Weekly Chart Notes: William Shatner, 'Footloose,' the Original 7ven

by Gary Trust  |   October 21, 2011 11:05 EDT

MR. SPACEMAN: William Shatner boldly goes where he never has before ... to ... No. ...  1 ... on ... a ... Billboard ... albums ... chart!

As "Searching for Major Tom" bows atop Heatseekers Albums, the multi-media star treks to his first chart-topping set.

The album plays up Shatner's pantheon sci-fi status, sporting covers of such cosmic-themed songs as David Bowie's "Space Oddity," Peter Schilling's answer song "Major Tom (Coming Home)" and Steve Miller Band's "Space Cowboy." Guests include Sheryl Crow, Peter Frampton and Brad Paisley.

"Searching" is Shatner's third album, following 1968's spoken-word covers collection "The Transformed Man" and 2004's "Has Been." The latter set, co-written and produced by Ben Folds and featuring cameos from Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann and Paisley, debuted and peaked at No. 22 on Heatseekers Albums.

While Shatner makes his first voyage to the top of a Billboard albums survey, five soundtracks from the series that immortalized the real-life Captain Kirk have reached the Billboard 200. "Star Trek - the Motion Picture" rose to No. 50 in 1980, followed by "Star Trek II - the Wrath of Khan" (No. 61, 1982); "Star Trek III - the Search for Spock" (No. 82, 1984); "Star Trek IV - the Undiscovered Country" (No. 171, 1992); and, "Star Trek" (No. 49, 2009).

While the 80-years-young Shatner doesn't quote beam himself up to No. 1 like Scotty (McCreery) did last week, his new set concurrently launches at No. 131 on the Billboard 200, marking his first appearance on the ranking.

Following his latest musical enterprise, will Shatner return to his signature character portrayal?

"If J.J. (Abrams) (director of 2009's "Star Trek") were to ask me, I would certainly consider it," Shatner says. "It's a great role, and they were writing it so beautifully as the aging Kirk. The stages that human beings go through as they age; it seems to be a great interest in tackling 'Star Trek.'

"I don't know how he'd allow for the 45 years that have gone on since I was there, but, you know, that's science fiction."

LANDED: Shatner's one-time collaborator likewise debuts a new release, as Ben Folds' "The Best Imitation of Myself: a Retrospective" enters Alternative Albums at No. 11 and the Billboard 200 at No. 62.

The compilation includes Folds' 1998 Alternative Songs No. 6-peaking "Brick," as well as the new Ben Folds Five single "House," first released on the website for NBC's a capella competition "The Sing Off," on which Folds moonlights as one of the show's three judges. Both of Folds' fellow arbiters - Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman and Sara Bareilles - are additionally showing the series' contestants how it's done.

Tuesday (Oct. 25), Boyz II Men releases "Twenty," a collection of 13 new songs and eight updates of hits from the vocal group's first two decades.

On Adult Pop Songs, Bareilles bullets at No. 39 with "Gonna Get Over You," the third single from "Kaleidoscope Heart," which opened at No. 1 on the Sept. 25, 2010, Billboard 200.

NEXT: After 27 years, a "Footloose" soundtrack reigns again

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Radio: The Original Social Network

Mike Stiles

I had a friend who heads up digital for one of the major radio companies say something interesting to me the other day. They said, ?Remember, radio is the original social network.? That swirled around in my head for days.  I don?t even know why it made such an impact on me, but it did. The first thing I did was figure out in what ways that statement is true. Yes, there was a time when jocks connected to listeners. That conversation was one-sided for the most part, but it could be 2-way if a listener called in. And, it?s certainly true radio used to create ?communities? of people who were like-minded in at least a couple of ways, location and taste in music.

The problem is that pesky phrase, ?used to be.?  Because while online social networks have moved forward and exploded in usage and influence, broadcast radio went the opposite direction.  The social network qualities of broadcast radio were minimized, if not eliminated.  Yes, listeners hear a jock, but limitations in what they can talk about and how long they can talk make it much harder for listeners to get to know them, or hear their true personalities, or feel like they?re a friend...all the things that used to be radio?s competitive advantage. 

There was a time when you could call a radio station to make a request or comment on something, and the DJ you were listening to picked up the phone and talked to you.  Now, the DJ you?re listening to is on the other side of the country and recorded what they said sometime late yesterday.  If you?re lucky?you can get through to a board op.  Social networking is about a constant flow of 2-way communication.  You can?t have that if one side isn?t listening.  Or isn?t there. 

It?s also hard to picture radio as a social network because while even if the jock and the listener are connected and talking, the station?s listeners aren?t connected to each other?another key component of digital social networking.  There was a time when listeners saw and connected with each other at station events like concerts.  I?m not talking about a promotions assistant parking the station van 5 blocks up the street at just any concert.  I?m talking about a concert the station put on where it?s the station that brought people together.  It still happens, just not nearly as much.

So sure, while radio can claim the title of the ?original social network,? it?s moved so far away from what gave it that distinction, it?s reduced to a nostalgic claim at best.  The last thing radio needs is something else that contributes to any image of a ?nostalgic? industry. 

With the elements that made radio the original social network fading, it becomes more important than ever for stations to seize, embrace, invest in and maximize their social network strategies on the platforms today?s digital entrepreneurs have set up, and use those tools to build their community and get the 2-way conversations going again.

Mike Stiles is a writer/producer with the social marketing tech platform, Vitrue, and head of Sketchworks comedy theatre. Check out his monologue blog, The Stiles Files.
Find him on Facebook
or on Twitter @mikestiles

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