Hello All.
#Confession , I have been thinking lately about what I plan to do with this blog. There were four ideas that I had, but I couldn’t find the energy or patience to actually post them. Being honest, the lack of views on my blog discourages me from giving my all to the posts because it seems like a waste after it all. I enjoy writing, but if my writing doesn’t really reach people than I might as well just journal to myself, right. Having said all of that, I’ve been surprised over the past three years which posts got the most views, and THAT’s what this post is all about.
It’s almost like the Billboard Hot 100, where you might like a certain number of songs listed, but the list would be totally different if they were all of your favorites. I’m going to show you my Top 10 Most Viewed posts, and than I will list my personal favorite posts. Should be interesting right!?
MOST VIEWED POSTS
10. My Top 10 Songs of the Week “Dick In Yo Face” : MYFAVORITES
354 views
Back in 2012, I decided to introduce a weekly Top 10 List. It was short lived, but this particular week was the most popular. And I can only guess that it has to do with the title, a portion of Nicki Minaj’s “Come on a Cone” (the #9 song for the week).
9. The Billboard… errr Grammy Nominations say “VIVA LA MAINSTREAM!!” : IMO
415 views
It’s funny that this is my most viewed Grammy post, because as you’ll read in the first paragraph I totally didn’t give a crap that year. I eventually built up enough energy to write a very cynical take on the Grammy’s trending from honoring talent to honoring record sales.
8. “Looking” for Diversity? You won’t find it on HBO’s upcoming show : IMO
471 views
Though I did grow to like HBO’s series “Looking” (as evidenced in not one, but two additional posts), it still bothers me that so many networks and Hollywood studios bombard viewers with white actors for fear they will lose profits if they *gasp represent what America actually looks like. I was actually really proud of this article and happy that it got a good number of views.
7. The Weeknd vs The-Dream : MIXTAPEREVIEW
488 views
This was a total spur of the moment post, and I’m surprised at all the comments and views it got. At the time, The Weeknd was HIGHLY buzzed about and I couldn’t figure out why. Anyway I won’t get into my feelings about the high pitched crooner, just read it.
6. Top 10 Madonna Videos : MYFAVORITES
563 views
It was #MDNA Week on my blog, and I felt this Top 10 list was mandatory since Madonna is such an amazing visual artist. Being a huge fan, it was a little hard to sort the list but overall it was fun to do. Looking back, I still stand by my rankings 100% and apparently the fans did too.
5. Top 10 Janet Jackson Videos : MYFAVORITES
604 views
Every few weeks I check my stats, and for the past year or so this Top 10 list has almost always been in the Top. Like the Madonna list, I’m still proud of my rankings and stand by them, but more importantly this list also reminds me how Great Janet was in her day.
4. Top 10 BEST and WORST Comic Book Movies : MYFAVORITES
621 views
This was a project that I spent lots of time thinking about, drafting and ranking. I picked the weekend that “The Avengers” was released to theaters in 2012 to post it, and I’m really proud of what I came up with. This actually became a popular post, and the feedback I got was that most people agreed with my choices which felt good. I’ll probably update the list when the next “Avengers” flick comes out.
3. Top 25 Kanye West Productions : MYFAVORITES
734 views
So not only was this a tad difficult to rank, but those small little YouTube bars were a bitch to code. However I’m very pleased this is among my highest viewed posts because I do feel it’s a good representation of Kanye’s career as a Producer and I never feel like I left anything great out.
2. Discography Review : Prince (1978-1982)
1,051 views
This is the only post on this list that came from my original Blogger blog. I need to do more of these Discography Reviews because I feel that it not only educates readers who may not know much about Prince or other artists, but I also feel like these really flex my writing muscle. Especially when it comes to Prince, whose music and genius is hard to describe.
1. The “Watch the Throne” Track by Track Review : ALBUMREVIEW
1,769 views
Gotta say that I’m a little shocked that this is the Top post on my blog. Shocked because other posts from the “Watch the Throne” week didn’t fair as well, my other “Track by Track” reviews didn’t either. My theory as to why this did so well was the picture I attached, because sometimes pics can drive people to your blogs. Either way, it’s a good post and happy that people enjoyed it for whatever reason.
MY FAVORITE POSTS
10. Winter is (or should be) Music Discovery Season : IMO
15 views
One thing I love about the Internet age is the fact that pretty much everything ever recorded is available. That is what this post was based on, the idea that instead of just twiddling our thumbs for the latest new releases we should go back and discover the music that came before us. I love the idea behind this post, and even though it didn’t get lots of views I hope it inspired the few people that did read it.
222 views
This was easily my finest attempt at a Year In Music post. They are always difficult, not only because of the content and figuring out who and what should be included, but the visual aspect of these Year End posts is tricky. Mainly, I love the way this post LOOKS above all else. I love how everything is really streamlined and everything is the appropriate size. It’s just a good looking post, and I feel like my choices were pretty accurate to what I was enjoying that year (which in hindsight was a pretty decent year for music).
43 views
As you will read in the actual post, I got pretty addicted to YouTube and the world of the Webseries while I was living in New York City. In a lot of ways, these Webseries that I spoke on have lots of qualities that make them better than most mainstream Television and I wanted to shine a light on the Andrea Lewis’ and Adam Goldman’s of the world.
7. MTV VMA’s, The Most Meaningless and Most Important Award Show : IMO
213 views
(Yikes, my pictures on this post have gone away) This was a fun post to write because it talks about the confusing duality of the MTV Video Music Awards – which are great and horrible at the same time. This turned into a way more interesting post than I had originally intended and I think it makes for a great read because of it.
6. A Year in the Indies, an Indie Music Report : IMO
277 views
I guess I thought I got cool the months leading up to this post about the Indie Music landscape, I was really happy to share my favorite finds that not too many mainstreamers were aware of. Sure I’m not HIPSTERUNOFF or Pitchfork, but I think I did a good job of noting and describing my favorite underground artists and their unique music. More than all of that, I was so pleased to find that the title “A Year in the Indies” hadn’t been used anywhere else on the net (or at least anywhere in my Google search of the title).
5. Career Advice : Beyonce & Christina Aguilera (TIE)
Beyonce 178 views, Christina 177 views
It’s fun to play A&R Rep from my cubicle at work. Knowing that my ideas had a small chance of being heard by the powers that be, I found this Career Advice idea to be a fun and creative one. It started out with Beyonce after she gave birth to her daughter Blue Ivy, I matched ‘Yonce up with the likes of James Blake and How to Dress Well. For Christina, I flirted with the idea of her going more Disco/Funk/Soul with Nile Rodgers and Toro Y Moi. I should do more of these Career Advice posts (I’m thinking of doing one for Usher), these two will set the pace and I actually always enjoy reading these.
4. #FICTIONFriday “Through the 60’s, The Hidden Revolver” : CREATIVEWRITING
4 views
Officially, my #FICTIONFriday idea was a major flop. I’m a little sad about it because I really wanted some feedback on my creative writing projects, alas there’s no sense in complaining about it. And instead of bombarding this list with all of the Fiction posts, I am picking this one because it has become one of my writing projects that is near and dear to my heart. It’s about a high school kid in the late 60’s who is ashamed of loving The Beatles, and his attempts to hid his new purchase from friends and family. I love it! I was hoping more people would, but at the end of the day I can only be proud of myself for even trying the very ambitious #FICTIONFriday project.
3. Top 10 BEST and WORST Comic Book Movies : MYFAVORITES
2. “Looking” for Diversity? You won’t find it on HBO’s upcoming show : IMO
These two were covered above, and clearly I was pleased that they got as many views as they did. A combination of hard work, creativity and also a bit of urgency to get my thoughts and opinions out there.
1. Oh The Reality!! How Fights, Drunks and Sluts have ruined Reality Shows : IMO
256 views
For one, I LOVE this title. Two, I love the content and how I was able to give a History of the Reality Show and just exactly the factors that have changed them. Three, I was happy I was able to illustrate how these shows are affecting culture. This was a really well rounded article in my opinion, and I am always happy when I’m able to clearly put down in words all of the random thoughts in my head.
So that’s It. I don’t want to just abandon this blog, but I have to get focused on other things (school and career wise) and I might just take a hiatus on the blog. On the other hand, I’m thinking of coming up with more simple and thus more frequent blog posts in the forms of Top 10 lists and things like that. I’m still feeling it out, but I will keep you all posted.
It’s just interesting to see which posts struck a chord and which didn’t, and trying to find a pattern of what might work in the future.
And a BIG THANK YOU to all the supporters and readers of this blog, those that have liked and shared, and those that have just enjoyed what I contribute to the Blogosphere.