Comments on: Can’t Touch This Werewolf: Kid Rock Brings Back The Sales-Free Chart Hit

By: Rob Murphy

Rob Murphy — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:05:28 +0000

Chris, I'd like to echo some of the earlier comments.

Excellent post.

By: DocStrange

DocStrange — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:45:00 +0000

I actually envy the UK Singles Chart. It's actually built on sales exclusively (i.e. radio play is meaningless to the creation of the UK Singles Chart) so what's actually on the chart is a good portrait of what people like, so instead of the five songs on the pop charts in the US, all genres are represented and bands can come out of nowhere and get a Top 40 (or in the case of Arctic Monkeys, two straight #1) hit.

In that case, I hope "Handlebars" by Flobots finally gets into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 next week (it's at #50 now). That's such a great song.

By: f1sh3r

f1sh3r — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:56:38 +0000

kid rock doesn’t care, he was telling us to steal his music a few weeks ago.

By: nonce

nonce — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:40:23 +0000

I don't have scary-comprehensive singles knowledge, but I do know that I was still buying cassingles as a young teen up until around 1992, and that they wavered around the $3 mark.

Also, it kind of unnerves me know to think that there was only a one-year span (roughly) between buying "U Can't Touch This" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on cassingle.

I am also bummed I don't still have those cassingles, especially Soho's "Hippychick."

By: Hamm Beerger

Hamm Beerger — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:41:02 +0000

I look forward to this column every week but you really hit it out of the park this time.

How much did cassingles cost in 1990? By the time I was buying a lot of music for myself all the singles were on CD and seemed overpriced (6 or 7 bucks, IIRC).

By: Luiis

Luiis — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:20:46 +0000

Let me just say how much I enjoy these posts!

I am kind of bummed that you aren't posting up the digital sales numbers. For odd reasons I will probably never understand, I enjoyed looking at them.

By: Captain Wrong

Captain Wrong — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:34:43 +0000

Wow, I never knew the history about Hammer and EMI’s single-less experiment. I don’t know if I should admit this, but, I had almost the exact opposite thing happen to me with MC Hammer’s first album. Saw the video for “Turn This Mother Out,” loved the song, bought the album only to find out they only put about a verse of the song as an intro to the title track “Let’s Get it Started.” So, I had to go back out and buy the cassingle of “Turn this Mother Out” and, believe me, the full album of “Let’s Get It Started” wasn’t worth it.