Take me to numbers 41-50...
51. Caught By The Fuzz - Supergrass
Supergrass burst onto the scene in the mid-‘90s thanks to the success of their debut album, I Should Coco, which saw the young Englishmen achieve worldwide success on the back of the record’s last single, Alright. While that tune wasn’t terribly popular in mainstream Australia (#96 on the ARIA charts), it did become Supergrass’ first foray into the Hottest 100 charts, appearing at #79 in 1995. Considering the rise of Britpop at the time, a placing such as this for a bright, positive track like Alright makes sense, but many have since wondered what happened to the group’s debut single, Caught By The Fuzz.
Performing only marginally better on the Aussie charts (#96), Caught By The Fuzz is a punk-inspired Britpop gem that shares a true story of frontman Gaz Coombes being caught by law enforcement for drug possession, and is often considered one of the group’s best tracks. Described by a member of The Presidents Of The United States Of America as being “exactly what being a teenager sounds like”, the track resonated with youth around the world, though it remained sorely overlooked by triple j listeners at Hottest 100 time.
While some might say it was the awkward timing of the song’s release (with the original single being released on vinyl only in 1994, and not being available on an album until early 1995), there’s no definitive explanation as to why Supergrass’ breakthrough single has remained so tragically overlooked for all these years. - TJ
52. She Don't Use Jelly - The Flaming Lips
As mentioned back in #24 of this list, The Flaming Lips have never made the Hottest 100, outside of a Chemical Brothers cameo. And while this was ludicrous by the time Do You Realize?? was overlooked by listeners in 2002, it was already pretty odd back in the inaugural annual countdown in 1993.
In a year when British boy band East 17, Inner Circle’s insufferable Sweat (A La La La La Long), and The Shamen’s almost-as-bad Ebeneezer Goode made the cut, The Flaming Lips’ biggest hit single She Don’t Use Jelly was nowhere to be seen. There are few songs that exemplify how the weird alt-rockers had booted their way into the mainstream as effectively as She Don’t Use Jelly. It would have sounded lovely in a Hottest 100 poll alongside Ween’s Push Th’ Little Daisies, Porno For Pyros’ Pets, and Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box - it’s almost the meeting point between those three songs.
But it didn’t reach the Hottest 100 most likely because the song’s popularity burned too slow and too long. The album that birthed it (Transmissions From The Satellite Heart) came out mid-1993, but She Don’t Use Jelly wasn’t released as a single in Australia until almost a year later. Beavis & Butthead didn’t critique it until March 1994. And even then, it took until March 1995 (about the time they infamously performed it on Beverly Hills 90210) before the song began an eight-week stint in the ARIA charts that peaked at #25. So by the time the mainstream buzz arrived, the triple j hype had long since died out, and the Lips were preparing their under-rated seventh album Clouds Taste Metallic.
As a result, The Flaming Lips inadvertently started an unenviable streak of great songs failing to make it into the Hottest 100; a streak which continues to this day. - MN
53. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
The Postal Service are one of those rare groups whose music is the stuff of legend. Coming together as a supergroup duo comprised of Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello, the pair merged indie rock and downtempo electronica in such a way that made them irresistible to fans of almost any music genre.
Following the release of their debut album, Give Up, in 2003, The Postal Service were an indie hit, with lead single Such Great Heights becoming a staple of lovelorn mixtapes everywhere. While the group sporadically crafted a couple of remixes over the next ten years, fans were left wanting a new album until The Postal Service officially disbanded in 2013 following a brief reunion. However, Such Great Heights has managed to become an indie anthem whose legacy has outlasted the group itself, having also gained a much wider audience thanks to its presence on various compilations and soundtracks over the years.
Yet, despite this popularity, the track seems to have served as one of those rare sleeper hits, where word of mouth led to it receiving far greater recognition years after its release. While Australia has become home to a voracious fanbase for Gibbard’s Death Cab For Cutie, it seems that they weren’t quite on the ball when The Postal Service came around, leading to this masterpiece of indietronica being overlooked by voters that year. - TJ
54. Gin And Juice - Snoop Doggy Dogg (feat. Dat Nigga Daz)
Add this name to the list of “I Can’t Believe They’ve Never Been In The Hottest 100” - Snoop Doggy Dogg. The man known as Calvin Broadus to his mother is one of the most influential rappers of all time, and back in ‘93/’94 he was taking the sound of G-funk to the world, including Australia. His debut album Doggystyle yielded two top 50 songs Down Under, including this ode to drink mixing (and smoking weed, of course).
Considering Cypress Hill’s Hits From The Bong and Insane In the Brain made the ‘93 countdown, it seems even more surprising this track didn’t make the cut. It would have sat just nicely between the two, preferably bumping out Inner Circle’s obnoxious Sweat (A La La La La Long) in the process (god, I hate that song). - MN
55. Voodoo Lady - Ween
You could put the entire discography of the ever-versatile Ween on shuffle and no one would know it was all the same band until it was pointed out. With their musical styles varying with almost every song, Ween are one of those groups where it’s not hard to find a song that you enjoy.
By 1994, the band had released their fourth album, and had already scored a Hottest 100 spot with Push Th’ Little Daisies in 1993, but their latest album, Chocolate And Cheese, went sadly overlooked by triple j voters. While the group’s later records would see triple j listeners again falling in love with the band, what was arguably their most successful single, Voodoo Lady was completely ignored.
Maybe it was the admittedly strange chorus of the track, or maybe it was the fact that this tune lacked the same frenetic nature of Push Th’ Little Daisies, but despite hitting #58 on the ARIA charts, the track has remained one of the more popular tunes by Ween to have never scored a position in the annual Hottest 100 countdown. - TJ
56. Ruby Soho - Rancid
In the mid-‘90s, Rancid were at a strange place in their career. After releasing two albums in as many years, the group found themselves at the centre of a major label bidding war. Choosing to stick to their guns and remain with Epitaph Records, the group buckled down and recorded the album that sounded exactly like what one would expect a major label debut for a punk band should sound like.
The record saw the group enter the Hottest 100 with their enduring Time Bomb, though fans and the Aussie charts agree Ruby Soho is the more popular song. With one of the most radio-friendly choruses ever constructed by the group, the track follows the story of a doomed relationship between bassist Matt Freeman and a girl met while on tour.
Sadly (and somewhat ironically), frontman Tim Armstrong would begin a relationship with Aussie Brody Dalle while touring in support of this album. Their eventual breakup has soured Armstrong’s view of Australia it seems, and the band haven’t been back in 20 years. This might not be likely to change any time soon, but in the meantime, we at least have Ruby Soho to commiserate with. - TJ
57. Big In Japan - Tom Waits
Tom Waits. A songwriter’s songwriter. Arguably one of the most daring and influential artists of the past 50 years. Number of Hottest 100 entries - zero.
This song is probably the closest he came to scoring a slot in the poll. It was played heavily on triple j when Mule Variations was released, and for many late-Gen Xers/early-Gen Ys, it was their first introduction to the weirdly wonderful uniqueness that is Tom Waits.
And what a glorious introduction it is. It’s far from his greatest song (Waits biographer Barney Hoskins doesn’t even rate it in the top 50 Waits tracks in his excellent book Lowside Of The Road) but it sums up so much about the iconic musician. It’s clattering and banging yet hooky and happening, it seems so easy yet oozes class and wit, and it’s strangely timeless and unbeholden to any musical trend of its time or before. And front and centre, is Mr Waits, barking like a carnival hype-man at the end of a long whisky-soaked run on the road, reminding us that, yes, he’s kind of a big deal. - MN
58. 99 Problems - Jay-Z
It took until 2009 for Jay-Z to crack the Hottest 100. By that point he’d released 10 solo records, three collaboration albums, and more than 50 singles. 99 Problems was his 35th single and its release on The Black Album in 2003 was almost totally overlooked by triple j.
These days, this massive two-chord Rick Rubin-produced banger is a high-water mark of hip hop. Wikipedia calls it “one of the most discussed songs of the decade”. Rolling Stone rated it the #2 single of the ‘00s; Pitchfork said #14. It’s second verse is used in law classes. Jack White said it was “the story of America ... in a nutshell”. Jay-Z playing it live at two UK festivals in 2008 was enough to put back into the British charts.
While its hook (which is borrowed from Ice-T) is awesome, the song is so much more than that. Rappers lined up at Rubin’s door hoping for something similarly huge, and every single one of them would have given their right arm for a verse as good as the second one, which remains perhaps the greatest verse in the history of hip hop. - MN
59. Take Me To Church - Hozier
Early 20s rural Irishman Andrew Hozier-Byrne was so disgusted by the Catholic hierarchy’s views on sexuality he penned Take Me To Church, an explicitly pro-getting down and dirty blues-rock anthem with perhaps the most distinguished chorus of the decade. What in the world was triple j thinking not playing this? Maybe they thought he was just another Passenger.
Would Hozier have won the Hottest 100 had he been on the list? Take Me To Church must have had a chance up against Talk Is Cheap, which wasn’t even the best song on Chet Faker’s album. Having peaked at #2 in Australia, the UK and the US, maybe Take Me To Church was destined to always just miss out.
I do think Hozier would have helped his cause by singing “take me to church” — just the title, not the whole chorus — one last time right at the end of the song. — PA
60. Just - Radiohead
As mentioned (see #4) The Bends is the only Radiohead album not to pop a track into the poll. And yes, we’ve already included one track in this list of omissions, but here’s another, partly because that album and this track are amazing but also because, seriously, how was this left out? Jonny Greenwood’s white-hot guitar sounds and Thom Yorke’s voice suit the post-Nirvana and pre-Britpop zeitgeist of its time… although maybe that’s why it failed; because it fell right into the gap between those two movements.
Written as part of a friendly competition between Yorke and Greenwood to see who could get the most chords into a song (nine chords, for those of you playing along at home), it’s a typically loathing tale of an acquaintance who is unaware of how annoying they are. But it also marks the guitar zenith of Radiohead. After this, they would become moodier, more experimental and would never rock as hard again. Given what we know now, that feels like a moment in time worth voting into the Hottest 100 yeah?
And when you factor in that film clip (which is surely one of Rage’s most played) it feels like a grievous oversight. Sure, there is a large pile of Radiohead songs worthy of inclusion on this list, but this is a big one. - MN
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