CMJ RECAP ISSUE 1342 WEEK 17

Crazy how time flies. Last week of April already and slowly many of the stations are going into hibernation. This week we lost around 30 stations and I imagine many of them are not coming back. It does make for a weird time on the charts. 

This week Mac Demarco holds strong at #1, there was a big push from Cloud Nothings and even War on Drugs ( 9 weeks in) continues to move on up.  Cloud Nothings has put themselves in a nice position to make a big push for #1 next week but the gap between War on Drugs and Cloud Nothings looks to be pretty sizable.  I would think that the numbers of Mac Demarco and Cloud Nothings will come down next week but will War on Drugs be able to maintain or even grow this late in the game?  At the same time Wye Oak has put themselves in position to make a run at #1 next week as they are just behind War on Drugs.     

The next big #1 record looks to be this weeks #1 most added Thee Oh Sees. They come in at #64 as well. It would take an EPIC first week for Thee Oh Sees to get to #1 next week. If I had to guess I would put them somewhere in the top 5 with around the same amount of stations that Wye Oak has this week. Not to say it can't happen but I would take a pretty big week. 

Last weeks #1 ADD comes in at #25 as the weeks top debut. Most of last weeks big ADDS are close behind with Pink Mountaintops at #27,  Chad Vangaalen at #33 Kelis at #35 and EELS at #38 some of these might make a run for top 10 but none of these look to be contenders for #1. 

I have talked a little bit about records not going away so I wanted to look at how many records are on the chart that have been on for more than 10 weeks.  ( peak in parentheses ) 

St Vincent #7 (#1) --11 weeks

Beck #10 (#1)--10 weeks 

Temples #34(#4)--12 weeks 

Angel Olsen #45 (#4)--13 weeks 

Phantogram #48 (#7)--10 weeks 

Broken Bells #55 (#2)--14 weeks 

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings #60 (#1) 17 weeks 

Dum Dum Girls #73 (#1) 14 weeks 

Notwist #87 (#11) 11 weeks 

Mogwai #93 (#4) 15 weeks 

Eagulls #98 ( #9) 11 weeks 

Warpaint #99 (#6) 15 weeks 

Skaters #109 (#22) 11 weeks 

Arcade Fire #113 (#1) 24 weeks 

Quilt #114 (10) 13 weeks 

Arctic Monkeys #123 ( #1) 30 weeks 

St. Paul and the Broken Bones #127 (#38) 12 weeks

Cherry Glazerr #129 (#29) 11 weeks

Nothing #131 (#32)  10 weeks

Guided by voices #136 (#14) 10 weeks 

Gardens and Villa #139 ( #7) 13 weeks 

Sam Smith #141 ( #43) 10 weeks

Augustines #158 (#34) 13 weeks 

Speedy Ortiz #161 ( #12) 12 weeks

Bear Hands #168 (#20) 10 weeks 

Childish Gambino #169 (#19) 11 weeks 

Damien Jurado #170 (#3) 16 weeks 

Lake Street Dive #172 (#90) 12 weeks 

Bleeding Rainbow #173 (#16) 10 weeks

Young The Giant #178 ( #18) 15 weeks

Blood Orange #182 ( #1) 21 weeks 

Tinariwen #187 ( #46) 11 weeks 

Thumpers #191(#8) 12 weeks 

Hallow and Akimbo #197 (#64) 11 weeks 

Bastille #199 (#18) 27 weeks 

Wow, 35 records that have been on the chart for more than 10 weeks. Thats insane to me.  I don't doubt that these records are still getting played 20-30 weeks in but at some point there has to be a cut off right? I talked to a station last week that was charting a record we worked LAST NOVEMBER. I asked him why he was charting it still and he told me that he did not know he could NOT chart an old record.   So I am sure that is part of the problem of people not knowing they can have a cut off for how long they need to chart a record.     I wish that there was a universal cut off as charting Arctic Monkeys for 30 weeks helps no one and only hurts new bands that are trying to get onto the charts. 

It is interesting to see that the majority of these records ended up in the top ten ( 18)  and it is cool to see bands that only got as high as #90 (Lake Street Dive) hang around for more than 10 weeks.  

Curious to see what other opinions on records being on the chart for so long.  So lets talk about that on the twitters.  Thanks for reading! 

Douglas 

CMJ RECAP 1341 WEEK 16

It is crazy to think that the Spring is almost over summer is about to take over, but according to my records it looks like we have one or two max reporting weeks left before the floor drops out from under us. The peak seems to be a few weeks ago with close to 330 stations and soon close to 100 stations will disappear.  

The records don't stop though.  I am not sure if it becomes easier or harder to work a record in the summer.  On one hand there are less stations so 50 stations on a record means a lot more in the summer but on the other hand it becomes so much harder to get in touch with stations and getting those 50 becomes so much more of a chore. So I guess there are pros and cons to it.   Maybe in the next few weeks we can take a look back what happened this spring.

Lets take a look at what happened this week.  Mac Demarco is #1 again and while Cloud Nothings is right there at #2  the gap between the 2 is pretty significant.  Real Estate and War on Drugs are both in week 8 and are starting the slow journey down the charts, a journey that if they all follow St. Vincent and Beck could take years to fall off the charts.  It is crazy to me that St. Vincent is still so high 10 weeks in.  Liars made a nice move into the top 5 after a slow and steady climb.   Avey Tare looked to be a contender a week or so ago but stalled this week at #8, while last weeks #1 most added Wye Oak jumped up to #7.   When you are not personally working a record you really don't know the thought process going into everything but I would imagine that push of Wye Oak is no mistake as next week we have what could be the last big record of the Spring.  Thee Oh Sees.

Seemed like every station I talked to this week was pretty excited about this new record.  I know I would push hard to get up there before that record came out thats for sure.   Something I wanted to start taking a look at and exploring is How they got there. How does a band make the jump to being a #1 record?

Lets take a look at this weeks #1 Mac Demarco.

According to CMJ the first release he had was Rock and Roll Night Club EP  in April of 2012 and it never had any more than 3 stations.

The next release was 2 in October of 2012. This record in its peak week had just under 30 stations and peaked at 48. But it had longevity and was on the chart for over 14 weeks.

After that there are a few singles leading up to the new record. I am sure it is no coincidence that both the last two full records got BNM on Pitchfork and reports of the live show are pretty fantastic. To me it seems like a pretty fast rise to the top of the charts. But lets keep that in mind when we look at the next number ones path to #1 to see how it compares.

Lets continue the conversation on twitter! 

CMJ ISSUE 1340 WEEK 15

Does history matter at college radio?  I know it matters for me both negatively and positively. I can't tell you the number of times I have been hired on a record because I worked them in the past or I worked a band members former project. On the other hand the same goes for the amount of projects I have no chance on because some company 10 years ago worked an EP of the roadie.  It cuts both ways and it is frustrating. I mean there are so many of us we all fight over every single record so sometimes to comes down to who has the "history" I can argue both ways. It does matter because I helped build the fan base of band X from 20  to now 200.  I can also say well company X reached as high as they can with that, WE are the ones that are passionate about the band give us a chance.  There is no right answer, just pointing out how it goes for us.    I feel in general history should count for something.

I feel that way for stations too.  I think it should matter if a station has helped build a band up over many years that they should celebrate being part of that bands success by continuing to play them.  I remember this one really big station a couple years ago decided they were not going to play a band of ours. But they had played EVERY record the band had put out and had been a part of helping to build this band at college radio.  The MD said at the time, oh no one here likes them anymore. That usually translates to I don't like them.  It was hard because that band was only a few stations away from getting a #1 record.  I still blame that station, although there were plenty of stations that did not play the record, and there always are.   What also cracks me up is that that station played the NEXT record from them and the reason the NEW MD said they were is because of the history they have with the band!  Should history mean you have to play a bands new crappy record if it is in fact a crappy record? No I don't think so but I think history should mean a bit more than it does at some stations.

On to this weeks charts!  So apparently you guys like Mac Demarco.  Real Estate is knocked out of number one despite having over 30 more stations. Mac had far more #'1s and a lot more core.
Last weeks top ADDS Avey Tare and Afghan Whigs made very different debuts. I don't understand why Afghan Whigs is lagging so far behind at this point. A few months ago I would of bet 200 bucks that it would go #1 no problem, I mean its Afghan Whigs! Now I am not so sure, I think it will do well, top 10 top 5 even but #1 is a long shot. At the same time a few years ago I would of bet several thousand dollars that if the Pixies ever put out a new record it would be #1 for 100 weeks. More on that later, but Afghan Whigs came in at 22 and Avey Tare come in at #12 I would of anticipated the opposite. Will be interesting to watch.

We still have a lot of OLD records clogging up the top 10, 5 of the top 10 have been on the top 200 for 7 weeks or more. St Vincent NINE weeks, Beck 8 weeks. eventually I think radio will tire of these and let some new blood up there.  Future Islands is some new blood in the top 10 in week 4 on the charts but every other record in the top 10 was in the top 10 last week.

Adds this week saw Wye Oak coming in at #1 with 130 adds and the Pixies coming in at 95. I know Pitchfork hates the new Pixies so I guess that means radio does too? I would think that Pixies record would get played just on curiosity alone, maybe the EP's hurt the add week? I don't know but I just think everyone would at least check out the new Pixies.

Will either of these challenge for #1? No idea. Our window of consistent charting is closing fast. I heard from a bunch of stations this week already telling me when they are going off for the summer. It looks like we should have another solid month so anything could happen in these 4 weeks.  I would not be shocked if Mac Just stayed there forever, but I said that with Real Estate so who knows.

Lets continue the conversation on twitter! 

CMJ RECAP ISSUE 1339 WEEK 14

It seems like only a few weeks ago that there was real danger of Real Estate not somehow getting to number one. With Beck firmly planted at the top and St. Vincent charging past there was some real worry that they would be blocked out. That all seems very silly to think now with the last 2 weeks being FIRMLY planted at the top.  Right now its Real Estate and the next record a good 50 stations behind, that would be War on Drugs at #2.  Then last weeks big adds Mac Demarco and Cloud Nothings come in at 4 and 5.  Also charging up the charts we have Liars and Tycho.

War on Drugs has steadily moved up the charts over the past few weeks putting itself in a real position to challenge for that #1 spot next week.  The window is tight with so many records charging up and with Real Estate seemingly getting stronger.  I wanted to take a look at how some of these records could make a move to get to #1 and what would it take.  Most of the time this simply centers around gaining more CORE stations.  

For those of you that are new to this a CORE station is a bigger station has more influence in the community( allegedly) and therefore has more influence on the chart. 6 is the highest of the CORE stations and there are also 5's and 4's .  The rest of the stations are ranked 3, 2 and 1 . The higher the number the more influence the station has on the chart. ( It should be noted these rankings do not impact the ADDS chart at all.)

So normally to get to #1 you simply need more core.  In looking at Real Estate vs War on Drugs the Core Seems to be very even with WOD having 62 to Real Estates 60 over all Core. So you would think that they would have an excellent chance at overtaking Real Estate next week.  That was until i looked at the Code 3 stations. According to my Database there are 118 code 3 stations that have reported this year, and in any given week that number hovers around the low 90's.  This past week Real Estate had 73 of them reporting the record!  THATS INSANE  That is close to 80% of all code 3's reporting the record! In contrast War on Drugs had a very good 59 of the 3's but man thats a lot of 3's when we are talking about most of these stations having very similar charts.

Now I do doubt that any record will easily approach the 70+ area for 3's but I also don't think that Real Estate will stay up that high, giving hope to those challenging for next week.

Real Estate was an easy call for #1 this past week and I really thought the same was to be said about ADDS.  I thought for sure Afghan Whigs would run away with the top ADD spot. It really seemed like most of the day Monday and Tuesday that would be the case but when the charts came out. Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks took the #1 ADD spot by 3 ADDS!  I did not see that coming. I was also surprised when they both debuted around the same spot on the chart with Avey Tare being one spot ahead of Afghan Whigs.  Could it be like last weeks Cloud Nothings and Mac Demarco? Perhaps.  Will be fun to watch.

Should be a fun few weeks to end the spring! What records do you think end up at #1? Let's talk about it on twitter @theanimalarrg.

Thanks for reading!

Douglas

CMJ RECAP ISSUE 1338 WEEK 13

I really do wish April Fools day was on Wednesday so I could of participated. Maybe next year I can get in on the fun.

This week Real Estate powered on past St. Vincent and took over the #1 spot on the charts. In looking at the numbers last week I thought they should of been #1 last week, but no one remembers how you got to #1 or if it was a week late it only matters that you got there somehow, someway.

I was looking at the numbers trying to see what could be the next #1 after Real Estate and it really is anyones game. Or no ones game yet really. The gap between Real Estate and St. Vincent is around 20 stations but the gap between St. Vincent and #3 War on Drugs is almost 70 stations!   So I doubt we see War on Drugs at #1 next week.   War on Drugs is powered mostly by bigger stations but they lack the volume needed to get to #1 at this point. They impressively moved past Beck even though they have 20 less stations so I won't count them out.  Black Lips seem to have peaked at #4 last week and are the only other record with over 150 stations.

Things get weird after Black Lips.  The drop off is HUGE Perfect Pussy comes in at #6 with just above 95 stations.  If you pick any record from 6-21 they are within a few stations of each other.  Tokyo Police club comes in at one less station than Perfect Pussy While Tycho at #14 comes in at just around 80 stations and last weeks #1 most added Liars comes in at #17 with just over 90 stations.   The parity between stations has gotten to the point that most stations are playing the same records and so that its a few stations that hold the key to moving up the chart faster.

So I decided to take a look at how true that was and pick two random stations to compare.

Station one:

1. REAL ESTATE Atlas

2. ST. VINCENT St. Vincent

3. NATURAL CHILD Dancin' With Wolves

4. BLACK LIPS Underneath The Rainbow

5. MARK MCGUIRE Along The Way

6. THE MEN Tomorrow's Hits

7. FOSTER THE PEOPLE Supermodel

8. WAR ON DRUGS Lost In The Dream

9. SAINTSENECA Dark Arc

10. CHRIS MILLS AND THE DISTANT STARS Alexandria

11. ETERNAL SUMMERS The Drop Beneath

12. AGES AND AGES Divisionary

13. MARCHING BAND So Much Imagine

14. WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS Lions

15. TACOCAT NVM

16. BEND SINISTER Animals

17. TOKYO POLICE CLUB Forcefield

18. SKATERS Manhattan

19. WALKING SHAPES Taka Come On

20. COATHANGERS Suck My Shirt

21. KEVIN DREW Darlings

22. PERFECT PUSSY Say Yes To Love

23. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS English Oceans

24. NIGHT TERRORS OF 1927 Guilty Pleas [EP]

25. ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES Half The City

26. SISYPHUS Sisyphus

27. METRONOMY Love Letters

28. TYCHO Awake

29. TRAUMAHELIKOPTER I Don't Understand Them At All

30. BELLE BRIGADE Just Because

Station two:

ST. VINCENT St. Vincent

2. CARSICK CARS 3

3. SPEEDY ORTIZ Real Hair [EP]

4. SKATERS Manhattan

5. REAL ESTATE Atlas

6. TOGETHER PANGEA Badillac

7. MOZES AND THE FIRSTBORN Mozes And The Firstborn

8. HABIBI Habibi

9. EAGULLS Eagulls

10. WALKING SHAPES Taka Come On

11. DUM DUM GIRLS Too True

12. PHANTOGRAM Voices

13. TYCHO Awake

14. SAINTSENECA Dark Arc

15. ANGEL OLSEN Burn Your Fire For No Witness

16. BLEEDING RAINBOW Interrupt

17. TOKYO POLICE CLUB Forcefield

18. NATURAL CHILD Dancin' With Wolves

19. NOTWIST Close To The Glass

20. PAINTED PALMS Forever

21. MARISSA NADLER July

22. CHERRY GLAZERR Haxel Princess

23. BLACK LIPS Underneath The Rainbow

24. BEATY HEART Mixed Feelings

25. HONEYMILK Lean On The Sun

26. TACOCAT NVM

27. COATHANGERS Suck My Shirt

28. WAR ON DRUGS Lost In The Dream

29. CREATIVE ADULT Psychic Mess

30. THE MEN Tomorrow's Hits

Now lets eliminate every record that appears on both charts and see what we are left with.

5. MARK MCGUIRE Along The Way

7. FOSTER THE PEOPLE Supermodel

10. CHRIS MILLS AND THE DISTANT STARS Alexandria

11. ETERNAL SUMMERS The Drop Beneath

12. AGES AND AGES Divisionary

13. MARCHING BAND So Much Imagine

14. WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS Lions

16. BEND SINISTER Animals

21. KEVIN DREW Darlings

22. PERFECT PUSSY Say Yes To Love

23. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS English Oceans

24. NIGHT TERRORS OF 1927 Guilty Pleas [EP]

25. ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES Half The City

26. SISYPHUS Sisyphus

27. METRONOMY Love Letters

29. TRAUMAHELIKOPTER I Don't Understand Them At All

30. BELLE BRIGADE Just Because

Station two:

2. CARSICK CARS 3

3. SPEEDY ORTIZ Real Hair [EP]

6. TOGETHER PANGEA Badillac

7. MOZES AND THE FIRSTBORN Mozes And The Firstborn

8. HABIBI Habibi

9. EAGULLS Eagulls

11. DUM DUM GIRLS Too True

12. PHANTOGRAM Voices

15. ANGEL OLSEN Burn Your Fire For No Witness

16. BLEEDING RAINBOW Interrupt

19. NOTWIST Close To The Glass

20. PAINTED PALMS Forever

21. MARISSA NADLER July

22. CHERRY GLAZERR Haxel Princess

24. BEATY HEART Mixed Feelings

25. HONEYMILK Lean On The Sun

29. CREATIVE ADULT Psychic Mess So in the end we had 13 records that were the same, I was expecting a few more and I imagine if I were do to the comparison a few more times the average would be closer to 17 of the same records.  The point is that for the most part everyones chart looks about the same these days and it has become easier to obtain a top 10 record. I don't want to say easy I guess but when a record at #6 has the same amount of stations as #21 then where is the value of a top ten? So what will be happening next? Well it looks like Real Estate should easily hold on to #1 for another week and I Imagine War on Drugs will take #2 next week and at that point the gap should be less than 70 so they could go for #1 then. Perfect Pussy I don't see going much higher than top 5 if anything and last weeks adds Tycho and Liars, Future Islands and Toyko Police club all look about the same right now and its hard to see what one will step out above the rest.   This weeks ADD race came down to Mac Demarco and Cloud Nothings. Cloud nothings had the 2 indies going for it and they were able to pull away and take #1 most added. Mac kept it close thought as they were very creative and had Mac himself calling stations on ADD day. Love to see that kind of creativity that I can steal for myself.  But in the end the power of two indies won out. Hold Steady took #3 most added being the only other record with 100 adds.  Mac Demarco has the early edge on the charts already coming in at #70 and Cloud nothings is close behind at #87. Should be interesting to see what type of logjam there is next week with all of last weeks ADDS and this weeks adds all pushing for the top of the charts. Lets continue this conversation on the twitter@theanimalarrg