Response to JJJ's Hottest 100 of all time 2009

I gave Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All-Time a good chunk of my attention last weekend. So much so that my girlfriend had to tell me to dispense with the aghast sighs when hearing of an average (in my opinion) song's giddy position on the countdown as opposed to another's (of which I'm fond) lowly position.
Don't get me wrong. This is indeed a strong list of songs (I ranked each out 10 - and no, it's not that I've got too much time on my hands, I've had to burn the midnight oil a few times. The average is 7.82, a tick under an 'A' or 'HD' average).
Without stretching the old noggin any further (given this is more than likely to be a futile, thankless task) I'd say a good half of the tunes herein would be in line for my top 100 of all time. Or top 200. But then, it's impossible to say until I actually sit down and tackle that mammoth task. Unless the windfall comes my way it probably won't happen, I like my sleep too much.
Actually, even if I'm able to bathe in $100 notes while attempting it, it wouldn't feel right. Music is always alive, songs go up and down in estimations; new tunes emerge that take your breath away. I guess that's why these sorts of polls find constantly find themselves on the radio and in music magazines. It's the search for the fruitless - the definitive all-time great song. But it's more than that for many of us. It's the thrill of the chase.
So. What I've done is put my own order to the 100 songs that made the countdown. It seems I'm on the same page as the nucleus on no less than four songs - Under the Bridge, Alive, London Calling and Every You, Every Me while I was one off the pace on three - Superstition, Paranoid Android and Today. As for the others, well, I differ. And that's what, for me, made this exercise worthwhile. By throwing in a comment on each one (my self-imposed 20-word limit proved difficult, particularly on the songs I didn't like as much), and by listening to the Blip Playlist, I reaffirmed my thoughts on each.
Below is the final product. It's been through excel, word and now in restrictive e-blogger format.
Finally, my disclaimer: that I love music too much to make apologies for any of my choices. To adopt a well-worn cliche: music is the winner here!

My rank
(Hottest 100 of all time 2009 rank)
Song
Artist
Year of release
Comments


1
(59)
One Crowded Hour
Augie March
2006
Already an old friend. Moo You Bloody Choir, along with their first two albums, helped me through my ‘dark summer’.

2
(76)
Fools Gold
The Stone Roses
1989
Cool as f*ck (who’d have thought to turn the vocals down?) and ten years’ ahead of its time.

3
(36)
Into My Arms
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
1997
The definitive funeral song. Achingly beautiful.

4
(5)
Paranoid Android
Radiohead
1997
Goosebumps still sprout when electric guitar meets that bass-driven riff.

5
(7)
Last Goodbye
Jeff Buckley
1994
Memories of hostel life, rot-gut red and a love seemingly lost forever.

6
(15)
Karma Police
Radiohead
1997
Just pipped by Paranoid Android for Radiohead's best. ‘90s angst drips off this.
Harmonies Brian Wilson would be proud to claim.

7
(75)
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Green Day
1997
Before Seinfeld and others took it to different place, this was a simple, heartfelt pop song for all ages. Pays to banish it for a while.

8
(8)
Under the Bridge
Red Hot Chili Peppers
1991
If you can’t be bothered with Anthony Kiedis’s autobiography, then just read the lyrics to this. Best bridge ever?

9
(84)
No Woman, No Cry
Bob Marley & The Wailers
1974
Ah, stoner backpacking daze… Grabs hold of the heart in its own unique way.

10
(44)
Hey Jude
The Beatles
1968
Pleased this made it; not such a guilty pleasure after all!

11
(85)
Bohemian Like You
The Dandy Warhols
2000
Sure I once read somewhere music-world doomsayers predicting we’d run out of great riffs?

12
(2)
Killing in the Name
Rage Against the Machine
1992
This raucous belter flips the bird with spittle-flying menace.

13
(71)
How Soon Is Now?
The Smiths
1984
Spine-tingling ‘80s synths and lyrics that carry across the generations.

14
(3)
Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley
1994
Leonard Cohen’s bank account inflates as his musical ego is forced in the other direction.

15
(11)
Imagine
John Lennon
1971
Perhaps heard this more than any other but it still more than holds its own.

16
(19)
One
Metallica
1988
Some songs are labeled an ‘epic’ undeservedly. Not this. Still awesome.

17
(14)
Bitter Sweet Symphony
The Verve
1997
Walkman had this on repeat walking along Brighton beach (UK) to work back in ’98. ‘I can change’!

18
(93)
Unfinished Sympathy
Massive Attack
1991
Normally not my genre but this haunts and moves the feet in equal measures. Trip-hop too ingenious to ignore.

19
(65)
Born Slippy
Underworld
1995
Instantly back to Edinburgh and backpacker hostel days again. A nightclubbing staple for years.

20
(16)
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
1975
Even on the simpler, lighter side of the moon, Pink Floyd come up with the goods.

21
(40)
Come as You Are
Nirvana
1991
Yes, I have this above Teen Spirit. Strong album, Nevermind, wasn’t it?

22
(92)
Skinny Love
Bon Iver
2008
A broken-hearted gent who hibernated in Wisconsin and recorded for months. Basic and beautiful; you can picture him perfecting this by a log fire.

23
(28)
Fake Plastic Trees
Radiohead
1995
A constant on my walkman in the Edinburgh days. I'd forgo the bus from Portobello to Princes Street so I embrace the cold and listen to The Bends and reflect on how confusing love is. Pathetic, isn’t it.

24
(56)
Lover, You Should've Come Over
Jeff Buckley
1994
Again, it’s gallons of cheap red wine, life on a shoe-string and intoxicated by a first love. ‘Let me sleep tonight, on your couch’.

25
(25)
Alive
Pearl Jam
1991
Prominently black band t-shirt over long-sleeve, dreaming of tearing into this in front of a big crowd. I wonder where Jeremy ended up?

26
(77)
Hearts a Mess
Gotye
2006
Highly original and deeply affecting. Released around the time of an epic break-up.

27
(1)
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Nirvana
1991
Put the snarl in my 14-year-old self. Possibly suffers from a hundred too many listens.

28
(10)
Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin
1971
Always number one on 96.9 Sun FM’s (Shepparton) all-time countdowns. Led me to buy Remasters at age 15.

29
(69)
Grace
Jeff Buckley
1994
Even by Bucks’ lofty standards, the ol' larynx gets a fair work out here.

30
(18)
Knights of Cydonia
Muse
2006
Music critics labeled it a ‘Spaghetti Western’. Me and my Muse-loving mates just turned it up. Loud. We discovered that cops are Muse fans, too.

31
(49)
Sweet Child o' Mine
Guns N' Roses
1988
Maybe forget Chinese Democracy ever happened. Reacquaint yourself with this instead.

32
(22)
Teardrop
Massive Attack
1998
You got a roach?

33
(13)
Creep
Radiohead
1992
Pablo Honey has always been harshly rated. Creep isn’t even the best song on it.

34
(50)
Don't Dream It's Over
Crowded House
1986
Around the time of this song’s release Australia claimed Crowded House for good.

35
(20)
Seven Nation Army
The White Stripes
2003
The riffs are getting bigger. I still struggle to reconcile their huge sound with a two-piece.

36
(43)
God Only Knows
The Beach Boys
1966
Picture this: a golden sun going down on a Californian beach; no music, just the Wilson brothers further beautifying the amazing arrangements of this classic, the waves crashing in.

37
(24)
A Day in the Life
The Beatles
1967
Arguably The Beatles’ most inventive moment to that time. Still holds up today. Of course, so does much of their material.

38
(87)
Yellow
Coldplay
2000
Wouldn’t it be great if great songs were given a five-year sabbatical after copping the 'year-long, broken record’ treatment from radio stations?

39
(4)
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Joy Division
1980
Got me fifth time around. That spine-tingling ‘80s riff always demands attention. Control one of the great music movies.

40
(35)
1979
The Smashing Pumpkins
1996
A heart-pulling electronic riff doesn't overshadow a cleverly-executed pop-rock number.

41
(55)
Like a Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan
1965
Forty-four years on and still going strong. Is so old my dad was still years away from blowing smoke rings in front of my ogling mother at the Ouyen cafe.

42
(81)
Common People
Pulp
1995
Camp, tongue-in-cheek and cool. Invokes memories of vile lager, late night chippies and full breakfasts. All at once.

43(41)
Billie Jean
Michael Jackson
1983
A great song anyway. Motown with menace.

44
(61)
Song 2
Blur
1997
At two minutes it was never great value on the video jukebox. Nor would it be to download now.

45
(80)
Paint It, Black
The Rolling Stones
1966
The Stones’ finest moment – and that’s saying something.

46
(64)
Blister in the Sun
Violent Femmes
1982
A classic but heard it too many times. Reminds me of the Barooga Sporties for some reason.

47
(94)
Float On
Modest Mouse
2004
The archetypal slow-burner – first time you think: 'good song'; then, 'there’s something more there'; and finally, 'a touch of genius'.

48
(98)
Kashmir
Led Zeppelin
1975
Led Zep are worthy of two songs; this is a worthy bridesmaid to Stairway.

49
(60)
Hurt
Johnny Cash
2003
An ailing old man outdoes himself. Again.

50
(99)
Wolf Like Me
TV on the Radio
2006
Another that has grown in stature as it’s aged. Feel your adrenalin snowball.

51
(100)
Take Me Out
Franz Ferdinand
2004
Wouldn’t be out of place in any era from the ‘70s onwards.

52
(6)
Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen
1988
Bona fide classic that suffers, as many do, from over-saturation. Perhaps we have too many all-time counts.

53
(12)
Wonderwall
Oasis
1995
Ah, 1995. The Gallaghers were young. I was younger. We all drank.

54
(31)
Enter Sandman
Metallica
1991
Never quite got the Metallica tee, but this song had me browsing. Definitely not a kids' bedtime story.

55
(62)
Closer
Nine Inch Nails
1994
The ARIA charts were relevant back in the ‘90s when songs from the far-left like NINs’ jewel were hits.

56
(46)
Epic
Faith No More
1990
Can still see that fish in its dying throes to the classical piano. Very underrated, Mike Patton.

57
(30)
All Along the Watchtower
Jimi Hendrix
1968
A Dylan cover that Hendrix made his own. First cab off the Vietnam rank.

58
(38)
Mr. Brightside
The Killers
2004
Top-notch glam rock with a look-at-me statesman. No wonder they made an instant impact.

59
(53)
Comfortably Numb
Pink Floyd
1979
Close your eyes and fly to the moon. Scissor Sisters' version is brilliant, too.

60
(23)
Throw Your Arms Around Me
Hunters & Collectors
1985
Pot of draught in hand, wrap an arm around your mate and bellow the chorus from your lungs.

61
(51)
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
The Smashing Pumpkins
1995
Another of the mid-90s stockpile. Disappointed Tonight, Tonight didn’t make it.

62
(33)
Tomorrow
Silverchair
1994
Fifteen years ago? Already? Where's some of the stuff they've achieved since?

63
(67)
Brick
Ben Folds Five
1997
Oddly beautiful but his strong Yank accent gets in the way somehow.

64
(32)
Blue Monday
New Order
1983
I was six when this came out; twenty-six when I fully understood its brilliance.

65
(29)
Where Is My Mind?
Pixies
1988
Nothing from Doolittle? Where are you, Pixies fans, too cool for this poll?

66
(39)
Better Man
Pearl Jam
1994
Sappy but shows how versatile Vedder is. His best work is on the Into The Wild soundtrack.

67
(27)
My Happiness
Powderfinger
2000
There’s more going on here than on most of their other stuff.

68
(89)
Bulls on Parade
Rage Against the Machine
1996
Check out this song on YouTube… and read the comments’ section. If you can decipher gen Y shorthand there’s some robust discussion going on.

69
(54)
Close to Me
The Cure
1985
Subliminal pop. First memory of Robert Smith is lipstick-smudged creepiness of Lullaby. Where’s Friday I’m In Love?

70
(21)
These Days
Powderfinger
2000
Couldn’t imagine Two Hands without it. Scriptwriting mates drool over the film’s simplicity… and its success.

71
(86)
Come Together
The Beatles
1969
If pushed wouldn’t have this in my Beatles top 10 but that’s more about their catalogue than me.

72
(52)
Berlin Chair
You Am I
1994
St.Kilda pub floors sticky with beer. Sweat flying from the stage. I prefer Cathy’s Clown though. And where’s Heavy Heart?

73
(73)
London Calling
The Clash
1979
Punk swagger of the highest order. Gov'ner.

74
(82)
Chop Suey!
System of a Down
2001
Bonkers. Only for heavy-heads and people who can decipher good music from the bad. This is the former.

75
(97)
Beds Are Burning
Midnight Oil
1987
‘80s Australiana that takes you back to the days of Bob Hawke, Perfect Match, Christopher Skase. Peter Garrett's political lyrics were never overshadowed by his electric-shock dancing. Were they?

76
(88)
Gimme Shelter
The Rolling Stones
1969
Well crafted and great musicianship but down a number of rungs on my Stones list.

77
(79)
Life on Mars?
David Bowie
1971
Bowie in his lithe, Ziggy-infatuated prime but Starman and Space Oddity are finer moments.

78
(57)
Forty-Six & 2
Tool
1997
A colossus of a song. I actually get Tool on this one.

79
(78)
Today
The Smashing Pumpkins
1993
Well represented, the Pumpkins. Very well, considering the songs and the bands that missed out.

80
(9)
Everlong
Foo Fighters
1997
Not their best but there's a layer of tenderness beneath that vintage rock sound.

81
(74)
Lithium
Nirvana
1991
Merely an album track on Nevermind. That’s what the standard’s like.

82
(72)
New Slang
The Shins
2001
Sweet as a blackbird at your window on a summer’s day. Know this song least out of all them. Might be top 40 next time.

83
(83)
Every You Every Me
Placebo
1999
Queen-bitch Brian’s passion comes through in waves here.

84
(42)
Banquet
Bloc Party
2005
Tight pop rock, spike-edged guitar, with a nod to '80s electronica. They keep getting better, too. Lead singer dresses cool.

85
(68)
Dammit (Growing Up)
Blink-182
1997
Rightfully a big hit at the time but they’ve had better stuff (I Miss You) since.

86
(91)
Back in Black
AC/DC
1980
All truckie singlets and VB tinnies. Oh, and some handy guitar work, too. Angus keeps returning to his Cornies in the morning, just like me.

87
(47)
Betterman
The John Butler Trio
2001
Low ranking because I prefer others of his. Much respect for the man.

88
(70)
Breathe
The Prodigy
1996
Godfathers of industrial metal. The sound is stuck in 1996 though.

89
(17)
The Nosebleed Section
Hilltop Hoods
2004
The pick of Aussie hip-hop but really, that shouldn’t matter when determining all-time lists.

90
(63)
Thunderstruck
AC/DC
1990
I reached for the Strepsils 19 years ago. How much longer will Brian Johnson’s screechy, gravel-laden voice hold up?

91
(96)
One More Time
Daft Punk
2000
Credit where it’s due: very clever techno released at just the right time. Was always oddly transfixed by the animated clip.

92
(26)
Thriller
Michael Jackson
1984
Not Jacko’s best by any stretch. Not even in the top five songs on the Thriller album.

93
(66)
Tiny Dancer
Elton John
1971
Elton and Stevie have never made it before, so why now?

94
(95)
Superstition
Stevie Wonder
1972
It's vintage groovy but question is worth posing: how many times played on JJJ?

95
(45)
No One Knows
Queens of the Stone Age
2002
Proof that a monster riff doesn’t necessarily make a song.

96
(34)
Prisoner of Society
The Living End
1997
Never been a fan. But that’s just me. Reviewer's prerogative.

97
(37)
Stinkfist
Tool
1996
Lots of noise and meaningful build-up but doesn’t hit its mark.

98
(90)
Sex on Fire
Kings of Leon
2008
Most overrated band of modern times. Kudos for dominating the airwaves but overkill has ensured a once tolerable tune is now abhorred.

99
(48)
Sabotage
Beastie Boys
1994
Their high-pitched voices give me the shits.

100
(58)
Around the World
Daft Punk
1997
Repetitive, nauseating and dumb.


Before signing off, consider this...

Five Aussie classics that missed:

Friday On My Mind - The Easybeats
The Real Thing - Russell Morris
Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel
Under The Milky Way - The Church


Five I'm surprised didn't make it (not necessarily because I like them):

Hey Ya! - Outkast
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Zombie - Cranberries
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Jet
Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz


And what about these:

Marquee Moon - Television
Light My Fire - The Doors
(same goes for Riders On The Storm, Peace Frog, LA Woman)
Anarchy In The UK - Sex Pistols
And She Was - Talking Heads
Passenger - Iggy Pop