FOR some people, a year isn't officially over until the Hottest 100 has been played.
So Australia Day last week saw many people finally wave goodbye to 2009 as Triple J did their annual thing and counted down the year's most popular tracks with the world's biggest music poll.
The 1.1 million votes received by the national youth broadcaster gave us the following top five - just in case you missed it.
1. Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
WHILE this was leaked as the winner a few days before the countdown, Little Lion Man was a no-brainer to win, just like past winners Sex On Fire (2008) and Take Me Out (2004). It won by a record margin, which was also no surprise. Interestingly, Mumford & Sons are only the third English act to win the annual countdown (Oasis in '95 and Muse in '07 are the other two) and only the third band to win with a song from a debut album. But their true claim to fame is they're the first band to win using a banjo.
2. Parlez Vous Francais? - Art vs. Science
AFTER getting their first taste of the Hottest 100 in 2008 with Flippers at number 44, these Triple J UnEarthed winners surprised many by posting at number 2 in 2009. It's a record held by a number of UnEarthed artists - Missy Higgins was the bridesmaid in 2004 with Scar, Grinspoon reached the same spot in 2002 with Chemical Heart, and Killing Heidi were runners-up in 1999 with Weir (just ahead of fellow UnEarthees The Tenants with You Shit Me To Tears at number 3).
3. Chase That Feeling - Hilltop Hoods
HIP hop has made the top five only a couple of times in Hottest 100's history, the first being in 1995 when Coolio made number 3 with Gangsta's Paradise. Aussie rap's top five debut came in 2002 when 1200 Techniques' Karma reached number 4, which helped pave the way for Hilltop Hoods to reach number 9 the following year with The Nosebleed Section. Their number 3 status in 2009 is their equal best - they reached the same place with The Hard Road in 2006, the year they had most songs in the list of any act with five.
4. Lisztomania - Phoenix
SURPRISINGLY, 2009 was the first year French pop-rock outfit Phoenix made the Hottest 100, despite three awesome albums preceding their much-loved Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (which was voted album of 2009 by Triple J listeners). The first French band to make the countdown was Daft Punk with Da Funk, sneaking in at number 98 in 1997. Daft Punk also held the previous best by a French act, reaching number 7 in 2007 with Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
5. Broken Leg - Bluejuice
HAVING reached number 11 in 2007 with Vitriol, Sydney band Bluejuice did even better with this piece of inspired '80s-loving stadium rock. They also took the coveted number 101 position with in 2009 with Ain't Telling The Truth. Previous 101s include Jackson Jackon's Alone (2008) and Kate Nash's Foundations (2007). In Triple J's 2009 countdown of the Hottest 100 of All Time, Nirvana managed the rare honour of having both the song at number 1 (Smells Like Teen Spirit) and the 101 position (Heart-Shaped Box).
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