Jay Reatard Hits #1

09/22/09 2:38pm

by Chris Burland (CHARTattack)

With the seven time zones that blanket this massive nation we call Canada, there's always a natural time lag when news and television programs are aired.

A similar time lag seems to have developed on many of the campus radio stations across the nation. Some stations' charts feature the latest releases and generally parallel the content on the compiled top 50 chart. Others continue to feature albums that have left the charts months ago.

Geographically, the eastern stations seem to be the furthest behind. CHMA (Mt. Allison), CKDU (Dalhousie) and CFMH (UNB-Saint John) regularly feature bands that released albums in the first quarter of the year, including the last albums from Joel Plaskett, Neko Case and Julie Doiron. These stations have been charting these albums for over six months.

Another station lost in a time warp is CHRY (York), which seems to have been playing some of the same albums for the last three months. There are six entries on their chart from the last week of June that are still hanging on this week. This includes their #1 album, Kwesi Selasse's Survival, which is still #1.

The music departments at these stations are either asleep at the wheel or they haven't been receiving too many new albums for their music programmers to play. Either way, it's a poor reflection on these stations as the centers of cutting edge new alternative music programming.

We have a new #1 after a three-week period with Black Mold's Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz in the top spot on the chart. Jay Reatard's Watch Me Fall rises six places to capture the #1 place on this week's chart.

The Friends In Bellwoods Volume II compilation holds onto the #2 spot again this week, followed by Black Mold at #3. Amy Millan's Masters Of The Burial jumps seven spots to sit at #4 while Ohbijou's Beacons holds steady at #5 this week.

Lightning Dust's Infinite Light falls three positions to #6, forcing The Hidden Cameras' Origin:Orphan, last week's #6 album, down to #7. The Clean's Mister Pop, last week's Chart Sizzler, rises six places to #8 one position ahead of this week's highest debut.

Rick White Album's 137 enters at #9 and garners the Chart Sizzler award for the highest new entry on the chart. Two stations featured 137 as their #1 album: CFMU (MacMaster) and CKXU (Lethbridge). Rounding out the top 10, former #1 album, The Rural Alberta Advantage's Hometowns, falls six places to #10.

137 leads a diverse group of new entries this week. After a decade apart, post-rock band Polvo have a new album. Shapes, the band's last album, was released in September 1997 and peaked on the campus chart at #11 two months later.

In Prism, their new album, is the second highest debut this week, arriving at #12. Kill The Lights' Fog Area enters at #26, The Apples In Stereo's #1 Hits Explosion debuts at #29 and world/folk powerhouse Tinariwen's Imidiwan: Companions arrives at #34.

Joel Plaskett's Three returns to the campus chart with some help from the aforementioned Maritime radio stations this week after a seven-week absence. Three re-enters at #28, and has now logged 19 weeks on the campus chart.

Paper Moon's Only During Thunderstorms returns after an even longer absence, and grabs the #50 spot. This release last charted during the week of May 10 to 16 — 18 weeks ago!

There was little change at the top of the specialty charts this week, with four of the five #1s returning from last week.

Matt Wilson Quartet's That's Gonna Leave A Mark, which was #1 on the Jazz/Blues chart three weeks ago, dropped off that chart last week and returns at #1 this week.

There were four debuts on the usually static Hip Hop top 10. OK Cobra's Delirium Tremens enters at #3, followed by Miles Jones' Miles Jones Is Runaway Jones at #4 and then Blue Scholars' Oof! EP at #5. Finally, More Or Les & Fresh Kills' The Les Kills EP squeaks onto the chart at #10.

Three debuts highlight the Metal/Punk chart. Megadeth's Endgame arrives at #7, followed by Black Anvil's Time Insults The Mind at #8 and 3 Inches Of Blood's Here Awaits Thy Doom at #9.