You Say Party! We Say Four Weeks At #1

11/10/09 4:41pm

by Chris Burland (CHARTattack)

Here's an example of how messed up the planet is.

I was putting up my Christmas lights on Sunday (Nov. 8) and was almost dying of a heat stroke it was that hot out there. Can anybody ever remember it hitting the mid-teens for three straight days in November in Toronto? Of course, I'm not complaining; it sure beats getting frostbite doing the same job! 

The campus charts are experiencing some unusual patterns, too. A month ago, it was a complete replacement of the top five. Then a couple of weeks ago it was a all-Canadian top 10. We also had #1 debuts and maximum chart movement (a 49 place jump)

This week, there's a substantial overturning of the most popular albums from last week in the top 10.

Through all of this discombobulation, You Say Party! We Say Die!'s XXXX holds continues to hold commanding lead at #1 over the runner-up album this week, We Are Wolves' Invisible Violence. XXXX racked up 1283 points compared to the #2 Invisible Violence, which had 863 points.

Do Make Say Think's Other Truths falls a place to #3, while The Flaming Lips' Embryonic jumps three places to grab the #3 position. Islands' Vapours continues its downward trend. The former #1 falls two places again to sit at #5.

Here's the beginning of all of the new blood at the top of the chart. Little Girls' Concepts rebounds back up the chart, moving six spots to land at #6. Said The Whale's Islands Disappear moves up eight positions to #7, The XX's self-titled album jumps five spots to #8, while the self-titled Black Feelings disc slides up two places to #9. Carolyn Mark And NQ Arbuckle's Let's Just Stay Here holds its position from last week, remaining at #10.

The Chart Sizzler Award goes to the band who became the first completely independently-released album to sit at #1 on this Canadian campus top 50 chart. Back in August 2003, Ox's Dust Bowl Revival held the #1 position for a couple of weeks.

This week, the band's third album, Burnout debuts at #14. It's the highest new entry of the week. Tegan And Sara's Sainthood arrives at #17, followed immediately by Fuck Buttons' Tarot Sport at #18.

There were a few more high ranking debuts this week. Language Arts' Where Were You In The Wild? enters at #20, Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms hits at #21 and Girls' Album arrives at #24. In total, there were 15 new entries and five re-entries, signifying a volatile campus chart.

The strangest return to the chart was Think About Life's Family, which last charted during the week Aug. 9 to 15. After a three month absence, Family returns at #44 for a 13th week on the campus chart. Only Ohbijou's Beacons has spent more time on the campus chart, surviving for 16 weeks.

The age of volatility has definitely permeated all of the five specialty charts this week. Not only do all five top 10 charts have new #1s from last week, but each chart also features a substantial number of new entries, too.

The highest rise to #1 occurred on the World/Folk chart, where the Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968-81 compilation rose from #10 last week to champion this specialty chart. Brother Ali's Us bumps the Radio Do Canibal album by his DJ, BK-One, out of the top spot on the Hip Hop chart with a five place rise to #1. Converge's Axe To Fall rises up a spot to sit in top spot on the Metal/Punk chart.

Two of the week's new #1s sat in this spot two weeks ago. Tony Wilson Sextet's The People Look Like Flowers At Last returns to the top spot on the Jazz/Blues chart after a week at #2, while Boys Noize's Power returns after a week's absence from the top position, falling briefly to #2 last week.

There were a number of notable debuts on the specialty charts. Slayer's World Painted Blood enters the Metal/Punk chart at #5. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou's Volume 2: Echoes Hypnotiques debuts at #2 on the World/Folk top 10. It was matched by Swollen Members' Armed To The Teeth on the the Hip Hop chart and Joakim's Milky Ways on the Electronic top ten. On the Jazz/Blues chart, Henry Threadgill Zooid's This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 debuts at a modest #8 this week.