This information is from Nielson's press release found HERE. Pretty interesting to see these trends.


Top 10 TV Programs - Regularly Scheduled - 2006
% of Homes
in U.S.
Rank Programs Network (Rating)
1 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY FOX 17.7
2 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY FOX 17.2
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 12.7
4 CSI CBS 12.0
5 DANCING W/STARS RESULTS ABC 11.4
6 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NBC 11.1
7 CSI: MIAMI CBS 10.3
8 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC 10.2
9 HOUSE FOX 10.0
10 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON NBC 9.8
10 WITHOUT A TRACE CBS 9.8
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Note: Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 17, 2006. Household Ratings include Live and Same Day timeshifted viewing.

Top 10 TV Programs - Single Telecasts - 2006

% of Homes
in U.S.
Rank Telecast Network Date Aired (Rating)
1 SUPER BOWL XL ABC 2/5/2006 41.6
2 SUPER BOWL POST GAME ABC 2/5/2006 29.0
3 ACADEMY AWARDS ABC 3/5/2006 23.1
4 ROSE BOWL ABC 1/4/2006 21.7
5 GREY'S ANATOMY ABC 2/5/2006 21.0
6 FOX NFC CHAMPIONSHIP FOX 1/22/2006 20.8
7 AMERICAN IDOL-WED FOX 5/24/2006 20.5
8 AMERICAN IDOL-TUES FOX 1/24/2006 19.6
9 AMERICAN IDOL-TUES FOX 1/17/2006 19.3
10 AMERICAN IDOL-TUES FOX 3/21/2006 19.2
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Note: Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 17, 2006. Household Ratings include Live and Same Day timeshifted viewing. Excludes telecasts under 5 minutes.

Top 10 "Timeshifted" Primetime TV Programs - 2006

% Increase
Rank Programs Network in Viewership
1 STUDIO 60 NBC 10.9
2 HEROES NBC 9.1
3 GILMORE GIRLS CW 7.9
4 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL CW 7.7
5 30 ROCK NBC 7.5
5 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS NBC 7.5
7 NINE, THE ABC 6.7
7 SUPERNATURAL CW 6.7
9 KIDNAPPED NBC 6.6
9 ONE TREE HILL CW 6.6
9 SMALLVILLE CW 6.6
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Note: Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 3, 2006. Percent Increase in viewership is based on difference between Live Household Ratings and Live+7.

MOVIES - from Nielsen EDI and Nielsen VideoScan

Top 10 Box Office - All Theatrical - 2006

Rank Title Cumulative Total US $ Open Date
1 Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead $423,315,812 7/7/2006
2 Cars $244,082,982 6/9/2006
3 X-Men: The Last Stand $234,362,462 5/26/2006
4 The Da Vinci Code $217,536,138 5/19/2006
5 Superman Returns $200,081,192 6/28/2006
6 Ice Age: The Meltdown $195,330,621 3/31/2006
7 Over the Hedge $155,019,340 5/19/2006
8 Happy Feet $149,244,791 11/17/2006
9 Talladega Nights: The Ballad $148,213,377 8/4/2006
10 Casino Royale $137,501,384 11/17/2006
Source: Nielsen EDI
Note: Data from Jan 1 - Dec 17, 2006, US and Canada Only


Top 10 Box Office - Animated Movies - 2006

Rank Title Cumulative Total US $ Open Date
1 Cars $244,082,982 6/9/2006
2 Ice Age: The Meltdown $195,330,621 3/31/2006
3 Over the Hedge $155,019,340 5/19/2006
4 Happy Feet $149,244,791 11/17/2006
5 Open Season $84,303,558 9/29/2006
6 Monster House $73,661,010 7/21/2006
7 Barnyard $72,637,803 8/4/2006
8 Flushed Away $61,607,497 11/3/2006
9 Curious George $58,360,760 2/10/2006
10 Hoodwinked $51,224,985 1/13/2006
Source: Nielsen EDI
Note: Data from Jan 1 - Dec 17, 2006, US and Canada Only


Top 10 Box Office - Documentaries - 2006

Rank Title Cumulative Total US $ Open Date
1 An Inconvenient Truth $23,814,997 5/24/2006
2 Deep Sea 3-D $21,586,668 3/3/2006
3 Dave Chappelle's Block Party $11,718,595 3/3/2006
4 Roving Mars $5,342,643 1/27/2006
5 Wordplay $3,119,555 6/16/2006
6 Neil Young: Heart of Gold $1,828,069 2/10/2006
7 Who Killed The Electric Car $1,678,874 6/28/2006
8 Why We Fight $1,439,972 1/20/2006
9 The U.S. vs John Lennon $1,109,146 9/15/2006
10 Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Ma.. $1,044,254 6/21/2006
Source: Nielsen EDI
Note: Data from Jan 1 - Dec 17, 2006, US and Canada Only


Top 10 DVD Sales - 2006

Retail
Release
Rank Title Distributor Date
1 Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire Warner Home Video 03-07-06
2 Chronicles of Narnia: The
Lion, The Witch, and
the Wardrobe Disney/Buena Vista Home Vid 04-04-06
3 Cars Disney/Buena Vista Home Vid 11-07-06
4 Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest Disney/Buena Vista Home Vid 12-05-06
5 Wedding Crashers Warner Home Video 01-03-06
6 King Kong Universal Home Ent 03-28-06
7 Walk the Line 20th Century Fox Home Ent 02-28-06
8 Over the Hedge Paramount Home Video 10-17-06
9 Little Mermaid Disney/Buena Vista Home Vid 10-03-06
10 Chicken Little Disney/Buena Vista Home Vid 03-21-06
Source: Nielsen VideoScan

Note: Data from Jan 1 - Dec 10, 2006. Based on unit sales. Does not include sales from Wal-Mart. Most other sell-through retailers are included.

MUSIC - from Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS

Top 10 Albums - 2006

Rank Artist Album Units Sold
1 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SOUNDTRACK 3,480,000
2 RASCAL FLATTS ME AND MY GANG 3,060,000
3 CARRIE UNDERWOOD SOME HEARTS 2,460,000
4 NICKELBACK ALL THE RIGHT REASONS 2,310,000
5 JAMES BLUNT BACK TO BEDLAM 2,060,000
6 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE FUTURESEX/LOVE SOUNDS 1,950,000
7 DIXIE CHICKS TAKING THE LONG WAY 1,770,000
8 MARY J. BLIGE BREAKTHROUGH 1,750,000
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS NOW 21 1,640,000
10 BEYONCE B'DAY 1,600,000
Source: Nielsen SoundScan
Note: Data from Jan 2 - Dec 10 2006


Top 10 Most Digitally Downloaded Tracks - 2006

Rank Track Artist Units Sold
1 BAD DAY
(ALBUM VERSION) DANIEL POWTER 1,880,000
2 CRAZY
(ALBUM VERSION) GNARLS BARKLEY 1,525,000
3 TEMPERATURE
(ALBUM VERSION) SEAN PAUL 1,460,000
4 OVER MY HEAD
(CABLE CAR) FRAY 1,410,000
5 UNWRITTEN NATASHA BEDINGFIELD 1,320,000
6 HIPS DON'T LIE SHAKIRA (Featuring Wyclef) 1,290,000
7 DANI CALIFORNIA
(ALBUM VERSION) RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 1,200,000
8 SEXYBACK MAIN VERSION JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
FEATURING TI 1,190,000
9 MOVE ALONG ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS 1,180,000
10 LIPS OF AN ANGEL HINDER 1,120,000
Source: Nielsen SoundScan

Note: Data from Jan 2 - Dec 10 2006. A digital track may come from an album, a single or a standalone recording. Digital tracks are purchased and downloaded from providers in the U.S., including every major digital music retailer.

Top 10 Most Played Songs on the Radio - 2006

# of Times
Rank Songs Artist on Radio
1 Be Without You Mary J. Blige 395,995
2 Unwritten Natasha Bedingfield 336,276
3 Temperature Sean Paul 324,555
4 Me & U Cassie 312,073
5 Hips Don't Lie Shakira Feat. Wyclef Jean 308,903
6 Promiscuous Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland 292,264
7 Bad Day Daniel Powter 291,256
8 Check On It Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug 290,231
9 So Sick Ne-Yo 277,958
10 Over My Head
(Cable Car) Fray 276,601
Source: Nielsen BDS
Note: Data from Jan 1 - Dec 18 2006


MOBILE - from Nielsen RingScan

Top 10 Mastertones - 2006

Rank Artist Title Units Sold
1 Akon Smack That 1,220,000
2 Justin Timberlake Sexy Back 1,130,000
3 Hinder Lips of an Angel 1,090,000
4 Ludacris Money Maker (Pharrell Chorus) 900,000
5 Jibbs Chain Hang Low 870,000
6 Justin Timberlake My Love 780,000
7 Beyonce Irreplaceable 690,000
8 Lil' Scrappy Money In The Bank 580,000
9 DJ Unk Walk It Out 580,000
10 Bow Wow Shortie Like Mine 570,000
Source: Nielsen RingScan

Oh man, what incredibleness.

See it here on Comedy Central's site (you'll have to watch a commerical first):

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=79987&ml_collection=&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=&ml_runtime=&ml_context=show&ml_origin_url=%2Fmotherload%2Findex.jhtml%3Fml_video%3D79987&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=true

Watch this, I promise you will fall in love:

OMG, check it:

http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/transformers/

Whew!

Mr. Conor Oberst has announced that he will be releasing an EP and a full-length early next year.

The first will be a six-song EP called Four Winds set for release on March 6, while the other is a full-length entitled Cassadaga projected for April 10 and features homies Janet Weiss (drummer from Sleater Kinney), Gillian Welch, and that M. Ward guy everyone likes but I don't.

Oh, and Mark, here is the track listing for the EP:

01. "Four Winds"
02. "Reinvent the Wheel"
03. "Smoke Without Fire"
04. "Stray Dog Freedom"
05. "Cartoon Blues"
06. "Tourist Trap"

Here is the full piece from the Pioneer Press:

Eclipse Records set to return
Joe Furth is a little older and wiser, and that means bringing back his popular record shop in a new location
BY LAURA YUEN
Pioneer Press

Four years ago, Joe Furth was a radical record shop owner who fought City Hall to keep his all-ages music shows alive on St. Paul's upscale Grand Avenue.

Today, Furth is a mellower, by-the-books man, aiming to resurrect his defunct Eclipse Records. This time, he's staking out territory on grittier University Avenue.

Furth plans to open the CD and record shop Dec. 22. The retro arcade and live performance area will be bigger and better than before, he said.

But the best part about his new digs? He'll have no residential neighbors.

"I won't be dealing with some of the same problems I dealt with before," he said, referring to complaints from Macalester-Groveland homeowners over noise, trash and loitering. "There's something to be said about taking on City Hall, but it does take a lot out of you, physically and mentally."

And the city is cheering him on. The same government that issued cease-and-desist orders against Furth recently awarded him a $15,000 grant to develop the game room and performance area, agreeing that Eclipse's departure in 2003 left a void in St. Paul's scene for the underage crowd.

"I'm delighted that he's back and that he's in my ward," said City Council Member Jay Benanav, a longtime supporter. "I think he's always had a place where young people can go that's safe, drug-free and smoke-free, and even parents I know appreciated it."

It also helps that Furth isn't on the offensive anymore. Before he signed his lease at 1922 W. University Ave., he shared his plans with city licensing officials and the mayor's office. He also sought the blessing of the Merriam Park Community Council.

"I'm a little older, a little wiser," said Furth, 35, who sports unkempt hair and wears rumpled shirts and tattered Converse sneakers. "I don't have a chip on my shoulder, and I'm more familiar with how things work."

Troubles erupted soon after the St. Paul native established a nightly music scene at the original Eclipse, just west of Macalester College, in late 1999. To host live shows, he needed a cabaret license, which at the time was open only to licensed restaurants and bars. Police paid the store regular visits, and Furth found himself in court surrounded by petty criminals over the violations.

Although the City Council eventually loosened the cabaret restrictions and granted Eclipse its own license, Furth closed the business in 2003. Escalating rents on Grand Avenue, not government red tape, ultimately defeated the store.

Whether Eclipse can survive this round will depend largely on fans' loyalty to the store's shows, lounge with free coffee and arcade offering vintage quarter games such as Frogger and Pac-Man.

The music retail business has changed a lot since Eclipse closed, with buyers increasingly going online for downloads. Stores like Eclipse have bit the dust locally and nationally in recent years.

Eclipse loyalist Nick Shuminsky says he'll return. A Macalester College graduate and now a spokesman for Mayor Chris Coleman, Shuminsky played there often with his band Supperhopper. Over the years, he has heard other musicians and Eclipse fans bemoan its absence.

"It's just basically a lot of people saying, 'Man, I really wish that place was still open,' " said Shuminsky, 28. "It was always really fun playing there, even though the room was pretty small. You didn't need a whole lot of people to pack the room. Once you were there, the energy was high."

Furth and business partner Jason Brazil plan to open Eclipse's retail section Dec. 22 and hope to build out the rest of the space early next year.

They're not in the clear, yet: The first step is to go to the city for a parking variance, and one nearby business owner already has complained to the city, challenging the request.

Wow, hilarious.

Sad news! I got this today from the brothers Tapes:

"unfortunately, not everything was flowers and sunshine downunder. on
friday, only a few hours before we were scheduled to fly home from perth,
we got robbed. our van was parked at city beach (right outside of
perth, australia), while we were taking a brief frolic in the indian ocean.
our tour manager left the van unattended for about 10 minutes, and when
we came back, someone had pried open a window and stole a lot of our
personal belongings. Luckily very little of our gear was stolen (only 2
big muff distortion pedals, one boss loop station, one DW9000 kick drum
pedal, and a tambourine). But our personal belongings did not fair so
well. One of our passports was stolen, two mac laptops were stolen, one
digital camera, all of josh's clothes, one blackberry, two cell phones,
and all sorts of various inconvenient personal effects (glasses, keys,
wallets, shoes, etc.). So far nothing has been recovered by the police.
One of us is still stuck in Australia, sorting out passport details,
but hopefully that should be resolved in the next 48hrs. The biggest
thing that we lost from all of this was years worth of photos and other
sentimental stuff stored on the two computers that were stolen. we'll
probably never see any of these things again, but in the off chance that
any of you might come across any of it, we've added some descriptive
information below. thanks to everyone who's already helped us out with all
of this.
yours truly,
tapes 'n tapes


some more detailed descriptions of stolen stuff:
-black macbook - serial #4H6460RRWGM
-silver mac 12" powerbook - still looking for the serial number
-blue and black graves suit case with all sorts of colorful t-shirts
and some stinky levi's jeans, and even stinkier socks
-green russian made big muff pedal - hand decorated with picture of
gene simmons face (also know as the "limited edition gene simmons big
muff")
-silver US made big muff pedal - (with a number of soldering jobs done
on the battery connection)
-a bunch of tapes 'n tapes CDs (US version of The Loon) and t-shirts
(white with colored trees on them)"

Oh man, I actually like this song. Check it out below:

Clint Mansell, the composer for Darron Aronofsky's films Requiem For A Dream and the just-reviewed-by-yours-truly The Fountain (Review Here) has just been nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Score (check it here). Also nominated was Hans Zimmer for The Da Vinci Code . Zimmer will probably win because the Golden Globes are stupid. But yay for Mansell!

In 2003, Iggy Pop and the Stooges were reborn. In 2005, the group wrote over 30 songs in a Flordia cottage for their first album release in 33 years: "The Weirdness." It was record at Steve Albini's studio in Chicago in October is now being mastered at Abbey Road Studios in England. "The Weirdness" will come out on Virgin Record on March 20, 2007.

Sliver reviewed artist Owen makes an appearance on the Onion's A.V. Club "The Unknown Music," which is a feature designed for readers to catch up on the year's unheralded gems. He's at the very bottom of the list, so scroll down. You can also read about the likes of The Kingdom, Pinebender and Young Widows on the list. It's definitely worth checking out. (Graef)

According to NME's New York Staff, Clinic have set up eight gigs in the old U.S and A, as well as our neighbor to the North, Canada - Click here. None of the dates include Chicago or Minneapolis. I guess we're just not special enough.

The interesting part was that in trying to find confirmation of the tour dates (which I really shouldn't do, since these wankers aren't playing anywhere near us) on Clinic's website, I discovered no such annoucement exists at all. Yet. Their website HERE. does have a nifty web-design though, and you can also listen to almost all of the tracks from Clinic's forthcoming album, Visitations there as well. The release date for the States is January 23rd.

Maybe by then Clinic will have decided to give a crap about the Midwest.

So, do you want to know what Thom Yorke looks like wearing maroon
pants? Or, more importantly, do you want to see pics of Radiohead in
the studio working on their next album? Well, look no further than
Radiohead's blog, son >>Here.

The 'head posted these pictures yesterday, December 5th. If you scroll
down further, you can read earlier posts regarding
political/environmental causes that are near and dear to Thom Yorke's
heart. So you can check out some rockin' pics and save the
world! What more could you ask for? I mean, besides a new Radiohead
album...

(Graef)

Enjoy!

This was posted on their official website:

"We have a new record coming out on January 30th called Some Loud Thunder. It is our second album. Check out the artwork to the side and the track list below, and two new songs for your listening pleasure. Bloggers, feel free to post these on your sites but please host the mp3s yourselves.

For those of you who can't wait until the 30th, you can buy the album directly from us in the mp3 tradition, thanks to our good friends at Insound, starting on January 16th. Then we'll send you a real-life copy of the record soon after for free. We'll also have an exclusive t-shirt available for those of you who decide to buy the record directly from us. There's also another song up for you to hear over at our myspace page."

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Love Song No 7"

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Underwater (You and Me)"

And here's the Some Loud Thunder track listing:

01. Some Loud Thunder
02. Emily Jean Stock
03. Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in the Air and Burning?
04. Love Song No. 7
05. Satan Said Dance
06. Upon Encountering the Crippled Elephant
07. Goodbye to Mother and the Cove
08. Arm and Hammer
09. Yankee Go Home
10. Underwater (You and Me)
11. Five Easy Pieces

Following in the steps of such diverse acts as Sufjan Stevens, Aimee Mann, Mannheim Steamroller, and last but certainly not least, John Denver with The Muppets, Pixies frontman Frank Black is due to release his own Christmas album.

According to NME, the album, which is titled "Christmass" and consists of new songs and live versions of previously released material, is due to see the light of day on December 18.

However, if you just can't wait until the 18th to open your present from Uncle Francis, you can order the album here.

So who's next to release a Christmas album, either this year or in future time. My guess? Tupac. He's already released more albums as a dead man than he did when he was alive. It's not like a Christmas album is that farfetched a notion.

(Graef)

Some British court informed Pete Doherty this morning that he would be sparred jail time for possession of heroine and crack cocaine. Instead, he will have to pay a fine of $1,525.00.

Wow. That's all I'm going to say.

These are the stories that I love to report. So get this, Nous Non Plus made a video for their song "A Night In Paris," which features, that's right, Paris Hilton and sex. No no, not really Paris, but band members dressed as her and them doin' it. Yep, it.

Although there is no "real" nudity, the content has motivated YouTube to ban the video.

And well, you guessed it, here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Click HERE.