Holy Unit Shifting! Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Bon Iver Bother Billboard Chart
Thursday January 29, 2009
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 incredible 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.