The race has been run, with 2.65 million votes tallied, and INXS' romantic waltz-turned-unofficial footy anthem Never Tear Us Apart has topped the table in triple j's countdown of the Hottest 100 Australian Songs.
The prevalence of tracks that wouldn't have been out of place on a BBQ/beer-drinking compilation album has led some to remark that the poll results are indistinguishable from a Triple M Ozzfest countdown.
But realistically, this is just further evidence that the boundaries around music are disappearing thanks to the internet and the insane amount of music now at our fingertips.
Whereas triple j once stood as a guardian of "the alternative" amid the glossy noise of "the mainstream", its key demographic of 15-27 year olds no longer sees the musical landscape in such binary fashion (18-29yos were the biggest voting demographic in the Aussie Hottest 100 by the way).
There is just good music and bad music, just as Jimi Hendrix pointed out in 1969.
This is because the reach and strength of the gatekeepers has diminished. The power of the big record labels has all but vanished, MTV no longer deals with the M in its name, and commercial radio is a dying medium. As a result, it's harder to spoonfeed the masses their music anymore. The rise of streaming means people are more likely to seek out what they want to listen to of their own volition, rather than being split into the once-important camps of "alternative" and "mainstream".
Hence triple j leaning into pop more, leading Beyonce/Chappell Roan/Olivia Rodrigo/Gracie Abrams to become playlist regulars. But this is what its audience wants, as reflected by the voting in annual Hottest 100s. These types of acts are no longer considered "mainstream" to the youth, because that term is meaningless to young people now, and triple j gets that. Except in the case of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, for some reason.
So where triple j listeners would have once bristled at the likes of Farnsy, Barnesy and The Veronicas vaulting the wall that kept them in Mainstream Land and landing in the Alt Domain of triple j, they are now acknowledging that good music is good music, and that the wall doesn't really exist anymore. Old, new, commercial, alternative, pop, country, whatever, it doesn't matter. Explains why Fleetwood Mac's Dreams is still in the ARIA charts, right?
And it explains why triple j's playlist is the way it is these days, and why the Hottest 100 Aussie Songs list is the way it is.
But that's just my perspective.
Anyway, whatever. Feelings aren't facts, so let's crunch some numbers. Here's the hard data from the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
1. Never Tear Us Apart - INXS (1987)
Despite the OG Double J being big supporters of INXS back in the day, by the time the triple j Hottest 100 era rolled around with the All Time lists in 1989-1991, Michael Hutchence and his merry men were the epitome of mainstream, having sold millions of records in the US alone. Hence the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs being the first time any of their songs made it into a Hottest 100 (Need You Tonight was #59).
But INXS' Hottest 100 debut actually came about in the Hottest 100 of Australian Albums in 2011, where Kick landed at #5. Interestingly, 43 out of the 100 songs from the weekend came from albums that scored a slot in that Aussie Albums poll. In fact the highest ranking album on the Aussie Album list that didn't yield a song in the Aussie Song list was #12 - Grinspoon's Guide To Better Living.
One other pleasant oddity - the winner of the 1989 and 1990 All Time countdowns? Love Will Tear Us Apart. But now it seems love will Never Tear Us Apart. How times have changed.
2. The Nosebleed Section - Hilltop Hoods (2003)
With three appearances in the Aussie Song countdown, Hilltop Hoods now has 37 entries across all Hottest 100s (so that's including all the all-time/best of the decade/20 years/best albums polls they've done). That's the most of any Aussie acts, which goes nicely with their crazy 25 entries in annual Hottest 100s (also an Aussie record).
In terms of All Hottest 100s, here's the Aussie leaderboard now:
37 - Hilltop Hoods
32 - Powderfinger
31 - Silverchair, Flume
26 - Tame Impala
23 - Grinspoon
22 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
20 - The Living End, You Am I
3. Untouched - The Veronicas (2007)
While Untouched and 4ever were the first Veronicas' songs to make the Hottest 100, they were not the first appearances of The Veronicas in a Hottest 100. That honour goes to their collaboration with Allday for the Like A Version of Big Yellow Taxi, which made it in at #42 in 2023's LAV Hottest 100.
The Origliasso twins, Missy Higgins, Kimbra, and Julia Stone were the only women to make it into the top 20.
4. Scar - Missy Higgins (2004)
Despite coming second in her annual Hottest 100 countdown in 2004, Missy Higgins' Scar outperformed all the annual #1s when it came time to vote for our favourite Aussie songs. Twelve of the 16 Aussie songs that have won an annual Hottest 100 countdown and were eligible for this poll (sorry Wiggles) made the grade, four did not - more on that shortly.
But what about the runners up? There were nine #2s in the Aussie Songs countdown out of a possible 18, with Scar topping the pile. Among the nine unsuccessful #2s: Something For Kate's Monsters, Ben Lee's Catch My Disease, Amy Shark's Adore, and Little Red's Rock It.
5. Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House (1986)
When the Hottest 100 began in 1989 it was an All Time poll - ditto in 1990 and 1991. Crowded House featured on none of those three lists, perhaps because they were too new and "mainstream" at the time. But Don't Dream It's Over's rise through the subsequent Hottest 100s it was eligible for accurately reflects its ascent to classicdom.
In the All Time Hottest 100 of 1998, it was #76. In the All Time count of 2009, it was #50. Its parent album Crowded House was #13 in 2011. And it chimed in at #5 on the All Time Aussie Song list. Quite the rise.
6. My Happiness - Powderfinger (2000)
Of the 12 annual countdown winners that made the list, this topped the pile. But spare a thought for the four #1s that didn't get a look in - Buy Me A Pony by Spiderbait, Amazing by Alex Lloyd, Hoops by The Rubens, and Say Nothing by Flume feat. May-A. Maybe they'll get a run in 200-101 (airing on Double J on Saturday, August 2).
Powderfinger were part of an elite group of bands that scored three entries in the Aussie Song countdown - how's this for a who's who of great Aussie acts: Powderfinger, Crowded House, Hilltop Hoods, Jimmy Barnes, AC/DC, Silverchair, Midnight Oil, and Gang of Youths.
And who was the only person to get four entries? Powderfinger's Bernard Fanning of course.
7. Flame Trees - Cold Chisel (1984)
8. Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel (1978)
Sarah Blasko's sublime cover of Flame Trees, which reached #15 in the 2005 annual countdown, 100 per cent helped keep the higher ranking of the Chisel songs in the consciousness. But this Aussie Song poll was the first time Cold Chisel's rendition of Flame Trees has appeared in a Hottest 100. Different story for Khe Sanh, which appeared in the 1989 All Time poll (95) and the 1998 All Time poll (94).
Cold Chisel were also the only band that went back-to-back in the Aussie Song countdown. No mean feat, particularly when both songs make it into the top 10.
9. How To Make Gravy - Paul Kelly (1996)
Untouched was the highest placed song in this Aussie countdown that was released post-1993 but didn't make it into the annual countdown of its year. How To Make Gravy is also on that list, along with Sweet Disposition, Innerbloom, Can't Get You Out Of My Head, Torn, 4ever, I Want You, and Red Right Hand.
How To Make Gravy is also one of 28 songs that had never appeared in any Hottest 100 song list previously.
10. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye feat. Kimbra (2011)
This previous annual Hottest 100 winner is in rare company because it's one of only three songs to make the Aussie Song list, the best of the 2010s Hottest 100, and the 20 Years poll of 2013. The other two songs on that list are Big Jet Plane by Angus & Julia Stone, and Brother by Matt Corby.
Gotye's #1 also has another claim to fame after cracking the top 10 here - it's one of only two songs to appear in the top 10 of four separate Hottest 100s. The only other song to do that is Hunters & Collectors' Throw Your Arms Around, which managed the feat in the All Time countdowns of 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1998.
Some other random notes:
Appearing on the most lists possible
Speaking of Throw Your Arms Around Me, it has now appeared in seven out of a possible seven Hottest 100s. It remains the only song to have appeared in every All Time countdown (1989, 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2009), plus its parent album Human Frailty is on the Aussie Albums Hottest 100 of 2011 at #76.
A close equal second is Silverchair's Tomorrow with six out of six possible appearances - the 1994 annual countdown, the 20 Years poll of 2013, the All Time lists of 2009 and 1998, and the Aussie Albums list via Frogstomp at #2, and Prisoner of Society by The Living End, which has the same results, except swap 1994 for 1997.
The old timers return
The only song aside from Throw Your Arms Around Me to appear in the Aussie Song Hottest 100 and the three OG All Time countdowns (1989, 1990, and 1991) is The Church's stone cold classic The Unguarded Moment.
And they are part of a cohort of five songs that appeared in both the original 1989 Hottest 100 of All Time and the latest Aussie Songs Hottest 100, with the other three being Khe Sanh, Power & The Passion, and Eagle Rock.
It was a very good year
Daddy Cool's Eagle Rock (1971) was also the oldest track on the list, while Amyl & The Sniffers' Hertz (2021) was the youngest. Amazing to see 50 years between the ends of the scale - serendipitous given this Hottest 100 marked 50 years of triple j.
The most represented years were 1997 (six entries) and 1987 (five entries).
The decade representation goes thusly: the '00s (27 entries), the '90s (23), the '10s (22) and the '80s (21). There were also five songs from the '70s and just two from the '20s.
And...
... there were three covers in the countdown (Black Betty, The Horses and Torn), and two Kiwis in the top 10 (Neil Finn and Kimbra) because we love to claim them.
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