"The word ‘phenomenon’ is overused in this business, but in the case of the Beatles, it really tells the story. They were huge back then, and obviously their appeal totally translates to today. They continue on at #1 with us, and we don’t see anything soon that will dethrone them."
—Ken Feldman, HMV

RUMBLING UNDER!!!

It’s The Status Quo In The Top 10, But There’s Major Movement Just Below It.
If you just skim the Top 10 of this week's chart you'll miss the real story. Yes, kiddies, there are some exciting things going on—even considering that (a) the same albums as last week are in the Top 10, and (b) there are NO debuts in the Top 50.

Put your latte down and take a peek at the second 10. If your reading extends beyond lame music trade mags, you've undoubtedly noticed a little movie called "Save The Last Dance," an MTV-Paramount collab that was #1 at the box office last weekend. Hollywood's soundtrack, which jumped from #31 to #11, is blowing out of stores, with huge reorders and a slew of singles waiting in the wings.

Then there's Warner Bros.' Linkin Park. The momentum from 2000 carries over and their amazing run doesn't let up, as they move up from #17 to #15. Back two places at #17 is Columbia's Crazy Town. Thanks to Top 40 play, on top of PoMo and Active Rock, album sales are as big as Jeff Van Gundy's laceration.

Yup, the Beatles rule for the seventh week in a row, selling another 200k-plus of their prophetically titled "1" album. After the previous week's close call with MCA's Shaggy, things looked like they might finally get interesting, but this week it wasn't even close.

In case you hadn't already figured it out, the Top 10 is rounded out by "NOW Vol. 5" (Columbia), Wind-Up's Creed, Flip/Interscope's Limp Bizkit, Epic's Sade, LaFace/Arista's Outkast, Arista's Dido, Virgin's Lenny Kravitz and No Limit/Priority's Snoop Dogg.

Said HMV's Ken Feldman, who was way more excited about the fact that (a) the same albums as last week are in the Top 10 and (b) there are no debuts in the Top 50:

"The word ‘phenomenon' is overused in this business, but in the case of the Beatles, it really tells the story. They were huge back then, and obviously their appeal totally translates to today. They continue on at #1 with us, and we don't see anything soon that will dethrone them."

Thanks, Ken. That was really (a) hypey and (b) space-filling.

MUSIC'S MOST BEWILDERING NIGHT
Gauchos got what they'd long deserved, 20 years too late. (12/30a)
TRUMP ASKS SCOTUS TO PAUSE TIKTOK BAN
A highly unlikely prospective hero (12/28a)
TOP 50: A LITTLE SZA, A WHOLE LOTTA CHRISTMAS
We won't have to hear "The Little Drummer Boy" again for 10 months. (12/27a)
PHOTO GALLERY: PICS OF THE WEEK OF THE YEAR (PART TWO)
More weasel photo ops (12/30a)
TOP 50: A LITTLE SZA, A WHOLE LOTTA CHRISTMAS
The final album chart of the year (12/27a)
NOW WHAT?
We have no fucking idea.
COUNTRY'S NEWEST DISRUPTOR
Three chords and some truth you may not be ready for.
AI IS ALREADY EATING YOUR LUNCH
The kids can tell the difference... for now.
WHO'S BUYING THE DRINKS?
That's what we'd like to know.
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