Chart Rundown

Elvis Costello and the Imposters returned to the charts this week with the cd release of Momofuku selling almost 15K. Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner also saw an excellent first week of sales, nabbing the #1 spot on the New Artist Album chart for his project with Miles Kane of The Rascals, called The Last Shadow Puppets.  Other big winners include Radiohead whose sales jumped over 20% this week following VH1's "In Rainbows From The Basement" broadcast as well as Tokyo Police Club who jumped back up to the big charts this week.

Billboard 200:

• #17 Various Artists - Juno OST [24,818 this week, down 3.5%, 724,072 to date]
• #24 Portishead - Third [21,988 this week, down 58.4%, 75,008 to date]
• #28 The Roots - Rising Down [20,741 this week, down 61.4%, 74,665 to date]
• #46 Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords [14,225 this week, down 36.7%, 89,069 to date]
• #55 R.E.M. - Accelerate [13,575 this week, down 9.8%, 242,343 to date]
• #59 Elvis Costello - Momofuku [14,726]
• #74 Radiohead - In Rainbows [10,298 this week, up 20.6%, 502,866 to date]
• #95 Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Once OST  [8,144 this week, up 9.6%, 557,827 to date]
• #102 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend [7,411 this week, down 11.9%, 209,027 to date]
• #111 The Last Shadow Puppets - Age Of The Understatement [8,730]
• #116 Santogold - Santogold [6,715 this week, down 29.1%, 16,281 to date]
• #154 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [5,082 this week, up 3.3%, 73,599 to date]
• #200 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell [3,790 this week, up 18.5%, 15,992 to date]

New Artist Albums (artists who've never had a release in the top 100 of the Billboard 200):

• #1 The Last Shadow Puppets - Age Of The Understatement [8,730]
• #4 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [5,082 this week, up 3.3%, 73,599 to date]
• #7 No Age - Nouns [3,931]
• #8 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell [3,790 this week, up 18.5%, 15,992 to date]
• #19 Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours [1,960 this week, down 20.1%, 18,251 to date]
• #20 M83 - Saturdays=Youth [1,918 this week, down 19.0%, 13,989 to date]
• #26 Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid [1,753 this week, down 36.3%, 10,291 to date]
• #73 The Duke Spirit - Neptune [967 this week, up 17.1%, 6,638 to date]
• #99 Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP [790 this week, down 1.4%, 6,330 to date]
• #100 Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into [785 this week, down 18.3%, 4,615 to date]
• #108 Foals - Antidotes [752 this week, down 34.0%, 10,141 to date]
• #115 The Republic Tigers - Keep Color [740]
• #144 Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live! [616 this week, down 32.4%, 7,919 to date]

The Republic Tigers Invade Spaceland

Kansas City up-and-comers and Filter favorites The Republic Tigers blew the Spaceland crowd away in LA last night as the opening band on one of the last stops on their tour before heading home to gear up for their upcoming trek with Nada Surf.  Filling the small space with their big sound, the Tigers played a bevy of songs from their debut album Keep Color, including their standout single "Buildings & Mountains" recently featured on ABC's hit show Grey's Anatomy.  Your good friends at Filter were there to snap some live photos and even a live video of their performance, in case you missed it.  Check it out below.  Don't forget to tune in to their first-ever late night appearance on David Letterman May 22.  Come back to LA soon, Republic Tigers, we already miss you!

Ryan Adams Dates Actress, Has Bad Hair Or "How We Know the World Makes Sense Again"

Ryan, Ryan, Ryan.  We like you; we really do.  But you just make it too easy sometimes.  Our friends at Faded Youth Blog have uncovered an incredibly amazing photo essay of Mr. Adams checking out an LA comic book store with none other than rumored love interest, Mandy Moore.  How can we begin to explain it?  Maybe it takes two when it used to take one, but it's plain to see that he's clearly not missing her like candy.  Give us your best commentary / puns below.  In the meantime, Ryan, please rid yourself of the orange.  Seriously, easy tiger!

[Photo credit: Bauer Griffin.]

Session Round-Up

Lots of great sets in this week's Session Round-Up.  Kansas City breakout band The Republic Tigers chilled with Nic Harcourt in the Morning Becomes Eclectic lounge yesterday, The Ting Tings fresh from their recent iTunes TV placement stop by Daytrotter, and NPR hosts performances from Kate Nash and Lou Reed.  Oh-la-la!

@ KCRW's MBE

• The Republic Tigers

• The Submarines

• Delta Spirit

• The Radar Bros

@ Daytrotter

• The Ting Tings

• Cursive

@ NPR's World Cafe

• The Last Shadow Puppets

• Kate Nash

@ NPR's Live Concert Series

• The Black Keys

• Lou Reed

@ MPR's The Current

• The Kills

• Dr. Dog

Out This Week

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks



We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery



The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost



The Presets - Apocalypso



Duffy - Rockferry

Radio On The TV

Busy week on the late night circuit this week after Mother's Day.  Charming NY singer-songwriter Jaymay kicks things off right tonight on the Late Late Show, the lovely Kate Nash pulls a double shift Wednesday and Thursday, while Welsh soul-pop artist Duffy one-ups her with a trifecta of appearances this week.  But no one beats country legend Dwight Yoakam who makes his 24th appearance on The Tonight Show breaking the record for the most musical performances by ANY artist.  Way to go, Dwight!   

Monday, May 12
Late Late Show: Jaymay

Tuesday, May 13
David Letterman: Death Cab for Cutie
Conan O'Brien: Duffy
Regis and Kelly: Duffy
Fuel TV's The Daily Habit: Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Wednesday, May 14
Jay Leno: Kate Nash
Conan O'Brien: The Black Keys

Thursday, May 15
Jay Leno: Dwight Yoakam
Conan O'Brien: MGMT
Last Call: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
The View: Robyn

Friday, May 16
Jimmy Kimmel: Kate Nash
Ellen DeGeneres: Duffy

Undiscovered Band Of The Month: Music For Headphones

We can't get enough of our new Band of the Month! Filter is proud to announce the discovery of Music for Headphones. The droning psychedelic soundscapes reminiscent of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols, The Secret Machines and The Velvet Underground. The electronic-based sound and distorted guitar juxtaposed against grating vocals makes this a band best enjoyed at maximum volume or, for lack of a better term, through headphones.

Started by Jonathan Allen as a recording project in Athens, Georgia in the summer of 2000, the band has made a home-base of at least 3 cities. To this day, there's not much in the way of a permanent lineup as members come and go from time to time creating a fluctuation of style spread amongst the bands recordings. Sound and style has ranged from Rugby space rock to London shoegaze, ("go.see.girls.rock" 2006), from delay-drenched Creation sounds ("Kosmonaut" 2006) to a more aggressive, American-psych inspired sound ("Frequency of Oscillation" 2007).  music.for.headphones' most recent EP,  Preface/Alternate, was released January 30th, 2008 and starts bringing all of the it together. You can check out their music on two different MySpace pages.
Recommended tracks include:
"Hard To Love Me" - www.myspace.com/jonathanmono
"Doctor" - www.myspace.com/musicforheadphones

Who are your main influences?

The sound has jumped all over the place, but my song writing influence have always stayed consistent. I learned so much about simplicity and soul from Spacemen 3. Spacemen and Spiritualized are probably the overriding influences in everything I do. The Ronnettes and the Crystals inspire me to feel.  Bands like the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Jesus and Marychain give me style. My Bloody Valentine for texture. Sonic Youth and early Mercury Rev for manipulation of noise. The band as a whole is also greatly influenced by the rhythms of Neu!, late Boredoms, and Stereolab.

How did you meet?

Aaron and I met while working in a guitar store in 2005. It was a summer job for him before he went back to New Orleans for school. Sometime after Katrina had sent him back to Philadelphia, we ran into each other in West Philly and he joined my infant project. My younger brother, Patrick, signed on playing drums. We have had a seemingly endless list of fourth members as guitarists, vocalists, drummers, and organists having all come to us through friends or internet ads. Our most recent member, Phil, was brought in by one of our past drummers last fall.

What is your biggest achievement as a band to date?

Last August we debuted a two drummer line up playing with Sonic Boom and Spectrum, which was a dream come true. Sonic has been such a huge influence on me and his review of our performance was fantastic ("You sounded like a Stereolab mind-fuck!"). Patrick caught him stealing our sushi.

Where did the band name originate?

In 2000 I was living outside of Athens, GA in a house we had converted into a make shift studio. I was mixing a record with an old band of mine when someone remarked that my mixes sounded like "music for headphones." I immediately started calling everything I recorded "music for headphones," releasing a record that fall called "Dreaming through this Coma Life." I didn't assemble a live band at that point, but six year later I found myself mixing similar, textural music. When I began putting the band together, it seemed like a logical choice.

Favorite Bands?

Well most of my favorites are listed above, but my current favorite band is probably Secret Machines. I have been following Brandon Curtis' music since his days in UFOFU, seeing him play at the Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma when I was in high school, through Captain Audio, and onto Secret Machines. His musical growth has nearly mirrored my changes in taste over the past ten years.

I am also in love with some friends of mine, The December Sound out of Boston. They are doing more for American Psychedelic music than anyone else, bringing back black leather and sunglasses back to the North East. They inspire me to be a better musician.

Plans to Tour?

If all things go as planned, I would like to do an East Coast tour in the fall, but nothing is concrete yet. For now we are just playing in Philadelphia and continuing to recording.

Plans for next release?

A few things planned, first will be a full length album, "Secret History of the World," which focuses pretty heavily on west coast psychedelia. We are also talking to some people about doing a film titled "EXIT (or still in the light)." That's not gotten a green light as of yet, but we would like to use a visual medium to compliment our more atmospheric recordings.

Chart Rundown

With the release of their first album in over a decade, Portishead came storming back on the charts this week, selling 53,020, landing them a #7 chart entry on the Billboard 200.  The Roots, Santogold and Robyn also had solid first weeks of sales, nailing spots on the top 200.  Meanwhile, Feist's performances on The Colbert Report and Conan O'Brien boosted her sales over 76% this week, and Brooklyn boys MGMT continue to sell consistent numbers each week.

Billboard 200:

• #6 The Roots - Rising Down [53,924]
• #7 Portishead - Third [53,020]
• #13 Various Artists - Juno OST [25,719 this week, down 16.3%, 699,254 to date]
• #17 Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords [22,474 this week, down 56.9%, 74,844 to date]
• #36 R.E.M. - Accelerate [15,047 this week, down 29.3%, 228,768 to date]
• #55 Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely [11,988 this week, down 10.8%, 133,709 to date]
• #58 Gnarls Barkley - Odd Couple [11,592 this week, up 9.0%, 143,382 to date]
• #74 Santogold - Santogold [9,566]
• #82 Radiohead - In Rainbows [8,538 this week, up 10.5%, 492,568 to date]
• #84 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend [8,410 this week, down 11.4%, 201,616 to date]
• #97 Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Once OST  [7,429 this week, up 0.1%, 549,683 to date]
• #100 Robyn - Robyn [7,231]
• #111 Black Keys - Attack & Release [6,468 this week, down 19.3%, 68,431 to date]
• #139 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [4,919 this week, down 0.3%, 68,517 to date]
• #143 Feist - Reminder [4,815 this week, up 76.5%, 596,290 to date]
• #151 Moby - Last Night [4,683 this week, down 2.8%, 48,048 to date]
• #176 She & Him - Volume One [3,856 this week, down 11.4%, 45,019 to date]

New Artist Albums (artists who've never had a release in the top 100 of the Billboard 200):

• #3 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [4,919 this week, down 0.3%, 68,517 to date]
• #11 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell [3,199 this week, down 45.9%, 12,202 to date]
• #12 Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid [2,752 this week, down 52.4%, 8,538 to date]
• #15 Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours [2,453 this week, down 18.4%, 16,291 to date]
• #16 M83 - Saturdays=Youth [2,368 this week, down 30.0%, 12,071 to date]
• #38 Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago [1,339 this week, up 9.8%, 26,452 to date]
• #39 Tapes N Tapes - Walk It Off [1,326 this week, down 13.8%, 11,510 to date]
• #40 DeVotchKa - Mad & Faithful Telling [1,318 this week, up 12.0%, 13,713 to date]
• #47 Man Man - Rabbit Habits [1,216 this week, down 4.3%, 8,100 to date]
• #50 Foals - Antidotes [1,139 this week, down 15.8%, 9,389 to date]
• #66 Constantines - Kensignton Heights [1,355]
• #82 The Duke Spirit - Neptune [826 this week, up 14.%, 5,671 to date]
• #93 Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP [801 this week, down 17.9%, 5,540 to date]
• #116 sOuth - You Are Here [687]
• #136 Beirut - Flying Club Cup [611 this week, down 5.9%, 59,215 to date]
• #139 Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster... [597 this week, down 29.1%, 7,519 to date]
• #150 Gutter Twins - Saturnalia [573 this week, down 19.2%, 17,260 to date]

Session Round-Up

Leading your weekly dose of Session Round-Up is Lightspeed Champion stopping by Daytrotter with notable in-studio performances by The Watson Twins on MPR's The Current, and up-and-comers The Little Ones getting cozy at the WOXY lounge.

@ Daytrotter

• Holy Fuck

• Lightspeed Champion

@ MPR's The Current

• The Watson Twins

• Martin Dosh

@ WOXY

• The Little Ones

@ Baeble

• The Kills

• Two Gallants

Radio On The TV

The first week of May sees a slow start for weekly 'Radio on the TV' appearances.  Estelle visits Ellen, KT visits Jay, and Ben stops by Carson.  But whatever you do, don't miss London's own The Duke Spirit christen the Conan stage with their racously energetic live performance.  You can thank us later.

Monday, May 5
Ellen Degeneres: Estelle

Tuesday, May 6
Jay Leno: KT Tunstall

Wednesday, May 7
Conan O'Brien: The Duke Spirit

Friday, May 9
Last Call: Ben Harper

Out This Week

Elvis Costello and The Imposters - Momofuku

The Republic Tigers - Keep Color

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement

Matmos - Supreme Balloon

Four Tet - Ringer

Interpreting Album Art: Wolf Parade Edition

After our initial inspiration to interpret album art, we've decided to continue the tradition with another great band from the musical mecca up north - Montreal.  Below you'll find the official artwork for Wolf Parade's highly-anticipated At Mount Zoomer (out 6/17 via Sub Pop); take your best stab at it...

Chart Rundown

Congratulations are in order to current Filter cover stars, Flight Of The Conchords, for debuting this week at #3 on the Billboard Chart with their new self-titled album!  Tokyo Police Club also saw a big week, coming in at #1 on the New Artist Albums Chart and #106 on the Billboard 200 with their first week as a physical release, following several weeks of digital-only sales. Elbow and Lyrics Born both saw solid debuts, while Coachella artists Vampire Weekend and M.I.A. felt the festival bump in sales this week.

Billboard 200:

• #3 Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords [52,370]
• #7 Various Artists - Juno OST [30,738 this week, down 1.8%, 673,535 to date]
• #17 R.E.M. - Accelerate [21,272 this week, down 29.1%, 213,721 to date]
• #32 Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely [13,441 this week, down 23.7%, 121,721 to date]
• #47 Gnarls Barkley - Odd Couple [10,637 this week, down 46.2%, 131,790 to date]
• #56 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend [9,489 this week, up 3.3%, 193,206 to date]
• #71 Black Keys - Attack & Release [8,015 this week, down 27.0%, 61,963 to date]
• #75 Radiohead - In Rainbows [7,730 this week, down 11.5%, 484,030 to date]
• #81 Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Once OST  [7,425 this week, down 16.1%, 542,254 to date]
• #106 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell [5,914 this week, up 641.1%, 9,003 to date]
• #107 The Kooks - Konk [5,835 this week, down 56.2%, 19,170 to date]
• #109 Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid [5,786]
• #129 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [4,934 this week, down 1.3%, 63,598 to date]
• #131 Moby - Last Night [4,817 this week, down 28.1%, 43,365 to date]
• #143 She & Him - Volume One [4,351 this week, down 20.3%, 41,163 to date]
• #189 M83 - Saturdays=Youth [3,384 this week, down 46.2%, 9,703 to date]
• #197 M.I.A. - Kala [3,177 this week, up 22.3%, 201,761 to date]

New Artist Albums (artists who've never had a release in the top 100 of the Billboard 200):

• #1 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell [5,914 this week, up 641.1%, 9,003 to date]
• #2 Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid [5,786]
• #4 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [4,934 this week, down 1.3%, 63,598 to date]
• #10 M83 - Saturdays=Youth [3,384 this week, down 46.2%, 9,703 to date]
• #11 Lyrics Born - Everywhere At Once [3,336]
• #13 Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours [3,006 this week, down 27.0%, 13,838 to date]
• #24 Tapes N Tapes - Walk It Off [1,538 this week, down 43.9%, 10,184 to date]
• #25 Sun Kil Moon - April [1,534 this week, down 31.3%, 13,625 to date]
• #32 Foals - Antidotes [1,353 this week, down 11.7%, 8,250 to date]
• #33 Man Man - Rabbit Habits [1,270 this week, down 30.5%, 6,884 to date]
• #35 Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live! [1,266 this week, down 43.2%, 6,392 to date]
• #39 Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago [1,219 this week, down 29.6%, 25,113 to date]
• #43 DeVotchKa - Mad & Faithful Telling [1,177 this week, down 20.5%, 12,395 to date]
• #62 Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP [976 this week, down 23.6%, 4,739 to date]
• #83 Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster... [842 this week, down 22.3%, 6,922 to date]
• #107 The Duke Spirit - Neptune [719 this week, down 25.2%, 4,845 to date]
• #126 Beirut - Flying Club Cup [649 this week, down 1.8%, 58,604 to date]
• #127 El Perro Del Mar - From The Valley To The Stairs [649]

Session Round-Up

This week Death Cab For Cutie visit Daytrotter for a live set, Los Campesinos! stop by NPR's World Cafe, and Okkervil River head over to the WOXY lounge.

@ Daytrotter

• Quasi
• Death Cab For Cutie
• White Denim

@ NPR's World Cafe

• Los Campesinos!

@ MPR's The Current

• Foals
• Neva Dinova

@ WOXY

• Finest Dearest
• Okkervil River

Phil Collins Retires to Collect War Memorabilia

It has been recently reported that drummer / singer / Oscar-winning Tarzan soundtracker Phil Collins will be retiring.   Fear not, he will continue to write songs, but he would like to spend more time focusing on his passion for collecting memorabilia from the Battle of the Alamo...because that's what men his age do.

Riiight.

Fill in the blank:

Phil Collins should / should not retire because ___________________.