Bicycles Ride Through Holidays At #1

01/06/09 2:12pm

by Chris Burland (CHARTattack)

As 2008 passes into our collective memories, CHARTattack brings you a quick look at the the last chart of that somewhat disappointing year in recorded music.

These charts are compiled from the lower than normal amount of radio stations that contributed charts during the holiday period and are reflective of content from Dec. 15 to Jan. 2. So the results are a bit mixed, as the campus chart witnesses the highest number of re-entries in its 12-year history.

While both The Bicycles' Oh No, It's Love and B.A. Johnston's Stairway To Hamilton hold their respective #1 and #2 positions, the emergence of The Craft Economy's Is On Your Side at #3 is quite the achievement. This debut EP is the highest re-entry in the history of the top 50 chart. A few albums have re-entered the top 20, but not the top five.

Los Campesinos!'s We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed rises three places to #4, dropping TV On The Radio's Dear Science to #5. The Organ's Thieves EP jumps three spots to #6, while The Souljazz Orchestra's Manifesto experiences a resurgence and rises 16 places to #7. Manifesto sat at #4 three charts ago.

Tony Dekker & Great Lake Swimmers' Song Sung Blue EP moves up six places to #8, followed by a parallel rise of the Weewerk Is 6! compilation at #9. The Nothing On But Your Radio: Live at CJSW compilation drops four places to #10.

The Chart Sizzler Award for the highest debut on the final chart of 2008 goes to the #16 entry. Arkells' Jackson Square received substantial airplay on four southern Ontario campus stations. CFRE (Erindale) placed it at #2, CJAM (Windsor) at #3, CFRU (Guelph) at #6 and CFMU (McMaster) at #7.

Blah Blah 666's It's Only Life! enters at #24, Buena Vista Social Club's At Carnegie Hall at #27 and The Hoa Hoa's Sonic Bloom at #31.

The chart features three albums that have stuck around for 17 weeks. Chad VanGaalen's Soft Airplane drops 10 places to #21, The Pack A.D.'s Funeral Mixtape slips three spots to #43 and Women's self-titled debut re-enters at #46.

There were even fewer specialty chart contributors during the holiday period, and there was little change at the top of them.

Moka Only's Carrots And Eggs remains at #1 on the Hip-Hop chart and Peggy Lee Band's New Code sits at #1 on the Jazz/Blues top 10. Squarepusher's Just A Souvenir holds on to #1 on the Electronic chart, while Amadou & Miriam's Welcome To Mali continues to reign at #1 on World/Folk.

The only new #1 can be found on the Metal/Punk chart, which is usually the most conservative in its changes. Not only did Unearth's The March jump two spots to #1, but the top 10 features four new entries: Grails' Doomsdayer's Holiday at #3, Total Abuse's self-titled release at #5, Pegataur's Eternal Flight at #9 and the Twilight soundtrack at #10.