CMJ ISSUE 1436 WEEK 15 COLLEGE RADIO RECAP

I was looking online at an old CMJ magazine like the kind I used to get when I was an MD the other day and I just found it so fascinating to see what was charting at that time. How it was presented. The stories, the advertisements.  I think looking back on those charts can be a lot of fun so I will try and do that more often.  So we will do that in a bit but first lets look at this week a little bit.

This week Andrew Bird took the number one spot in a VERY tight race with Tacocat. I think it really came down to a few stations or a few spots on a few  charts. It was what I thought would happen as Andrew Bird most likely has a larger following with the AAA stations. It becomes interesting now with Tacocat at #2 and Parquet courts coming in at #5 the week after ADDS.  Parquet courts looks like a formality next week though but with 2 indies on Tacocat maybe they can sneak in. Also The last Andrew Bird record was #1 for a solid month so who knows if they will be dethroned so easily.

THEN you add in this weeks top ADD M83, you are looking at a 4 record race. I would guess M83 would jump to where Parquet Courts is this week.  What makes all of this even more interesting is we have a wide variety of people working each record.   The 2 indies that are working Andrew Bird are not working any of the other records so perhaps that gives them the advantage to keep it there?  One of the 2 indies working Tacocat is not working any of the other records. Parquet Courts and M83 have a lot of crossover though and its always interesting to see how that is handled.  Regardless should be fun to watch. If I had to bet I would bet on Parquet Courts taking it next week then M83 the week after. ( although Parquet looks really strong and we could see some flip flopping between m83 and them)

So the last time Andrew Bird went to #1 was in 2012 so lets take a look at the top 10 that week.

Showing Radio 200 Chart For Issue #1241

TW	LW	2W	PK	WKS	Artist	Recording	Label
1	4	43	1	3	ANDREW BIRD	Break It Yourself	Mom And Pop
2	2	3	2	6	SLEIGH BELLS	Reign Of Terror	Mom And Pop
3	1	1	1	8	TENNIS	Young And Old	Fat Possum
4	6	8	4	4	HUNX	Hairdresser Blues	Hardly Art
5	14	24	5	3	THE MEN	Open Your Heart	Sacred Bones
6	5	4	4	6	GRIMES	Visions	4AD
7	7	12	7	4	MAGNETIC FIELDS	Love At The Bottom Of The Sea	Merge
8	9	17	8	5	DELTA SPIRIT	Delta Spirit	Rounder
9	159	-	9	2	SHINS	Port Of Morrow	Columbia
10	3	2	1	8	DR. DOG	Be The Void	Anti

Pretty interesting. I doubt Delta Spirit would make it that high now nor would Sleigh Bells. What do you think. 

The last Andrew Bird record was the first one that went to #1 at radio but he has a long history starting back with the Squirrel Nut Zippers. The record before this one would get #1 most added and peak at #7. I looked for the CMJ report where this happened but the closest I could find was from the CMJ Monthly retail magazine. 

You can check out the whole magazine online here 

I find it so fun to see what records were on the chart at different times. Looks like the big guns would still do well today. 

Lastly I want to tell the story of one of the weirdest reported records ever from WDBX 

Yesterday a promoter sent me a link to their chart... and I saw this. 

1. LICK MY BUTT AND BALLS Lick My Butt And Balls

2. WILLIE NELSON AND MERLE HAGGARD Django And Jimmie

3. MIRACLE BOY Happy Convention

4. LES COPELAND To Be In Your Company

5. REVEREND PEYTON'S BIG DAMN BAND So Delicious

Obviously I was blown away someone would not only make up a band but chart them at #1. So immediately I contacted CMJ to let them know... what we discovered though was pretty bizarre. 

The band is real. Or was real. Check out the first story here. 

That could of been the end of it but it was not.  Turns out the drummer for that band had died at a party while saving 2 other people. Check that out here 

If that wasn't enough it turns out he leaves behind a five year old with autism, read about that here 

For me this story is remarkable on a few levels. One that we should get all the facts before we react on things more often than not and two that one of the beauties of college radio is being able to pay tribute to this band, this man by charting him at #1 and while sometimes that can be pretty insignificant it can also lead to half of the college radio music industry talking about your station or band for a day or 2.  Pretty crazy really. 

Ok lets continue the conversation on twitter!