Photo: McCormack/WireImage.com; SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images;Kravitz/FilmMagic; Kempin/WireImage.com
As we say farewell to 2009 and welcome a new decade, Rolling Stone looks back at the biggest stories, funniest headlines and “all the news that fit” in 2009. It was the year we lost the King of Pop, the year Adam Lambert and Lady Gaga exploded, the year U2 cemented their reputation as the biggest band on Earth and the year Barack Obama gave America a new hope. It was the Year of the Supergroup and the Year of Twitter. How many times did we write about the Rihanna and Chris Brown saga? What post draw the most reader comments? Check out our year-end stats below, and flip through our best-of lists:
2009’s Most Blogged
The Death of Michael Jackson: 131 stories
The Rise of Adam Lambert: 65
Rihanna and Chris Brown: 51
U2 in 2009: 44
Barack Obama’s Inauguration: 14
Aerosmith Breaking Up?: 11
Aerosmith-Related Injuries: 10
Lil Wayne’s (Still-Delayed) Rebirth: 11
Taylor Swift’s Kanyegate: 9
Joaquin Phoenix’s Meltdown: 5
The Rise of Lady Gaga: ?
Lady Gaga Headlines in 2008: 0
Top 5 Most Commented Stories of 2009
1. Kanye West Storms the VMAs Stage During Taylor Swift’s Speech
2. Adam Lambert Shocks American Music Awards With Racy “For Your Entertainment”
3. Judith Hill: “Heal The World” Singer From Jackson Memorial Revealed
4. Tokio Hotel’s Album Cover and “Humanoid” Single: Sneak Peek
5. “Diddy” Gets in Touch With Rolling Stone, But Fails to Mention “Notorious” Soundtrack
Reunion Stories
# of reunion stories about Blink-182: 7
# of reunion stories about No Doubt: 6
# of reunion stories about Pavement: 5
# of reunion stories about Creed: 4
# of reunion stories about Sublime: 3
# of reunion stories about Limp Bizkit: 1
# of reunion stories about Led Zeppelin: 0
# of reunion stories about Led Zeppelin in 2008: 9
Supergroup Division
Them Crooked Vultures stories: 18
Dead Weather stories: 10
Beck’s Record Club: 5
Monsters of Folk stories: 3
Temple of the Dog stories: 1
• Temple of the Dog Reunite at Pearl Jam’s Los Angeles Concert
Top 3 Most Commented Rock Lists
1. Readers’ Rock List: Who Should Be Nominated For the Hall of Fame?
2. Weekend Rock List: Most Underrated Album of All Time
3. Readers’ Rock List: Jam Bands
Crime Division
# of stories with Phil Spector in the headline: 6
# of stories about Charles Manson and Phil Spector: 1 • Jailhouse Rock?: Charles Manson Reaches Out to Phil Spector
# of stories about Massachusetts cop who pissed on Metallica concertgoer: 3
• Massachusetts Cop Reportedly Urinates On Metallica Fan At Concert
• Ex-Cop Charged With Urinating On Metallica Fan At Boston Concert
• Ex-Cop Takes Plea Bargain, Admits To Urinating On Metallica Fan
# of stories about Kiss fan who pissed on fellow concertgoer: 1
• Kiss Piss Scandal: Man Arrested For Urinating on Fan at Concert
# of times “Arrested” appears in headline: 5
# of times “community service” appears in headline: 1
# of times “lawsuit” appears in headline: 9
# of times “probation” appears in headline: 2
# of times “prostitute” appears in headline: 1
• “American Idol” Alum David Archuleta’s Father Busted For Soliciting Prostitute
Craziest Lawsuits:
• Carly Simon vs. Starbucks
• Perez Hilton vs. Black Eyed Peas road manager
• Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay vs. Cat Stevens
• Eddie Vedder vs. “Hard Sun” songwriter
• Eddie Van Halen vs. Nike
Twitter Division
# of headlines with “Twitter” in 2009: 11
# of headlines with “Twitter” in 2008: 1
Twitter Pages That Were Deleted:
• Chris Brown Deletes Twitter After “Graffiti” Rant, Stores Say Album Is Overstocked
• Trent Reznor Ends Twitter Legacy By Deleting Account
Twitter Pages That Were Deleted Because of Rolling Stone:
• Dave Matthews Blames Rolling Stone For Ruining Twitter
Number of 2009 Live Blogs: 4
• American Music Awards 2009 Live Blog: The Swift Strikes Back
• The 2009 MTV VMAs Live Blog: Gaga for MJ at NYC’s Radio City
• Lambert Vs. Allen: The “American Idol” Finale Live Blog
• “American Idol” Finals Live Blog: Countdown to the Glamb-Slide!”
Stranger Than Fiction:
# of stories with Hall & Oates in the headline: 3
# of stories about Kurt Cobain’s avatar in Guitar Hero 5: 4
# of stories about Billy Bob Thornton pissing off Canada: 3
• Billy Bob Thornton Attempts To Outdo Joaquin Phoenix In CBC Interview
# of stories about a Diddy impersonator e-mailing Rolling Stone:: 1
# of stories about Bret Michaels’ near-beheading at the Tonys: 6
• Bret Michaels’ Broadway Souvenir: Nose Fracture From Tonys Mishap
# of people snubbed by Radiohead: 2
• Miley Cyrus Snubbed By Radiohead, Vows to “Ruin Them”
• Kanye West’s “VH1 Storytellers” Won’t Air Rapper’s Radiohead Diss, Chris Brown Support
Things That Didn’t Happen:
• Velvet Revolver “Weeks Away” From Announcing New Singer
• Lars Ulrich Confirms He Appears in Guns n’ Roses’ “Better” Video, But Where Is It?
• Aerosmith “Can’t Wait To Get Back Into The Studio,” Says Drummer
• New Dr. Dre Song Possibly Destined For “Detox” Leaks
• Lil Wayne Plots Rock Album “Rebirth,” First Single “Prom Queen” Leaks
• Eminem Confirms Two 2009 Albums: “Relapse” Due May 19th
Memorials:
• Michael Jackson Dead at 50
• The Stooges Guitarist Ron Asheton Found Dead At 60
• Les Paul, Guitar Legend, Dies at 94
• DJ AM Found Dead in New York
• Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Dead From Cancer at 72
• The Cramps’ Frontman Lux Interior Dead at 62
• “Solid Air” Singer-Songwriter John Martyn Dead at 60
• Avenged Sevenfold’s Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan Dead at 28
• Koko Taylor, Grammy-Winning “Queen of the Blues,” Dead at 80
• Singer-Songwriter Vic Chesnutt Dies at 45
• Lynyrd Skynyrd Keyboardist Billy Powell Dead at 56
• “Be My Baby” Songwriter Ellie Greenwich Dead at 68
• Former Wilco Member Jay Bennett Dead at 45 of Unknown Causes
• The Ventures’ Bob Bogle Loses Fight With Lymphoma at Age 75
Happy New Year, Rock Daily readers! See you — and Rebirth, and maybe Detox — in 2010.
