Food 4 Thought: Four Views on Triple j’s Hottest 100
Jack – Editor
For most considered to be part of Generation Y and to some in Generation X, Australia Day means one thing: Hottest 100 countdown party! Personally, I love the idea of bringing all your mates together for a day of drinking and listening to the best music the previous year had to offer. This however, naturally lends itself to discussion over how our national youth radio broadcaster is neglecting certain genres or has stuck to a certain “sound”. If you’ve been listening to triple j for a few years you’ll have noticed a change in “the sound” of triple j artists, or “the sound” that you’ll most likely hear when you tune into the j’s.
Triple j’s sound has changed recently from great rock (Arctic Monkeys) and subtle electro-pop (Lorde), to electronica with a focus on vocals (Chet Faker and Alt-J), to now a love affair with psych-rock (Tame Impala), pysch/ambient electronica (Vallis Alps and RÜFÜS), and BANGERZ (Disclosure and Hermitude). The data from Tuesday’s countdown confirms triple j’s growing love for bangers, with entries have an average tempo of 123BPM, the fastest average on record.
“Artists like Peking Duk, Hermitude, and Major Lazer have been dance-pop pioneers for years, and are now reaping the reward.”
In the space of a couple of years triple j’s “sound” has shifted substantially, which is possibly due to their strategy to increase both their radio and online audience, with a focus on 18-24 year-olds. How did they do that? Give the people what they want! Currently, the western pop-music trend is dance-pop and bangers, and triple j is no exception. Artists like Peking Duk, Hermitude, and Major Lazer have been dance-pop pioneers for years, and are now reaping the reward.
So does that mean the Hottest 100 is full of crap pop and DJs? No it doesn’t! The electronic artists in 2015’s Hottest 100 aren’t just making generic beats; they’ve actually found THE sound that resonates with most of triple j’s current listeners. Artists such as RÜFÜS and emerging groups like SAFIA have worked on their sound for years and are talented musicians in their own right (most producers and electronic artists are multi-instrumentalists).
And, if you take a step back and look at 2015’s countdown, there are plenty of representatives of the alt-rock, indie-rock, hip-hop, and just plain quirky stuff that triple j’s roots were formed on. Violent Soho yet again threatened to break into the Top 10 with Like Soda at #15, Gang Of Youths topped off an amazing year with Magnolia at #21, and Florence + The Machine romped home with three entries. These artists haven’t adapted their sound to suit triple j, rather their sound is so unique or so powerful it naturally resonates with the masses. It is also important to point out that there weren’t a huge amount of album releases in 2015, and of the albums released a fair amount were electronic artists. So as with fashion, music tastes and trends change – rock’s time will come again soon, don’t you worry!
At the end of the day the songs in the Hottest 100 are what we voted for, so instead of attacking the system maybe take the time to listen to a genre that you’ve been neglecting.
Rita – Sub Editor
Despite the Hottest 100’s popularity, it has become something of a contentious issue of late. Triple j has received criticism for a number of reasons, mainly from the mainstream or “pop” direction it’s countdown has been heading, the lack of female artists featured in the countdown, and most pointedly, the controversial public holiday it shares a date with.
Past winners Chet Faker and Vance Joy have received some flack online after twitter user Erin Riley made a point that “Vance Joy and Chet Faker went to school together, which means the Hottest 100 has had more winners from St Kevin’s Toorak than women”.
“Comparing the Hottest 100 to the democratic system may be a bit a stretch, but just blaming triple j for the lack of female artists isn’t the right way to go about it either.”
Chet Faker hit back, saying he wasn’t as privileged as he’s made out to be, having paid his own way in music by busking and working bar jobs when he was young. True or not, the main point of the tweet remains relevant – Where all da ladies at?
No female artists or bands made it into the Top 10 this year, although they made a couple of featuring spots, like Lorde on Disclosure’s track Magnets and Mataya on Hermitude’s The Buzz. Still, many people aren’t happy with the sideline position women have taken in the very male dominated list.
The argument against this always comes back to the Hottest 100’s voting system. Just like democracy, the winners are voted in by the Australian public. Comparing the Hottest 100 to the democratic system may be a bit a stretch, but just blaming triple j for the lack of female artists isn’t the right way to go about it either.
As well as the worrying lack of women, an article in Australian literature magazine The Lifted Brow brought the lack of indigenous Australian artists on the countdown to attention, particularly given the day it falls on. This point opens a whole other can of worms, but one of the main arguments came down to the lack of exposure Aboriginal artists got unless for a special “feature” on the station, like for NAIDOC week.
So maybe it comes down to exposure? Are triple j spinning enough tracks by women? Are our indigenous artists getting enough of a look in with regular rotations? Is the Hottest 100 an accurate portrayal of what Australia wants to listen to? Like every year, the countdown has raised a lot of questions. But as easy as it is to blame the station alone, it could point to more of a cultural issue in general. At the end of the day, it’s just a big ‘ol countdown of music, but it’s fast becoming a whole lot more than that.
Madeline – Hip Hop Writer
Despite ruling 2015, Drake failed to break the top 10 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2015 with ubiquitous single Hotling Bling taking out the 14th spot. Perhaps even more surprising no tracks from Drizzy’s other two projects ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’ and ‘What A Time To Be Alive’ made the cut.
Hip-hop featured fairly prominently in this year’s list with Kendrick Lamar’s track King Kunta nabbing the second slot and Macklemore rounding out the top 20 with Downtown. A$AP Rocky also made a few appearances as well as home grown talents Urthboy, Illy, Tkay Maidza and many more.
However, as a nation we may regret our failure to recognise the 6 God (Drake) when he finally blesses us with ‘Views From The 6’ and begins his reign in 2016.
G Monster – Heavy Writer
I always thought that triple j was the radio station that encouraged the publicity of upcoming and unearthed artists, but according to the hottest 100 that is not the case.
95 per cent of the Hottest 100 I can get behind completely, but Hotline Bling at #14 and Lean On at # 3, seriously? I like these songs just like everyone else, but do they really need any more publicity than they already get?
“…leave mainstream international artists like Drake to be played on radio stations like Nova, who already stream pop music, rather than on triple j, as Drake is way beyond unearthing.”
Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift have both been banned from the voting poll for the Hottest 100 solely based on their large and dedicated fans (which I can totally understand), so why not Drake? I have always used the Hottest 100 as a way of discovering music I may have never heard before or finding artists that are just starting to make their break in the industry, but who the hell hasn’t heard of Major Lazer…
In saying that, hearing several entries by some of our local hardcore artists like Parkway Drive and The Amity Affliction made for something rather refreshing, but considering hardcore and pop-punk are claimed to be such a big scene in Australia I’m surprised there weren’t more.
It’s absolutely all a matter of opinion so no one will agree entirely with the list of tracks and I know that. However, I say leave mainstream international artists like Drake to be played on radio stations like Nova, who already stream pop music, rather than on triple j, as Drake is way beyond “unearthing”.
