If you're not familiar with the Hottest 100, Triple J radio in Australia runs a countdown every January (usually on Australia Day), where listeners have voted for their favourite songs of the previous year, and the top 100 are played in reverse order. It's an institution these days, and people even hold Hottest 100 parties (I've been to a few over the years). Then, in about July of the same year, Triple J release a double CD containing about 42 of the Hottest 100 songs. I've bought every one of these CDs.
(The Hottest 100 started in 1989, and for the first 3 years it was a countdown of listeners' favourite songs of all time. They skipped 1992, then relaunched it in 1993, focusing only on songs from the previous year. They started producing the CDs in 1993 too.)
The CDs are generally a good mix of music, but each year there is at least one completely shit song that I can forgive listeners for voting into the countdown, but I can't forgive the Triple J producers for putting onto the CDs at the expense of something brilliant.
My favourites are numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. The early CDs can transport me back to their specific years in seconds, allowing me to reminisce about my days at uni in the early 90s. The standard has fallen in recent years, although perhaps I can put that down to my music tastes evolving beyond what Triple J plays (e.g. I really can't stand Wolfmother).
Anyway, for each Hottest 100 double CD, I've listed my favourite song (difficult to choose just one), the hidden treasure, and the completely shit song (you'll see that I'm not a fan of The Bloodhound Gang). Anyone care to challenge me?
Hottest 100 1 (1993)
- Favourite: "Cannonball" - The Breeders
- Hidden treasure: "Juice" - Headless Chickens
- Shit: "All That She Wants" - Ace of Base
Hottest 100 2 (1994)
- Favourite: "Cornflake Girl" - Tori Amos
- Hidden treasure: "Fall" - Single Gun Theory
- Shit: "Absolutely Fabulous" - Pet Shop Boys
Hottest 100 3 (1995)
- Favourite: "Common People" - Pulp
- Hidden treasure: "Summer" - Buffalo Tom
- Shit: "The Reefer Song" - Mindless Drug Hoover AND "I Wanna Be A Hippy" - Technohead
Hottest 100 4 (1996)
- Favourite: "Underground" - Ben Folds Five
- Hidden treasure: "Coppertone" - Fini Scad
- Shit: "Ballad of the Skeletons" - Allen Ginsberg
Hottest 100 5 (1997)
- Favourite: "Bitter Sweet Symphony" - The Verve
- Hidden treasure: "Crazy" - Cordrazine
- Shit: "Fire Water Burn" - The Bloodhound Gang
Hottest 100 6 (1998)
- Favourite: "Intergalactic" - The Beastie Boys
- Hidden treasure: "Drinking in L.A." - Bran Van 3000
- Shit: "I Don't Like It" - Pauline Pantsdown
Hottest 100 7 (1999)
- Favourite: "Weir" - Killing Heidi
- Hidden treasure: "Theophilus Thistler...An Exercise In Vowels" - Sonicanimation
- Shit: "The Bad Touch" - The Bloodhound Gang
Hottest 100 8 (2000)
- Favourite: "The Time Is Now" - Moloko
- Hidden treasure: "Teenager Of The Year" - Lo-Tel
- Shit: "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" - Fatboy Slim
Hottest 100 9 (2001)
- Favourite: "Where's Your Head At?" - Basement Jaxx
- Hidden treasure: "Dust Me Selecta" - Gerling
- Shit: "Fat Cop" - Regurgitator
Hottest 100 10 (2002)
- Favourite: "Don't Mug Yourself" - The Streets
- Hidden treasure: "Punk's Not Dead" - Darren Hanlon
- Shit: "6.66" - Salmon Hater
Hottest 100 11 (2003)
- Favourite: "Step Into My Office, Baby" - Belle & Sebastian
- Hidden treasure: "Life Sentence" - Epicure
- Shit: "Gay Bar" - Electric Six
Hottest 100 12 (2004)
- Favourite: "Fit But You Know It" - The Streets
- Hidden treasure: "Somersault" - Decoder Ring
- Shit: "Chicken Payback" - The Bees
Hottest 100 13 (2005)
- Favourite: "Do Do's and Whoa-oh's" - Kisschasy
- Hidden treasure: "This Year" - The Mountain Goats
- Shit: "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo" - The Bloodhound Gang
Hottest 100 14 (2006)
- Favourite: "One Crowded Hour" - Augie March
- Hidden treasure: "Heart's A Mess" - Gotye
- Shit: "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" - Eagles of Death Metal
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