This is turning into a bad habit. Sorry I am days late with this. Had some bidness to deal with on Wednesday that kept me detained.

Below, as usual, are our Top 20 from Tuesday, our Top 50 vinyl from last week and our Top 200 in overall sales. This week, a true indie store success dominates our chart. Since the days of At The Drive In, we have been huge supporters of Omar and Cedric, the founders of Mars Volta. Their psychedelic take on everything has blared from our speakers since 2001. This week, they debut at the top of our charts and scored a number 3 on the Billboard charts. All of this without a single song ever being played on traditional radio. A career high debut on the fourth record? That is artist development. We love it and congratulate their excellent team.

There was one issue however to this record this week. And I am only highlighting this record because of the stories I got from the field and our close association with this band and their label/management team. This story could be any major record in any week with any big band. It is a story of what labels are having to do to get products into retail.

On any given record, all of retail, from indie to chain to big box, are looking for an advantage. Price aside, everyone is demanding either value added items or exclusive versions of the release. We do a good job of getting our share of stuff to be sure. The problem comes down to customer confusion about what is out there and where to get it.

When it comes to the official release, we are big fans of the same version being sold everywhere. It is the only fair thing to do for fans of bands. More often than not, fans in many markets are presented with a clear choice on where to buy their Tuesday releases. The just have to figure out which retailer has the best version and go there to buy it.

Last week, Fingerprints went to sell CDs at the Mars Volta show in LA. Lots of kids there. Rand sells at many shows and has a vast experience in executing this tough task. He has a reputation of doing this well so everyone tends to call on him. The day after the show we got on the phone and I asked him how it went. I was curious because this is a physical goods fanbase. The digital sales on them are but a blip.

He sold a good number of CDs with a value added poster that was available just at the gig. However, some people walked away from his merch table without completing the transaction. These particular fans would check out the CD Rand was offering only to ask "do you have the one with the DVD?". After finding out that retailer who offered that version was not selling at the show, those kids would shrug and walk away. They wanted what they thought would be the ultimate copy of the record for the ultimate band in their life. The wild thing is that they knew that a CD/DVD package existed but had no clue where it was available. So, being FANS they passed on the transaction, at the show.

The point is not to say what we got and what that guy got on Mars Volta. We got what we asked for. I am sure that everyone got what they asked for. In the case of Mars Volta, the version those kids were looking for just shifted sales from one retailer to another. One hand was on the CD and the other hand was in the pocket but the deal was not closed. Market shifting is not what we want to do but that is exactly what happens.

This pattern is increasing in frequency. Customers are very confused. Record labels with very limited resources and staff are having to make multiple versions of a work of art. Bands are having to approve twice as much content as they really want to put out there. It is not a healthy practice for anyone involved. Bands, managers, labels, and retailers are all guilty of going down this road together. But, it is not selling more records.

We are hearing of some major upcoming releases that might help change the pattern. Hopefully it will make a difference and start a trend. In the mean time, I am gonna put on my proper version of Mar's Volta's "Bedlam in Gotham" on the turntable and pray that my speakers don't melt.

CIMS Top 20 Debuts

 1 JOHNSON,JACK - SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC
 2 HOT CHIP - MADE IN THE DARK
 3 NADA SURF - LUCKY
 4 WONDERLAND,CAROLYN - MISS UNDERSTOOD
 5 MOULD,BOB - DISTRICT LINE
 6 LANG,K.D. - WATERSHED
 7 KRAVITZ,LENNY - IT IS TIME FOR A LOVE REVOLUTION
 8 CROW,SHERYL - DETOURS
 9 HORRORPOPS - KISS KISS KILL KILL
 10 DEAD MEADOW - OLD GROWTH
 11 LOVED ONES - BUILD & BURN
 12 COLLETT,JASON - HERE'S TO BEING HERE
 13 RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ,OMAR GROUP - CALIBRATION
 14 SONS & DAUGHTERS - THIS GIFT
 15 THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - HERE COME THE 123S
 16 LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION - FALLING OFF THE LAVENDER BRIDG
 17 CAVE/ELLIS - ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES
 18 STOLTZ,KELLEY - CIRCULAR SOUNDS
 19 CRYSTAL METHOD - DRIVE
 20 STEP UP 2: THE STREETS - SOUNDTRACK

Top 50 vinyl chart

 1 RADIOHEAD - IN RAINBOWS
 2 CAT POWER - JUKEBOX
 3 BLACK MOUNTAIN - IN THE FUTURE
 4 RADIOHEAD - JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
 5 WHITE STRIPES - CONQUEST
 6 MGMT - ORACULAR SPECTACULAR
 7 MOE. - STICKS & STONES
 8 MCCARTNEY,PAUL - AMOEBA'S SECRET
 9 MARS VOLTA - WAX SIMULACRA
 10 EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - ALL OF A SUDDEN I MISS EVERYON
 11 LYNNE,SHELBY - JUST A LITTLE LOVIN'
 12 HELIO SEQUENCE - KEEP YOUR EYES AHEAD
 13 LOURIS,GARY - VAGABONDS
 14 IRON & WINE - SHEPHERD'S DOG
 15 TIMES NEW VIKING - RIP IT OFF
 16 U2 - JOSHUA TREE 
 17 SHINS - WINCING THE NIGHT AWAY
 18 YOUNG,NEIL - CHROME DREAMS 2
 19 ADAMS,RYAN & THE CARDINALS - FOLLOW THE LIGHTS
 20 BEIRUT - GULAG ORKESTAR
 21 CUOMO,RIVERS - ALONE-THE HOME RECORDINGS
 22 QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - ERA VULGARIS
 23 BAND OF HORSES - CEASE TO BEGIN
 24 SPOON - GA GA GA GA GA
 25 OM - PILGRIMAGE  
 26 HENDRIX,JIMI - LIVE AT MONTEREY
 27 OCTOPUS PROJECT - HELLO AVALANCHE
 28 EVANGELICALS - EVENING DESCENDS
 29 COSTA,MATT - UNFAMILIAR FACES
 30 SAVIOURS - INTO ABADDON
 31 ADAMS,RYAN - EASY TIGER
 32 M.I.A. - KALA   
 33 BLONDE REDHEAD - 23
 34 PELICAN - AUSTRALASIA
 35 BECK - SEA CHANGE
 36 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - CONFUSE THE MARKETPLACE
 37 BLACK LIPS - GOOD BAD NOT EVIL
 38 SHELLAC - EXCELLENT ITALIAN GREYHOUND
 39 YORKE,THOM - ERASER
 40 PAVEMENT - SLANTED & ENCHANTED
 41 MARS VOLTA - AMPUTECHTURE
 42 FLO-RIDA - LOW   
 43 KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW - KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW
 44 NELSON,WILLIE - MOMENT OF FOREVER
 45 LOUIS XIV - SLICK DOGS & PONIES
 46 NATIONAL - BOXER 
 47 BUILT TO SPILL - YOU IN REVERSE
 48 DEPECHE MODE - VIOLATOR
 49 WILCO - SKY BLUE SKY
 50 BANHART,DEVENDRA - CRIPPLE CROW