Homer's head honcho Mike Fratt sent along second-week hard-unit numbers for Cursive's Mama, I'm Swollen: 2,694, enough to place it at No. 200 on the Billboard charts, and for a combined two-week sales total of 8,000 units. So is that good? Says Fratt: "Well, it's no Faint or Conor, but I think that's good for an indie."

He went on to list other sales numbers for comparison:

Vetiver on Subpop has been out since late January, and is at 4,722 total.
The new Buddy & Julie Miller, out three weeks, has sold 7,512 so far.
Heartless Bastards, out since Feb. 3, is at 14,209.
Jason Isbell, out since Feb. 17, is at 8,689 so far.
Black Lips, 2/24, is at 4,684
Matt & Kim, 1/20, is at 8,899
Black Joe Lewis only sold 1,629 in its first week
Razorlight, 3/10, is at 2,787

A few of these numbers surprised me, specifically Black Lips, which is one of the most-hyped bands going these days (certainly at SXSW), and Heartless Bastards (also hyped, but deservingly so). Fratt said Conor's solo disc has exceeded 100k in sales, and that the Faint sold more than 11,000 copies of Fasciinatiion in its first two weeks of release, dwindling to 500 copies a week by the end of August; Fratt thought Fasciinatiion was at around 20k total.

In that context, 8,000 is respectable. It just never ceases to amaze me how CD sales overall have fallen over the past 10 years. Cursive's 5,429 first-week sales landed it at No. 104 on Billboard's chart. Where would that number have placed it on the charts 10 years ago, or even five years ago? Probably nowhere near the top 200...

* * *

Busy week for shows. Very busy. Not SXSW busy, but busy. Here's the skinny:

Tonight at The Slowdown Jr., it's Lincoln punk stars Her Flyaway Manner with fellow Lincolnites UUVVWWZ and Ideal Cleaners. It's a mini Lincoln invasion, and well worth the $7 cover charge. The fun starts at 9 p.m.

Over at O'Leaver's, Bazooka Shootout is playing with Birthday Suits. $5, 9:30 p.m. Meanwhile, down that street at The Barley St. It's True plays with Michael Wunder, Reagan Roeder and Underwater Dream Machine, $5, 9 p.m. The Waiting Room is hosting the Matt Cox CD release show with Filter Kings and Black Squirrels, $8, 9 p.m. Saddle Creek Bar is hosting The Fergusons live recording, with Stephen Monroe and Swapboy Blues. $5, 9 p.m.

The marquee attraction Saturday night is the Little Brazil CD release show with Eagle Seagull, The Life and Times and Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship. $7, 9 p.m. LB is coming off a tour with Ladyfinger and Cursive, so expect them at their well-honed best... or at least fully loaded (if you know what I mean).

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