Seven things about triple j's 2019 Hottest 100

The Hottest 100 has been run and won. Cue people complaining about this song beating that song, or how the winner wasn't worthy or whatever, or how triple j only plays shit these days and how much better it was 10/15/20/25 years ago.

But whether you love it or hate it, triple j's annual countdown is a snapshot of where young Australia is at musically. So let's deep dive into the 2019 list and see what it says.

(Thanks to Patrick Avenell for some of the research - he's the absolute guru on this stuff.)

Girls to the front

Finally! After 26 years, a solo female artist has taken out the top spot on the countdown for the first time. Billie Eilish's bad guy claimed some other records (more on that in a minute), but that was the big one. She was in plenty of good female company at the top of the list too. Eilish was one of five solo women in the top 10, which is a record, surpassing the previous best of four set last year. There were an additional two female vocalists (Ecca Vandal and Vera Blue) guesting on top 10 tracks, making seven songs with women on the mic, equalling a record set in 2016. In fact the top four songs had female vocals, which also equalled 2016.

Billie's records (and near misses)

Eilish was not only the first solo female to take the crown, but she's also the youngest winner. At 18 years, one month and one week, she was well clear of the previous youth champ Kimbra, who was 21 years and 10 days when she teamed up with Gotye to win in 2011. But Eilish was achingly close to grabbing some extra records. Her song strange addiction landed at #101 - one spot higher and she would have been just third act to top and tail the countdown, following on from Ocean Alley last year and Powderfinger in 1999. It would have also given her six tracks in the poll, equalling Wolfmother's record, which dates back to 2005. So close.

Under the covers

The four Like A Versions that made the countdown equals a record set in 2016, but it's not the greatest number of covers to reach the Hottest 100. That record was set in 1996 when eight covers made the countdown, pipping the previous record of seven set in the previous year. There have also been six covers appearing in a countdown on four separate occasions. Denzel Curry's take on Bulls On Parade is the highest placing by a Like A Version, reaching #5 (the previous best is DMA'S' Believe at #6 in 2016), but it only equals the record for highest cover - a record held by Bjork, Spiderbait and Boy & Bear.

Old metal never dies

If you had to pick the old school metal band destined to return to the Hottest 100 after a long hiatus, odds on you would have said Tool. But it was Slipknot who flew the flag for pre-millenial metallers. Unsainted's appearance at #86 was only the second time they've ever been in the countdown. The last time was in 2000, which means Slipknot 19-year absence broke Paul Kelly's record of 16 years for longest stint between appearances. As for new metal, this year's countdown was a disappointment, with only Bring Me The Horizon's Ludens making the list. It was only between 101 and 200 that you could find more metal, courtesy of Tool, The Amity Affliction, Ocean Grove, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

Hoods climb the hill

Hilltop Hoods picked up their 21st entry in the countdown, leaving them just two behind all-time leaders Powderfinger and Foo Fighters (mind you triple j only has them on 20 entries, and isn't counting their Thundamentals collab 21 Grams). Can they reach the record on the back of their next album, whenever that might be? As it stands, they were one of the few acts active since the '90s to make this year's countdown, alongside PNAU, Slipknot and Kanye West. Which also means those acts have all been making music longer than Billie Eilish has been alive.

Are the Warm Tunas still fresh?

This social media aggregator has never claimed to be perfect in its predictions, but it does claim to be the most accurate predictor of Hottest 100s. So far it's two from four for picking winners, although it did predict eight of the top 10. So why didn't its prediction of Denzel Curry's Bulls On Parade winning come to fruition? Here's what Hottest 100 guru Patrick Avenell had to say on the day:

One of the reasons I was a Denzel-skeptic is because very few people outside the Triple J day-to-day vortex know of that particular song. Once all the casual fans come to vote during the final days it was always going to be overwhelmed by more conventional chart hits.

— Patrick Avenelllllllllll (@Patrickavenell) January 25, 2020

Plum position

Among the women killing it at the top of the tree was Thelma Plum. By landing at #9 with Better In Blak, she became the highest ranking Indigenous Australian, overtaking A.B. Original’s January 26 (which came in at #16 in the Hottest 100 of 2016). Plum had three entries in the countdown, which I believe is also a record for an indigenous artist (although I'll stand corrected on that one).

Want to learn more? Check out what triple j had to say about the countdown.

11 awesome songs that missed triple j's 1999 Hottest 100

There were a lot of great songs in the 1999 Hottest 100 (and you can hear them today when the countdown is replayed on Double J). But there were also some not-so-great songs (The Tenants' You Shit Me Tears for example... at #3!).

So what if some of those not-so-awesome tunes (I'm looking at you, Bevan: The Musical) made way for some bona fide classics? Here are 11 songs that you won’t believe missed the 1999 Hottest 100.

READ MORE ABOUT SONGS THAT MISSED TRIPLE J'S HOTTEST 100 HERE!

Darude - Sandstorm

This meme-worthy Finnish trance tune took a long time to achieve the (slightly ironic) renown it now enjoys, so it's understandable that it didn't make the grade in 1999. In fact, it was only properly released in most countries in 2000, cracking the ARIA charts in July of that year. But I'll bet former triple j presenter Alex Dyson is perpetually disappointed by the fact his signature tune never made the Hottest 100.

Bonus fact: Finland's only entry in the Hottest 100 came in 2000 thanks to Bomfunk MCs and their song Freestyler, which landed at #24.

Eminem - My Name Is

In 1999, triple j was one of the first (if not the first) Australian radio stations to play Eminem, giving regular rotations to this, his breakthrough track. It was edgy AF at the time and unlike any other hip hop being played on the js. Although, to be fair, there wasn't a huge amount of hip hop on triple j back then. In fact, only one hip hop tune made it into the Hottest 100 of 1999 - Everlast's What It's Like. When experts write up lists of the greatest hip hop songs of all time, guess which rates higher - What It's Like or My Name Is? The answer is not What It's Like.

Bonus fact: Eminem had one brief golden year with the Hottest 100 (2002) when he had three songs in the countdown, including all-time anthem Lose Yourself at #7.

Smash Mouth - All Star

Like Darude's Sandstorm, this is all about the memes these days. Back in 1999, All Star was too mainstream to get a lot of airplay on triple j, even though Smash Mouth's Walkin' On The Sun made it all the way to #11 in the 1997 Hottest 100. But have a look through the playlist from the '99 countdown and tell me All Star doesn't belong on there. Is there a song that typifies 1999 more?

Bonus fact: According to IMDb, All Star has been used on at least 15 different movies and TV shows. Meanwhile, YouTube has thousands of insane remixes, mashups, and reinterpretations of it.

Sigur Ros - Svefn-g-englar

I distinctly remember hearing this song for the first time. Triple j guru Richard Kingsmill played it on his 1999 program, introducing it as something coming out of Iceland that was unlike anything you'd ever heard before. He wasn't wrong. I was driving at the time and arrived at my destination one minute into the song, but sat in the car for the next six minutes to hear the rest. For mine, it's one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever, from an all-time classic album. Is it an injustice that Sigur Ros have only made it into the Hottest 100 once (Gobbledigook reached #93 in 2008)? Yes. Is it surprising? Not entirely - this kind of glacial, ethereal music is not to all tastes.

Bonus fact: Sigur Ros was the third Icelandic act to make it into the Hottest 100, following Bjork (of course) and Emiliana Torrini. Frontman Jonsi has also made it into the countdown as a solo artist (Go Do reached #96 in 2010).

The Chemical Brothers feat. Noel Gallagher - Let Forever Be

This has all the hallmarks of a great Chemical Brothers track – an astoundingly cool rock beat, psychedelic noises galore, talented guest vocalist (Oasis’ Noel Gallagher), and a rad film clip (courtesy of Michel Gondry). Yet it’s not one of the 11 songs from the electro veterans to make the Hottest 100 over the 22 years since Setting Sun put them in the countdown for the first time.

For the record, Setting Sun featured another astoundingly cool rock beat, plenty of psychedelic noises, a talented guest vocalist (Oasis’ Noel Gallagher), and a not-as-cool film clip. Had this race already been run? Surely not. There are a stack of great Chemical Brothers tracks not in those 11 songs. Let Forever Be just happens to be one of their best, and for inexplicable reasons, it didn’t make the cut. How does it feel like? Weird – just like the grammar in that sentence.

Bonus fact: Also disappointing is the fact nothing off The Chemical Brothers' 2019 album No Geography landed in the 2019 Hottest 100. Their most recent entry was in 2015 (Go at #46), which ended an eight-year Hottest 100 drought for the duo.

Shihad - My Mind's Sedate

Don't call them Pacifier. Just forget that happened (although the "self-titled" Pacifier is actually pretty good). Let's just remember the less confusing times, when these Kiwi hard-rockers were blowing minds via triple j's airwaves, first with their 1997 single Home Again, then with their ballbusting 1999 album The General Electric. Unbelievably Home Again never made it into the Hottest 100, and the single Pacifier was the only The General Electric track to get voted into the poll. Why not this three-minute burst of raging against the machine?

Bonus fact: Shihad are one of the few bands (Rufus AKA Rufus Du Sol is another) to crack the Hottest 100 under two different names - in 2000 as Shihad with the song Pacifier (#25) and in 2002 as Pacifier with the song Comfort Me (#34).

Muse - Muscle Museum

Muse are one of the most successful acts in Hottest 100 history, with 17 entries including a win for Knights Of Cydonia in 2007. Their first entry was in 2000 with the track Sunburn (#82), but the year before saw triple j blasting a couple of their earlier singles, including this unique rocker. It's a favourite among Muse fans, but obviously there weren't enough of those in 1999.

Bonus fact: Muse's last entry into the Hottest 100 was 2012, when Madness reached #75.

Tom Waits - Big In Japan

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.

Bonus fact: Mule Variations went to #13 on the ARIA charts, which was his best effort in Australia until Bad As Me reached #11 in 2011.

Ben Folds Five - Narcolepsy

Of Ben Folds Five's six entries into the Hottest 100, one comes from their self-titled debut, three from Whatever And Ever Amen, one from their 1999 farewell ...Reinhold Messner, and one from their comeback The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind. It's the 1999 album that's relevant here, and this song - the opening track - is a prime candidate for inclusion on this list. With its sweeping strings, frantic drums, buzzing bass, and Ben Folds' beautiful piano playing and soul-bearing lyrics, it's a stand-out track on the album. While not a single, it got a lot of airplay on triple j, along with other non-singles Mess, Magic and Your Redneck Past. It's an incredible piece of music, that soars and explodes, yet has incredible moments of fragility.

Bonus fact: Ben Folds has had eight solo appearances in the Hottest 100 (including one tune featuring Regina Spektor) compared to six with Ben Folds Five. He also had one appearance as part of The Bens in 2003 (Just Pretend at #52).

Gomez - Bring It On

Gomez made the Hottest 100 four times, but the year 2000 was their first appearance. They had two songs that year - We Haven't Turned Around (#35) from the album Liquid Skin, and Machismo (#38) from the Machismo EP. That leaves an awful lot of great songs from their first two albums Bring It On and Liquid Skin that didn't make the cut, including this gem, which is from Liquid Skin despite its title. Surely this is objectively a better song than, oh, say, Bevan: The Musical?

Bonus fact: Gomez didn't have a band name when they played first gig in 1996, but stuck a sign out the front saying "Gomez in here" to alert their friend surnamed Gomez to the location of the gig. People thought Gomez was the name of the band, and it stuck.

The Flaming Lips - Buggin' 

Aside from a single guest appearance on a Chemical Brothers song, The Flaming Lips have never featured in a Hottest 100. It's insane when you consider not only how many awesome songs they have, but also how much love triple j has given them over the years. This was the track that got the most airplay off the Lips' classic album The Soft Bulletin, but you could have picked any of a number of tunes from that record for this list.

Bonus fact: This song is not to be confused with the track by the same name that appears on the Space Jam soundtrack sung by Bugs Bunny.

Who will win triple j's Hottest 100 of 2019?

Tones & I

It's Hottest 100 time again. It's on January 25 and will once again deliver what triple j listeners deem to be the best songs of the past year, creating a musical time capsule for decades to come.

It will also bring with it much debate. There will be the typical whingeing from people who don't listen to triple j anymore and who preferred it in the '90s when they played more Pearl Jam and Chili Peppers and who haven't caught up to the fact that triple j is the national youth broadcaster and thus keeps up with the youth and not ageing morons whose musical tastes haven't moved with the times. Get over yourselves, haters. (Oh, and listen to Double J on Monday, January 27 when they replay the Hottest 100 of 1999 in full.)

This year's race looks likely to chart new territory, either for female solo artists, people of colour, indigenous artists or triple j's own in-house cover factory Like A Version. But when it comes to picking a winner, there are three key indicators - the bookies, social media vote counter 100 Warm Tunas, and ARIA chart performance.

The first two are somewhat obvious and are usually pretty close (although 100 Warm Tunas said Amy Shark was gonna win in 2016). ARIA chart performance is the icing on the cake - only six times out of 26 has the Hottest 100 winner failed to chart in Australia - last year's winner, Ocean Alley's Confidence, was the first non-charter to win since 2007.

Let's look at who might win this year.

(All stats and odds were correct at time of publication.)

Tones & I - Dance Monkey

Odds: $1.90 (favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #8
ARIA Charts: #1

Why it will win: This is the biggest Aussie song of the year; not just here, but overseas. It has dominated charts and crossed into the mainstream in a big way, but triple j would really love for this to win for two reasons. Firstly, triple j unearthed Tones & I, and secondly, it would finally mean a solo female artist has won the countdown. The bookies think this is the likely winner, and I tend to agree. It feels like a Hottest 100 winner in the same way Gotye's mega-hit Somebody That I Used To Know did back in 2011. Winning four ARIA Awards wouldn't hurt either.

Why it won't win: 100 Warm Tunas has only been wrong once. That was in its first year in 2016, and the brains behind it improved their algorithms after that and haven't been wrong since. And they have Dance Monkey at #8. Maybe the song has been overplayed, and maybe there are enough haters out there to keep it from the top spot. Interestingly, this song is the only real point of difference between the odds and Warm Tunas in terms of the top 10.

Denzel Curry - Bulls On Parade (triple j Like A Version)

Odds: $3 (2nd favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #1
ARIA Charts: N/A

Why it will win: 100 Warm Tunas has this as a clear winner, and triple j said the #1 song had pulled ahead in the final stages of voting, so maybe this is the one. It's the most watched Like A Version from 2019 by a wide margin, and it is a pretty stunning cover (it's faithful and somehow angrier than the original) of a song that only made it to #46 back in 1996. If Curry wins, he'll be just the second person of colour to top the chart (after Kendrick Lamar in 2017) and it will be the first cover to win. The previous best showing for a cover is #5, which has happened three times previously - Bjork's It's Oh So Quiet (1995), Spiderbait's Black Betty (2004), and Boy & Bear's Fall At Your Feet (2010).

Why it won't win: It would feel weird if a triple j-manufactured cover took out #1, even if it was a super-awesome rendition of a classic Rage Against The Machine anthem. The bookies don't seem to think it will get up, perhaps because the best a Like A Version has done previously is #6 (DMAs' Believe in 2016).

Billie Eilish - bad guy

Odds: $3.50 (third favourite)

100 Warm Tunas: #2
ARIA Charts: #1

Why it will win: If 18-year-old Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell wins, she'll not only be the first female solo artist to win, but she'll also be the youngest vocalist to win the Hottest 100 ever (by a distance of almost three years). She would also be the first artist born in the 2000s to win the countdown. She's the dark horse to steal the crown (you should see her in one!) - she won triple j's album of the year poll, and has four previous entries in Hottest 100s, including three last year. Bad guy has been in the ARIA charts for almost a year. All the stars seem to be aligning for Billie Eilish, but she has two big tunes between her and top spot.

Why it won't win: The bookies have a lot of daylight between bad guy and everything else, but she's only the third favourite. Similar to Dance Monkey, its had a lot of time in the charts and on triple j - maybe too much. Fatigue might keep bad guy from the win.

G Flip - Drink Too Much

Odds: $15 (4th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #4
ARIA Charts: #77

Why it will win: G Flip is one of many women expected by the bookies and Warm Tunas to dominate the top 10. Like Billie Eilish, she's a rising star, with two songs in last year's countdown, and a second place behind Eilish in triple j's album of the year poll for 2019. She's much-loved by the triple j community, won breakthrough independent artist of the year at the AIR Awards, and got two ARIA nominations. She's a longshot, but stranger things have happened.

Why it won't win: It would be great if this drumming-singing-songwriting-producing wiz could steal the show, but it seems unlikely.

Mallrat - Charlie

Odds: $21 (5th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #3
ARIA Charts: N/A

Why it will win: It's basically a coin toss on Warm Tunas as to whether Mallrat or G Flip will place third, so if you think G Flip could go all the way, then Mallrat's a chance too. She reached #7 last year with Groceries, and the pundits seem to think she'll go higher this year. But can she go high enough?

Why it won't win: Unlike G Flip, Mallrat's album didn't get into the top 10 of triple j's album of the year poll, and she didn't get the extra awareness that comes with ARIA Awards. Her #7 last year bodes well, but the bookies have her at long odds.

Thelma Plum - Better In Blak

Odds: $26 (equal 6th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #5
ARIA Charts: N/A

Why it will win: Plum's empowerment anthem would be a very worthy winner. She first cracked the Hottest 100 way back in 2014, having won triple j's National Indigenous Music Awards competition two years earlier. Her album Better In Blak made it to #4 on the ARIA charts and #3 in triple j's album poll. If she wins, aside from being the first solo female artist to do so, she would also make history as the first indigenous artist to take the top prize. Triple j unearthed her, and there would be no better success story for the station than for a First Nations woman to win the countdown.

Why it won't win: Plum is in a large group of women expected to dominate the top 10, but she's also in a group that's expected to finish anywhere between #3 and #10.

Also likely to do well:

FIDLAR - By Myself

Odds: $26 (equal 6th favourite)

100 Warm Tunas: #6
ARIA Charts: N/A

Flume feat. Vera Blue - Rushing Back

Odds: $26 (equal sixth favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #7
ARIA Charts: #15

The Jungle Giants - Heavy Hearted

Odds: $31 (equal 10th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #9
ARIA Charts: N/A

Sofi Tukker - Purple Hat

Odds: $31 (equal 10th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #10
ARIA Charts: #44

The Chats - Pub Feed

Odds: $31 (equal 10th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #11
ARIA Charts: N/A

Travis Scott - HIGHEST IN THE ROOM

Odds: $26 (equal 6th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: N/A
ARIA Charts: #3

Hilltop Hoods - Exit Sign {Ft. Illy/Ecca Vandal}

Odds: $41 (equal 14th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #12
ARIA Charts: #16

Lizzo - Juice

Odds: $41 (equal 14th favourite)
100 Warm Tunas: #15
ARIA Charts: N/A

My predictions (totally just guessing here)...

1. Tones & I - Dance Monkey

2. Billie Eilish - bad guy

3. Denzel Curry - Bulls On Parade (Like A Version)

4. Thelma Plum - Better In Blak

5. G Flip - Drink Too Much

6. DMA'S - Silver

7. Mallrat - Charlie

8. Flume feat. Vera Blue - Rushing Back

9. Hilltop Hoods feat. Illy & Ecca Vandal - Exit Sign

10. Sofi Tukker - Purple Hat

1917

(MA15+) ★★★★★

Director: Sam Mendes.

Cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch.

Hell of a place to go for a jog.

If nothing else, 1917 is the Mona Lisa of planning.

Thankfully it's more than just a masterfully conceived war film executed with clockwork-like precision. Its "gimmick" of looking like it was predominantly filmed in a single take moves the story to the next level, providing a nail-biting cinema experience that will be hard to replicate.

On a day like any other on the French battlefields of World War I, two young British soldiers Tom Blake (Chapman) and Will Schofield (MacKay) are tasked with delivering a message across No Man's Land to the British forces pursuing the surprise retreat of the German army. The Germans' move is a ruse, and the Brits are walking into a trap, but Blake and Schofield have less than a day to cover the ground and potentially save the lives of 1600 men.

After watching this, the first thing you'll want to know is "how the hell did they do it?". The answers can be found in this excellent video:

1917 is a miraculous and meticulous film-making exercise, but effort only gets you so far - you can expel a huge amount of effort and still make something totally shit. Just look at The Last Airbender. But 1917 is incredible. It's edge-of-your-seat stuff, packed with surprises and great performances, while also being beautifully shot.

While Mendes has overseen the whole crazy thing and pulled it off, the real MVP is Roger Deakins, the legendary cinematographer who was famously nominated for 13 Oscars before he finally won one on his 14th attempt. Deakins and his team not only keep the camera moving (without falling over or crashing into things), but manage to capture some beautiful shots in the process. A glide over a water-filled crater in No Man's Land, a bombed city by flare-light, a chance encounter by candlelight - they all look painterly, and are all the more impressive for the tough conditions.

Mackay and Chapman also excel in trying times. There's been a lot of focus on the fact most of their job was about hitting marks, covering distance and not fucking up ridiculously long takes. But they deserve recognition for their excellent performances in the face of technical adversity. They make Schofield and Blake real and rounded, bestowing these lads with humour and heart. Firth, Cumberbatch and Strong show up with gravitas-laden cameos, but 1917 supersedes its one-take conceit thanks in large part to the efforts of Mackay and Chapman.

All war films, even before Saving Private Ryan's pants-shittingly intense opening sequence, have tried to put the audience in the trenches with the troops, often through bombastic sound design and onscreen chaos. 1917 uses the typical tricks, but its one-take technique adds a new flavour. In parts it feels like a video game, and I mean that in a good way. It puts you alongside or directly behind the protagonist, like you're controlling him or following him through a level, whichever way you want to look at it. Either way, it makes you invested in what's happening in a way most video game-inspired movies have been unable to do.

1917 is like Saving Private Ryan meets Gravity - it's the immersive veracity and honesty of the former, mixed with the relentless intensity of the latter. You just have to hold on and grit your teeth, and wonder how the hell anyone survived such a godforsaken war.

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

(G) ★★★

Director: Will Becher & Richard Phelan.

Cast: (voices of) Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Amalia Vitale, Kate Harbour, David Holt, Richard Webber.

Never sneak up on a sheep in a wheatfield.

The first Shaun The Sheep film is an under-rated gem. It took the snappy humour of the TV series but added a level of heart only hinted at in the show. It also pushed its stop-motion animation to new heights, making for an enchanting all-ages treat.

This second outing from Shaun and friends has the humour and takes its stop-motion to even greater heights, but it lacks the extra facets that made the first one so well-rounded. Aardman Animation have still made an enjoyable sci-fi-tinged adventure, but it's more about the commotion than the emotion this time around.

This time around, the farm animals of Mossy Bottom are visited by an alien, whose arrival creates a stir in the wider community; the government is hunting for the creature and its craft, the nearby town becomes a magnet for UFO enthusiasts, and The Farmer decides to cash-in on the craze. But all Shaun the Sheep wants to do is is help the alien get home.

Farmageddon's plot is basically E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, which is fine - the far superior Abominable also used a similar "help the creature get home" story. But Abominable invested its story with themes about family, nature, and adventure, while giving it some novel twists via its characters and setting. Both Abominable and Farmageddon are entertaining, but the former is a richer experience that has more to say and share with its multi-generational audience.

Farmageddon is content to offer up the goofy spectacle of its lengthy set-pieces, which hold up some admittedly hilarious sight gags but do tend to feel padded out in places. A plot diversion via a supermarket finishes with some good jokes but adds nothing to the story, and is just one example of how this tale feels overlong and reaching for its run time.

Having said all that, Farmageddon maintains the down-home charm of the TV show that spawned it. It reaches for the stars with its CG-enhanced animation (which is impressive) and its intergalactic story, but works best when it's back on the farm with the whole flock of Shaun and friends, doing their thing.

Grown-ups will be able to play 'spot the reference' - Alien, Doctor Who, E.T., Jaws, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and The X-Files all get a run - and some sequences are great. But Farmageddon is at most a collection of entertaining skits, with no real heart or theme to hold it all together.

Little Women

(G) ★★★★½

Director: Greta Gerwig.

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper.

Surfs up, dudes.

Next time someone complains about the endless remakes, reboots and do-overs coming out of Hollywood, point them towards this adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical 1860s classic. It's the seventh version of this story, and the second one in two years, but it finds fresh and vital ways to tell its old tale, making it relevant for a new audience.

It's the vitality and life that makes Gerwig's version so enjoyable, but it's her ability to re-frame Alcott's words and themes with a contemporary eye that make it so unmissable. For all its changes, which might annoy purists, Gerwig has remained faithful to the essence of the text and the heart of the March girls. It makes for a vibrant and modern take on this story of girls becoming women and finding their place in a world that has very set ideas about where that place should be.

Little Women follows the four March sisters - Meg (Watson), Jo (Ronan), Amy (Pugh) and Beth (Scanlen). As the story jumps backwards and forwards in time, we see how their dreams of following their artistic passions are challenged, and how their various relationships impact their lives and family.

Gerwig's non-linear approach to the plot takes some getting used to but it serves the material well, giving us great juxtapositions to show how the characters have changed, as well as helping to condense Alcott's hefty tome. These time shifts are done with simple yet beautiful cinematic elegance - a warm sunlit nostalgia bathes most of the "past" scenes while a sombre grey tints the "present" ones. As the film's mood changes and the cuts back and forth escalate, it becomes more testing for the viewer, but for the most part it works wonderfully.

It's part of the genius of Gerwig's adapted screenplay (which is surely an Oscar shoe-in in that category). Like a good cover version of a song, she gets what is essential to the artwork and is happy to drop parts and change others, all the while never losing sight of what made it work in the first place, such as the relationship between the sisters and their varying views on love and a woman's role in a patriarchal society.

All of these aspects roar off the screen, driven not only by Gerwig and Alcott's combined dialogue, but by Ronan's fierce performance as the fiery Jo. Similarly, Pugh's turn as the confident Amy is equally spirited. These are but two great acting displays amid a wonderful cast - Streep steals scenes, Dern is light but powerful touch, Cooper is touching in a small role, Watson and Scanlen are excellent despite being overshadowed, while Chalamet is outstanding as the dashingly louche Laurie.

Along with an out-and-proud update of the book's feminist ideas, Gerwig's brings modern indie filmmaking flourishes to her direction. There are piles of overlapping dialogue, a couple of straight-to-camera moments, and a wonderfully meta ending that would hopefully have done Alcott proud. It all adds to the vibrancy of the film.

There is so much to love about this energetic retelling of an American classic, which deserves every award it can get this awards season.

The best albums of 2019

As selected by an ensemble of some of my favourite musicians and music aficionados!

In my previous life as a journalist at a particular newspaper, I would compile an end-of-year list in which I got a bunch of the top musos and musically-connected people from my region to share their favourite albums of the year. Rather than let that tradition die, I've migrated it to my blog and upped the ante by inviting even more of my super-talented friends to take part.

Hopefully you can find some great music to listen to here, including some of the great music created by some of the selectors (links are everywhere, people!).

So behold - talented people sharing their favourite music of 2019.

Andy Kirkland (Lynchpin)

1. Beck - Hyperspace

The new Beck album is beautifully wedged somewhere between his previous two albums, Morning Phase and Colors. Incredible performances, writing and melodies, many harking back to '80s synth without complete plagiarism: "I’ve heard this before, but I can’t put my finger on it!". Pharrell Williams co-writes and performs on many tracks and the addition of Jason Faulkner (Jellyfish, Greys, etc) is a great addition to the guitar sounds and moods. My "can't do without" release of 2019.

The Divine Comedy - Office Politics
Elbow - Giants Of All Sizes
Richard Pleasance - Wentworth (Original Score), Volume 2
Weezer - The Teal Album
Trevor Horn - Reimagines The Eighties
Glen Hansard - This Wild Willing
The National - I Am Easy To Find
Thom Yorke - Anima
Morrissey - California Sun

Nigel Wearne (Above The Bit)

1. Anna Tivel - The Question

The Question is a concept album of sorts, one that spans the beautiful space between folk, country and rock. The overarching theme of the record is beautifully ambiguous and what sets it apart is some of the best damn songwriting I've ever heard - narrative-fuelled poetry that reels you in revealing something new every time, sad tales, philosophical encounters, personal tragedy, romance and retrospect. The Question covers vast territory lyrically and sonically. To augment the occasion, the production is lush, rhythmic, groovy, beautiful and challenging. A fascinating record. Highly commended, highly recommended. Anna herself sums it up best; "the glory of the question and the answer is the same".

Kittel & Co - Whorls
Ordinary Elephant - Honest
Jenny Mitchell - Wildfires
John Smith - Hummingbird
The Fretless - Live From The Art Farm
Courtney Marie Andrews - May Your Kindness Remain
Michael Waugh - The Weir
Joe Pug - The Flood In Colour
William Alexander - The Kid From Bourke

Brady James

1. Sum 41 – Order in Decline

Batshit insane return to form and sound for Sum 41. Spices of Hybrid Theory-era Linkin Park thrown in the pot with their original balls-to-the-wall, 4/4 punk/hard-rock-driven madness. Perfect time for them to step back into the limelight with their angsty anti-establishment flavour. 10/10 seal of approval. Highlight Tracks - Out For Blood, Heads Will Roll

2. Bring Me The Horizon - amo
3. Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 2
4. Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent
5. I Prevail - Trauma
6. Denzel Curry - Zuu
7. City and Colour - A Pill For Loneliness
8. Kanye West - Jesus Is King
9. Gary Clark Jr. - This Land
10. Rapsody - Eve

Liam Barling (Aika, Late Night TV)

1. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising

Natalie Mering AKA Weyes Blood perfectly marries classic Laurel Canyon melodies with behemoth pop arrangements that could sit comfortably in the soundtrack for Titanic or an '80s slasher flick.

2. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
3. DIIV - Deceiver
4. Nivhek - After Its Own Death/Walking In A Spiral Towards The House
5. Cate Le Bon - Reward
6. Nils Frahm - All Encores
7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
8. Bon Iver - i,i
9. Third Coast Percussion - Fields
10. Better Oblivion Community Centre - Better Oblivion Community Centre

Album of the decade: Frank Ocean - Blond

Joe Gardner (Red Eagle, Mr John McKensie)

1. Better Oblivion Community Centre - Better Oblivion Community Centre

The best '90s album in the year. The right amount of folk, grunge and sadness any '90s album needs. Both voices sit together perfectly and make a match made in heaven.

Julia Jacklin - Crushing
Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
Bon Iver - i,i
Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
Black Pumas - Black Pumas
Damien Jurado - In The Shape Of A Storm
Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka

And 5 for the decade
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
The Black Keys - ‘Brothers’
Israel Nash - Barn Doors & Concrete Floors
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Alabama Shakes - Sound & Colour

Jeremy Lee 

1. The Divine Comedy - Office Politics

More genius songwriting from Neil Hannon covering multiple bases. No one else could pull off an album that goes from jaunty opener Queuejumper to the beautiful observation of After the Lord Mayor’s Show while stopping off at a potential theme tune for a sitcom based around minimalist composers Phillip Glass and Steve Reich running a furniture removal company. My wife can’t stand it but I love it.

Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
Hot Chip - A Bath Full Of Ecstasy
Danny Widdicombe & Trichotomy - Between The Lines
Solange - When I Get Home
Crumb - Jinx
Metronomy - Metronomy Forever
Orville Peck - Pony
Drugdealer - Raw Honey
Methyl Ethel - Triage

Bill O'Connell (Billy Barker, Gums)

1. Oscar Lush - Black Dog

Only listened to the one album this year. Had a bit on

Jono Colliver (Dr. Colossus, Money On Verema, Gums)

1. Vampire Weekend - Father of The Bride

Fourth albums don't usually taste this sweet. Ezra Koenig expands his songwriting further into realms of Americana, gentle politics and societal dissonance, and with his myriad producers crafts a tapestry of scenes using a common gold thread of great songs, lapsteel and Danielle Haim backing vocals.

2. The National - I Am Easy To Find
3. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind
4. Earth Tongue - Floating Being
5. Tool - Fear Inoculum
6. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
7. Private Function - St Anger
8. Pond - Tasmania
9. Gatecreeper - Deserted
10. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing for Fishies

Daniel Miles (True North)

1. Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet

You know Andrew Bird rates this album from the title alone. While I'll always hold a soft spot for The Mysterious Production Of Eggs and Are You Serious, this is a seriously cool record. There's a sense of directness and clarity in his latest offering that's weirdly refreshing from a lyricist who has always challenged you to think deeper. It kept me coming back and kept me thinking.

Beck - Hyperspace
Glen Hansard - This Wild Willing
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Tool - Fear Inoculum
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
Vampire Weekend - Father Of The Bride
Bon Iver - i,i
The Tallest Man On Earth - I Love You. It's a Fever Dream.
Thom Yorke - Anima

Jordan Lockett (Gramps, Southern Ocean Sea Band)

1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen

Ghosteen is a deep journey into the difficult human experience of grief and sorrow. It’s an existential punch in the heart, but the album is a masterpiece. When grief hits us, nothing seems to help and nothing ever brings people back. We learn to live with loss. Cave navigates the stages of grief with the caring sparseness it deserves and it’s a privilege to bear witness. Electronic pulses, haunting guitars and synths paint a raw canvas for Cave to lament over. A painful but worthwhile journey.

2. Steady Garden - Steady Garden
3. Justin Townes Earle - The Saint Of Lost Causes
4. William Tyler - Goes West
5. Taylor Swift - Lover
6. Rodney Crowell - Texas
7. Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars
8. Dan Sultan - Nali & Friends
9. Traffik Island - Nature Strip
10. Ariana Grande - Thank U, Next

Andre Pangrazio

1. Georgia Spain -Trouble Isn’t Something You Can Hold

Its darkness and subtle spells lure you in. And banjos. I love banjos.

2. Charles Rumback & Ryley Walker - Little Common Twist
3. Jose Gonzalez & String Theory - Live In Europe
4. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs
5. Nils Frahm - All Encores
6. Oscar Lush - Black Dog
7. The Cactus Blossoms - Easy Way
8. Bedouine - Bird Songs Of A Kill Joy
9. Devendra Banhart - Ma
10. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow

Jack & Michael Fitzgerald (Capricorn Records)

(in no particular order)
Allah-las - Lahs
The National - I Am Easy To Find
Kevin Morby - Oh My God
Moon Duo - Stars Are The Light
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Justin Townes Earle - The Saint Of Lost Causes
John Prine - The Tree Of Forgiveness
Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars
Teskey Brothers - Run Home Slow
Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 15: Travelin' Thru, 1967–1969

Brady Jones (Red Eagle)

1. Sturgill Simpson - Sound And Fury

A southern blues rock album from the dystopian wasteland. There is a video version on Netflix at the moment, which is everything that I never thought that I wanted from a screaming synth trip to 30+ years from now. What a time to be alive.

2. White Denim - Side Effects
3. Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
4. The Saboteurs - Help Us Stranger
5. Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops
6. Julia Jacklin - Crushing
7. Brittany Howard - Jaime
8. Stiff Richards - Dig
9. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
10. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - And Now For The Whatchamacallit

Gus Franklin (Southern Ocean Sea Band, Sheahan Drive, Gramps, Architecture In Helsinki)

1. Kali Malone - The Sacrificial Code

Beautifully textured drones and harmonic chord clusters wrought from three distinct-sounding pipe organs recorded in rural Swedish churches gather and morph over vast track lengths on this trance-inducing record. The compositional framework established by Malone (a US composer based in Sweden) creates expansions and contractions of time in the listener’s headspace and allows for the contemplation of emotionally heart-wrenching landscapes that seem to perfectly evoke the combined feelings of early-human pagan existence, cosmological constants, and a summation of our current situation in a human world on the edge of self-generated existential collapse. Maybe it’s the feeling (given to a universal fatalist/atheists’ heart) of an overseeing/hearing set of hands (Kali has performed this record with a second organist to recreate the compositions live) slowly shaping and resolving these unwieldy emotional blocks of clustered harmony into something with an overarching meta-narrative order which feels somehow reassuring and utterly crushing all at the same time.

2. Hannah Diamond - Reflections
3. Lankum - The Livelong Day
4. Steady Garden - Steady Garden
5. Traffik Island - Nature Strip
6. William Tyler - Goes West
7. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishes
8. Lucy Roleff - Left Open In A Room
9. Possible Humans - Everybody Split
10. Kornél Kovács - Stockholm Marathon

Matt Neal (Doctor & The Apologies, The 80 Aces)

1. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow

Those melodies, those harmonies. Van Etten fifth album is emotionally rich, her haunted world-weary voice sailing over reverb-drenched pianos and organs, pulsing and transcendent synths, otherworldly sounds, and beats that skitter, thump and wander. It's a wealth of feelings, all of which hit home, whether she be harkening back to first album MGMT on Comeback Kid or letting her voice catch on No One's Easy To Love or soaring across New York's skyline on Seventeen. It's all so achingly beautiful.

2. Pup - Morbid Stuff
3. Bring Me The Horizon - amo
4. Waax - Big Grief
5. The Claypool Lennon Delirium - South Of Reality
6. The Chemical Brothers - No Geography
7. Sleater-Kinney - The Centre Won’t Hold
8. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - And Now For The Watchamacallit
9. Pile - Green & Gray
10. Brightness - Brightness
11. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats Nest

The best and worst films of 2019

It's that time of the year again - a time when critics dig through their pile of reviews and compile a best 'of' list. So let's do it.

Firstly though I just want to point out I've been somewhat limited in what I've been able to watch this year, so forgive me if I haven't seen your fave. And release dates are based on Australian release dates.

Dig in.

1. Joker

The Taxi Driver of comic book movies. It's political, provocative, extremely violent, defiantly adult, and dares to make us empathise with a one of literature's greatest psychopaths. Its antecedents are not the latest slick blockbusters from DC or Marvel, but rather the work of Martin Scorsese. Joker poses the question of how society makes villains, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

2. Avengers: Endgame

The Return Of The King of comic book movies. It's the epic finale that closes a mighty legacy in the best way possible. With all the anticipation, promise, and baggage, it's actually remarkable how fulfilling and enjoyable it is. Endgame lives up to the lofty heights of expectation, and does justice to the great film-making that has gone before in the MCU's past 11 years.

3. Toy Story 4

As much as this feels like an unnecessary sequel, Pixar has done the impossible. They've turned the perfect trilogy into the perfect quadrilogy. The storytelling and directorial powers behind the first three films are again brought to bear here. The main characters are given strong arcs, key among them being Woody, who has always been a wonderfully written and often beautifully flawed protagonist.

4. Rocketman

Forget Bohemian Rhapsody - this is how it's done. Rocketman doesn't hold back in its quest to tell an inventive, garish and decadent story about a man who was inventive, garish and decadent himself. There couldn't possibly be a more fitting way to sum up the career of Elton John.

5. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Tarantino's weirdest film yet, his most mystifying work since Pulp Fiction, his least accessible piece to date, and the most self-indulgent movie of his career. It's long - too long - but it's surprising, hilarious, and unlike anything else in his catalogue. But it's also definitely, distinctively, decidedly Tarantino, and will give his fans something to savour for days.

6. Little Women

Greta Gerwig pours heart and energy into Louisa May Alcott's American classic, honing in on the relationship between the March sisters, but also pulling out the strands of feminism and gender inequality that simmered amid the musings of love and loss in the novel. It makes for vital viewing, aided by immaculate performances from a top notch cast.

7. Spider-Man: Far From Home

Even here in Far From Home, where the webslinger faces a threat well above his pay-grade, the fact that Peter Parker is just "a kid from Queens" stands out more than ever. This pimples-and-all humanity is part of what made Homecoming great, and it's a key factor in Far From Home's brilliance: it's Peter's human flaws that drive yet another great entry into the near-impeccable MCU catalogue. PS. Tom Holland is the greatest Spider-man ever.

8. Dolemite Is My Name

To say this is Eddie Murphy's best live-action turn in 20 years is meaningless - outside of his Oscar nom for Dreamgirls, his post-1999 career is a wasteland that includes five Razzie nominations for worst actor (including one win). But his headlining turn here as Rudy Ray Moore in this funky Netflix biopic is quality stuff from someone whose acting talents are too often in inverse proportion to his ability to pick good roles. As Moore, Murphy gets to flex a lot of different muscles, including his rarely used dramatic chops and his natural showmanship, as well as his ability to swear like a motherfucker and make it funny as fuck.

9. Ford V Ferrari

I have zero fucks to give about motorsport, but I'll be damned if Ford V Ferrari isn't a great watch. This is because it has strong characters and solid drama; simple as that. Oh, and Christian Bale and Matt Damon.

10. The Irishman

There are a lot of reasons to recommend this film, but the main ones can be summarised in surnames - Scorsese. De Niro. Pacino. Pesci. This uber-talented quadruple-threat works wonders, wringing every ounce of drama and quiet menace from the material.

11. Abominable

If you took Steven Spielberg's E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial, mixed it with some healthy dollops of Hayao Miyazaki, ran it through some impressive CG animation, and set it in China, you might end up with something close to Abominable. This "help the creature get home" family adventure is filled with so much fun and wonder that you just want to give the whole damned movie a big hug.

12. Hustlers
13. Mary Poppins Returns

14. It: Chapter Two

15. Judy

16. Wild Rose

17. Green Book

18. Captain Marvel

19. On The Basis Of Sex

20. Shazam

21. Knives Out

22. Doctor Sleep

And the worst...

1. Cats

To paraphrase Jurassic Park's Ian Malcolm, the filmmakers behind Cats were so preoccupied with whether or not they could make a heavily CG adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, they didn’t stop to think if they should. I'm glad to have seen Cats only because it made choosing a worst film of the year all the easier.

2. The Hustle

While flicking through my Rotten Tomato scores for the year, I saw I had given The Hustle one and a half stars and I stopped and thought, "The Hustle? What the fuck was The Hustle?". I then had to click through to my own review to see what the hell The Hustle was. Apparently I had blocked everything about this unfunny film from my mind.

3. X-Men: Dark Phoenix

A bland and emotionless farewell to the XCU, which takes one of comicdom's most fascinating storylines and manages to fuck it up for a second time. I felt nothing but annoyance.

And for no real reason here are my most read blogs of 2019:

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Ad Astra
3. The story of XTC, as told in 50 songs
4. Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
5. Did Green Book deserve the best film Oscar?
6. Joker
7. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
8. Captain Marvel Easter eggs
9. Doctor Sleep
10. Roma