MUCH like Mumford & Son's win in 2009, Kings Of Leon's victory in 2008 and Franz Ferdinand's triumph in 2004, this year's Triple J Hottest 100 looks set to be a one-horse race.
The 2011 odds-on favourite is Gotye and Kimbra's spine-tingling duet Somebody That I Used To Know. If anything else wins, it will be because of a voter backlash or some kind of Robert Mugabe-style vote rigging.
Voting is open for another few weeks before the big countdown on Australia Day. Here's what Musicology voted for as our favourite tracks of the year.
Architecture In Helsinki - Contact High
LOCAL connection aside (member Gus Franklin is from Port Fairy), AiH produced one of the tracks of the year with this boppy synth anthem that saw the band totally give in to its '80s urges. It proved to be a party starter at Golden Plains earlier in the year, but differs from the proliferation of synth music of 2011 by being simple, effective, less melodramatic and more restrained.
Here's the very weird clip:
Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise
NO one rocks an old-school joint like the B-Boys, and this cut from Hot Sauce Committee Part Two was as old-school as they come. Even 30-plus years into their rap careers, the Beastie Boys still have the fattest beats, the coolest sounds and the best rhymes. Also: cowbell solo of the year.
Here's the five-minute clip, edited down from the awesome half-hour Fight For Your Right Revisited mini-movie.
The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
RETEAMING with producer Danger Mouse (who produced their album Attack & Release and crossover single Tighten Up) proved to be a great idea for their seventh album El Camino. Prime example is this jivin' number that sounds part-soul, part-rock and all groovy good times. The catchy chorus and its big beat kept you coming back for more.
This clip is simple but effective... and very cool:
Foo Fighters - Rope
THE Foos have a set-load of modern classics in their repertoire and Rope felt like an instant addition to the list. It stands head and shoulders above the rest of Wasting Light and its verse riffing helps make it one of the best songs they've ever done. Now, if they could only string a whole album of great tracks like this together....
This rocks so much:
Jackson McLaren - A Whole Day Nearer
LOCAL lad done good Jackson McLaren appears to be on the verge of a big breakthrough if this track and its predecessor Mirrors & Strings are anything to go by. The jaunty rhythm and fancy fiddle belie the fatalistic outlook of the song, giving it a charm and reluctant sunniness.
No clip, but a lovely song:
Jebediah - She's Like A Comet
THIS belter of a pop-rock song was the best possible comeback for the Perth quartet, who had been on hiatus for a few years while lead singer Kevin Mitchell moonlighted as Bob Evans. The song's female subject wasn't the only meteor-like thing about the track - the chorus melody seemed to shoot into space and explode like a supernova.
Giant Rock Golem vs Comet Girl! Fun clip:
King Cannons - Teenage Dreams
SOUNDING like a cross between Rancid and The Clash, this track from King Cannons' debut album does everything that proper punk should do. It's about staying free, the salvation of music, and fighting against the man - all done with a brilliant shout-along chorus and in just two minutes and 14 seconds.
This is old school:
MuteMath - Blood Pressure
WITH lyrics that sound like the admonishments of a nagging parent, Blood Pressure does what MuteMath do best - be catchy and odd at the same time. There are howling guitar licks, a fuzz bass groove, sweet vocal harmonies, mad drum fills, big rock moments and lots going on the background, making it a song that gives the listener more every time they listen to it.
This is a great clip (and there's a cool 'making of' video too):
Tom Waits - Bad As Me
PART hip-hop, part Latin, part brass band, part industrial, part blues, part rock, all unhinged. It can only be Tom Waits, who made a brilliant return this year with his first album in seven years, led by this devilish single that conjured up such images as "Mother Superior with only a bra" to demonstrate just what being as bad as him meant.
A wonderfully demented song (just like the picture of Tom):
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffrends
THE warped sounds of this US-New Zealand trio blended fuzzy garage-psychedelica with a steady droning groove and some guitar weirdness. It came to life at Meredith recently, proving it wasn't too strange to dance to or a singalong with... just strange to spell.
Another weird clip:
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