A good chart these days is hard to find

Here's what's going down in assorted US radio airplay charts this week:

Alternative National Airplay Top 20

20 Three Days Grace - Pain
19 Rise Against - Prayer Of The Refugee
18 Sick Puppies - All The Same
17 30 Seconds To Mars - From Yesterday
16 The Almost - Say This Sooner (No One Will See Things The Way I Do)
15 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Face Down Red
14 Chevelle - Well Enough Alone
13 Green Day - Working Class Hero
12 The Bravery - Time Won't Let Me Go
11 The Used - The Bird And The Worm
10 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Hump De Bump
9 Nine Inch Nails - Capital G
8 Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
7 Incubus - Dig
6 Breaking Benjamin - Breath
5 Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
4 White Stripes - Icky Thump
3 Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
2 Papa Roach - Forever
1 Linkin Park - What I've Done

It's alright, not all of the ones you've not heard of will become short term smug power-punk annoyances a la Alien Ant Farm. Not least because of their terrible names. While no British hipster can look on with full conviction in our nomenclature superiority while Does It Offend You, Yeah? exist, what else was on The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' list of potential handles? That Working Class Hero cover, by the way, is for Amnesty International’s Darfur benefit album which they've just performed on the American Idol finale. Much tongue/cheek interface there, we fancy.

Hot Adult Contemporary Top 20

20 KT Tunstall - Other Side Of The World
19 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend
18 Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold
17 Rocco Deluca & The Burden - Colorful
16 Lifehouse - First Time
15 Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around...Comes Around
14 John Mayer - Gravity
13 Kelly Clarkson - Never Again
12 Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
11 Hinder - Better Than Me
10 The Fray - How To Save A Life
9 Pink - U & Ur Hand
8 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
7 Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats
6 Rob Thomas - Little Wonders
5 Daughtry - It's Not Over
4 Daughtry - Home
3 Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder
2 Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
1 Nickelback - If Everyone Cared

One thing you'll notice, remembering this is commercial radio, is how many of these tracks have hung around for ages. Chasing Cars, for instance, breaks fifty weeks in the top 30 this week. And you think you'd heard it enough on Virgin. Daughtry are fronted by the bloke who finished fifth in American Idol last year, whose album has inevitably been number one on the Billboard chart. He sang The Box Tops' The Letter at his audition, which instantly puts all the UK efforts to shame.

Triple A Top 20

20 Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
19 Feist - 1,2,3,4
18 Modest Mouse - Dashboard
17 Paolo Nutini - Last Request
16 Augustana - Stars And Boulevards
15 Wilco - What Light
14 Snow Patrol - You're All I Have
13 Norah Jones - Thinking About You
12 Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
11 Shins - Phantom Limb
10 Gomez - See The World
9 Green Day - Working Class Hero
8 James Morrison - Under The Influence
7 The Fray - Look After You
6 Tori Amos - Big Wheel
5 Joss Stone - Tell Me 'Bout It
4 Brandi Carlile - The Story
3 Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good
2 Killers - Read My Mind
1 John Butler Trio - Better Than

The chart most likely to be the first to be entirely made up of songs featured on Grey's Anatomy, essentially. The John Butler Trio are a jam band, and thus of no interest over here. Gomez' continued US success constantly eludes British attention, largely, we imagine, because they stopped sounding indie-rootsy-bluesy-Bandy in about 2002.

CMJ College Radio Top 20

20 Idlewild - Make Another World
19 Cocorosie - The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn
18 Grinderman - Grinderman
17 The Blow - Poor Aim Love Songs
16 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living With The Living
15 Fountains Of Wayne - Traffic And Weather
14 Rosebuds - Night Of The Furies
13 Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
12 Patti Smith - Twelve
11 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
10 Elliott Smith - New Moon
9 Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
8 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
7 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
6 Feist - The Reminder
5 Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
4 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
3 Blonde Redhead - 23
2 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
1 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Was there a single review of the Modest Mouse Royal Albert Hall show that gave Isaac Brock, who is after all their singer and songwriter, lead due? And still it hasn't sold that well in Britain, as opposed to its #1 status on Billboard and here. On the same lines look at Blonde Redhead go, ahead of ver Monkeys all the way since release.