In case you need something to read over this extended July 4th weekend, it's about the time when we do our mid-term, half-time round up of the most popular outsideleft stories of the year so far.
Last year the top 20 was packed by the Alarcon, Ambrose, Cook, Lake quartet, thrilling as that was, it's cool this year, to see some of our new writers, Shane and Karl coming through scale the heights of popularity in our readers' eyes.
And the Google reference, oh well we're pretty fond of them and their 'do no evil' work, while we're making actual dollars here - their ads that you have been clicking on, (haven't you?) have actually paid for the bandwidth the site uses. So well done to all who have visited the advertisers on this site. This time last year we'd served up 88,350 pages and we felt like we had a thumbprint on the web, in the first six months of this year the page count is 1,719,000. So paying the bandwidth piper is essential. We've also published our first anthology 'The First Annual Outsideleft Hardy Annual." And that thumbprint, well, now we're thinking we've got one from each hand.
Year on Year Summary:
2006 | 2005
Visitors*: 20,529 | 3.328
Pages*: 286,500 | 14.725
*average per month
(who's counting? AWStats)
Top 20 of the Year (so far)
- Kate Moss, Aged 15 by Joe Ambrose (February 22nd)
Topping the mid-term charts this summer is the excellent 'Kate Moss, Aged 15' by Joe Ambrose. One can only surmise why such a story tops the charts... Or is that simply our licentiousness? Had it been called 'Kate Moss Topless' (which she isn't) would it have done even better? A link from Wikipedia's Kate Moss page certainly helped too! - Morrissey: Ringleader of the Tormentors by Alarcon (March 8th)
Whenever you think, surely to god there is nothing left to be said on a subject... Alarcon's review of the current Morrissey record ruffled feathers and he's a lover not a fighter... Check out those reader comments and more of the same applies with our third most widely read story too... - 300 Words From London: Morrissey Live At Alexandra Palace by Lake (May 5th)
In twenty-five years of Morrissey's music, some songs are better than others. To suggest that anticipates a tirade or two from never jaded fans. - Fuck You, Oprah Winfrey, Fuck You! by Alarcon (January 27th)
Alarcon was not at all happy with Oprah's ham hocked handling of the James Frey debacle. In strident tones to say the least, he offers his own comeuppance... - More Dear Girl by Erin Pipes (March 21st)
Erin Pipes might be the original Sexy Beast, her columns are always amongst our most popular... - Half naked gothic girls with pussy liquor and stolen babies that were dead by day by Jaycentee (June 4th)
Our self-styled Man of Horror, Film maker Jaycentee, picks up on the horror beat with a trip to the Fangoria show - What's With All These Pseudo Fag Hags and Brokeback Mountain? by Erin Pipes (February 7th)
Erin's Dear Girl column gets caught up in the early Academy Awards hype... - Outsidebooks #4: In Pete's Doherty's Crack Den, Tara Telephone, and Pseudo-City by Joe Ambrose (February 13th)
This was an early Valentine from Joe Ambrose to Pete and Tara - Pogus Caesar: From Jamaica Row by Lamont (March 22nd)
One of our readers turned us on the this British based art star, then y'all read the story. Message: We listen. - Crystal Meth, Death and Defining Moments by Alex V. Cook (March 24th)
Drive by Truckers anyone? A lot of people it seems... Alex V. Cook reviews the record he wrote the sleevenotes for. Next the Truckers have him playing tamborine on Top of the Pops. - Insert 'Pussy' Reference Here by Alex V. Cook (February 7th)
Alex meets Ruyter Suys from Nashville Pussy... One of the ten hottest female guitarists of all time. - Classy Bitch - tales of the talented #1; Paris Hilton by Shane O'Reilly (January 28th)
Shane O'Reilly thinks Paris Hilton gives awful blow jobs. Taped evidence only, And is underwhelmed by her holiday escapades... - Cool Movies You've Never Seen by Seth Sherwood (March 24th)
Really, he doesn't make this shit up. - The Top 5 Cartoons of Recent Years by Karl Morgan (February 10th)
Further proof that if outsideleft readers love anything more than reading, its reading outsideleft's laundry lists. - The 2nd Annual outsideLeft Best of 2005 Golden Bootlace™ Reader's Poll results by Alarcon (Feburary 2nd)
After an underwhelming response to our 2nd Annual readers poll, Alarcon gives your votes the once over. - Robotic Giraffes and Other Tall Stories... by Lamont (June 4th)
At last I get one in the Top 20 and not the bottom 20 (see next week). 1% of all of our visitors in June tuned in hoping to see Melanie Slade Topless. Instead, this. - Pussy Power - Nein Danke by Joe Ambrose (February 5th)
Joe Ambrose says not just no, but absolutely not to Cat Power's greatest hits. - Criticisms on the existentialisms of the revolving shoeshiners! by Shane O'Reilly (March 20th)
Shane O'Reilly risks upsetting his best friends. - Experiencing the Arctic Monkeys in 40 minutes.../a> by Shane O'Reilly (January 28th)
Somehow not Universally Loved in the USA. Still, I always found it stranger when Americans do Universal Love with British idiosyncratic bands. 'A Certain Romance' is 'Bohemian Rhapsody' for todays shoppers though, isn't it? - The Good, the Bad and the Retarded : The Films of 2005 by Seth Sherwood (Janury 5th)
Seth Sherwood bottoms out the top twenty with his astute recap of 2005s movies.
Next week, the Bottom 20 and your chance to read them maybe for the first time!
