ROCK ON A ROLL

Wow, that "caps lock" key is really sticky.

Check out this week's sales for IDJ's Hoobastank, RCA's The Strokes and TVT's Default. All three are getting serious love from PoMo programmers. All three are getting serious love from MTV and MTV2. And all three are experiencing solid sales jumps this week—a trend that shows no sign of slowing.

For those complaining about a dim first quarter, meet the first glaringly bright new sales story of 2002.

"It's organic. While the kids are responding to radio and video airplay, there is also that intangible word-of-mouth factor," said Mike Fuller of Hastings, whose mouth is always a factor. "When something is real, the word spreads and nothing's going to stop it. That's what's happening with these three bands. They're real, and all signs indicate they're going to be real big."

Once again kiddies, a quick gander at this week's Top 50 will unveil the usual winners. But look deeper and the real story will emerge.

Did we mention that Hoobastank, The Strokes and Default are taking off? Buckle up.