Every year when triple j’s Hottest 100 rolls around, there’s an inevitable scurry to express surprise at “glaring omissions” of songs that might’ve seemed like safe bets for inclusion in the countdown. Obviously, since it’s user-voted, we only have ourselves to blame for this (sort of), but it’s always interesting to take a closer look at what made it, what didn’t, and why that might be the case. It’s a no-brainer that tracks that have been spruiked heavily by the j’s are infinitely more likely to be voted in that tracks that weren’t supported quite as much, but that’s not always the case. Here, we take a look at some tracks that were absolutely smashed out on full rotation (specifically, every track on this list received more than 140 plays during the year – for comparison the top 3: Never Be Like You had 134, Adore had 123 and Jungle had 146), but for whatever reason, didn’t quite make the cut.
Lonely Cities, Tigertown
Sydney alt-pop quartet Tigertown released this quasi-tropical belter quite early last year, but not so early that it wasn’t still in the running for the Hottest 100. With a huge, hands-in-the-air chorus like this, you’d think Lonely Cities would be a shoo-in – but even with a whopping 167 spins on triple j, somehow it didn’t show up in the illustrious countdown.
Tremble, Nicole Millar
Nicole Millar’s 2016 began full steam ahead when she released her Tremble EP to critical acclaim, and the title track permeated triple j’s airwaves an absolutely massive 164 times. The song’s sophisticated use of tension and deliriously satisfying release made it a favourite amongst many, but perhaps due to its early release date, it unfortunately didn’t pip the Hottest 100.
Glue, ADKOB
ADKOB aren’t exactly a household name (yet), which could account for their supremely quirked-out chugger of a single Glue not garnering enough votes to nab a spot. Unfair? Yes, especially considering it clocked 162 plays, but hey – Dune Rats didn’t ever make the countdown until last year, and they’ve been nationally recognised for years. Don’t give up, ADKOB! You got this.
Impact, The Creases
Brisbane’s The Creases released this climactic Britpop number in May 2016 and it was subsequently thrashed over 156 times on triple j, and was followed by a national tour and an incredibly fun video clip. Adding to that frontman Joe Agius’ recent win for QMAs Most Promising Male Songwriter, it really looked like this was going to be their year to make the countdown, but sadly they missed out.
Edge Of Town, Middle Kids
With 144 plays, this one was difficult not to take personally because it was this writer’s Fave Aussie Song Of The Year. That slide guitar sounding like a firework going off, those made-for-screaming-along-in-your-car vocals, the lyrics that walked the line between inscrutable and intrinsically relatable so perfectly… but, of course, Middle Kids are still very new on the scene even though their rise is nothing short of meteoric (they’re about to perform on Conan O’Brien FFS). Next year maybe??
Not My Friends, Tired Lion
The relentlessly excellent Tired Lion have been consistently everywhere for a while now, with so many festival slots under their belts it’d be difficult to count. For this single, spun 152 times, to make an appearance in the Hottest 100 would have made all the sense in the world. It was released in May though, so perhaps a touch too early to still be making listeners feel starry-eyed when voting opened.
Nihilist Party Anthem, Ball Park Music
Finally, an anthem we can all relate to. Obviously the j’s thought so too, cos they gave love to this track 147 times over. BPM have made the countdown plenty of times, so maybe it’s a case of listener fatigue, but that doesn’t really make much sense considering how hard they’ve worked to consistently develop their sound and release music that builds on what’s come before instead of repeating themselves. To compensate the band for their loss I propose we make this the new national anthem.
Smoke Signals, Olympia
Olympia f*cking owned 2016. It was her year. She sold out shows, released her debut album Self Talk, and along with it a bevy of intelligent, catchy singles. Self Talk has been shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize, which has previously been won by national treasures like Courtney Barnett and Big Scary. So, yeah. She’s killed it. This song nabbed 142 plays. I’m salty about this. Can you tell?
All these songs had a huge amount of exposure on triple j, so it’s reasonable to assume that they all have a high level of listener recognition. So why didn’t they make it in?
Clearly, release timing plays a massive part here: for anything released too early in the year, it can be difficult for voters to still feel that initial connection that made them fall in love with the tune in the first place when the polls open. Another factor that might be at play here is looking at what else was released around the same time as these tracks that might have overshadowed them. The times each track was played is another element to consider: just because they’ve got 140+ spins under their belt doesn’t mean the majority of those plays were during primetime listener engagement. And, of course, there’s always the possibility that a tune just didn’t quite connect with its audience in the way triple j might have expected it to. Either way, it will be interesting to see which of these crops up in tomorrow’s 101-200 countdown, beginning 10am AEDST.
Photo: triple j / Facebook
AB Original’s landmark album Reclaim Australia is one of the most powerful albums of 2016. The hip-hop duo of Briggs and Trials have already started countless conversations with their in-your-face aggression and political lyrics that challenge “people’s perception, their preconceived notions of race and justice” (read the rest of our album review here).
The track titled January 26 is about exactly that, Australia Day. Not only is it one of the best tracks on the album but it has already shown to have real potential to make positive change in the way we consider – and reconsider – what Australia Day means.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ9qeX4gUeo
“If you ain’t having a conversation, well then we starting it,” Trials raps at the end of his verse in the track.
Earlier this year, triple j was petitioned to move its Hottest 100 countdown from Australia Day, and although the bid was unsuccessful, many are still protesting in any way they can. One Facebook group has now been started to ask voters to choose January 26 for the Hottest 100 as a form of protest (which we were already voting for, but here’s a little extra encouragement):
Earlier this year, triple j finally listened to the thousands of voices calling for respect and had a review into the date they hold the Hottest 100 countdown. Unfortunately, they decided the whining of a noisy minority of racists on the internet was more important than showing a bit of empathy towards Australia’s first peoples and left the celebration on that day, perpetuating division and hurt.
Most young Australians don’t have Australia Day parties, because we’ve begun to recognise that ‘celebrating’ invasion, dispossession and genocide is what is commonly called a Major Dick Move. But because triple j holds its Hottest 100 countdown on that date, thousands of people across the country celebrate on a day which is one of mourning for Australia’s first people.
By voting for a song which is both an explanation and rejection of the idea of January 26 as a day of celebration – and which also happens to be a thorough banger, thanks to the effort of Briggs, Trials and Dan Sultan – we have the ability to send a message to triple j. Let’s end the division and change the date.
Vote for AB Original’s “January 26″ in the Hottest 100.
If you don’t believe that we should change the date, or at the very least move the countdown, then I recommend you listen to Reclaim Australia. Vote January 26 for triple j’s Hottest 100 here.
Dialogue Is Great, Action Is Better: The Case For Moving triple j’s Hottest 100
Image: Supplied
triple j is one of the biggest cultural phenomena Australia has. Know what’s still more important? The inclusion and respectful treatment of First Nation’s people.
I adore and respect triple j and the people who work there. At the same time, I don’t feel uncomfortable in gently saying: guys, it’s time to change the date of the Hottest 100. Not in 2018 or 2019 or 2020. It’s time now.
Let’s back up for a second and recount the situation. You’re reading this article, so you more than likely know that the discussion surrounding #ChangeTheDate continues to swirl, as it should, about moving our national day of celebration away from January 26, which has a horrific and bloody history. You probably also know that yesterday morning, it became apparent that some serious internal discussion was happening at triple j as to whether they should, for their role in this larger issue, move the date of their world-famous Hottest 100 countdown. That same afternoon, came a response in the form of a resounding “hmmm, nah”. The bulk of triple j’s statement can be read below:
Q: Are we changing the date of triple j’s Hottest 100?
Short answer: For now… No. In 2017, the Hottest 100 will be on January 26.
triple j’s Hottest 100 is a countdown of your favourite songs of the past year on a public holiday in January. It’s intended as a celebration of the year’s best music that everybody can enjoy.
We’ve been aware of, and have been a part of, the discussions around 26 January for some time. triple j is heavily involved in the growing dialogue around Indigenous recognition and perspectives on 26 January. This is really important to us.
We will continue to talk to Indigenous communities, artists and our audience about the date for the Hottest 100 in future years. In short: it’s under review.
We want the Hottest 100 to be an inclusive and respectful event for all Australians, including all the incredible Indigenous artists making great Australian music, and the listeners from all cultural backgrounds who love it.
As part of this commitment, we’re proud to announce that we’re once again teaming up with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME)for the 2016 Hottest 100.
Every year, millions of Australians get involved in the Hottest 100 at home and overseas. By working with AIME, we want to use this wide-reaching platform to create a meaningful connection between all communities, including Indigenous Australians.
In 2015, triple j’s listeners raised over $100,000 for AIME, a mentoring program supporting Indigenous kids through high school and into university, training and employment with a completion rate the same as the average Australian child – aiming to close the gap in educational outcomes.
Lots to unpack there. For starters, AIME is an incredible organisation that is more than deserving of support and it’s fantastic that triple j are continuing to provide that. It’s also great that, broadly, triple j are vocally committed to making their Hottest 100 “an inclusive and respectful event for all Australians”. For some, though, this lip service (and the AIME partnering) is simply not enough. Clashing with triple j content director Ollie Ward yesterday on Hack, Black Comedy actor and writer Nakkiah Lui argued that the decision not to move the Hottest 100 is inherently exclusionary and political.
For his part, Ward rebutted that moving the date would also be political, but also made the kind of bizarre claim that the Hottest 100 is nothing more than a countdown of “the biggest bangers of the year”, and that it was “weird” that it was being intrinsically linked to Australia Day in the national consciousness. It’s true that the Hottest 100 is a music countdown, but how likely is it that the decision to hold it on Australia Day was an accident? Lui labelled this response a “cop out”. I’m inclined to agree.
When it boils down to it, the exchange between Lui and Ward constituted of an Indigenous woman telling someone who has at least some kind of hand in the process of changing the date that he should do it now, and him telling her she’s wrong. Does that make anyone else uncomfortable? It should. Hack host Tom Tilley even straight-up asked Ward if the continued partnership with AIME was about “absolving” the perceived responsibility to move the date of the Hottest 1oo (of course the answer was no). More important than anyone else’s opinions on this issue (including mine) are the opinions of First Nation’s people. If they are, by and large, saying “change the date”, what is left to discuss?
Logistically, the Hottest 100 really needs to be on a day when most people aren’t at work, so that as many people as possible can enjoy it. This could be a weekend (which excludes anyone with a weekend job) or simply another public holiday like Boxing Day or even New Year’s Day. Personally I think the Hottest 100 is huge enough, and important enough to the cultural fabric of Australia, that it may even warrant its very own holiday, or at least an organised Hottest 100 party. Sure, there would need to be some shuffling and re-scheduling on triple j’s part to move the Hottest 100, but what would the REAL difficulty be for the average listener? Pilerats said it best:
https://www.facebook.com/pilerats/posts/1151485681592162?match=aG90dGVzdCAxMDAsdHJpcGxlIGo%3D
Hey guys. Put up your hands if you genuinely, seriously, care about continuing to celebrate Australia Day on January 26. Even if you have never been to an Invasion Day rally, chances are you are well aware of that particular date’s history, and feel at least slightly uncomfortable about that.
Now let’s try this: put your hands up who genuinely, seriously cares about celebrating the Hottest 100 in general? Yep, that’s a lot more. This is sheerly anecdotal, but for the most part, when young people come together to sink tinnies and play backyard cricket on January 26, the highlight of the day – the most important, pivotal part – is the Hottest 100. When’s the last time you went to an Australia Day shindig that wasn’t playing the countdown? Music is important and we all love it – same with triple j. If, as Ward claims, the fact that the countdown is on Jan 26 by sheer coincidence, and it’s not inherently linked to Australia Day, what would the big deal in moving it be? I don’t want to lambast Ward or triple j – they’re doing their best, I truly believe that. Perhaps the wheels are in motion to change the date in 2018, and they’re just nutting it all out before announcing.
Enough speaking in generalisations, though. Here’s a true, real example of how having the Hottest 100 on January 26 affected someone this year. Perhaps, if you’re still on the fence, it will help give the #ChangeTheDate argument some clout for you.
My partner is Aboriginal, he’s also a musician (and by extension, of course, a music lover). This year, a friend of ours held his birthday party on January 26. The idea was that it was going to be extremely low-key on the Australia Day stuff, and that the day would primarily be about celebrating his birthday as well as the Hottest 100 countdown. We were keen. What a good way to subvert the day, we thought. Then, the morning of, reality hit. It became clear that my partner did not want to celebrate anything on this day. It goes without saying – this is completely understandable. I stood (and still stand) behind this decision firmly. He hadn’t even really known it (consciously) himself until the time came, I think.
Everyone was very understanding. We stayed home and caught snippets of the countdown, but the day was coloured by its ugly history. For my part, my white privilege had previously allowed me to enjoy parties on January 26 regardless of its history. I am grateful that this is no longer the case, and ashamed it took this long for my attitude to change. If the Hottest 100 date changed, this sort of situation (I am sure many others have similar experiences) would never have to happen again.
There’s been much talk of how we should be able to reconcile the horrors of the past and also celebrate what’s great about music/Australia at the same time. To an extent, I agree. To erase January 26 from our national calendar entirely (even if Australia Day itself moved) would also be a mistake. It should be a day of national mourning, recognition, support. It should be solely about our Indigenous people. We can (and should) still have a day in our calendar to celebrate what we love about music, and about being here – although they don’t need to be on the same day. But holding the Hottest 100 countdown on January 26 is wildly inappropriate. Would a countdown of the year’s #bangers in the USA on 9/11 be received well?
Back to the topic on hand, it’s encouraging to see that triple j have been deliberate about saying the date won’t move “for now”. That implies future progress – hopefully for 2018 if not sooner. It’s a shame the wheels aren’t turning quite fast enough for 2017 to be the first step, but it seems this is our lot for now. Here are some things triple j could do to make the Hottest 100, as it stands on January 26, as inclusive as possible:
- No mention of Australia Day during the countdown. If the Hottest 100 really does land on this date by coincidence then this should be no issue. Would be incredible to see them use the phrase “Invasion Day” as well.
- Focusing on Indigenous artists and issues in-between songs.
- Schedule a minute of silence during the countdown, in solidarity and acknowledgement for the bloody history of January 26.
- Pledge, on January 26 2017, to move the date of the Hottest 100 in 2018 and every year henceforth.
Before anyone jumps to the “that was hundreds of years ago, I had nothing to do with it” argument, let me stop you right there. Nobody is saying that the horrific history that this country was built on is your fault. Nobody is saying you even need to feel guilty – but you should feel empathy. This is about inclusivity and respect. If the Hottest 100 was not on Australia Day, you’d just attend an extra party every year. And Indigenous people would be free to celebrate the countdown without any of those ugly connotations.
Seems like a win-win situation to me. How could that possibly be a bad thing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ9qeX4gUeo
Image: The Herald
The countdown and voting for Triple J’s Hottest 100 is now upon us. While some have already predicted the winners, none of whom will be Taylor Swift, arguably the best part about this entire campaign is the incredible promotional video that’s just come out.
The plot: Only weeks before the Hottest 100, musicians around Australia have been disappearing, starting with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala.
Kevin Parker under attack.
Lieutenant Alison Wonderland assigns detectives Matt Okine and Alex Dyson to the job.
They call on super-agent Mark Ronson for help. Courtney Barnett, Diplo, The Preatures’ Izzy Manfredi, Raury, Flight Facilities and even Ice Cube are recruited to work together and get to the bottom of this issue.
Courtney Barnett, preparing for the drag race of a lifetime.
Ice Cube and O’Shea Jackson Jr., all in to save the day.
Watch as everyone from Tkay Maidza and Joey Badass, to Royal Blood, Foals’ Yannis Philippakis, Vance Joy, Daniel Johns, Thelma Plum, Meg Mac, Sticky Fingers, Peking Duk, Montaigne, and The Doctor HIMSELF, Peter Capaldi (sorry, massive Whovian here) star in this incredible video.
It’s bigger on the inside.
Triple J have seriously upped their game.
Oh, and in related news, the voting for the Triple J Hottest 100 is now open. Have your say right here!
https://www.facebook.com/triplej/videos/vb.24192670159/10156406494150160/?type=2&theater
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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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?
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