After agonising over it for weeks I eventually decided to simply jump in and vote for the first 10 tracks I thought of for the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs. This worked pretty well, except for the realisation a few days later than I’d left out Wide Open Road – a sin so grievous I expect to be asked to return my Western Australian citizenship at any moment.
In any case, here’s how I went…
Yes, it’s pretty old stuff but I am old and someone has to stand up for the classics.
Here is a clickable list for those who like that kind of thing
- My Island Home – Warumpi Band
- Leaps and Bounds – Paul Kelly
- Great Southern Land – ICEHOUSE
- Sounds of Then – GANGgajang
- Beds are Burning – Midnight Oil
- Flame Trees – Cold Chisel
- Solid Rock – Goanna
- Throw Your Arms Around Me – Hunters & Collectors
- Better Be Home Soon – Crowded House
- Long Loud Hours – Urthboy and Bertie Blackman
(As much as I love Long Loud Hours it probably would have been shuffled out to make room for the Triffids if I’d been thinking straight).
In addition to the Hottest 100 there are a few songs that have really caught my ear lately. First up, Shy Girl by Haute and Freddy. I have no idea who these people are, but they’ve come up with something incredibly 80s sounding in this, the Year of Our Lord 2025, and I’m 100% there for it.
Secondly is this effort by G Flip. I’ve always through G Flip is cool, but their music has never really done that much for me – Disco Cowgirl though grabbed me from the very first time I heard it. The acapella bit followed by the key change at 2:30 is clichéd as hell, but it works so well!!
And finally a surprising blast from the past. I’ve always been a Florence and the Machine fan (not least because Florence Welsh is clearly some kind of ethereal goddess from the realm of the Fae) and I’ve known of Shake it Out ever since it first came out back in 2011, but I’d only ever heard some kind of chopped down radio edit, and never heard it before through headphones. The full version happened to pop up on my playlist at work and it just about blew my eyes out my head! It was like a goddamn spiritual experience! Honestly, you could found a religion on that song! OOOO-WOO-OOOO-OOOO!! OOOO-WOO-OOOO-OOOO-OOOO-WOO-OOOO-OOOO-WOO!! OOOO-WOO-OOOO-OOOO!! OOOO-WOO-OOOO-OOOO-OOOO-WOO-OOOO-OOOO-WOO!! TAKE ME NOW FLORENCE!!
Ahem. Sorry about that. Suffice to say I quite enjoyed it.
So, it’ll be interesting to see if any of my choices end up in the countdown. Roll on the 26th!
