Sunset Rubdown Lasts Another Day At #1

07/14/09 1:43pm

by Chris Burland (CHARTattack)

For the first time in many a year, the chart stagnation has arrived before its weather kin.

Normally, the dog days of mid-July correspond with fewer chart contributions leading to the top of the charts remaining unchanged for weeks at a time. This year, folks in Toronto have been blessed with below average temperatures. Usually, we complain about the cooler weather: "We only get hot weather for a couple months...wahhhhhhh!"

This year, we got garbage odours unpleasantly wafting through the city, especially near one of those temporary garbage sites. The people who live to the east of Ted Reeve Park are really suffering. Don't cry for us, Canada... it'll be over soon.

Upstart label Jagjaguwar continue to hold down the top two spots as Sunset Rubdown's Dragonslayer remains at #1 followed by Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm at #2.

The next three albums all inch up a place from last week. Sonic Youth's The Eternal moves up a slot to #3, bucking my prediction from last week. Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca rises to #4, followed by Pink Mountaintops' Outside Love at #5.

An album had to fall so these three albums could move up. Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest drops three spots to #6. Tortoise's Beacons Of Ancestorship rises 11 places to #7 and The Lovely Feathers' Fantasy Of The Lot slides up two positions to #8.

The Chart Sizzler Award goes to an album in the top ten for the first time in a month. Wilco's Wilco (The Album) debuts at #9. Wilco (The Album) appears on 11 individual campus radio charts, including #2 at CFMU (McMaster) and CJAM (Windsor), #6 at CIUT (Toronto) and #8 at CHMR (Memorial).

Bibio's Ambivalence Avenue is the runner-up debut this week at #18. Deerhunter's Rainwater Cassette Exchange enters at #24, Elizabeth & The Catapult's Taller Children debuts at #28 and Mos Def's The Ecstatic arrives at #30.

While Julie Doiron and Great Lake Swimmers' latest albums fell off the charts after a number of months, Joel Plaskett's Three remains and rises three places to #22. Three has remained on the top 50 chart for 15 weeks. Metric's Fantasies has lasted 13 weeks dropping four places to #15, while the aforementioned Pink Mountaintops album has managed to chart for 12 weeks and counting.

The specialty charts are also caught in the malaise of the early summer with only one chart having a new #1. Funny enough, it was last week's #2, Oumou Sangare's Seya, which switches places with last week's #1, Vieux Farka Toure's Fondo on the World/Folk top 10.

Instead of rehashing last weeks' news, I'll mention either new entries or long-serving albums.

Mastodon's Crack The Skye has put in 15 weeks service on the Metal/Punk top 10 and slips a position to #4. Two Electronic vets also hit this prestigious period of 15 weeks, as MSTRKRFT's Fist Of God sits at #6 and Junior Boys' Begone Dull Care is at #10.

The highest debut among the five specialty charts would be Simon Fisk Trio's Unless entry at #2 on the Jazz/Blues top ten. Mos Def's The Ecstatic enters the Hip Hop chart at #4. This is matched by Misstress Barbara's I'm No Human entry on the Electronic top 10.