With a Bullet: Today's Charts

"We're Number Two! We're Number Two!" As Billy Corgan takes his near-victory lap around the racetrack that is the album charts, the Smashing Pumpkins display that unique Second City pride in their second-place chart debut. Behold the guitar-drenched power statement that is 'Zeitgeist,' the hotly anticipated "reunion" album by Chicagoland's finest '90s alternaband (the scare quotes around reunion are warranted, as this album merely reunited Corgan with his drummer; no longtime lead guitarist or zonked-out bass player in sight). Please forgive us for draping a coarse, sopping-wet horse blanket on the Pumpkin parade, as the band, after all, did us the honor of reconvening just to teach us a lesson on how to bring the rock -- and how to pronounce the word "tarantula." The first album in seven years by Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and three new raw recruits sold a hefty 146,000 in its first week, falling about 30,000 short of the chart-hogging rapper T.I.

• And speaking of what us folks over 30 (all right, all right -- over 40) call the alternative music, let's play a guessing game: Which of these pairs of albums had a higher debut this week? Your choices: a) Interpol's 'Our Love to Admire' + Spoon's 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga' or b) Aly & AJ's 'Insomniatic' + the Amanda Bynes-heavy 'Hairspray' soundtrack. The answer: Put your money on the rock! The 'Pol and Spoon sit at Nos. 4 and 10, respectively; the teenage duo and the teen-oriented movie album limped in at Nos. 15 and 20, in that order. (BTW: Boys rule!!!)

• Weekly Winehouse Watch: Our best girl Amy has suffered a slight setback on her journey to reach a million albums sold, with 'Back to Black' dropping from last week's No. 8 to No. 9, with 49,000 sold this week. Maybe she's just being a little shy about the big blowout bash we at With a Bullet are going to hold in her honor when she inevitably goes platinum. We're certain she'll accelerate her charge to the finish line if we inform her we're gonna serve alkyhol at the party!

• The Macca Attack-a has gone a bit slack-a: Paul McCartney needs a mere 52,000 of you latte gulpers to pick up a copy of 'Memory Almost Full' at your favorite coffee franchise to earn him his 1,800th gold disc. Considering it sells for about the same as one of those lemon bars it's displayed adjacent to, it's the least you can do.

The top five albums for the week ending July 15:

1. 'T.I. vs. T.I.P.,' T.I. (175,000 in 2nd week; 644,00 total)
2. 'Zeitgeist,' the Smashing Pumpkins (146,000 in 1st week)
3. 'Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus,' soundtrack (128,000 in 3rd week; 642,000 total)
4. 'Our Love to Admire,' Interpol (73,000 in 1st week)
5. 'My December,' Kelly Clarkson (59,000 in 3rd week; 463,000 total)