The Top 22 Tastemaker Albums for the Week Ending 3-6-11

Panel includes the following hand-picked stations monitored by Mediaguide:

Commercial Alternative: KBZT, KNRK, WEQX, WWCD
College Alternative/Eclectic: KEXP, KCRW, KDHX, WDET, WSGE
Commercial AAA: KBCO, KFOG, KGSR, KINK, KMTT, KPIG, WMMM, WRLT, WRNR, WRXP, WTTS, WWMM, WXRT
Non-commercial AAA: KCMP, KUT, WERS, WFPK, WFUV, WNKU, WTMD, WXPN, WYEP, WYMS

Download The Top 100 here.

Commercial AAA stations used to brag about the number of artists that they would break. Not in 2010.

In a year of incredible new music, it was the Public Radio stations that did the heavy lifting.

A quick scan of year-end Mediabase airplay shows just two new names in The Top 10 — One Eskimo and The Avett Brothers (we’ll still call ‘em new since the had not previously charted in a big way).

The Top 10 looked pretty familiar:

1. John Mayer
2. Jack Johnson
3. Pearl Jam
4. Train
5. Dave Matthews Band
6. David Gray
7. Norah Jones
8. Avett Brothers
9. One Eskimo
10. Kings of Leon

While new names look scant, is 20% too little, or actually about right?

In looking at The Top 22 songs on Mediabase, again, just a few new names:

#2 One Eskimo Kandi
# 10 Avett Brothers I & Love & You
#11 Phoenix 1901
# 13 Broken Bells The High Road
# 16 Alpha Rev New Morning
#20 Avett Brothers Head Full of Doubt…

How does 27% feel? Point is, while Commercial AAA stations played new acts, they didn’t play them a whole lot. Familiar names dominated.

A caveat worth noting is that a year-end chart will benefit tracks that were out for the entire year. For example, Mumford and Sons broke midway through the year, so they don’t fare as well on this chart and likely won’t on the 2011 version either.

Food for thought. Discuss…

The Top 22 Public Radio Albums for the Week Ending 1-2-11

Download The Top 100 here.

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#2 Tim Westergren: Pandora

Pandora's Tim Westergren explains the algorithm that makes the same songs play over and over.

In April, Pandora crossed the 50 million user mark. Today, the census told us that there are 308 million people in the United States.

Let’s do the math. 300 million people divided by 50 million users… carry the one…um… do we have to show our work? Should we subtract everyone’s grandma?

Show me someone who has not used Pandora, and I’ll show you someone who really isn’t into music that much.

What’s ahead? Pandora has been advertising jobs for people who know video and have experience in artist relations. Yeah, we applied but haven’t heard back yet. They’re probably waiting ’til after the holidays to call. Keep an eye on our Facebook status!

#3 Lisa Sonkin: Columbia Records

Famously difficult to photograph, Lisa Michelson circa 1974, in third grade. If we could do math, we could figure out her age.

Columbia was the number one label in terms of AAA radio airplay this year — a fact that Lisa is sharing only with her closest friends and family– so please keep this information to yourself.

John Mayer, Train, Avett Brothers, Courtyard Hounds, Band of Horses, Broken Bells, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend and the Roots, and Bob Dylan.

We’re probably missing something. Maybe it’s that most of AAA radio totally blew it on the Court Yard Hounds album. Never too late, though!

What’s next? Adele is already #2 — and the album isn’t out ’til next year. Plus a new one from Raphael Saadiq.

#4 Everyone at WXPN

David Dye, Helen Leicht, and Roger LaMay of WXPN

Here’s the problem we had with WXPN: too many players in one place. There’s GM Roger LaMay, PD Bruce Warren, OM Dan Reed, World Cafe’s David Dye, and a very strong bench.

We could either litter the Top 22 with XPN staff, or we could combine them into a supergroup, which is what we did. And now that we’ve done that, we’re thinking they should be closer to #1.

World Cafe has hundreds of affiliates, the 11th Annual Non-Commvention May 19-21 in Wilmington, DE will have hundreds of attendees (nice plug), and XPN has hundreds of thousands of fans.

And while we hated to see the Y-Rock project take the hit it took in 2010, we congratulate them for making a go of it, and doubt it will be the last big idea they try.

Just goes to show what can happen when you take non-comm core values and combine them with aggressive entrepreneurial thinking. WXPN is writing the playbook for how to run a radio station.

#5 The Coalition of Independent Music Stores

Every year, jerks in “the media” write more stories about how record stores are going out of business.

Wrong again, “media.” So what if some of the stores need to sell a few bongs to make the rent?

Not only is Record Store Day one of the coolest days of the year, we were green with envy when Mom & Pop stores got together to do an awesome Black Friday event with plenty of exclusive vinyl.

We should all be so lucky to live in a town with one of these stores. If you don’t, visit their online site ThinkIndie.com.

#6 Daniel Glass: Glassnote

Daniel Glass

Daniel Glass makes our list for doing something no one else has ever done — he made history by breaking a French rock band.

Don’t even bother arguing Daft Punk or Air — they’re Electronica. And don’t try us with Plastic Bertrand or the Singing Nun — they’re Belgian.

But in Phoenix we had three words you never thought you’d hear together: French Rock Band.

And if you throw in Mumford & Sons and Temper Trap, you have a hot streak that hasn’t been seen since the SBK Records trifecta of Jesus Jones, Vanilla Ice, and Wilson Phillips.

#7 Jack Barton: FMQB

If you Google Jack Barton, a lot of Jack Barton's turn up -- including Jack Barton "The Original Dry Cleaner to the Stars"

When Radio and Records went belly up in 2010, Jack Barton convinced Friday Morning Quarterback to become the third proud owner of the annual Boulder AAA Summit.

Jack had literally just days to make a diving catch, and he delivered one of the best conferences in memory.

In 2011, FMQB will extend its reach into live events by partnering with Michele Clark for not one but two different Sunset Sessions.

This year’s AAA Radio Conference hits Boulder August 10-13. Learn more about it here.

See #8-#12 here.

See #13-#17 here.

And #18-22 here.

]]> http://www.thetop22.com/2010/12/the-top-22-players-in-adult-rock-for-2010-7-2/feed/ 0 http://www.thetop22.com/2010/12/53rd-grammy-nominees-arcade-fire-for-album-of-the-year/ http://www.thetop22.com/2010/12/53rd-grammy-nominees-arcade-fire-for-album-of-the-year/#comments Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:40:41 +0000 The Top 22 Editor http://www.thetop22.com/?p=6099 Adult Rockers are scarce in the Big Four categories, but plenty of nods elsewhere as NARAS announces the nominees for the 53rd Grammy Awards. Download the complete list…

We called it when it came out — Arcade Fire has the best album this year. But whether it picks up a Grammy Award remains to be seen — competing with Eminem (who has been snubbed in this category before), and Lady Gaga.

We’ll handicap this later, but first, the nominees:

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has announced the nominees for the 53rd Grammy Awards, to be handed out in L.A. February 13, 2011.

Fans of AAA shouldn’t expect to see many of their heroes picking up statues – not only because the actual number of televised handouts is small, but there aren’t many adult rockers nominated in the large, likely-to-be-televised categories.

Among the Big Four, here’s what crosses over to adult rock:

Record of the Year: Cee Lo Green’s F**k You
Album of the Year: Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs
Song of the Year: Cee Lo Green’s F**k You, Ray Lamontagne’s Beg, Steal, or Borrow
Best New Artist: Florence and the Machine,  Mumford & Sons

Some nice nods there, but stiff competition. Perhaps the Mumford boys will pull a Kanye and try to take the statue away from Justin Bieber.

Plenty of familiar names in the deeper categories, of note:

Rock

Best Rock Solo Performance: Eric Clapton Run Back to Your Side, John Mayer Crossroads, Paul McCartney Helter Skelter, Robert Plant Silver Rider, Neil Young Angry World (We smell supergroup performance possibilities.)
Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocals: Arcade Fire Ready to Start, Jeff Beck & Joss Stone I Put a Spell on You, The Black Keys Tighten Up, Kings of Leon Radioactive, Muse Resistance
Best Rock Song: Neil Young Angry World, Mumford & Sons Little Lion World, Kings of Leon Radioactive, Muse Resistance, The Black Keys Tighten Up
Best Hard Rock Performance: Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Them Crooked Vultures
Best Rock Album: Jeff Beck, Muse, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Neil Young
Best Alternative Rock Album: Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Broken Bells, Vampire Weekend

Pop

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Sara Bareilles King of Anything, Norah Jones Chasing Pirates
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: John Mayer Half of My Heart
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Train Hey Soul Sister (Live) [Ed. Note: Love the band and song, but this nomination points to behind-closed-doors horse-trading among the nomination committee -- gaming the system, not cool.]
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals: Herbie Hancock & Friends, Elton John and Leon Russell
Best Pop Vocal Album: John Mayer Battle Studies

American Roots

Best Americana Album: Roseanne Cash, Los Lobos, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, Mavis Staples
Best Traditional Blues Album: James Cotton, Cyndi Lauper, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmie Vaughan, Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith
Best Contemporary Blues Album: Solomon Burke, Dr. John & the Lower 911, Buddy Guy, Bettye La Vette, Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Best Traditional Folk Album: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Maria Muldaur
Best Contemporary Folk Album: Jackson Browne & David Lindley, Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Guy Clark, Richard Thompson

Download the complete list of nominees in PDF form here.

The Top 22 Commercial AAA Albums for the Week Ending 8-29-10

Download The Top 100 here.

Looks like the whole Vevo thing may be paying off.

The YouTube related website for labels not only gives fans a destination (and better-produced videos), but a shot for labels to generate revenue. Of course there are the pre-roll ads, but be on the alert for more and more product placements — something that couldn’t be done on MTV and Vevo is totally cool with.

But we digress, on with the show…

The Top 22 Tastemaker Songs for the Week ending 7-25-10

Panel includes the following hand-picked stations monitored by Mediaguide:

Commercial Alternative: KBZT, KNRK, WEQX, WWCD
College Alternative/Eclectic: KEXP, KCRW, KDHX, WDET, WSGE
Commercial AAA: KBCO, KFOG, KGSR, KINK, KMTT, KPIG, WMMM, WRLT, WRNR, WRXP, WTTS, WWMM, WXRT
Non-commercial AAA: KCMP, KUT, WERS, WFPK, WFUV, WNKU, WTMD, WXPN, WYEP, WYMS

Download The Top 100, here.

Last week we wrote about Devo, Inc.’s use of time tested research methodology to assist them in bringing new product to the market (here). This week Broken Bells, the group made up of The Shins’ James Mercer and Danger Mouse, use a similar tactic.

Watch Broken Bells work to find out what kids want:

And here’s the first set of results from Devo’s Color Study Focus Group from Los Angeles:

If you haven’t taken the color study (in which green is becoming a lead candidate), do so here.

The Top 22 Commercial AAA Albums for the Week Ending 2-28-10

Download the Top 100, including spin counts and more, here.