Top 9 of 2009

Since I like year-end countdowns, here is one of my own: the Top Nine Posts of 2009.

First, a bit of explanation. A post only gets counted if you click on the title. If you visit the blog and just read the post on the homepage, it doesn’t get an official hit. That tends to skew the results. Now, in best Casey Kasem voice, on with the countdown.

9. Flood

The effects of the September flood still resonate in these parts, and are for many a lingering reminder of a very challenging year.

8. Review: Winter Jam Tour 2009

Concerts don’t get reviewed enough. I remember seeing shows as a kid, and then hoping to read a review in the paper the next day. I’d feel strangely validated if they liked it, I’d get angry if they didn’t, but mostly I would relive the experience a little bit.

7. What your favorite U2 song says about you

This is one of my favorite posts. Yes, it’s meaningless if you don’t know the band’s music, but I sure had fun coming up with the list. I’m still happy to take your suggestions in the comments!

6. Review: David Crowder Band – Church Music

The first Crowder reference. For some reason I get hits from Crowder searches every day. This album gets better every time I listen to it, and remains my number one or two from 2009.

5. Blog Nuggets: tunes and ’80s fashions

Certainly this only made the list because of the picture of Poison. Did I really grow up in that decade? Amazing that any of us are remotely normal.

4. A time to mourn

Some years are remembered for monumental trauma. Anita’s husband Greg is leaving an extraordinary record of her life and how he is handling her passing at http://www.anitaslove.com

3. Review: CompassionArt

I am toying with the idea of building a site just for reviews. This is the third review on the list. With budgets at some of my favorite review sites dwindling to nothing, there are fewer places to turn. This is still a fascinating album, by the way.

2. The Spoken Word, or, A Fist Pump for the Master

This one gets hits because of that famous Tim Tebow speech, but I hope people finish reading it for the profound literature that is the Bible and the profound Person that is Christ.

And finally, at number one, with thousands and thousands of hits this past year:

1. Name Dropping

This certainly was not the most popular post based on its own merits. It’s just a little note about my interviews with a couple of rock stars. David Crowder was one, so maybe some of the Crowder searches landed there. Also, I think a lot has to do with the fact that I used to list only one Top Post on the home page, and being the only Top Post is a self-perpetuating thing. You’re the only one listed, so people click on you, which keeps you at the top. Makes me wish it was better. Now I list four or five Top Posts, for what it’s worth.

Thanks for reading!