SFBM debuts at #52 on Billboard 200 Options

[SJN1279]

"Songs From Black Mountain" has debuted at #52 on the new Billboard 200 chart, with sales just over 18,000 copies.

This post has been edited by NectarDan: Jun 15 2006, 9:53 pm

[Senghe]

That's just shit isn't it - surely alarm bells should be ringing in Ed's bald noggin by now. Especially considering AFI shifted 10 times as many in the same time frame and hit #1 on the Billboard chart. Not that charting well is a sign of good music, but in this case, it is most definitely the case IMHO. Being both a long term Live and AFI fan, it's obvious to me that Decemberundergound is a far better album than Songs From Black Mountain. I've bought both and listened to SFBM a handful of times as it bores me rigid - the AFI one I got the leak (me bad, I know) and have listened to it for a month solid and love it more and more. I pre ordered it on the strength of the leak and to be honest, if I'd got the leaked SFBM, there's no way I'd have bought it.

Now I'm not suggesting that Ed starts wearing false eyelashes and pink nail polish (even though he'd probably look really cute as he suits a bit of eyeliner, our Ed does - he-he!) but I do think Live need to start writing, rehearsing and recording as a full band in the studio. And get a decent producer who'll really do them some justice as Jim Wirt is killing them stone dead.

[SJN1279]

Especially considering AFI shifted 10 times as many in the same time frame and hit #1 on the Billboard chart. Not that charting well is a sign of good music, but in this case, it is most definitely the case IMHO. Being both a long term Live and AFI fan, it's obvious to me that Decemberundergound is a far better album than Songs From Black Mountain.

That is a total matter of opinion. For me, AFI is totally unlistenable generic noise. They do have a big teen following however, that I bet will quickly outgrow them once they mature and grow. Live's major problem was that Epic failed to get their single on the radio and then bumped them to red distribution. I bet 18,000 copies sold is pretty high for a red distribution album. Epic is spending zero dollars promoting SFBM, and I'm sure they didn't expect much better than 18,000 sold on the first week.

[Senghe]

Ooohhhh - harsh! And if you cared ot read it rather than go off on one, you'd have seen that I did state it was only my opinion. If we can just be subjective here for a moment and you knew a little about AFI, you'd know why they are such a good comparison with Live at this point in both band's careers (both have at least 15 years and 7 albums behind them). I'm very surprised at the #1, but happy for them. I hope they eventually sell as many albums as Live have over their career, thought I'll have to look some hard figures to see the statistics. Though AFI aren't really my point in all this.

You have to ask why Epic aren't interested in promoting Live when their main interest in life is to make as much money as possible. Could it be that they're not getting much radio play because nobody wants to listen to The River? The kind of mainstream TV exposure they got on AI can't be bought, but it doesn't appear to have been reflected in sales of SFBM. Something is going on and it might be down to the material being lacking rather than the lack of promotion. I've seen more magazine ads in the music press for SFBM here in the UK than I ever thought I would, yet it didn't even chart here and even AFI (even less heard of than Live in the UK) managed a #16 debut and #2 in the rock chart. We even used to get at least one magazine article here in each of several rock magazines - not a squeak this time round and we were lucky if we got a review!

So you tell me what's going on. I simply can't believe the lack of sales is all due to Epic no handing out enough backhanders to journalists or pumping money into advertisements. I think it's only Live's popularity overseas that's keeping Epic even interested.

This post has been edited by Senghe: Jun 15 2006, 11:07 am

[SJN1279]

Its fine to like AFI. Alot of my high school students love the band. But I guess its like a generational disconnect with me. I grew up with Live, Bush, Pearl Jam, STP. Todays kids are growing up with punk rock. I can't stand it, but I'm sure those who gew up in the 80's couldn't stand my music either.