Idolator: Flight of the Conchords

Emmy nominations are out, and the folks at ...

Maura Johnston — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Emmy nominations are out, and the folks at Sub Pop are no doubt enjoying the two nods garnered by songs from Flight Of The Conchords ("The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)" and "Inner City Pressure"). Too bad both of them are probably going to lose to that beaten-to-death song about Sarah Silverman boinking Matt Damon, which after listen two is just as insufferable and annoying as her "comedic" persona. Ah, well, now that she's done with Kimmel, there's always next year! [emmys.tv]

Why Run A Review When You Can Just Interview The A&R Guy?

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:15:00 EDT

Plenty of critics have regurgitated press releases to fill up a feature well, but the Seattle Weekly's "review" (that's how the article is tagged) of the new Flight Of The Conchords album consists mostly of interview quotes with Tony Kiewel, the band's A&R representative at Sub Pop. Kiewel explains how he first heard the group, why he thinks they're so great and how the band is doing really well, even going gold in New Zealand! Weekly editor Brian Barr concurs, adding that mixture of mockery and genuine musical tribute is what makes them so great. Barr sure sounds like a fan. I bet he'd get a kick out of interviewing the band! Maybe Kiewel could hook that up sometime.

..."If they didn't have the musical chops, we wouldn't be putting out the record," says Kiewel, noting that they were set to release a FOTC record before the HBO show ever aired. Released April 22, FOTC's self-titled musical debut (in the United States at least) proves what multifaceted talents they are.

...If you didn't know better, you might ask "Why the hell is Sub Pop bothering with a joke band?" But Clement and McKenzie have a trick up their sleeves: they really admire the bands and styles they're poking fun at. And that's what makes FOTC so engaging: they're subtly teetering between mockery and tribute. You laugh at first, only to find yourself humming the tune when it's stuck in your head the next day.

Kiewel says the release-date shipment of this album is the second largest in the label's history (the largest being the Shins' Wincing the Night Away), and the investment in the album packaging is possibly the most elaborate they've ever done. The label has also been receiving an average of three requests per hour to interview the band.

I wonder if this was the first time that request was followed with "well, if they're too busy, can I interview you?"

Flight of the Conchords' Special Delivery [Seattle Weekly]

Those Two Dudes From TV Finally Score

Maura Johnston — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

On first glance, the top four occupants of this week's album chart—Mariah Carey's E=MC² (182,000 copies); Leona Lewis' Spirit (96,000); Flight Of The Conchords (52,000); and Ashlee Simpson's Bittersweet World (47,000)—are a testament to the importance of television in promoting albums; all four artists had their albums co-promoted on various chat and game shows last week (and, in the case of the mumble-funny Kiwis in Flight, their own HBO series). On second look, their sales totals are further evidence that the bar for a "successful" album is even lower these days, particularly if you count the sales of the No. 5 album, Atmosphere's When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold, which sold 36,000 copies last week. When life gives you lemons, indeed.

Biggest Debuts: Aside from the debuts in the 3, 4, and 5 slots, ivory-tickling country singer Phil Vassar's Prayer Of A Common Man entered the chart at No. 10, selling 27,000 copies; St. Louis punkers Story Of The Year came in at No. 18 with Black Swan (21,000); and the awfully named outfit the Weepies, who are apparently big with the Grey's Anatomy set, debuted at No. 31 with 14,000 sales of Hideaway—and 11,000 of those were digital, putting them at No. 4 on the Digital Albums chart. (That particular chart was topped by Flight Of The Conchords, which was downloaded 24,000 times.) See? TV!

Notable Jumps: Michael Buble's Call Me Irresponsible had a 65% sales gain and leapt from No. 46 to No. 19 (20,000 sold).

Dropping Off: She held on to the top spot in the face of not much competition, but Mariah Carey's E=MC² took a 61% week-to-week sales hit, which means that she'll probably be in at least the No. 2 position on next week's album charts.

Nickelback Award For Inexplicable Durability: I don't know about you, but if someone had told me that Rick Ross would be the only mainstream hip-hop artist hanging tough with a top 20 album right now? Sure, it's only been seven weeks since Trilla (No. 15, 23,000) came out, but Snoop Dogg's Ego Trippin' came out the same week and that album is all the way down at No. 35 (13,000).

The top 20, with sales totals in parentheses:
1. Mariah Carey, E=MC² (182,000)
2. Leona Lewis, Spirit (96,000).
3. Flight Of The Conchords (52,000)
4. Ashlee Simpson, Bittersweet World (47,000)
5. Atmosphere, When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold (36,000)
6. Now 27 (32,000)
7. Juno soundtrack (31,000)
8. George Strait, Troubadour (29,000)
9. Taylor Swift (27,000)
10. Phil Vassar, Prayer Of A Common Man (27,000)
11. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Best Of Both Worlds Concert (26,000)
12. Alvin & The Chipmunks soundtrack (25,000)
13. James Otto, Sunset Man (24,000)
14. Jack Johnson, Sleep Through The Static (24,000)
15. Rick Ross, Trilla (23,000)
16. Lady Antebellum (22,000)
17. R.E.M., Accelerate (21,000)
18. Story Of The Year, Black Swan (21,000)
19. Michael Buble, Call Me Irresponsible (20,000)
20. Jordin Sparks (19,000)