MRML's Greatest Hits

There are three figures I check obsessively here: number of comments, number of visits and number of downloads. The combination of those things is a big part of how I choose what goes up next. While in the end I cover what I love (I finished my series about American hardcore legend Vic Bondi in the face of almost complete indifference), the length of time I stay in any place and the frequency by which I return there is often decided by comments, visitors and downloads.


So, in terms of downloads and comments, here's what has generated the greatest response:

12. Joe Jackson - The Harder They Come ~ 421 D/L's (I trust RapidShare's numbers less than Mediafire's.)
A brilliant little piece of work by JJ that is just begging for re-issue in some form and which I was pleased to remind people of.
Comments: 28 (Coming on the heels of my biggest hissy-fit about not getting comments, this one generated a strong discussion about whether or not Jackson's later career was 'thorny'.)

11. The Clash - This is England 12" 448 D/L's
I fight for Strummer any time I can.
Comments: 16 (Clash fans rule!)

10 Graham Parker Live at Marble Arch 460 D/L's
My series on Graham Parker was big on all three of my metrics - plus I love writing about GP.
Comments: six (overall a great series for comments - one of which may well have been from Mr. Parker himself.)

9. Multitude of Sins - The Dylan Mass ~ 460 D/L's (but someone set up a mirror - whatever that is - without asking me so that might have kept the numbers lower.)
True, such mellow, acoustic music is a bit outside of my mission here but that said:
Comments: 4 (A bit dispiriting, as this deserved an infinitely better response.)

8. Talking Heads - Memories Can't Wait -472 D/L's
A surprise but welcome hit in the D/L department...
Comments: 4 (for those keeping score that's well-below a 1% rate of return on D/L's.)

7. D.I.Y Anarchy in the UK 512 D/L's
With a line up including every great '77 punk band (minus list-favourites The Clash) how could this comp go wrong?
Comments: 8 (Decent till you recall that Blogger counts my own responses in the final tally.)

6. Parker/Pierson/Janovitz - A Tribute to the Beatles 520 D/L's
A low-key release that probably saw a schwack of boomers here on their first and last visit.
Comments:7 (which considering the brevity of the post was okay.)

5. The Dik Van Dykes - Nobody Likes... ~543 d/l's (243 now and at least three hundred on MassMirror)
Canadian funny-punk band that I'm proud as hell to have spread around the world (re-up coming sooner or later).
Comments: 48 ( Best response ever - even beating the 41 commenters who took on my idea of Husker Du being the Great American Band - and it included a few encouraging comments from the band's front-man, Dik.)

4. Bob Dylan - Let My Poor Voice Be heard 544 D/L's
Pixel-stained wretches enjoy writing about Dylan WAY too much and our reward:
Comments: 3 (Dylan fans are the absolute best for visits but the pits for comments.).

3. The Clash - Out of Control (The Alternate Cut the Crap) 722 D/L's
It's cool that something that helps a tiny bit to rehabilitate the much-reviled Cut The Crap (and all of the Clash items in this list are CTC-related) has generated such unexpectedly huge numbers!
Comments: 12 (and many of 'em were sharp!)

2. D.I.Y Blank Generation: the New York Scene 767 D/L's
Biggest in what is probably MRML's most popular series.
Comments: 9 (tepid but not terrible.)

1. The Clash - 12" mixes 877 D/L's
Unstoppable, which is a little odd considering it is almost strictly for completists.
Comments: 7 (Well it was at the tail end of a long series of Clash posts - Clash fans are still my favourite to write for!)

Usually I ask for comments about the music itself but for this time I'm gonna ask you: What was MRML's best post?