It’s here! 2,099,701 votes tallied from over 188 countries and we have our Hottest 100 of 2014. A lot of us will be attempting to piece together which songs we heard when, with blurry memories from our Australia Day celebrations. Let’s rummage through and dig out which artists had major wins.
First off, some honourable mentions:
Odd Mob – #70 Is It a banger? – “If there are any acoustic instruments used? It is not a banger” Coming in at 70, Aziz Ansari’s voice mixed with a funky bassline – well deserved!
Flight Facilities #59 Sunshine feat. Reggie Watts, #39 Two Bodies feat. Emma Louise – Any song featuring Reggie Watts is sure to make the Hottest 100! Two huge tunes from Flight Facilities that I’m sure we will hear all throughout 2015.
Run The Jewels #72 Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) ft. Zach De La Rocha – anyone who reads Howl & Echoes knows how much we love RTJ. We were a little upset that they weren’t higher up in the countdown, but fucking stoked that they were represented at all. Bring on RTJ3 (and read our interview with them here)
Alright. Here’s the Hottest 100 years of 2015.
Chet Faker – #8 1998, #7 Gold, #1 Talk is Cheap
Chet, we salute you. To have one song in the top ten is a massive achievement, let alone three. The only other artist to achieve this feat was Powderfinger in 2003. Chet is no stranger to the Hottest 100, this being his third consecutive year. However, this year Prince Chet arises King Chet – smashing the Hottest 100 to pieces and capturing a cultured Japanese Instagram in the process.
The Preatures – #29 Somebody’s Talkin
The Preatures have stormed in for their second year in a row at No. 29. The 5 piece from Sydney often fly under our radar but have slowly been gaining a huge rep. Opening for The Rolling Stones last year on their tour around Australia, it’s weird to think that none of them were alive when the Stone first formed in 1962. I’m sure The Preatures have some goodies for us in 2015, and no doubt I’ll be including them in next years wins of the countdown.
Peking Duk – #5 Take Me Over (feat SAFIA), #2 High (feat. Nicole Millar)
Peking Duk, we also salute you. Two songs in the top 5 is another incredible feat for the Canberra duo. Last year they tore up festival stages at Groovin in the Moo, Splendour in the Grass, Beyond the Valley and Stereosonic. Also a quick tip – if you haven’t seen them live, they often open with a personally recorded message from Karl Stevanovic – well worth a watch. When quizzed about they’re two songs in the top five they answered “we don’t write music to make lists, but more for the awesome feeling people get when listening to it.” Well guys, you achieved that and made the list, twice!
Alison Wonderland – #37 I Want U
Studies have said that the 2nd time you hear a song is the most likely point that it will resonate with you positively. The second time that I heard I Want U was at Alison Wonderland’s packed out show at the Metro Theatre last year. To say that it resonated positively would be a vast understatement. Hailed by Annie Mac and Diplo last year as “one of the best DJ’s coming out of Australia” Alison’s new album Run is coming out on March 20th, so keep your eyes peeled.
Hilltop Hoods – #57 Walking Under Stars, #36 Won’t Let You Down (feat. Maverick Sabre) #3 Cosby Sweater
Hilltop Hoods are one of those bands that continually surprise us. Did you know their last 4 albums have all gone No. 1 in Australia? That’s a huge feat and they are deserve each place in the Hottest 100 of their last album Walking Under Stars. The Adelaide trio has been at the forefront of the Aussie Hip-Hop scene since they started out in 1994. Three years in a row at the third to spot…. Does that just sting a teensy bit though?