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"Dark Matter" and its tracks on the charts

BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
edited April 30 in The Porch
This post will be updated weekly.  Numbers below are the song's position on the referenced Billboard charts from week to week. Bolded numbers are peak positions. "?" means not yet published. "X" means the song exited the chart.

Updated on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 (reflecting charts dated May 4, 2024):

Dark Matter

Billboard 200 (5)
Top Album Sales (2)
Top Current Album Sales (2)
Vinyl Albums (2)
Indie Store Album Sales (2)
Top Rock & Alternative Albums (1)
Top Rock Albums (1)
Top Alternative Albums (1)
Top Hard Rock Albums (1)
Billboard Canadian Albums (9)

"Dark Matter" (11 weeks)

Alternative Airplay (18-10-10-10-9-7-7-6-6-6-10)
Mainstream Rock Airplay (17-6-3-1-1-1-1-4-5-7-11)
Rock & Alternative Airplay (6-1-2-1-1-2-3-3-3-5-6)
Hot Hard Rock Songs (3-1-2-2-2-3-2-3-5-4-4)
Canada Rock (10-3-2-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2)
Adult Album Alternative (Triple A) (39-26-22-19-20-19-21-23-24-33)
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (46-28-31-31-35-37-43-X-33)
Hot Alternative Songs (18-22-22-24-X)
Hard Rock Digital Song Sales (2-3-10-X)
Rock Digital Song Sales (8-14-X)

"Running" (2 weeks)

Hot Hard Rock Songs (9-X-18)
Hard Rock Digital Song Sales (5-X)

"Wreckage" (1 week)

Alternative Airplay (34)
Mainstream Rock Airplay (36)
Rock & Alternative Airplay (18)
Adult Album Alternative (Triple A) (40)
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (28)
Hot Rock Songs (22)
Rock Digital Song Sales (15)
Hard Rock Digital Song Sales (3)
Hot Alternative Songs (23)
Hot Hard Rock Songs (1)

"Scared of Fear"

Hot Hard Rock Songs (6)

"React, Respond"

Hot Hard Rock Songs (11)

"Won't Tell"

Hot Hard Rock Songs (12)

"Waiting for Stevie"

Hot Hard Rock Songs (13)

"Upper Hand"

Hot Hard Rock Songs (17)

"Setting Sun"

Hot Hard Rock Songs (22)

*************************

Dark Matter debuted on all charts for the week ending May 4, 2024. Its first-week sales were 52,000 units, 24,000 units of which were vinyl. The eleven songs on the album totaled 9.33 million on-demand streams, which translates to 7,000 additional units under the Billboard 200 formula, bringing the total number of equivalent units to 59,000. (There were also a negligible number of "track-equivalent album units," i.e., paid downloads of individual tracks from the album, with one full unit credited for every ten paid downloads.)

"Dark Matter" debuted on the Adult Album Alternative (Triple A) and Hot Alternative Songs charts for the week ending March 2, 2024. It debuted on all other listed charts for the week ending February 24, 2024. It re-entered the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for the week ending May 4, 2024.

"Running" debuted on the charts for the week ending April 6, 2024. It re-entered the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart for the week ending May 4, 2024.

All other songs debuted on the charts for the week ending May 4, 2024.

For comparison to Gigaton and its tracks, see https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/284234/gigaton-and-its-tracks-on-the-charts/p1.
I gather speed from you fucking with me.
Post edited by BF25394 on
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    igotid88igotid88 Posts: 27,424
    edited February 23
    BF25394 said:
    Here is where "Dark Matter" shows up on various Billboard charts in its first week of availability:

    No. 18, Alternative Airplay
    No. 17, Mainstream Rock Airplay
    No. 6, Rock & Alternative Airplay
    No. 10, Canada Rock
    No. 46, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
    No. 8, Rock Digital Song Sales
    No. 3, Hot Hard Rock Songs
    No. 2, Hard Rock Digital Song Sales

    What this all boils down is that the song is off to a solid start at radio and had a nice tally of first-week digital downloads (although it will probably drop like a rock in the second week), but the song is not being streamed very much at all. 
    Yea rock songs don't stream well for the most part. And I don't mean like Zach Bryan because they typically put anything under "rock"
    Post edited by igotid88 on
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    CROJAM95CROJAM95 Posts: 9,172
    Been hearing it on ESPN hockey nights and commercials

    radio here n there… my mainstream pj friends like it for what that’s worth
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    HaijayHaijay Posts: 328
    It gets better and better every listen, god damn PJ
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    VeddernarianVeddernarian Posts: 1,917
    I love it!  Got to be loud though.  If the volume is low, in the car, and people are talking, Dark Matter sounds strange in the background.  Sounds best loud, front and center.  
    Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
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    BSullyBSully Indiana Posts: 1,043
    I got to share the song with my co-workers today and it went over well.
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    demetriosdemetrios Canada Posts: 87,912
    Pearl Jam Lands First Rock & Alternative Airplay No. 1 With ‘Dark Matter’
    The song crowns the survey in just its second chart week.
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    josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 28,310
    What song? 
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
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    spankyMPspankyMP NY to NC to NH Posts: 1,186
    josevolution said:
    What song? 
    Dark Matter
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    BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
    demetrios said:
    Pearl Jam Lands First Rock & Alternative Airplay No. 1 With ‘Dark Matter’
    The song crowns the survey in just its second chart week.
    As mentioned in another thread, the tracking week runs from Friday to Thursday, so the song is getting the benefit of seven full days of tracking in its second week. It was No. 6 in its first week based on only three days of tracking. Both of these results are very positive indicators for the kind of response the song is getting.
    I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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    demetriosdemetrios Canada Posts: 87,912
    Haijay said:
    It gets better and better every listen, god damn PJ

    Yes it does. I'm also happy to hear my local radio stations playing it each day, more then once. 
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    demetriosdemetrios Canada Posts: 87,912

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    demetriosdemetrios Canada Posts: 87,912

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    T-Bone 82T-Bone 82 Posts: 398
    https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/pearl-jam-dark-matter-number-1-rock-alternative-airplay-chart-1235613849/
    "Darkness comes in waves, tell me, why invite it to stay?"
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    BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
    I have updated the original post to reflect the information contained in the Chart Beat article linked by T-Bone 82 above. I have also revised the original post to mimic the formatting of my similar thread about Gigaton and to allow for continued updating, which will generally occur on Tuesdays.
    I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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    demetriosdemetrios Canada Posts: 87,912
    https://www.kshe95.com/real-rock-news/pearl-jam-earns-new-billboard-chart-feat-with-dark-matter-single/


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    T-Bone 82T-Bone 82 Posts: 398
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/02/26/pearl-jams-first-single-in-years-debuts-on-eight-different-billboard-charts-at-once/?sh=470df87f2ef4

    Here's another cool one from Forbes
    "Darkness comes in waves, tell me, why invite it to stay?"
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    TJ25487TJ25487 Posts: 1,462
    Awesome news! The song deserves it's success. It sounds like it could have been on the top half of Gigaton with the rest of the bangers! 
    Show me another band that has done this 35 years into their career. Heck Show me a band that is still together after that long. 
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    BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
    edited February 26
    TJ25487 said:

    Show me another band that has done this 35 years into their career. 

    Metallica: first album released in 1983, four no. 1 songs on Mainstream Rock chart since 2020, including two in 2023
    Red Hot Chili Peppers: first album released in 1984; no. 1 song on Rock chart in 2011 ("The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie")
    U2: first album released in 1980, no. 1 song on Triple-A chart in 2023 ("Atomic City")

    TJ25487 said:

    Show me a band that is still together after that long. 
    Rolling Stones
    Kiss
    The Who
    U2
    Metallica
    RHCP
    Duran Duran
    Aerosmith
    Def Leppard
    Eagles
    Iron Maiden
    The Cure

    I'm sure I'm forgetting some obvious ones.
    I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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    TJ25487TJ25487 Posts: 1,462
    BF25394 said:
    TJ25487 said:

    Show me another band that has done this 35 years into their career. 

    Metallica: first album released in 1983, four no. 1 songs on Mainstream Rock chart since 2020, including two in 2023
    Red Hot Chili Peppers: first album released in 1984; no. 1 song on Rock chart in 2011 ("The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie")
    U2: first album released in 1980, no. 1 song on Triple-A chart in 2023 ("Atomic City")

    TJ25487 said:

    Show me a band that is still together after that long. 
    Rolling Stones
    Kiss
    The Who
    U2
    Metallica
    RHCP
    Duran Duran
    Aerosmith
    Def Leppard
    Eagles
    Iron Maiden
    The Cure

    I'm sure I'm forgetting some obvious ones.
    So PJ is in good company. Just saw U2 at the Sphere in Vegas. Unbelievable! 
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    igotid88igotid88 Posts: 27,424
    You would have thought Mind Your Manners would have done this well. It did well. But not as well as Dark Matter is doing. Will be interesting to see if Dark Matter stays on the radio longer. It seems every new Pearl Jam song disappears after a few weeks. 
    I miss igotid88
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    BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
    igotid88 said:
    You would have thought Mind Your Manners would have done this well. It did well. But not as well as Dark Matter is doing. Will be interesting to see if Dark Matter stays on the radio longer. It seems every new Pearl Jam song disappears after a few weeks. 
    I'm optimistic. The fact that it got to number one, and so quickly, means that there is positive listener feedback. As we've previously discussed, "Dance of the Clairvoyants" was a weird fit for rock radio, and also nearly five minutes long. "Mind Your Manners" might have been just a bit too uptempo, and it also was a broadside against religion, which is still something that is taboo to a large portion of the American public. "Dark Matter" is not quite as uptempo as "Manners," and it doesn't wear out its welcome (from a radio perspective) like "Dance." It's just verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, chorus, done. And as unintelligible as the lyrics seemed at first, upon further examination, I am finding Ed's singing to be a little more accessible, and the lyrical content itself-- even though I have no doubt of the point of view that Ed is taking here-- is generic enough that both sides of the political divide can listen to this song and think it's calling out the other side. That alone will broaden the song's appeal with the rock audience, which is disproportionately older, whiter and more conservative than the median consumer of new music.
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    Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 29,070
    edited February 27
    I don't get who in the "mainstream" are listening to Dark Matter or is spinning Dark Matter. Next to other bands and their singles.

    I like the song, so not anything against the song per se.
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
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    igotid88igotid88 Posts: 27,424
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    I don't get who in the "mainstream" are listening to Dark Matter or is spinning Dark Matter. Next to other bands and their singles.

    I like the song, so not anything against the song per se.
    Mainstream rock
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    BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
    igotid88 said:
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    I don't get who in the "mainstream" are listening to Dark Matter or is spinning Dark Matter. Next to other bands and their singles.

    I like the song, so not anything against the song per se.
    Mainstream rock
    Right, mainstream as opposed to "alternative," although "alternative" is kind of a meaningless term at this point.
    I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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    BF25394BF25394 Posts: 3,331
    edited February 27
    Original post has been updated to reflect complete information for week ending March 2, 2024.

    Note that "Dark Matter" is number one on two charts: Hot Hard Rock Songs and Rock & Alternative Airplay.

    Interestingly, the two songs that are ahead of "Dark Matter" on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart have been on that chart for 587 and 425 weeks (AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and Disturbed's "The Sound of Silence," respectively). There are so few digital downloads sold these days that this chart is very mercurial but, for some reason, those two songs are consistent sellers.

    If I had to guess, I'd say that "Dark Matter" is somewhere below No. 200 in the combined sales, airplay and streaming metrics that go into the formula for the Hot 100. The song that is No. 99 on the Hot 100 is No. 11 among Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, and "Dark Matter" is No. 28 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
    Post edited by BF25394 on
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    Johnny AbruzzoJohnny Abruzzo Philly Posts: 10,477
    BF25394 said:
     and Disturbed's "The Sound of Silence," 
    My god people are dumb.
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    igotid88igotid88 Posts: 27,424
    BF25394 said:
    Original post has been updated to reflect complete information for week ending March 2, 2024.

    Note that "Dark Matter" is number one on two charts: Hot Hard Rock Songs and Rock & Alternative Airplay.

    Interestingly, the two songs that are ahead of "Dark Matter" on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart have been on that chart for 587 and 425 weeks (AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and Disturbed's "The Sound of Silence," respectively). There are so few digital downloads sold these days that this chart is very mercurial but, for some reason, those two songs are consistent sellers.

    If I had to guess, I'd say that "Dark Matter" is somewhere below No. 200 in the combined sales, airplay and streaming metrics that go into the formula for the Hot 100. The song that is No. 99 on the Hot 100 is No. 11 among Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, and "Dark Matter" is No. 28 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
    The Disturbed cover is okay. But that it's lasted this long on the charts while there a ton of great songs that barely stay on. I don't understand. 
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    wsimon74wsimon74 Posts: 478
    Just heard Dark Matter as background to ESPN Stanley Cup commercial.  They used GO earlier today. Apparently on a PJ kick. 
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    igotid88igotid88 Posts: 27,424
    Dark Matter is also their 41st song on the Alternative Airplay chart (was a different name). For a long time they were 2nd behind U2. But unfortunately foo fighters passed them. Now PJ is tied for 2nd. Dance was the only song from Gigaton to make the chart. Surprisingly SBWM and Quick Escape didn't.
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    SandyRavageSandyRavage Posts: 914
    edited February 28
    we're over 3 million streams on Spotify after yesterday.... give it another day or 2 and it will have more streams in 3 weeks than "Take The Long Way" has had since it's release lol
    Post edited by SandyRavage on
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