Take me to numbers 51-60...
61. Wake Up - Arcade Fire
Despite our Arcade amour, the voting public has only shown tepid interest in supporting the Fire, perhaps due to the group’s output being so album-oriented. Their five records bulge with consistent lyrical themes and leitmotifs, even their inchoate debut, which features four tracks named Neighbourhood. It also boasts Wake Up, a fan favourite, live staple and soundtrack to my fave film trailer of all time (even if you didn’t like The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, you had to like the trailer).
Arcade Fire’s musical genius stems from their ability to create relatable indie pop gems incorporating an eclectic mix of instruments, male and female vocals, idiosyncratic time signatures and visceral sincerity. Put that unique sense of purpose aside for almost six minutes, however, and you have the spine-tingling alternate rock masterpiece of Wake Up. It brings to mind another cult Texas troupe, Spoon, which has never catapulted its admirable musicianship into individual song acclaim.
I think it’s fair to say Everything Now did not burn the house down like AF’s previous four LPs, a squib that will inevitably see the gang retired up to Double J somnolence. Alas. But we’ll always have Wake Up. — PA
62. Can't Stand Me Now - The Libertines
You could say Pete Doherty is like Keith Richards except without all the, you know, success. The insanely charismatic co-frontman of Babyshambles and The Libertines is not known for living the simple life; churning out soul-melting punk jams while dating supermodels and maintaining a relatively high-functioning long-term substance abuse problem.
While Doherty has appeared once in a Hottest 100 — Babyshambles furnished us with #79 Fuck Forever — there has never been an entry from his more famous project. When the (ostensible) duo (Doherty likes to Libertine with Carl Barat) toured Australian in early 2018, there was a veritable sing-along fever in the Sydney City Limits mosh for bangers like Boys In The Band, What Katie Did, What A Waster, Time For Heroes and Up The Bracket, in addition to their more recent ‘hit’ Gunga Din. Where were all these harmonious types when those songs were eligible?
Can’t Stand Me Now is quintessential Libertines. Drawled lyrics over banjo-esque twang mourning the death of another tumultuous relationship, the inability to make anything work, reverting to the only thing that provides relief, blamed it on the brown, indeed. We’ve all reflected on the ones who used to love us and assumed they can’t stand us now.
Doherty must be an infuriating man to love but he is a joy to listen to. And I’m sure Barat’s fine too. — PA
63. Naïve - The Kooks
The facts don’t lie. Despite missing the countdown in 2006, this was voted into the 20 Years of Hottest 100 list in 2013 at #87. That alone makes it a worthy addition to this list and demonstrates the band’s enduring popularity in Australia.
Compared to their compatriots in the second wave of Britpop - Arctic Monkeys, The Wombats and the rest of the menagerie - The Kooks have been somewhat overlooked by voters, especially when you consider they’ve had three top 15 albums in this country and are festival regulars over here.
They’ve only had two songs in the annual Hottest 100; that’s a long way behind Arctic Monkeys (12 song) and The Wombats (11). Maybe they’re living in the shadows of those other bands, and maybe that’s why Naive missed the cut first time around. - MN
64. Hurt - Nine Inch Nails
We had the cover at #17, so it would have been unfair to give the original a miss. Yes, even NiN’s Trent Reznor agreed Johnny Cash had inadvertently whipped the song out from under his “empire of dirt”, to the point where many people think it’s something Cash wrote. But all that sells the original way too short.
Cash’s reading of Hurt is what makes it great, but obviously his brilliant cover wouldn’t exist without Reznor’s original, and so much of the song’s greatness is there in the Nine Inch Nails’ version. That melody, for one, is highly under-rated, as is the way it slides over the darkly majestic chords, particularly that angular flat-fifth (or is it a sharp-11th?) Reznor starts with. It’s all nearly buried under distortion, dissonance, and white noise, but there is beauty in the ugliness of it all.
However it’s the sheer laid-bare soul of it all that really kills - so stark in Cash’s hands, but no less pained in Reznor’s. And it was his pain to start with. Surely that’s worth something. - MN
65. Kick It - Peaches (feat. Iggy Pop)
Peaches pushes boundaries - something triple j has always done too. And that’s why they’ve consistently played Peaches since her debut album The Teaches Of Peaches. But for some reason the listeners have never seen fit to vote her edgy punky pop into the countdown. Too edgy? Don’t get it?
This one should’ve made the cut for a number of reasons. For one, it’s funny - the back and forth between Peaches and Iggy is self-referential and doesn’t take itself too seriously - but it’s also got a catchy shoutiness to it that earworms its way into your brain. The lack of bass shouldn’t have been a problem; this came out in the era of the bassless two-piece a la The White Stripes.
And when is a little bit of Iggy not a good thing? Maybe people just weren’t ready for it. Too edgy? - MN
66. Cuffed & Collared - Bad//Dreems
On paper, Adelaide’s Bad//Dreems have got it all. They deliver stunning pub-rock songs which channel the likes of Cold Chisel and Celibate Rifles, they write and record with the ferocity of an untamed dog, they’ve got legendary producer Mark Opitz on hand, and their live shows are something of a religious experience for the dedicated fans who brave the sweaty mosh pits to scream out every lyric at the top of their lungs.
However, despite a healthy fanbase and support from triple j, the Baddies have never cracked the Hottest 100. When Cuffed & Collared was relegated to the #171 spot in 2015, social media was flooded with so many messages asking where Bad//Dreems were that it almost seemed plausible that a miscalculation had been made.
Bad//Dreems are the future of balls-to-the-wall Aussie rock, and if the attitude of their fanbase is anything to go by, their lack of previous inclusion will only serve as an apocryphal tale when their future tracks get the love they deserve and they rightly enter the annals of Aussie music history. - TJ
Take a listen to Web In Front right now, and really listen to those lyrics. Confused? You’re not alone. The band’s aggressive, stream-of-consciousness delivery didn’t win the favour of many critics upon release, with noted American music critic Robert Christgau even going as far as to call their debut album, Icky Mettle, a “tantrum set to music”.
However, Web In Front was one of those rare songs which managed to transcend the indie lo-fi landscape and switch over to the mainstream. Back in the ‘90s, the track was a constant feature on Rage, serving as an inspiration for bands such as Jebediah, who not only namecheck the group in Jerks Of Attention, but also present their track as a faithful homage to the original.
67. Web In Front - Archers Of Loaf
However, Web In Front was one of those rare songs which managed to transcend the indie lo-fi landscape and switch over to the mainstream. Back in the ‘90s, the track was a constant feature on Rage, serving as an inspiration for bands such as Jebediah, who not only namecheck the group in Jerks Of Attention, but also present their track as a faithful homage to the original.
Despite the track’s lyrical inaccessibility and certain obtuse charm, this slice of indie-rock has gone on to be considered one of the greatest examples of the genre, serving as the band’s finest moment, and leading many to wonder why this one never got the kudos it deserved back in 1993. - TJ
There was a time when triple j played Bowie. Mostly that was in 1997, when the chameleonic genius once again reinvented himself on Earthling, this time seamlessly slipping into a world of skittering electro beats and industrial guitars. Teaming with Nine Inch Nails for this remix of album highlight I’m Afraid Of Americans was a natural fit - so much so, the reworking got released as a single and boasted an MTV-saturating film clip starring Bowie and Reznor. The two acts even went on the road together. Bowie joined NiN on stage for songs. The symbiosis was complete.
Bowie never made it into the Hottest 100 except in All Time countdowns ('Heroes' and Life On Mars? are indeed ‘all time’ tunes) but that sells short his incredible ability to continually make music of the time, no matter what time that was. Just as he recrafted his sound to suit the ‘70s and the ‘80s, he did it in the ‘90s, releasing one of his truly under-rated albums in Earthling.
68. I'm Afraid Of Americans (V1) - David Bowie & Nine Inch Nails
There was a time when triple j played Bowie. Mostly that was in 1997, when the chameleonic genius once again reinvented himself on Earthling, this time seamlessly slipping into a world of skittering electro beats and industrial guitars. Teaming with Nine Inch Nails for this remix of album highlight I’m Afraid Of Americans was a natural fit - so much so, the reworking got released as a single and boasted an MTV-saturating film clip starring Bowie and Reznor. The two acts even went on the road together. Bowie joined NiN on stage for songs. The symbiosis was complete.
Bowie never made it into the Hottest 100 except in All Time countdowns ('Heroes' and Life On Mars? are indeed ‘all time’ tunes) but that sells short his incredible ability to continually make music of the time, no matter what time that was. Just as he recrafted his sound to suit the ‘70s and the ‘80s, he did it in the ‘90s, releasing one of his truly under-rated albums in Earthling.
Aside from this being a great song (and a great remix) I’m Afraid Of Americans is representative of Bowie’s knack for hitting the zeitgeist right between the eyes, even 30-plus years into a career. - MN
69. Boys Wanna Be Her - Peaches
Peaches again, this time from her hilariously titled third album Impeach My Bush (you had to be there), continuing on her journey of shattering gender norms, questioning sexual ideals, and breaking down barriers along the way. One of her most popular tracks, it’s also one of her catchiest, boasting a killer glam riff over a stomping beat, while Peaches intones that simple yet effective hook.
Aside from being all over triple j at the time, this song was (and has been) everywhere. Over the years, it’s been in a slew of TV shows, films, trailers and games. It’s slowly worked its way into the consciousness. Add in the girl-power, gender-positive message and maybe it was just too far ahead of its time, much like the aforementioned Kick It at #65.
triple j and its listeners have always attempted to be ahead of the curve, but by not heeding the teaches of Peaches, they may have skipped the wrong class and missed a valuable lesson. - MN
70. Connection - Elastica
It’s a nice piece of nostalgic ‘90s symmetry that both Blur and Elastica are included in this document. The lead singers of these revelatory Britpop bands — Damon Albarn and Justine Frischmann — dated furiously through the bands’ halcyon days in a kinda ‘cross-the-pond tabloid-fodder version of Kurt and Courtney.
Elastica’s self-titled debut album debuted at #1 on the UK charts and was one of the fastest-selling freshperson efforts (whatever that means) in history. Fifteen short, fast, loud explosions of high energy with song titles like S.O.F.T. and 2:1 to make any Soundcloud rapper proud. Song lengths ranged from the momentary 1:15 to the epic 4:27. Jammed in the middle of those ranges was Connection. Just over two minutes for Frischmann to meet her dealer, fall in love, seal the deal and ride off into the sunrise.
Damon and Justine split up, Damon and his Blurmates recorded 13 in mourning; the type of album you listen to if you’re contemplating suicide, just to make sure you go through with it. Elastica’s second album came in 2000, five years after they burst on the scene, but by then the magic had died, Britpop was in decline and lad culture was on the rise, but at least that vital connection had been made. — PA
No comments:
Post a Comment