Why Has The UK Album Char Gone So Old Fart Middle Of The Road?

11 ( ) Ultimate Manilow Barry Manilow Arista
12 (6) Elephunk Black Eyed Peas A&M
13 (7) The Singles 1992-2003 No Doubt Interscope
14 (14) The Best Of Leann Rimes Curb/London
15 (8) Speakerboxxx/The Love Below Outkast Arista
16 (13) Final Straw Snow Patrol Fiction/Polydor
17 (12) The Soul Sessions Joss Stone Relentless/Virgin
18 (18) In The Zone Britney Spears Jive
19 (11) Permission To Land Darkness Must Destroy
20 (15) Come Away With Me Norah Jones Parlophone
21 (17) Life For Rent Dido Cheeky
22 (22) Blink 182 Blink 182 Geffen
23 (16) Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand Domino Recordings
24 (9) Greatest Duran Duran Emi
25 (19) Dedicated Lemar Sony Music
26 ( ) Satisfaction Guaranteed - The Very Best Teddy Pendergrass Wsm
27 (25) The Look Of Love Dusty Springfield Umtv
28 (41) Body Language Kylie Minogue Parlophone
29 (23) Start Something Lostprophets Visible Noise
30 (28) O Damien Rice Drm/14th Floor
31 (26) Fallen Evanescence Epic/Wind-Up
32 (21) The Meaning Of Love Michelle S
33 (45) Afterglow Sarah Mclachlan Arista
34 (30) Three Sugababes Island
35 ( ) The Platinum Collection Barbara Dickson Sony Music Tv
36 (27) A Present For Everyone Busted Universal
37 (34) Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters Polydor
38 (24) Free Me Emma 19
39 (29) Get Rich Or Die Tryin' 50 Cent Interscope
40 (35) Greatest Hits Red Hot Chili Peppers Warner Bros

What's gone wrong with this country?

1 FEELS LIKE HOME
NORAH JONES
( EMI )
2 FALLEN
EVANESCENCE
( EPIC )
3 CLOSER
JOSH GROBAN
( WBR )
4 ELEPHUNK
BLACK EYED PEAS
( INTERSCOPE )
5 VERY BEST OF SHERYL CROW
SHERYL CROW
( A&M )
6 2004 GRAMMY NOMINEES
VARIOUS
( BMGH )
7 SPEAKERBOXX-LOVE
OUTKAST
( ARISTA )
8 SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
GREAT BIG SEA
( WEA )
9 JUNO AWARDS 2004
VARIOUS
( UNI )
10 LONG ROAD
NICKELBACK
( EMI )

10 (6) Under The Pink - Tori Amos (East West)
9 (9) Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales (A&M)
8 (-) Saint Etienne - Tiger Bay (Heavenly)
7 (7) M People - Elegant Slumming (deConstruction)
6 (5) Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell 2: Back Into Hell (Virgin)
5 (2) Dina Carroll - So Close (A&M)
4 (-) The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (Island)
3 (4) Bjork - Debut (One Little Indian)
2 (2) Enigma - The Cross Of Changes (Virgin)
1 (1) Mariah Carey - Music Box (Columbia)

http://archive.salvationarmy.org.uk/zpix/Picstore/ParkinsonS.jpg

i must admit i have a ridiculous soft spot for "The Closest Thing To Crazy", but only because the Mike Batt connection reminds me of a time when these things weren't so controlled by a tiny clique ... there seemed to be more quirks, more individuality around. Jamie Cullum is a cultural nadir of humanity, and symbolises everything that is wrong with Britain in 2004. don't waste your time worrying about Engelbert Humperdinck compilations (such things have always charted from time to time); fight the real enemy within, and turn the screw on Cullum and the anti-culture which created him.

(edit, re. "Bunged Up"'s post ... oh god, i know, i know, i know ...)

http://base58.com/ilx/uk40album90b.gif

interesting stat - where did you get it from?

as for Keane, they're merely another example of the ongoing tendency - in the 60s, the vast bulk of British pop music came from the south-east and the West Coast Main Line corridor, whereas now it's become so central to the culture, and the Americosceptic heartlands of wariness of its influence (both Old Tory and Old Labour) have been so systematically eroded, that you get people like Keane, who in the post-war years would have been Young Conservative bank clerks, choosing pop music as just another career (the idea of a band from Battle, Sussex getting to number three in 1966 would have been completely unthinkable, Troggs and Dave Dee notwithstanding). pop music is just *there* now, so they don't think what they're doing is in any way *significant* (compare to, say, Reg Presley's "this kind of feeling could move a nation"; *he knew*) - the sound of "Somewhere Only We Know" is the sound of a cultural form completely immersed in the fabric in a way unthinkable even ten years ago, saying nothing and being nothing.

the tedium of bands like that i would call "Wienerisation", after the man who did most to encourage ideological loathing of the conservative middle classes' wariness of pop culture and thus allow pop music to slip further and further into the background and have less and less *drama* and *impact* to it. Keane are merely a sociological aftereffect; they mean nothing in themselves, and they wouldn't pretend to, but their existence and doubtless massive future success says a lot. born in the Thatcher years, they can't remember a time when conservatism - even in Sussex market towns - wasn't merely another flavour of the Coca-Cola culture / McCulture (whatever you want to say), and therefore they see it as perfectly natural for the most conservative dullards to make a career out of pop music. what Lostprophets are to the miners' strike, they are to the sackings of Lord Carrington, Francis Pym et al. can you imagine the sort of people who like "Somewhere Only We Know" thinking much for themselves? i can't. at least Chris Martin is politically dead right in most of his beliefs. Keane are *nothing*.

Slowly, softly and apparently unstoppably, easy listening and jazz have come to dominate the UK album chart.
In this week's Top 10, Katie Melua, Jamie Cullum and Norah Jones have charmed CD buyers while middle-of-the-road giants Daniel O'Donnell, Engelbert Humperdinck and Harry Connick Jr have lumbered back into view.

Of the few pop acts that remain in the Top 10, the mellow Zero 7 and newly-soulful Will Young sound distinctly adult. So how did every day come to sound like a dinner party?

"People like melody and quality in music, and there are a lot of good songs around right now," says Colin Martin, executive music producer for BBC Radio 2.

"During the 90s, the chart was dominated by high-energy tracks with little to appeal to a broad range of album buyers.

It's been like a bolt from the blue

Stephen Graham
Jazzwise magazine
"Now there is hardly anybody who will not enjoy the current albums by Katie Melua, Jamie Cullum or Lionel Richie."

Jazzwise magazine co-editor Stephen Graham traces the current jazz and middle-of-the-road (MOR) revival to pianist Diana Krall, whose album When I Look in Your Eyes was a global hit in 1999.

"Diana Krall tapped into the lucrative adult market and paved the way for Norah Jones," he says. "People liked the fact that Norah Jones was a young singer-songwriter and she had phenomenal success."

Norah Jones sold 19 million copies of her debut album Come Away With Me, including two million in the UK.

This is all about lengthy careers, rather than just making music for today

Colin Martin
BBC Radio 2
"That success has continued with her new album, by which time she had in turn paved the way for Jamie Cullum's £1m record deal," Mr Graham says.

Industry magazine Music Week attributes the rise in easy listening to "Des and Mel, [Michael] Parkinson and beer adverts".

Exposure on TV and radio has dramatically boosted sales, but Radio 2's Colin Martin believes the new accessibility of albums is another vital factor.

"In the past, some people may not have wanted to go to record shops to search out these artists, but now they can just pop them in their basket at a supermarket," he says.

Jamie Cullum has won a place in both the album and singles charts
Whatever the reason, people aged between 40 and 49 have been inspired to buy more albums - accounting for 19.1% of total album sales in 2002 compared with 16.5% in 2000, according to British Phonographic Industry figures.

The popularity of MOR and jazz has led to a sharp contrast between music formats, with the albums chart topped by artists who find it difficult to conquer the youth-dominated singles chart and vice versa.

The fact that Katie Melua and Jamie Cullum have already enjoyed top 20 hits may bridge that divide, however.

"Even a widely-respected jazz artist such as Courtney Pine never made it into the singles chart," says Stephen Graham. "It's been like a bolt from the blue."

Everything in music is cyclical - I can already detect a backlash

Stephen Graham
Jazzwise magazine
Will the appeal of mellow jazz and MOR artists continue to broaden? Colin Martin believes so.

"We continue to champion artists such as Amy Winehouse, Damien Rice and Sarah McLachlan because we believe strongly in artistic development," he says.

"They have the potential to keep getting better and better. This is all about lengthy careers, rather than just making music for today."

Stephen Graham is not so sure. "It's the flavour of the month right now, but everything in music is cyclical," he says. "I can already detect a backlash."

"People like melody and quality in music, and there are a lot of good songs around right now," says Colin Martin, executive music producer for BBC Radio 2.
"During the 90s, the chart was dominated by high-energy tracks with little to appeal to a broad range of album buyers.

"Now there is hardly anybody who will not enjoy the current albums by Katie Melua, Jamie Cullum or Lionel Richie."

Yeah right...

Still haven't played it.

Westenra is currently touring the United States

Contemporary artists and compilations albums have boosted classical music sales, changing the face of the classical charts. BBC News Online looks at how the classical genre has evolved.

Scan the chart-topping classical albums of recent years and you are unlikely to spot many orchestral recordings of core classical works.

Instead, the chart is flooded with contemporary stars like Charlotte Church, Hayley Westenra and Bryn Terfel.

Sandwiched between them you will usually find several compilation albums inviting you to 'relax' or 'chill out' to a series of popular classical melodies.

Crossover music

"There has been a definite trend towards classical crossover music in the last few years," says Matt Phillips, a spokesman for the British Phonographic Industry.

But is it the quality of the music or the powerful thrust of modern marketing that accounts for the genre's burgeoning success since the 1990s?

Alex Cowan, product manager for Sony Classical, whose artists include Charlotte Church and Vanessa Mae, believes the fortunes of such artists is "generally well deserved".

But he admits that good PR has played an important role.

Like many recent media success stories, he claims it is the accessibility of the artist that sells.

Charlotte Church is experimenting with new musical styles

Lifestyle

"It's buying into a lifestyle, it's a desirable product," says Mr Cowan. "What we're always trying to do is reach these people that wouldn't buy a classical album otherwise."

Peter Jamieson, chairman of the British Phonographic Industry, agrees. "In 2003 the classical record industry bounced back with a whole range of exciting artists and innovative compilations which brought classical music to new audiences."

Indeed, between 2002 and 2003, turnover increased by £5m to £65m.

Nor has the sales success been limited to major labels promoting crossover artists. Independent label Chandos Records, whose latest releases include Yoshimatsu's cello concerto, has also enjoyed a growth in sales.

"A lot of people in the recording industry are crossover stars now and we're not in a financial position to do the kind of PR that goes with it, " said a spokeswoman for Chandos.

"It's like a chicken and egg situation - if you get the artist you have to spend the money and if you don't spend the money, you don't get the artist."

Core market

Nonetheless, Chandos feels it is not losing out to the major record companies because the crossover and core markets are separate.

"Crossover doesn't affect our sales. We're not in the same market - people know what we do and they buy it, if that's what they want," she says.

Opera star Terfel is nominated for two classical Brits

Roger Lewis, managing director and programme controller of radio station Classic FM, believes classical music is increasingly enjoyed by a broad spectrum of music-lovers.

"Classic FM has a very mixed audience from connoisseurs to people who have only recently discovered classical music - we are passionate about engaging our audience and inviting them to join us on a voyage of discovery," he says.

And while he is pleased the crossover trend is bringing classical music to a new audience, he is keen to point out that the traditional genre is vital.

New audience

"Compilation albums are an entry point for a new audience into classical music and have been instrumental in helping people engage in the genre," adds Mr Lewis.

"But record sales are only one of a number of barometers you can use to measure activity within classical music.

"I think the trend is returning to core artists - reflected by some of those nominated for the Classical Brits - BrynTerfel, Sir Simon Rattle, Cecilia Bartoli and Phillip Glass."

Perhaps his inclusion of Terfel - a Welsh bass-baritone, whose latest album went platinum - demonstrates that one person's classical performer is another's modern crossover artist.

Whatever your opinion, the future of classical music looks bright.

You wouldn't get away unchallenged with sneering at the buyers of the top ten singles, claiming that they are manipulated into buying what they don't like or saying of, say, Usher fans "These are the people, 63 per cent of people under the age of twenty are against the legalisation of cannabis. They are also in favour of the war and in favour of stricter controls against asylum seekers. We have to get over it."

It's some stupid bullshit belief that "the kids" buying the singles aren't the same as the oldies buying the albums. Well they are, the only difference is about 10 years.

"Now there is hardly anybody who will not enjoy the current albums by Katie Melua, Jamie Cullum or Lionel Richie."

Yeah right... "

hahaha!

this will be where the grime crossover really takes hold, mark my words

British conductor Sir Simon Rattle won orchestral album of the year for his recording of Beethoven's Symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic.

The awards, in their fifth year, are billed as the orchestral and operatic answer to the pop and rock Brits.

Terfel won the best album award - the night's biggest prize - for Bryn, which has sold more than 300,000copies in the UK since it was released last year.

CLASSICAL BRITS BIG WINNERS

Best album - Bryn Terfel, Bryn
Male artist - Bryn Terfel
Female artist - Cecilia Bartoli (above)
Contemporary music award - Philip Glass, The Hours
Ensemble/orchestral album - Sir Simon Rattle/Vienna Philharmonic, Beethoven Symphonies
Outstanding contribution - Renee Fleming
Mezzo soprano Bartoli beat New Zealand-born teenager Hayley Westenra to win her award, while Terfel triumphed over violinist Nigel Kennedy in the male category.

Another violinist, 29-year-old Daniel Hope, was named best young British classical performer.

The contemporary music award went to US composer Philip Glass for his soundtrack to the film The Hours.

Russia's Maxim Vengerov won the critics' award for his recording of Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto and William Walton's Viola Concerto, conducted by his friend and mentor Mstislav Rostropovich.

Guests at the ceremony - hosted by ITV news presenter Katie Derham for the fourth year running - included former boy soprano Aled Jones, actor Nigel Havers and musical star Elaine Paige.

The event, which will be broadcast on ITV1 on Sunday, featured performances from Westenra, Kennedy, fellow violinist Vanessa-Mae and Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins.

'Opera band'

American soprano Renne Fleming, the recipient of this year's outstanding contribution to music award, joined Terfel for a duet of Bess, You is My Woman Now from the musical Porgy and Bess.

There were also performances from Amici Forever, the world's first "opera band", and the King's College Choir Cambridge.

Five awards were decided by the Classical Brit awards' voting academy, a body made up of media professionals, members of the Musicians' Union, promoters, industry executives and orchestra leaders.

The album of the year award was decided by Classic FM listeners.

the moral of the story: the Michael Gove generation are merely the Auberon Waugh generation repackaged, just a hell of a lot *nastier*, on most things.

The way the people running the music industry talk tells you a lot about the mediocrity of their mental processes. What's more, they're attempting to run towards this mediocrity, not away from it. Because mediocrity is the median, the median is the average, the average is the golden mean, and gold means gold. Shake the mediocrity tree and the gold comes showering down!

Meanwhile, in a parallel world, here's a pop song. Norah Jones, who sings Nick Drake covers, will perhaps warble it with reverent sesh-mush gloss when I am no more.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?docu3#

1 NEW
New Entry
Katie Melua
Piece By Piece

2
David Gray
Life In Slow Motion

3
James Blunt
Back To Bedlam

4
New Entry
Jamie Cullum
Catching Tales

5
KT Tunstall
Eye To The Telescope

6
Bon Jovi
Have A Nice Day

7
Barbra Streisand
Guilty Too

8
Kanye West
Late Registration

9
Kelly Clarkson
Breakaway

(
10 NEW
New Entry (-)
Hayley Westenra
Odyssey

(I get the feeling that musicians featuring on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (the Parky it's OK to like) doesn't have the same effect, since Parky has them on in the middle so you still hear them when you go to make your cup of tea, but with Wossy the bands are on at the end so you can just turn off safe in the knowledge you aren't going to miss any of the scintillating chat)

YOU ARE ALL JEALOUS AND RACIST.

Robbi Williams, Craig David, James Blunt..

I think it has to do with the following factors

- Downloading. Young people buy less music now than they used to do, plus if they buy, they will more often buy single tracks rather than albums
- Increasing use of TV ads attracting new audiences that had more or less stopped buying albums by the 70s.

Face it kids, the baby boomers have won. (And just because there's so bloody many of them.)

Before everyone here over the age of 45 jumps on me, I must point out I'm thinking of people like my mum (aged 56)and my dad (61) and my stepmother (51)who do buy Parky-albums in Sainsburys. They do make up a bigger bulk of the demographics than those who still read the Wire.

My parents are probably the typical buyer.

Wrong again. This has nothing to do with the ethnicity of the performers.

Those who like melodic music (that is, music that puts the empasis on melody and harmony over rhythm and production) tend to buy records by white performers, simply because, for some weird and unexplainable reason, white people are more likely to make melodic music.

Downloading has led to a larger percentage of the album buying population being 1)older than 30 years old and 2)females. Naturally, this is reflected in what genres dominate the album charts. For instance, Katie Melua, Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum are all the sort of acts that are more likely to appeal to 40 year old females than to 16, or even 12, year old males.

Geir is right - fuck the album chart, I don't give a monkeys, let it rot.

Teardrops era? Fried? Jehovahkill???!!?

isn't the american chart based on radio play, though?

"Trampoline" at 78 rpm?

It was not all good news as compilation album sales fell by nearly 20 per cent on last year

Ross fulfilling the BBC public service commitment by not forcing us to listen to Ms Dynamite or next big things Louis XIV.

How does anyone say anything like this with a straight face?

I was talking about the U.S. album chart

They are forced to watch 24 hours of Jim Davidson & Jimmy Carr as training.

(Sade is not particularly melodic btw, her music is repetitive in a very "jazzy" way)

The American demographic is of course more likely than the European one to buy archetypical American music, even into their 30s and 40s. Hip-hop, R&B, hard rock and country are all archetypical American music genres, and it is more natural for Americans to like them than it is for Europeans.

I'd rather fuck the single charts. Not a lot of value there at the time (although somewhat more of value in the UK singles chart than in the US one it must be added)

But on a more general point, it means the generation gap that used to be reflected by music is fast disappearing and it is the 40- and 50-somethings who are now pop's biggest fans.

I suppose it was only a matter of time until mum rock came along to replace dad rock.

The survey was carried out by an Age Concern research panel, which surveys a sample of up to 10,000 over-50s on lifestyle issues.

Maybe theres a museum somewhere accusing 18th century music critics of rockism.