This Time, the Ship Is the Iceberg

Pearl Jam’s new album, the first superstar release of 1998, could be the latest contender to “yield” the top of the pop chart to the “Titanic” soundtrack when sales figures are reported Wednesday by SoundScan. Each of the Seattle band’s last three albums entered the chart at No. 1, but the new “Yield” collection might fall victim to the “Titanic” phenomenon. “ ‘Titanic’ may have peaked,” Bob Bell, new-release buyer for the Wherehouse retail chain, says of the mostly instrumental score that has topped the chart for the last four weeks and has sold 2.2 million copies, “but it’s still moving some pretty incredible numbers”--including about 582,000 last week. Bell, though, doesn’t believe that long-range sales of the Pearl Jam collection will be hurt if the band’s record doesn’t open at No. 1. “I don’t think Pearl Jam fans are concerned about that,” he says. “The new album looks to be doing similar numbers to what ‘No Code’ did. Maybe a little better, but it’s trending toward a similar number.” The 1996 “No Code” sold about 367,000 copies during its first week in stores, but sales quickly dropped and eventually stalled at about 1.3 million copies, easily the least successful of the group’s albums. Sales of “Yield” could be boosted by a tour, however, and there seems to be an impasse in the band’s long-standing war with Ticketmaster over ticket surcharges. Eddie Vedder and bandmates have acknowledged that on their upcoming U.S. tour they will use Ticketmaster when there are no reasonable alternatives. In fact, the giant agency is already selling tickets for Pearl Jam dates next month in Australia.

Maybe Some Will Just Stay Up All Night

If the usual Hollywood Monday night haunts are slightly quieter than usual tonight, it’s because a lot of actors, actresses, directors and writers might be turning in a little earlier than usual. That’s because the Academy Awards nominations will be announced Tuesday morning at 5:30--prime morning news time on the East Coast. And once the nominations for all 24 categories are announced, publicists will go into overdrive, fielding a flood of requests for reaction from their bleary-eyed clients. And then the next wave of hype will begin, leading to the March 23 ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium.

TV’s Morality, Responsibility in Spotlight

Television’s morality takes center stage on two fronts this week. First, illustrating media savvy as well as righteous indignation, the nonprofit group Morality in Media is urging people to join in a national “Turn Off TV Day” on Saturday. Why is that smart? Because Saturday is traditionally the lowest night in terms of the number of TV sets in use and this week coincides with Valentine’s Day, which usually prompts even more people to go out. The symbolic boycott--described as “a protest against the unremitting flow of morally offensive TV programming”--is pitted against the Winter Olympics, a strong ratings draw. On Tuesday, meanwhile, TV executives and producers will take part in an informational discussion designed to provide Hollywood’s creative community with perspective on sex issues facing teenagers. The event, “Beyond the Birds and the Bees: How Teens Learn About Sex Today,” is sponsored by the Media Project and the WB network, which has drawn fire from some critics for the sexual content in its new teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” starring James Van Der Beek. Since the show airs Tuesdays, that means WB officials can go home and evaluate how well they practice what’s been preached.