Weekly Chart: 6/30-7/6

Okay, so Fall Out Boy leads the chart this week. I can explain, honest.

See, Fall Out Boy makes me wish I was still fifteen. Because if I was, they'd be the greatest band to ever stride the earth: they'd be witty, funny and clever, and the fact that their live act sounds like a drunken junior high school talent show runner-up wouldn't bother me. The rampant overproduction on their records? Not an issue, were I fifteen. I'd be so damn blown away by their colossal wit -- and song titles like "I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off," or "The Carpal Tunnel of Love," or "I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers" -- that I wouldn't notice how badly most of the songs suck. The idea that a band had named themselves for a Simpsons character would be so awesome it would override my good sense. Of course, I haven't been fifteen in a long time, so I can see Fall Out Boy for exactly what they are: a slightly-better-than-average rock band with middling composition abilities, desperately in need of a talented production team to mold their off-key moans and screeches into marketable pop music.

However: a few of their songs actually are as clever and witty as the band seems to think, namely "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race." So when you see all the plays for Fall Out Boy this week, keep in mind that's almost all the good songs, and just enough of the bad ones to realize they were bad, kick them off my iPod and never listen to them again.

Does that make it better, or do I have to surrender my music snob credentials now?

1. Fall Out Boy (66 plays)
2. The Beatles (31)
3. Harvey Danger (25)
4. Spoon (24)
5. Jay-Z (22)
6. Jonathan Coulton (18)
7. Jim Croce (12)
7. The New Pornographers (12)
9. The Decemberists (9)
10. Van Morrison (7)

See the entire list here.

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Now playing: Van Morrison - Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)
via FoxyTunes