Rock holds No. 1 spot with Audioslave

With Audioslave’s new “Out of Exile� debuting at No. 1 on the national album chart on Wednesday, there’s good news for rock ‘n’ roll and producer Rick Rubin.

Audioslave extended rock’s hold on the top chart spot to six weeks by selling 263,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

During that streak, a rare rock showing in an era dominated chiefly by hip-hop and mainstream pop artists, Rob Thomas, Bruce Springsteen, Nine Inch Nails, the Dave Matthews Band and System of a Down all entered the chart at No. 1, but none has been able to hold on to the top position for more than one week.

Audioslave’s success did mark the second consecutive week at No. 1 for Rubin, the versatile producer who not only produced “Out of Exile� but also co-produced System of a Down’s “Mezmerize,� which fell to No. 4 Wednesday (selling 169,000) after its one week stay at the top.

Rubin, whose varied career has involved working on albums by hip-hop (Public Enemy, Beastie Boys) as well as rock acts (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Slayer) and country star Johnny Cash, is now working on new CDs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Dixie Chicks.

Because none of the new albums released Tuesday got off to a strong start, Audioslave could hold on to No. 1.

If Audioslave holds at No. 1, rock’s streak will almost certainly stretch to eight weeks because the new Coldplay album, due to be released Tuesday, is considered a cinch for No. 1.

Audioslave’s CD was one of four Top 10 debuts in this week’s chart. The other albums were by Common (No. 2, with sales of 185,000), Gorillaz (No. 6, sales of 107,000) and Seether (No. 8, sales of 82,000).

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By the Numbers: Southland CD rankings

Here are the 10 bestselling CDs in Southern California last week, along with their national ranking.

*--* TITLE, ARTIST NAT’L RANK LAST WEEK

1 “Out of Exile,� Audioslave 1 --

2 “Common,� Be 2 --

3 “Mezmerize,� System of a Down 4 1

4 “The Emancipation of Mimi,� Mariah Carey 3 2

5 “Demon Days,� Gorillaz 6 --

6 “Naked,� Marques Houston 13 --

7 “Stand Up,� Dave Matthews 7 4

8 “Il Divo,� Il Divo 9 18

9 “Make Believe,� Weezer 17 5

10 “Crimson,� Alkaline Trio 25 --

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Source: Nielsen/SoundScan Inc.