Charty Chart Chat: Buck 65 Joins Beastie Boys

As this nation enters its annual five-month run of the climactic condition known affectionately as "The Deep Freeze," we see a hip-hop record hold on to the #1 position on the top 50 chart for the first time since the Beastie Boys' six-week reign there for Hello Nasty in the summer of 1998.

Buck 65's Situation retains the top spot, outdistancing Holy Fuck's LP, which jumps a spot to #2. Barmitzvah Brothers' Let's Express Our Motives rises three positions to #3. The Sadies' New Seasons improves eight places to #4, while Beirut's The Flying Club Cup jumps nine places to #5. Sunset Rubdown's Random Spirit Lover drops four notches to #6, staying just ahead of Stars' In Our Bedroom After The War, which also falls four places to #7. Radiohead's In Rainbows moves up a deuce to #8. Wintersleep's Welcome To The Night Sky vaults 10 positions to #9 and is followed by Caribou's Andorra, which slides two places to #10.

The Chart Sizzler Award goes to the A Sound Experiment: Live Sessions compilation from CJSW 90.9 FM, which enters the chart at #25. After spending a number of weeks at #1 on the CJSW (Calgary) top 30 chart, where it remains, several other campus stations are spinning the album enough to earn it a #2 placing at CHRY (York), #4 at CKXU (Lethbridge) and #11 at CITR (UBC). The next highest debut is Sigur Ros' Hvarf/Heim, which enters at #31. Corb Lund's Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier debuts at #34.

Plants And Animals' With/Avec EP re-enters the top 50 at #11. Two weeks ago, this same EP re-entered the chart at #26 after originally debuting at #45 in the week ending Oct. 23. So, in the past six weeks, With/Avec EP has both entered and disappeared from the top 50, with each re-entry bettering the previous chart position.

Three albums retained the #1 positions they held on the specialty charts last week. Situation remains atop Hip-Hop, Mr. Something Something's Deep Sleep has a stranglehold on the World/Folk chart and, for the seventh straight week, High On Fire's Death Is The Communion is #1 on Metal/Punk. This run should come to an end next week as perennial metal chart powerhouse Dillinger Escape Plan debuted at #2 this week with Ire Works. Prefuse 73's Preparations moves up a spot to #1 on the Electronic chart while Wilson/Lee/Bentley's Escondido Dreams improves by four places to claim the Jazz/Blues title.