First, a note - the last time I posted the top five most read blog posts of the week, it provoked some muttering that this was somehow to reward the most sensational and populist pieces we've posted at the expense of the articles which were quieter in tone or more obscure in subject matter. That's not the intention at all. Clearly, we think everything we post on the Arts and Entertainment Blog is absolutely worth reading. It's just interesting to see which pieces get looked at and commented on the most, no?
Anyway, with that preamble out of the way it's no surprise to see that Caroline Sullivan's piece about Amy Winehouse was the most read posting of the week. Even before she slid off the rails, Winehouse was controversial, and her father-in-law's extraordinary suggestion that people should boycott her records until she takes steps to fight her drug problem laid all the foundations for a fiery discussion. Jonathan Yeo's portrait of George W Bush made out of porn magazines, appraised by Zoe Williams, also inevitably caused hackles to rise and was the second most popular piece of the week.
However, it's not just the obvious cultural and political figures that can spark off heated debate. Louise Tucker's passionate defence of public libraries inspired an illuminating, important and deeply felt argument, which is still continuing over on the books blog. Then there was Ned Beauman's call for computer graphics to draw inspiration from the world of fine art, after which commenter recardo explained the links between Silent Hill and Francis Bacon. Thanks to her/him and everyone else who read, commented on and contributed to the blog this week.
This week's top five most read blog posts were:
1. Should we boycott Amy Winehouse's records? by Caroline Sullivan
2. Yeo's portrait of Bush has no meaning by Zoe Williams
3. Party For Your Right To... Life? by Dorian Lynskey
4. I want Francis Bacon on my XBox by Ned Beauman
5. When did fame become a dirty word? by Siân Pattenden
