Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:
As I look at this week's charts, I recall a 1994 interview in which Paul McCartney assured the world that the highly anticipated, ultimately anticlimactic 1995 Beatles single "Free as a Bird" would have a "grungy" guitar sound.
As with so many things, Sir Paul was just ahead of his time—14 years later, one of the Fab Four's most cherished chart records would be nearly equaled by a dude who can make anything, even "Eleanor Rigby," sound like grunge.
That record is for most songs on the Billboard Hot 100 by a single act. It was set on April 11, 1964, by the Beatles, who were credited on 14 of that week's 100 songs. The Fabs still hold this record, for now.
But thanks to a confluence of chart-tabulation quirks, this week a former bartender from Missouri—who until now had never appeared on any Billboard chart—comes close to tying it, placing 11 songs on the Hot 100 all at once. In so doing, David Cook sets a new, blowout record for most debuts, comes within spitting distance of the Fabs' record, and generally makes the chart grungier than it's been since Paul gave that interview.
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Idolator
There was a point during American Idol's final stretch that a friend of mine turned to me and said, "Hang on, why am I rooting for David Cook again? I hate this post-grunge stuff." A good question, and one that will no doubt be asked again now that the confetti has stopped flying and Austin Winkler, lead singer of nu-mooks Hinder, has extended the offer to help write material for his fellow Oklahoman's forthcoming solo album. Is the world ready for "Lips Of An Angel II: After The Hang-Up"?
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David Cook. 
