GIVEN that this is being written while enjoying Double J’s replaying of the Hottest 100 of 1996 (the first one I voted in), it’s fair to say I’m no longer in triple j’s target demographic.
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But each year, the countdown provides a fascinating snapshot of the musical tastes of Australia’s youth (and an opportunity for older people to complain about the musical tastes of Australia’s youth and, by extension, how triple j ain’t what it used to be). Did I mention how awesome the 1996 countdown was?
So here’s what we learnt this year.
Women rule, ok?
The Hottest 100 finally got the girls to the front. While getting a solo woman artist at #1 remains elusive, women featured on the top four tracks, which had never happened before. There were seven tracks featuring females in the top 10 – also a record, with the previous best being six in 2011 and five in 2004. There were 34 songs featuring women across the 100 and it’s only the fifth time a woman has been on the #1 track. Amy Shark’s #2 equals Lorde’s record of best finish by a solo female artist.
EDM is here to stay
EDM (or electronic dance music) has become one of the main targets for haters of the triple j playlist (the others are Aussie hip hop and whatever the hell they call metal these days … metalcore? Post-melodic deathcore?) and Flume’s win was the first EDM track to win the countdown. There were four EDM tracks in the top 10 this year, but the genre has been increasingly dominating the poll in recent years. Although the haters may be surprised to learn just how prevalent electro and dance have been in previous Hottest 100s. This is not a new thing people. Get used to it.
Hilltop Hoods
Over the past 11 countdowns, Hilltop Hoods have cracked the top 10 five times – a feat no other act is even close to matching in the post-Powderfinger era. During that time they’ve had three #3s, a #10 and the most recent poll adds a #4 to their impressive swag. Their two entries this year will move them even higher up the list of the greatest bands in the history of the Hottest 100 – if #1 is worth 100 points, and #2 is 99 points etc. then Hilltop Hoods are now the third “hottest” band ever on the countdown, behind only Powderfinger and Foo Fighters.
Aussies, Aussies, Aussies… and more Aussies
The proliferation of Aussie acts in the poll is almost getting ridiculous. This year was another new record, with 66 Australian acts featured, smashing the record of 59 set in 2014. The top four were all Aussies (another record) and it marks the fourth year in a row where a local act has topped the countdown. Part of this musical patriotism stems from triple j’s Unearthed website, which yields an ever-increasing amount of the playlist. This year there were 26 artists originally discovered on Unearthed – including the top three of Flume, Amy Shark and Tash Sultana.
Covers keep on coming
Not only were there more Aussies this year, but there were also more covers courtesy of the station’s Like A Version segment, which yielded four tunes in this year’s countdown. The previous record for Like A Versions was three in 2014. But we’re still a long way off the record for most covers in a year – there were eight in the Hottest 100 of 1996.
This year’s token oldies
It’s not entirely a young band’s game. Radiohead have regularly featured in the poll over the years and achieved the rare feat of appearing in the first Hottest 100 in 1993 as well as the most recent. Meanwhile Paul Kelly’s guest appearance on the A.B. Original cover of his tune Dumb Things also broke the record for the longest stretch between appearances – it’s 16 years since Kelly cracked the top 10 with his live track Every F***ing City. The previous record holders were Zach De La Rocha, Ben Folds and Robert Smith who all had 13 years between drinks – a record that was also beaten this year by The Avalanches who had a 15-year gap, only to be superseded by Kelly later in the countdown. Shout out also to Blink-182, who returned to the Hottest 100 for the first time since 2003.
Radio Edits
What the actual hell, triple j? We get almost all the way through the countdown, dying to hear Childish Gambino’s Redbone and its epic guitar outro and the song gets cut short with no epic guitar outro. What the? Why are they playing a shortened radio edit? Of all the days when you should get to hear the whole song, surely it’s Hottest 100 Day. Ditto if you wanted the whole two-minutes-of-getting-the-loops-ready intro to Tash Sultana’s Jungle. Damn you, triple j.
The pop line is officially blurred
This year’s countdown featured Beyonce, Rihanna, and Guy Sebastian, as well as covers of songs by Justin Bieber and Cher. While the last two are nothing new – bands have long thrived on ironic covers in the Hottest 100 (hello Alien Ant Farm!) – the appearances of Bey, Riri and Guy are a little eyebrow-raising given the controversy around Taylor Swift’s non-appearance in 2014. Of course, Rihanna was guesting on a Drake track, and Guy was guesting with Paces, and all three tracks were played on triple j throughout the year, unlike Swift, but the question remains – where is the line between the pop mainstream and triple j these days? It’s always been a difficult line for triple j to walk, but it might be harder for them to say “no” to the next banger that TayTay drops given how much they played Beyonce’s last album.