Who will win triple j's Hottest 100 Aussie songs of all time?

Damn this is difficult.

Usually when I analyse and forecast a Hottest 100, there are some pretty straight-forward factors to assess - vote aggregator 100 Warm Tunas, how much an artist has been played on triple j/Spotify/YouTube, ARIA chart position, Tik Tok views, and the bookies.

But compiling predictions on the Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time is much harder because it boils down to one indefinable quality - cultural cachet.

Run this poll annually, and you'll see songs rise and fall as their status and legacy are re-evaluated and re-assessed by an adoring public. Just look at the first three years of triple j's Hottest 100 when it was an All Time poll. There are 56 songs shared between the first two countdowns of 1989 and 1990, while the 1991 Hottest 100 only featured 39 songs that hadn't appeared in either 1989 or 1990. Part of the reason why triple j ditched the All Time format was because each year was going to be too similar, but it was, for a short time at least, a fascinating real-time record of cultural cachet. It was basically the national equivalent of how our favourite songs might change on any given day/week/month/year, depending on our mood and what comes to mind.

So how do we assess cultural cachet? I have no friggin' idea, but here is what I do know, which is a mix of available data, gut feeling, and intuition.

Past winners

There have been 17 of Aussie winners of annual Hottest 100 countdowns. For the record, they are:

Buy Me A Pony - Spiderbait (1996)

No Aphrodisiac - The Whitlams (1997)

These Days - Powderfinger (1999)

My Happiness - Powderfinger (2000)

Amazing - Alex Lloyd (2001)

Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Jet (2003)

Wish You Well - Bernard Fanning (2005)

One Crowded Hour - Augie March (2006)

Big Jet Plane - Angus & Julia Stone (2010)

Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye feat. Kimbra (2011)

Riptide - Vance Joy (2013)

Talk Is Cheap - Chet Faker (2014)

Hoops - The Rubens (2015)

Never Be Like You - Flume feat. Kai (2016)

Confidence - Ocean Alley (2018)

Elephant - The Wiggles (2021) 

Say Nothing - Flume feat. May-A (2022)

All of these songs are a pretty solid shot of making the Hottest 100 (except for The Wiggles' cover of Elephant, which is ineligible because triple j has ruled out Like A Versions, thank god).

But some are more likely than others. Songs like Amazing, Are You Gonna Be My Girl? and Hoops feel like their esteem has faded in the decades since they were voted in, while tracks such as Riptide and Somebody That I Used To Know have remained in the zeitgeist like bugs trapped in amber. Riptide has spent 14 weeks in the ARIA top 50 this year alone, for chrissake. If that's not a tick of approval, then I don't know what is.

Best of the '10s

Here are the top 10 Aussie songs from the best of the decade (2010-2019) Hottest 100 that aired in 2020 (with their actual finishing position in brackets):

1. The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala (1)

2. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye feat. Kimbra (2)

3. Covered In Chrome - Violent Soho (4)

4. Innerbloom - Rufus Du Sol (5)

5. Magnolia - Gang Of Youths (6)

6. Never Be Like You - Flume feat. Kai (8)

7. Big Jet Plane - Angus & Julia Stone (9)

8. Brother - Matt Corby (10)

9. Talk Is Cheap - Chet Faker (11)

10. Riptide - Vance Joy (13)

Six of these were previous Hottest 100 winners, which goes to show that's a meaningful stat. The non-winners in this list are also pretty key, and will more than likely make the Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time. Innerbloom in particular is one to watch - the original and a remix both made it into this countdown of the '10s.

2013's Hottest 100 of the previous 20 years

From 2013's Hottest 100 of the previous 20 years, here are the top 10 Aussie songs (with where they finished in that countdown in brackets):

1. The Nosebleed Section - Hilltop Hoods (4)

2. These Days - Powderfinger (8)

3. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye feat. Kimbra (9)

4. My Happiness - Powderfinger (10)

5. Hearts A Mess - Gotye (12)

6. Tomorrow - Silverchair (17)

7. Prisoner Of Society - The Living End (20)

8. One Crowded Hour - Augie March (24)

9. Frontier Psychiatrist - The Avalanches (27)

10. Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap (38)

Given that this poll covered 1993 to 2013, it's a really key one because it hits in the sweet spots for a lot of the older demographic that's likely to return to triple j for a vote. All these songs are a solid bet to make it into this poll, and I would be shocked, shocked I tell you, if these 10 don't make the 100.

The cover band version

The Horses - Daryl Braithwaite

Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House

Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel

You're The Voice - John Farnham

Never Tear Us Apart - INXS

Thunderstruck - AC/DC

Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil

Throw Your Arms Around Me - Hunters & Collectors

Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? - The Angels

Down Under - Men At Work

I spent a lot of years playing covers songs in pubs, and it's quite the microcosm of musical criticism. If you ever doubt that Wonderwall really means a lot to people, go and hear it played live in a shitty pub through a shitty PA by a group of shitty musicians and see how it still hits the mark.

With that in mind, here are 10 songs that hit the pub band cover setlist/backyard BBQ playlist demographic that are a fair shot to make the list. And remember that thing I said before about cultural cachet? Well this list has a lot of it. The Horses is basically a meme, but irony is dead so it will go really high - expect it in the top 10. Don't Dream It's Over is edging towards a billion plays on Spotify and is the #1 Australian song on the ARIA charts at the moment. Thunderstruck is #2 on that same ARIA chart and has 1.8 billion plays. Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? was a Like A Version in recent years, and Down Under got sampled and flogged on triple j recently as well. And I couldn't even squeeze Paul Kelly's How To Make Gravy in here, which got turned into a goddamn movie and has made the 21st of December into the next best thing to a national public holiday.

The Aussie albums list - can it teach us anything?

Here's the top 10 from the top 100 Aussie albums Hottest 100 that triple j did way back in 2011.

1. Odyssey Number Five - Powderfinger (2000)

2. Frogstomp - Silverchair (1995)

3. Back In Black - AC/DC (1980)

4. The Living End – The Living End (1999)

5. Kick - INXS (1987)

6. Internationalist - Powderfinger (1998)

7. Apocalypso - The Presets (2008)

8. Wolfmother – Wolfmother (2005)

9. Since I Left You - The Avalanches (2000)

10. Unit - Regurgitator (1997)

All of these bands are a shot to be in the countdown, but Powderfinger and Silverchair loom large. Powderfinger had four albums in the top 50, while Silverchair had all five of their albums within the top 70. These Days, My Happiness, Tomorrow, Straight Lines - these are the songs to watch from these two powerhouse bands.

The last all time list - 2009

It's been 16 years since triple j did a countdown of the Hottest 100 songs of all time (which Smells Like Teen Spirit won yet again), but here's every Aussie song that made the cut.

1. The Nosebleed Section - Hilltop Hoods (17)

2. These Days - Powderfinger (21)

3. Throw Your Arms Around Me - Hunters & Collectors (23)

4. My Happiness - Powderfinger (27)

5. Tomorrow - Silverchair (33)

6. Prisoner Of Society - The Living End (34)

7. Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (36)

8. Betterman - John Butler Trio (47)

9. Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House (50)

10. Berlin Chair - You Am I (52)

11. One Crowded Hour - Augie March (59)

12. Thunderstruck - AC/DC (63)

13. Hearts A Mess - Gotye (77)

14. Back In Black - AC/DC (91)

15. Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil (97)

The Nosebleed Section was #9 in its year and if you were paying attention you'll notice it's popped up on two other non-annual lists. It's a landmark track in Australian music - only 1200 Techniques' Karma precedes it as an announcement of the arrival of Aussie hip hop. But all 15 songs on this list are strong favourites to make the countdown come July 26.

Pop go the ladies 

The Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time is going to be a sausage fest, because the history of Australian music has been dominated by men. triple j has proven that if you start playing a balance of music from male, female and nonbinary people, audiences love it, and will demonstrate this love by voting for music that isn't just performed by white dudes. But this upcoming countdown is going to be a return to the white men, because that's what history is.

With that in mind, here is the female pop equivalent list of that cover band list from earlier.

Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie

Untouched - The Veronicas

My Island Home - Christine Anu

Born To Try - Delta Goodrem

Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi

Chains - Tina Arena

Bedroom Eyes - Kate Ceberano

Physical - Olivia Newton John

I Touch Myself - Divinyls

Torn - Natalie Imbruglia

The bookies really rate that Veronicas song, and if there's not a Kylie song or two in the countdown I'll be hugely surprised. In terms of cultural cachet, Divinyls have never gone away, nor has Kylie or Natalie Imbruglia's cover of Torn, and is it just me or has Tina Arena been having a moment in recent years? These are all things to watch out for come July 26.

The most streamed Aussie songs on Spotify

This is by no means precise, but here (to the best of my reckoning) are the most streamed Aussie songs on Spotify that have previously appeared in an annual Hottest 100.

1. Stay - The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Beiber (3.56 billion)

2. Dance Monkey - Tones & I (3.28 billion)

3. Riptide - Vance Joy (3.18 billion)

4. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye (2.14 billion)

5. Chandelier - Sia (2.033 billion)

6. The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala (2.028 billion)

7. Be Alright - Dean Lewis (1.998 billion)

8. Glimpse Of Us - Joji (1.56 billion)

9. Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun (1.23 billion)

10. Never Be Like You - Flume feat. Kai (0.967 billion)

"Overplayed" is totally a thing, but you can't ignore the sheer insanity of the numbers here. People aren't sick of these songs, even if you are, so watch out for some/all of these tracks to get a guernsey in the countdown. 

Sportsbet

Here are the odds from Sportsbet (WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GAMBLING WITH?) as of July 10.

1. My Happiness - Powderfinger ($2.37)

2. The Nosebleed Section - Hilltop Hoods ($3.75)

3. The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala ($8.50)

4. Innerbloom - Rufus Du Sol ($10)

5. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye ft. Kimbra ($11)

6. These Days - Powderfinger ($13)

7. Untouched - The Veronicas ($15)

8. Down Under - Men At Work ($17)

8. How To Make Gravy - Paul Kelly ($17)

10. Riptide - Vance Joy ($19)

10. The Horses - Daryl Braithwaite ($19)

This is a really solid list. I'm stoked that it's close to my list, but who the hell knows, right? And remember: you win some, but you lose more.

So here are my predictions

1. These Days - Powderfinger

2. The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala

3. The Nosebleed Section - Hilltop Hoods

4. Riptide - Vance Joy

5. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye feat. Kimbra

6. The Horses - Daryl Braithwaite

7. Innerbloom - Rufus Du Sol

8. Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House

9. Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun

10. Stay - The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Beiber

I feel like this takes all the bits and pieces of cultural cachet and data that I've been talking about and throws them together. I'm not super confident about The Kid Laroi, but recency bias and huge Spotify numbers get it into the top 10 for me. If I had to swap it out, I'd swap in a Flume track like Never Be Like You.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on July 9, 2025.

(M) ★★★

Director: Gareth Edwards.

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Ed Skrein.

"Quiet... Spielberg is coming."

There is something repetitive and comforting about the Jurassic Park franchise. Every movie is effectively the same - Man creates Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs eat Man - but the sight of CG reincarnations of these incredible creatures never gets old.

What does get old are the plots and characters and contrivances around these CG creatures of a bygone era. And so my review of Jurassic Park #7 basically boils down to this - if you love it when dinosaurs attack, and that's all that matters, then it's three stars. If you're over it, then it's a two.

The plots, characters and contrivances this time around see a team led by gun-for-hire Zora Bennett (Johansson) and palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis (Bailey) heading to one of the islands formerly used to clone dinosaurs to recover DNA samples from three of the biggest beasts, at the behest of a pharmaceutical company led by Martin Krebs (Friend).

Along the way they stumble upon a family on a yacht trip in need of help, and a couple of dino mutants that definitely didn't exist 66 million years ago.

The biggest problem with these movies isn't the dinos, but the people. The first third of Rebirth grinds, most notably in a scene where Johansson and Ali talk about their pasts and their problems. It feels forced and slows the film. Worst of all, it feels like a scene written into the film to accommodate the two A-list stars attached to the project.

And perhaps this gets to the issue here. Having Johansson and Ali as the surprisingly lovely and charming mercenaries means they have to be front and centre as the protagonists. But the whole thing would be better if told from the perspective of the family. It would have increased the intrigue and mystery, and added a layer beyond the film's plot of "find dinosaur, extract sample, go home". It also would have made the film about half an hour shorter.

Instead the low stakes of the mercenaries' mission overwhelms the more interesting tale of survival,  and strips the film of much of its potential tension. Fortunately the meh moments are punctuated by dinosaurs doing what dinosaurs do best.

There are a couple of great sequences here, most notably a raft ride near a T-Rex that's straight out of Michael Crichton's original novel. It's heart-in-mouth stuff. The opening scene, with its mist-shrouded Big Bad running amok, is also great, harkening back to the horror-tinged openings of the first two films, while a cliffside encounter with a Quetzalcoatlus and a surprisingly funny yet tense cameo from an old dino fave are also very welcome.

The incredible thing is that even though this is among the worst of the Jurassic Park movies, it's still okay. Rebirth is enjoyable despite its familiarity. It's formulaic and frustrating, but you're here to see some dino action, and on that point it never fails to deliver.

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on June 26, 2025.

(PG) ★★★

Director: Dean DeBlois.

Cast: Mason Thames, Gerard Butler, Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Peter Serafinowicz.

"Fly Cat-Bat!"

I have no problem with people remaking films, but good lord, have an actual reason to do so beyond "money".

Modernise it, gender-flip it, put it in space, explore its themes through a different lens, improve it. But don't just make the exact same movie again. And certainly don't do it with the same director.

Because that's what is going on here. And in redoing this charming 2010 CG-animated film as a CG-heavy live action film, How To Train Your Dragon loses a lot of its charm, and gains very little in return.

It's still the tale of Hiccup (Thames), the son of a Viking chieftain (Butler), who lives on an island besieged by dragons. After a run-in with the most fiercest dragon of them all, Hiccup learns these creatures aren't evil, just misunderstood, and sets about changing the destiny of his clan.

Admittedly it's been a while since I watched the original (15 years in fact), but this remake feels pretty close to a beat-for-beat retelling. There is nothing new here - the director, who co-directed the original, has even boasted of recreating sequences shot-for-shot. At least when Gus Van Sant did that with Psycho it felt like some kind of cinematic thought experiment. This just feels like an attempt to make money.

Leaving aside the remake thing for a moment, if the 2010 version of this didn't exist, on its own this film would be okay. It's weirdly flat in terms of tone and laughs, but there is no denying the beauty and power of its story, and some of the flight sequences are exhilarating and look incredible. 

The cast also does a pretty solid job. Thames is too handsome to play Hiccup, but the kid can act, and Parker is great as the star Viking teen Astrid. Butler gives perhaps the best performance of his career in the role of Stoick, which he voiced in the 2010 original, and Frost does a pretty good job at providing comic relief. The incredibly talented Serafinowicz is oddly wasted though, and the kids are largely annoying, but not enough so as to ruin the film.

But compared to the original, this live action knock-off feels oddly charmless, with nothing new to offer. It fails to recapture the spark of its predecessor, which perhaps says just as much about the nature of cinema as Van Sant's Psycho experiment. Even with all the same ingredients, sometimes a dish just doesn't taste the same.