It's not often that the world of Alternative music collides with the corporate world of popular music, but this week's Billboard 200 chart had a surprisingly credible feeling to it. A host of acts who unveiled their latest offerings on January 20 found themselves arriving high in the charts for the first time in their careers.
At #12 landed Andrew Bird (pictured). The Chicago violinist/songsmith's majestic eighth album, Noble Beast, continued his the crossover climb that started with 2007's Armchair Apocrypha, easily reaching Bird's highest-ever chart placing. Animal Collective's latest opus, Merriweather Post Pavilion, debuted, rather incredibly, at #13, undoubtably buoyed by its rapturous critical acclaim. And Bon Iver's brand new EP, Blood Bank --essentially an addendum to Justin Vernon's beloved Bon Iver debut For Emma, Forever Ago-- turned up at #16.
Good times for good music. Photo © [Cameron Wittig]
Comments
Hopefully this is a sign of more to come in 2009.