HRD Radio Report – Week Ending 12/14/14

HRD RADIO REPORT 

The HRD Radio Report showcases the weekly Active Rock Mediabase Charts (compiled by AllAccess.com), and appears every Tuesday on HardRockDaddy.com.  The HRD Radio Report digs deeper into the weekly Active Rock charts, providing commentary, reviews, recommendations and predictions.  It also features opinion pieces on chart action and the music business in general.

Many of the artists featured on the Active Rock charts have already been reviewed on HardRockDaddy.com.

Click on the hyperlinked song titles to read song reviews, and the hyperlinked artist names to read album reviews.

The following is the Active Rock Mediabase Chart for the week ending 12/14/14.  All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:

CHART POSITION THIS WEEK	CHART POSITION LAST WEEK	ARTIST	SONG TITLE	RADIO SPINS THIS WEEK
1	2	FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH	“Wrong Side Of Heaven”	2015
2	1	FOO FIGHTERS	“Something From Nothing”	1999
3	3	ROYAL BLOOD	“Figure It Out”	1772
4	5	THREE DAYS GRACE	“I Am Machine”	1733
5	4	SEETHER	“Same Damn Life”	1710
6	6	GODSMACK	“Something Different”	1430
7	8	POP EVIL	“Beautiful”	1107
8	10	PAPA ROACH	“Face Everything And Rise”	1012
9	9	HELLYEAH	“Moth”	996
10	11	IN THIS MOMENT	“Sick Like Me”	915
11	7	SLIPKNOT	“The Devil In I”	885
12	12	ASKING ALEXANDRIA	“Moving On”	840
13	14	NOTHING MORE	“Mr. MTV”	773
14	13	LINKIN PARK	“Rebellion”	703
15	21	NICKELBACK	“Million Miles An Hour”	693
16	18	CHEVELLE	“An Island”	672
17	20	SIXX A.M.	“Stars”	615
18	19	YOUNG GUNS	“I Want Out”	606
19	15	BUSH	“The Only Way Out”	591
20	24	PRETTY RECKLESS	“Follow Me Down”	564
21	17	NONPOINT	“Breaking Skin”	553
22	30	AC/DC	“Rock Or Bust”	492
23	26	MOTIONLESS IN WHITE	“Reincarnate”	444
24	25	STARSET	“Carnivore”	436
25	22	THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH	“Born This Way”	402
26	16	AC/DC	“Play Ball”	391
27	29	THEORY OF A DEADMAN	“Savages”	363
28	28	MASTODON	“The Motherload”	325
29	35	SLASH	“Bent To Fly”	313
30	32	SHAMAN’S HARVEST	“Dangerous”	311
31	27	NICKELBACK	“Edge Of A Revolution”	295
32	34	SMASHING PUMPKINS	“One And All”	284
33	41	RISE AGAINST	“Tragedy + Time”	264
34	33	BLACK KEYS	“Gotta Get Away”	259
35	36	OF MICE & MEN	“Feels Like Forever”	257
36	23	VOLBEAT	“Doc Holliday”	253
37	38	LIVE	“Way Around Is Through”	239
38	39	3 YEARS HOLLOW	“For Life”	235
39	31	LENNY KRAVITZ	“Dirty White Boots”	234
40	40	WE AS HUMAN	“Bring To Life”	229
41	72	STARS IN STEREO	“Leave Your Mark”	226
42	46	LETTERS FROM THE FIRE	“Zombies In The Sun”	225
43	42	LINKIN PARK	“Final Masquerade”	220
44	43	LIKE A STORM	“Wish You Hell”	213
45	45	BRING ME THE HORIZON	“Drown”	208
46	44	ARCTIC MONKEYS	“R U Mine?”	190
47	48	BEARTOOTH	“Beaten In Lips”	165
48	60	FALL OUT BOY	“Centuries”	145
49	50	SAVING ABEL	“Blood Stained Revolution”	144
50	49	AMARANTHE	“Drop Dead Cynical”	140

 

PUBLISHER’S PICK OF THE WEEK by Adam Waldman

SLASH featuring MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS – “Bent To Fly”

Similar to the path that “World On Fire” took earlier in the year, the follow-up single – “Bent To Fly” – continues to climb up the charts in a measured way.  It’s hard to understand why certain artists set the “world on fire” and “fly” up the charts, while Slash’s stellar singles take time to gain traction, but at least the song is getting some of the recognition that it deserves.  The fact of the matter is that the band can basically throw a dart at the World On Fire track listing and come up with the next single if they choose, because it is simply one of the best hard rock albums to come out in recent memory (click on the hyperlinked band name to read the album review).  While the band’s singles are more than worthy to rise to the top of the active rock radio chart, to fully appreciate what Slash, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators have created with their latest release, it is best to go “back to the future” and listen to the album in its entirety.

 

THE BREAKDOWN by Jon Loveless

KING OF THE HILL 

Good things come to those who wait, and after six straight weeks stuck at #2, Five Finger Death Punch finally reaches the top spot on the Mediabase Active Rock airplay chart with “Wrong Side Of Heaven.”  The ascent caps another strong year for the band who had the #1 song (“Battle Born”) this time twelve months ago as well … A solid showing this week for “I Am Machine” makes Three Days Grace the leading contender to be the next new number 1.

 

 

NOTABLE CHART MOVEMENT

Another curiosity on the chart this week, as Stars In Stereo returns to the Top 50 fourteen weeks after “Leave Your Mark” first debuted, spending a single week at #44.  Nice for them, certainly a song that’s airplay worthy, but it’s also certainly unusual to see such a sudden surge for a single that first went to radio some six months ago … Only two songs debuting on the chart this week, and both are actually songs that have cracked the chart previously.  I believe we’ve officially reached the full-blown holiday slowdown.

 

 

THREE UP & THREE DOWN

MOVING UP

Three Days Grace – “I Am Machine”
Nickelback – “Million Miles An Hour”
Pretty Reckless – “Follow Me Down”

DROPPING DOWN

Slipknot – “The Devil In I”
Bush – “The Only Way Out”
Lenny Kravitz – “Dirty White Boots”

 

 

JL’s PICK OF THE WEEK

STEEL PANTHER – “The Stocking Song”

Whaddya know, a Christmas song that actually makes me smile.  One of the shortest picks I’m likely to ever make (2 minutes and 19 seconds), the hairspray heroes deliver holiday cheer in a tidy package (no pun intended) that pulls back on the profanity in favor of as many double entendres as they can pack into a couple of verses.  I still don’t recommend you play it for the little ones before reading “Twas The Night Before Christmas,” but it’s certainly worth humming a few times while you figure out how much shopping is left to do.  Who said I’m a Scrooge? 

 

I CALL B#LL$HIT!

Yay, another song taking up space better spent on actual Active Rock songs vanishes from the chart this week, as Weezer drops out of the top fifty.   But ….boo, as they’re essentially replaced by the return of a Fall Out Boy song that equally doesn’t belong.  Still nearly 900 spins (nearly enough for a top ten single) invested in tracks by Fall Out Boy, the Black Keys, Smashing Pumpkins and Arctic Monkeys.  All I want for Christmas are radio programmers who exhibit a clear understanding of what Active Rock is, and more importantly, what it isn’t, but there’s a better chance of finding lumps of coal I’m afraid.

 

 

FUTURES REPORT

In the next HRD Radio Report we’ll see if anyone has an early surprise in their stocking this year, see if radio programmers are being naughty or nice, and otherwise begin to tie a pretty bow on 2014.

 

 

WRAP-UP

That’s all for this week!  Tune in to HardRockDaddy.com every Tuesday for the HRD Radio Report. \m/