Hottest 100 of 2020

[La Dispute]

I’m not a massive fan, but Coldplay’s first few albums and Viva La Vida were pretty decent. Parachutes was a more watered down version of The Bends, but they had their own vibe and were obviously heavily influenced by Britpop.

People still remember Yellow and Shiver because they’re well crafted pop songs with memorable, hooky choruses.

Will anyone have the same reaction to Heatwave in a couple of decades? Does anyone still look back fondly on Hoops winning a few years back?

Introducing decent pop songs into their daily playlists was one thing JJJ and Channel V (who have suffered a similar decline) used to do reasonably well, but with the general regression of pop music there aren’t many songs that’d qualify.

 

[Loonerty]

Shake it off was probably on track to be booted well before KFC put out that promotion because it was openly being voted in to troll listeners of the Js. I don't know for sure if there was a similar campaign for WAP, but I am presuming there must have been because it is not possible to like that song even ironically.

I read someone on reddit describe it as "very vulgar Weird Al" and I think that's about right.

Meme song, which is a regular fixture in Hottest 100s.

 

[BuddysBiggestFan]

I’m not a massive fan, but Coldplay’s first few albums and Viva La Vida were pretty decent. Parachutes was a more watered down version of The Bends, but they had their own vibe and were obviously heavily influenced by Britpop.

People still remember Yellow and Shiver because they’re well crafted pop songs with memorable, hooky choruses.

Will anyone have the same reaction to Heatwave in a couple of decades? Does anyone still look back fondly on Hoops winning a few years back?

Introducing decent pop songs into their daily playlists was one thing JJJ and Channel V (who have suffered a similar decline) used to do reasonably well, but with the general regression of pop music there aren’t many songs that’d qualify.

Heatwaves wouldn’t even make the top 100 of the last decade. Bad Guy was lucky to scrape in.

A nothing song.

 

[Loonerty]

Genuinely I wonder how different a lot of these countdowns would be if the votes were ranked.

Hoops definitely doesn't win in that case, surely?

 

[JackOutback]

I love heatwave so i get that, but the one i dont get is booster seat. Its such unremarkable song to me.

Reckon Booster Seat is a beautiful pop song.

 

[JackOutback]

I’m not a massive fan, but Coldplay’s first few albums and Viva La Vida were pretty decent. Parachutes was a more watered down version of The Bends, but they had their own vibe and were obviously heavily influenced by Britpop.

People still remember Yellow and Shiver because they’re well crafted pop songs with memorable, hooky choruses.

Will anyone have the same reaction to Heatwave in a couple of decades? Does anyone still look back fondly on Hoops winning a few years back?

Introducing decent pop songs into their daily playlists was one thing JJJ and Channel V (who have suffered a similar decline) used to do reasonably well, but with the general regression of pop music there aren’t many songs that’d qualify.

Unfair comparison, the way music is released and delivered has changed in the two decades between Coldplay and Glass Animals. With limited outlets to hear new music, more people heard Coldplay regardless of their level of interest. Simply the fact that everyone had heard of them made people think they must be worthy of the attention. Spotify now let’s you curate to your individual tastes, the stadium band is dead.

Glass Animals is better than Coldplay and I very much like their early work. But the Hottest 100 rewards consistency or being overlooked. Tokyo Drifting is probably the best song off Dreamland and that was 34 last year. Heat Waves may be a consensus pick to reward consistency.

 

[Roobs321]

WAP was more Sicko Mode lane imo. The critical consensus hit from overseas, late dark horse.

Pretty Fly & Teenage Dirtbag were end year chart toppers, pre-meme. I get it, but at the time they were clearly going to factor. Proto Sex on Fire

 

[La Dispute]

Unfair comparison, the way music is released and delivered has changed in the two decades between Coldplay and Glass Animals. With limited outlets to hear new music, more people heard Coldplay regardless of their level of interest. Simply the fact that everyone had heard of them made people think they must be worthy of the attention. Spotify now let’s you curate to your individual tastes, the stadium band is dead.

Glass Animals is better than Coldplay and I very much like their early work. But the Hottest 100 rewards consistency or being overlooked. Tokyo Drifting is probably the best song off Dreamland and that was 34 last year. Heat Waves may be a consensus pick to reward consistency.

There is nothing remarkable about Glass Animals. They are your run-of-the-mill indie pop band, who have slowly worked their way into JJJ favour after releasing some decent enough LP's early on to the point they became a permanent part of the JJJ rotation. Their most recent LP is boring as all get out, but they've got credits in the bank so they get airplay.

Coldplay weren't unworthy of attention at all - they wrote fairly timeless pop rock songs, and would have been as big in either era. (And they are still very popular internationally)

As I said, I'm not a big Coldplay fan, but can recognise their importance and the quality of their songwriting during the early 2000's. No one is going to look back as fondly on Glass Animals 3rd LP and corresponding singles in 20 years time.

 

[DaRenegade]

I don't mind Heat Waves overall, it's fairly catchy in it's own way. I prefer Tangerine and Tokyo Drifting off the album anyway, but can't argue too much against Heat Waves winning, it's instantly an upgrade on Bad Guy last year.

a lot of people saying Booster Seat is better, but to me, they're both about the same, neither remarkable but not bad either, and I feel the home grown bias for Spacey Jane is affecting some people's view.

 

[nobbyiscool]

Shake It Off got booted because KFC actively put up a promotion to encourage people to vote for it. Not only is that a big no-no from the ABC, it's blatant vote fixing. Triple J would've allowed her in otherwise.

I was wondering about this on Saturday listening to the count. I mean, I'm aware of my own biases, having started to appreciate Taylor Swift's 2 indie albums this year, and being a massive, massive fan of Thelma Plum (who I've seen live twice.)

I don't think we'll ever get an explanation - but I'd love to know how JJJ differentiated between the KFC promotion for Shake it off, and Thelma Plum's cover of These Days which, as I understand, only happened cos it was commissioned by a bank..

 

[Loonerty]

I was wondering about this on Saturday listening to the count. I mean, I'm aware of my own biases, having started to appreciate Taylor Swift's 2 indie albums this year, and being a massive, massive fan of Thelma Plum (who I've seen live twice.)

I don't think we'll ever get an explanation - but I'd love to know how JJJ differentiated between the KFC promotion for Shake it off, and Thelma Plum's cover of These Days which, as I understand, only happened cos it was commissioned by a bank..

Well KFC were saying something like if you show us you voted for Shake It Off we'll give you free food.

Actively compromising the countdown is a bit different to doing a cover for a bank.

 

[nobbyiscool]

a lot of people saying Booster Seat is better, but to me, they're both about the same, neither remarkable but not bad either, and I feel the home grown bias for Spacey Jane is affecting some people's view.

That pretty much sums up Saturday's count in a nutshell - "neither remarkable but not bad either."

For years I've given voters a break, saying that what they vote for is clearly influenced by what JJJ plays.

I've done a complete 180 on that opinion after this year's count. Over the last year I've probably listened to more JJJ than I have in years - I'm usually listening to mornings or lunch.

I know Lucy Smith and Dave Woodhead aren't their "prime time" presenters, as opposed to breakfast and drive - but you listen to their shows, and it's so diverse. You'll get indie music, pop music, guitar music, occasional EDM, Luce unit will occasionally play stuff that's so pop you go "that's not JJJ"; you'll hear from Indigenous artists, you'll hear from LGBTQI+ artists, you'll hear from other minority artists.

The issue isn't what is on Triple J's playlist - the issue has clearly become the voters. What used to be the one must-listen day of radio every year has become the opposite. Because when you turn it over to the public you get none of that diversity - you get mediocre white dude acoustic music (Glass Animals, Spacey Jane, Ball Park Music, Lime Cordiale et al), or you get indie-pop female voices (Mallrat - who I love - G-Flip, Amy Shark, Halsey).

Then if your name is Hilltop Hoods or Kendrick they'll vote for some hip hop, and if your name is Flume or Tame Impala they'll vote for some electronica/"computer music".

Hottest 100 day is almost becoming must-not-listen, because it's the most boring, same-same, non-diverse, "neither remarkable but not bad either" daily play list you'll get from Triple J all year.

Much as I've joked over the last couple of days about how old I've become, I don't think wanting and expecting some diversity among what people vote for is a sign of age - I think it's just a sign of being progressive in my values and expecting that this generation of young people would do better in consciously voting for diverse artists so the H100 doesn't all sound the same.

I've had different problems with the H100 over the years, but that's what 2020 comes down to for me - the only diversity is from the coordinated groups of online metal head and punk groups who can get a couple of songs in, and you'll get a tiny amount of drill music from that dedicated fan base (2 songs out of the top 100 this year from memory)... but aside from that, it turns out the listenership of Triple J just have very boring, bland tastes in music.

I think I said yesterday during the Double J recap that it was actually jarring hearing the heavy guitar intro to 28 Days' "Rip it up" - I think it's an indictment of the lack of diversity in the Hottest 100 (not Triple J, but the Hottest 100 as voted by listeners) that a heavy guitar song is jarring.

 

[estibador]

I know Lucy Smith and Dave Woodhead aren't their "prime time" presenters

On an unrelated note, your post just prompted me to google Woodhead... man, that guy does not look anything like I was picturing from his voice.

 

[estibador]

Much as I've joked over the last couple of days about how old I've become, I don't think wanting and expecting some diversity among what people vote for is a sign of age - I think it's just a sign of being progressive in my values and expecting that this generation of young people would do better in consciously voting for diverse artists so the H100 doesn't all sound the same.

I think someone alluded to this earlier but it rings true for me - if the count was becoming too alternative for me then I'd happily shrug and admit I'm getting too old to appreciate what the crazy kids think is cool these days. That's the time-honoured tradition of getting too old for modern music.

But it's hard to get my head around the fact that I find the kids' tastes are getting too bland for me now. It's like they're the first generation to regress back to elevator music relative to the generation before.

I find myself listening to RTR more these days which actually still has proper alternative music. There's a lot of stuff on there I don't like, but even if it's not to my taste I can at least see it has some character.

 

[chef]

On an unrelated note, your post just prompted me to google Woodhead... man, that guy does not look anything like I was picturing from his voice.

I was the same haha, him, Lucy and Stacy Gougoulis are easily the best presenters on JJJ.

Glad they ditched the two girls from last years breakfast as they were terrible. Just need to do the same with Hobba and Hing, got to a stage i cant listen to the drive home. How unfunny can people be.

 

[La Dispute]

That pretty much sums up Saturday's count in a nutshell - "neither remarkable but not bad either."

For years I've given voters a break, saying that what they vote for is clearly influenced by what JJJ plays.

I've done a complete 180 on that opinion after this year's count. Over the last year I've probably listened to more JJJ than I have in years - I'm usually listening to mornings or lunch.

I know Lucy Smith and Dave Woodhead aren't their "prime time" presenters, as opposed to breakfast and drive - but you listen to their shows, and it's so diverse. You'll get indie music, pop music, guitar music, occasional EDM, Luce unit will occasionally play stuff that's so pop you go "that's not JJJ"; you'll hear from Indigenous artists, you'll hear from LGBTQI+ artists, you'll hear from other minority artists.

The issue isn't what is on Triple J's playlist - the issue has clearly become the voters. What used to be the one must-listen day of radio every year has become the opposite. Because when you turn it over to the public you get none of that diversity - you get mediocre white dude acoustic music (Glass Animals, Spacey Jane, Ball Park Music, Lime Cordiale et al), or you get indie-pop female voices (Mallrat - who I love - G-Flip, Amy Shark, Halsey).

Then if your name is Hilltop Hoods or Kendrick they'll vote for some hip hop, and if your name is Flume or Tame Impala they'll vote for some electronica/"computer music".

Hottest 100 day is almost becoming must-not-listen, because it's the most boring, same-same, non-diverse, "neither remarkable but not bad either" daily play list you'll get from Triple J all year.

Much as I've joked over the last couple of days about how old I've become, I don't think wanting and expecting some diversity among what people vote for is a sign of age - I think it's just a sign of being progressive in my values and expecting that this generation of young people would do better in consciously voting for diverse artists so the H100 doesn't all sound the same.

I've had different problems with the H100 over the years, but that's what 2020 comes down to for me - the only diversity is from the coordinated groups of online metal head and punk groups who can get a couple of songs in, and you'll get a tiny amount of drill music from that dedicated fan base (2 songs out of the top 100 this year from memory)... but aside from that, it turns out the listenership of Triple J just have very boring, bland tastes in music.

I think I said yesterday during the Double J recap that it was actually jarring hearing the heavy guitar intro to 28 Days' "Rip it up" - I think it's an indictment of the lack of diversity in the Hottest 100 (not Triple J, but the Hottest 100 as voted by listeners) that a heavy guitar song is jarring.

Great post, I think you’ve summed it up perfectly.

Not enough polarisation (which was half the fun of older counts), lots of template ‘indie’ music and generally a whole heap of disposable songs that just kind of meander without reaching any great heights.

Even bad songs force you to react to them - this current batch is too vanilla to even facilitate that.

 

[Roobs321]

i.e. Gen Zzzzzzzzz

 

[DaRenegade]

nobby summed up alot of people's current frustations with the countdown, I'd like to add the sudden obsession with garbage British rap like Stormzy and AJ Tracey, yet Kanye West/Travis Scott could barely crack the 200 with a far superior track in Wash Us in the Blood

 

[estibador]

Glad they ditched the two girls from last years breakfast as they were terrible. Just need to do the same with Hobba and Hing, got to a stage i cant listen to the drive home. How unfunny can people be.

Yeah those girls weren't great, big step down from the previous two guys. I didn't realise they'd got rid of them though.

I love Lewis Hobba, he's my favourite presenter. I preferred his rapport with Veronica but Hing is growing on me slowly.

 

[Loonerty]

Yeah those girls weren't great, big step down from the previous two guys. I didn't realise they'd got rid of them though.

I love Lewis Hobba, he's my favourite presenter. I preferred his rapport with Veronica but Hing is growing on me slowly.

I think Sally and Erica had a falling out. Shortly after they left they announced their music duo (Coda Conduct) was ending as well.

 

[JackOutback]

Yeah those girls weren't great, big step down from the previous two guys. I didn't realise they'd got rid of them though.

I love Lewis Hobba, he's my favourite presenter. I preferred his rapport with Veronica but Hing is growing on me slowly.

I thought Ben and Liam were bog average. No surprise they went to a commercial station like Nova. Thought Sally and Erica were much better and would have improved more with time. But as mentioned above, they had a falling out and quit.

 

[nobbyiscool]

On an unrelated note, your post just prompted me to google Woodhead... man, that guy does not look anything like I was picturing from his voice.

The surprise for me when you google him is that his background is as a comedian.

I think he's a fantastic radio presenter - but he's not outrageously funny in that you'd team him up with someone for Breakfast or Drive.

I think Sally and Erica had a falling out. Shortly after they left they announced their music duo (Coda Conduct) was ending as well.

I read Erica's version of the story on Junkee - it seemed a very one-sided falling out. Erica said she thought they were continuing this year, that they'd already started coming up with ideas, and then Sally pulled the plug without even really telling Erica. I was a bit disappointed by it. I'd probably only listen to the last hour of their show two-three times a week, but by mid-year I thought they'd found a great stride and were a really fun, bubbly duo to wake up to.

I don't know how long Brice and Ebony are going to last. I think they're both good presenters, and Brice has more than done his time filling in for every show, and even going in to push the buttons when they overlook him for opportunities to get someone like Ruby Fields to fill in for breakfast.

But they're not your typical Triple J breakfast due ie. an established duo of quasi-comedians. It seemed a very last minute pairing.

 

[thewitness]

nobby summed up alot of people's current frustations with the countdown, I'd like to add the sudden obsession with garbage British rap like Stormzy and AJ Tracey, yet Kanye West/Travis Scott could barely crack the 200 with a far superior track in Wash Us in the Blood

I agree "Wash Us In The Blood" is a good track and I would have liked it to finish higher, but I'm also a big fan of Grime music. Although the tracks that made it in were not my favourite grime tracks of the year, variety in Hip Hop is good to see.

 

[DaRenegade]

as shallow as it might sound to say, I can't wait until there's no more Juice WRLD music being released, how such a mediocre artist can get 3.5 songs (one a feature on his white doppleganger LAROI) in the H100 posthumously is absurd, same goes for Mac Miller

 

[2006_Eagles]

But it's hard to get my head around the fact that I find the kids' tastes are getting too bland for me now. It's like they're the first generation to regress back to elevator music relative to the generation before.

Did you steal my assertion?

Coz I made this very same assertion in this thread last weekend

Then I got shut down by some dweeb, because it was nothing but an "old man yells at cloud" opinion