMBIA |
274,963 |
+48% |
||
4 |
3 |
JUSTIN BIEBER – Under The Mistletoe |
ISLAND/IDJMG |
165,571 |
+5% |
||
2 |
4 |
BLACK KEYS – El Camino |
NONESUCH |
85,380 |
-58% |
||
18 |
5 |
LADY ANTEBELLUM –Own The Night |
CAPITOL |
80,737 |
+78% |
||
6 |
6 |
ANDREA BOCELLI – Concerto: Live In CP |
DECCA |
79,494 |
+1% |
||
8 |
7 |
NICKELBACK – Here And Now |
ROADRUNNER |
79,002 |
+22% |
||
7 |
8 |
DRAKE – Take Care |
YM/CM/ |
75,774 |
+5% |
||
10 |
9 |
SCOTTY MCCREERY – Clear As Day |
INTERSCOPE |
66,846 |
+23% |
||
13 |
10 |
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Now 40! |
CAPITOL/EMI |
66,043 |
+32% |
||
— |
11 |
ANTHONY HAMILTON – Back To Love |
RCA |
60,427 |
— |
||
5 |
12 |
AMY WINEHOUSE – Lioness |
UNIVERSAL |
57,092 |
-48% |
||
20 |
13 |
GLEE CAST – Glee Christmas, Vol. 2 |
COLUMBIA |
56,432 |
+28% |
||
21 |
14 |
SUSAN BOYLE – Someone To Watch Over Me |
SYCO/COLUMBIA |
52,731 |
+27% |
||
12 |
15 |
RIHANNA – Talk That Talk |
DEF JAM/IDJ |
52,412 |
+3% |
||
24 |
16 |
SHE & HIM – A Very She & Him Christmas |
MERGE |
49,726 |
+27% |
||
11 |
17 |
JACKIE EVANCHO – Heavenly Christmas |
COLUMBIA |
48,833 |
-8% |
||
29 |
18 |
JASON ALDEAN – My Kinda Party |
BROKEN BOW |
48,602 |
+42% |
||
33 |
19 |
TAYLOR SWIFT – Speak Now World Tour |
BIG MACHINE |
47,145 |
+51% |
||
14 |
20 |
ANDREA BOCELLI – My Christmas |
DECCA |
46,595 |
-5% |
||
26 |
21 |
COLDPLAY – Mylo Xyloto |
CAPITOL/EMI |
45,653 |
+25% |
||
34 |
22 |
ADELE – 19 |
XL/COLUMBIA |
44,218 |
+43% |
||
31 |
23 |
LMFAO – Sorry For Party Rocking |
INTERSCOPE |
42,246 |
+26% |
||
36 |
24 |
TONY BENNETT – Duets II |
COLUMBIA |
41,645 |
+36% |
||
27 |
25 |
DAUGHTRY – Break The Spell |
19/RCA |
38,922 |
+11% |
||
Record Sales: Week 50 12/06/11 – 12/13/11
Even though Bublé Christmas record is still on the rise, it was nice to see the classic Charlie Brown Christmas come in at #25. The Black Keys came in strong at #2, and the phenomenal concept album from The Roots at #15 with nearly 50K.
1 | 1 | MICHAEL BUBLE – Christmas | REPRISE |
473,517 |
+57% |
— | 2 | BLACK KEYS – El Camino | NONESUCH/WARNER BROS. |
203,158 |
— |
2 | 3 | ADELE – 21 | XL/COLUMBIA |
186,229 |
+28% |
3 | 4 | JUSTIN BIEBER – Under The Mistletoe | ISLAND/IDJMG |
157,486 |
+13% |
— | 5 | AMY WINEHOUSE – Lioness | UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC |
110,440 |
— |
8 | 6 | ANDREA BOCELLI – Concerto: Live | DECCA |
79,030 |
+29% |
4 | 7 | DRAKE – Take Care | YM/CM/UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC |
71,953 |
-20% |
5 | 8 | NICKELBACK – Here And Now | ROADRUNNER |
64,674 |
-22% |
— | 9 | GLEE CAST – Glee: The Music Vol 7 | COLUMBIA |
58,708 |
— |
15 | 10 | SCOTTY MCCREERY – Clear As Day | MERC NASH/19/INTERSCOPE |
54,343 |
+52% |
13 | 11 | JACKIE EVANCHO – Heavenly Christmas | COLUMBIA |
53,108 |
+42% |
7 | 12 | RIHANNA – Talk That Talk | DEF JAM/IDJ |
50,752 |
-21% |
9 | 13 | VARIOUS ARTISTS – Now! 40 | CAPITOL/EMI |
50,183 |
+3% |
18 | 14 | ANDREA BOCELLI – My Christmas | DECCA |
49,031 |
+45% |
— | 15 | ROOTS – Undun | DEF JAM/IDJ |
48,211 |
— |
17 | 16 | MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER – Christmas Symphony | AMERICAN GRAMAPHONE |
45,687 |
+32% |
— | 17 | KORN – Path Of Totality | ROADRUNNER |
45,468 |
— |
14 | 18 | LADY ANTEBELLUM – Own The Night | CAPITOL NASHVILLE/EMI |
45,333 |
+24% |
— | 19 | CHEVELLE – Hats Off To The Bull | EPIC |
44,520 |
— |
11 | 20 | GLEE CAST – Glee Christmas Vol. 2 | COLUMBIA |
44,177 |
+8% |
16 | 21 | SUSAN BOYLE – Someone To Watch Over Me | SYCO/COLUMBIA |
41,654 |
+18% |
— | 22 | ROBIN THICKE – Love After War | STAR TRAK/GEFFEN |
41,161 |
— |
6 | 23 | MARY J. BLIGE – My Life II | GEFFEN |
39,789 |
-44% |
20 | 24 | SHE & HIM – Very She & Him Christmas | MERGE |
39,298 |
+28% |
— | 25 | VINCE GUARALDI TRIO – Charlie Brown Christmas | FANTASY |
37,556 |
— |
Can Take Care go platinum next week? How will Common and Young Jeezy’s new records fair?
Record Sales: Week 49 11/29/11 – 12/05/11
Tuesday: Perhaps you look forward to getting over the Monday Blues, or maybe you’re juiced for New Release Day, for myself, the aforementioned are on my mind, not to mention last week’s record sales.
Adele’s 21 has been virtually unstoppable, seems like there’s 150,000 stocking stuffers on their way. The Young Money Toronto boy is nearing Platinum, Coldplay is showing an impressive 50k and Trey Songz’s EP comes in at #24. Tis the season full of Christmas records, pretty boy Buble’s incredibly successful original title, Bieber’s Mistletoe, Glee’s compilation, and approaching Gold status, She & Him’s indie Christmas music.
Stay tuned for next weeks numbers to see if The Black Keys can follow up the success of Brothers, or will T-Pain’s comeback album steal the show. Perhaps Robin Thicke’s Love After War will serenade it’s way to the top, and The Root’s concept album hopes not to be Undun.
LW TW ARTIST/ALBUM LABEL SALES +/-
2 | 1 | MICHAEL BUBLE | REPRISE | 301,303 | +38% | |
CHRISTMAS | ||||||
7 | 2 | ADELE | XL/COLUMBIA | 145,215 | +5% | |
21 | ||||||
6 | 3 | JUSTIN BIEBER | ISLAND/IDJMG | 139,861 | 0% | |
UNDER THE MISTLETOE | ||||||
4 | 4 | DRAKE | YM/CM/UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC | 89,469 | -48% | |
TAKE CARE | ||||||
1 | 5 | NICKELBACK | ROADRUNNER | 83,222 | -63% | |
HERE AND NOW | ||||||
5 | 6 | MARY J. BLIGE | GEFFEN | 71,530 | -57% | |
MY LIFE II-THE JOURNEY CONTINUES | ||||||
3 | 7 | RIHANNA | DEF JAM/IDJ | 64,286 | -67% | |
TALK THAT TALK | ||||||
17 | 8 | ANDREA BOCELLI | DECCA | 61,343 | +13% | |
CONCERTO: LIVE IN CENTRAL PARK | ||||||
13 | 9 | VARIOUS ARTISTS | CAPITOL/EMI | 48,644 | -28% | |
NOW! 40 | ||||||
10 | 10 | COLDPLAY | CAPITOL/EMI | 47,695 | -42% | |
MYLO XYLOTO | ||||||
26 | 11 | GLEE CAST | COLUMBIA | 40,910 | +9% | |
GLEE CHRISTMAS, VOL. 2 | ||||||
8 | 12 | DAUGHTRY | 19/RCA | 40,400 | -69% | |
BREAK THE SPELL | ||||||
31 | 13 | JACKIE EVANCHO | COLUMBIA | 37,442 | +14% | |
HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS | ||||||
22 | 14 | LADY ANTEBELLUM | CAPITOL NASHVILLE/EMI | 36,462 | -20% | |
OWN THE NIGHT | ||||||
9 | 15 | SCOTTY MCCREERY | MERC NASH/19/INTERSCOPE | 35,644 | -60% | |
CLEAR AS DAY | ||||||
29 | 16 | SUSAN BOYLE | SYCO/COLUMBIA | 35,237 | +1% | |
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME | ||||||
— | 17 | MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER | AMERICAN GRAMAPHONE | 34,668 | — | |
CHRISTMAS SYMPHONY | ||||||
45 | 18 | ANDREA BOCELLI | DECCA | 33,818 | +46% | |
MY CHRISTMAS | ||||||
11 | 19 | TAYLOR SWIFT | BIG MACHINE | 31,204 | -60% | |
SPEAK NOW WORLD TOUR LIVE | ||||||
— | 20 | SHE & HIM | MERGE | 30,742 | — | |
VERY SHE & HIM CHRISTMAS | ||||||
47 | 21 | CASTING CROWNS | PROVIDENT | 30,639 | +40% | |
COME TO THE WELL | ||||||
19 | 22 | VARIOUS ARTISTS | CHOP SHOP/ATLANTIC | 30,580 | -41% | |
TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN | ||||||
41 | 23 | SUSAN BOYLE | SYCO/COLUMBIA | 27,787 | +9% | |
THE GIFT | ||||||
— | 24 | TREY SONGZ | ATLANTIC | 27,229 | — | |
INEVITABLE | ||||||
44 | 25 | TONY BENNETT | COLUMBIA | 26,735 | +15% | |
DUETS II |