Review - The Top 5 songs in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2010

That Triple J's Hottest 100 barometer of favourite tunes comes in the thick of summer music festivals cannot be discounted it seems. Three local entries in this years top five - broadcast yesterday around the nation - could generally be considered darlings of the festival circuit right now. The Hilltop Hoods eternal position as either a late-in-the-day, pre-international act on the mainstage (or headliner in the dance tent) seems unassailable, while Bluejuice and Art vs. Science have been filling the role of valuable early entry point to the day. With these two on at around midday, organisers can be assured that people will get there early to see them. As festival currency goes, it's the kind've drawcard that can't be beat.

So one wonders if their ascension to the upper reaches of the countdown aren't so much the best songs of the moment (as subjective as such a thing is anyway), but just what's on peoples weekly schedules at time of voting? A reflection of who they're looking forward to seeing at the Big Day Out/Falls/Good Vibes etc? (Though the Hilltop Hoods - along with John Butler - do seem to chart highly as a matter of course these days.) Or are the bands rabid festival appearances a response to the already vocal pool of fans? Art vs. Science and Bluejuice have both formed rabid fan bases this year through fairly constant touring. That physical attendance, as it turns out, translates online.

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5. Bluejuice - 'Broken Leg'

There's something I really like about this sentiment. That being: this is a song about co-singer Jake Stone breaking his leg. So it's called 'Broken Leg'. (Do The Mars Volta know you can do that?). Anyway, this song wins for being a little like 'Vitriol', in that, really, there's no chorus. Or rather, the whole song is a chorus with a just as catchy breakdown appearing several times throughout. Subtle chord shifts under the main refrain (pre-stadium drum breakdown), and crowd participation section at 2:18 means the hook never abates. And people get to clap along. Not the best song on the band's Head of the Hawk record - '(Ain't) Telling The Truth No More' and the album's title track get those ticks - but who's wanting for pensive sophistication at the pointy end of the set? Bluejuice have slogged it out under the unfashionable banner of "funk/hip-hop party band" for around a decade, but only now are they enjoying the spoils of hard work. And being seen for the pop songwriters they really are. Petra and Jen must be red with shame right now.

YouTube comment most telling of their future prospects:

MissJimmyBartel: they seriously dont look like rockstars at aj2010 the one with the beird thing was wearing like a campers jacket. it was disturbing.

 
Bluejuice - 'Broken Leg'

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4. Phoenix - 'Lisztomania'

If there's a song in this top five that will go down as a "classic" - that will be playing in the middle of the night on community radio stations ten years from now, that people will cover on YouTube and will generally make punters spark up the camera phone as those first little guitar plinks ring out - this is it. Near flawless pop/rock/dance/whatever-you-need song.

YouTube comment most telling of their future prospects:

 

Phoenix - 'Lisztomania'

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3. Hilltop Hoods - 'Chase That Feeling'

Hilltop Hoods take a few cues from Moby's Play record, inserting moody soul singing and string samples underneath their tale of self-confidence and middle-class pains. It works because it's Hilltop Hoods. You know what they sound like. It's identifiable almost before Suffa and Pressure even come in. Which can't be really be said of many - if any - other rappers on these shores. *boom tish*

We can't embed this video because if people share it Universal don't make any money. Here's something else that someone's put up:

YouTube comment most telling of their future prospects:

BL0HARD: I like the more radio friendly songs that the hilltop hoods are doing now.

 

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2. Art vs. Science - 'Parlez-Vous Francais?'

First time I saw Art vs. Science I was looking for my way in. What are they singing about? Are they really not using any of those backing tracks? What the fuck does "keeping it cool like a Kelvinator" have to do with anything? Why is everyone losing their marbles? What's their motivation?

Art vs. Science are smarter than you think. They've stripped back all possible permutations of their music that would in any way obscure the chance of FUN happening. That for the last year they've been drawing festival crowds to their midday slot way larger than most headline bands, speaks volumes. Critics call them a novelty act. Dumb. Obvious. Bereft of depth. Meanwhile, someone somewhere is dancing to Daft Punk's 'Around the World'.

YouTube comment most telling of their future prospects:

evagsm: listen to this song every day before i go to work - cheers me up so much my days are always good. awesome song! :D



Art vs. Science - 'Parlez-Vous Francais?

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1. Mumford & Sons - 'Little Lion Man'

Initial prejudices out of the way first: Mumford & Sons come across as a simplistic, third-rate Arcade Fire with pre-school poetry lyrics delivered via such brow-knitted earnestness, and with such po-faced commitment to dubious meaningful-ness, that they arrive at one's heart with all the emotional impact of a ladybird gently flatulating into a cobweb. Aka: not much.  

Now that that's out of the way, we...no we can't get past these lyrics:

"tremble for yourself, my man,
you know that you have seen this all before
tremble little lion man,
you'll never settle any of your score
your grace is wasted in your face,
your boldness stands alone among the wreck
learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck"

Mmmm.

YouTube comment most telling of their future prospects:

MrSquidDick: if you cant cook good food but you can appreciate good food, good on ya, your spoiled, its not real apprecition, unless you know whats involved, its clear whats involved here, well presented bad food

 

Mumford & Sons - 'Little Lion Man'

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Here's the entire list:

1 - Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man
2 - Art vs. Science – Parlez Vous Francais?
3 - Hilltop Hoods – Chase That Feeling
4 - Phoenix – Lisztomania
5 - Bluejuice – Broken Leg
6 - La Roux – Bulletproof
7 - Lisa Mitchell – Coin Laundry
8 - Lily Allen – Not Fair
9 - Muse – Uprising
10 - Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over
11 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll
12 - Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden – Bonkers
13 - Phoenix – 1901
14 - Jamie T – Sticks ‘n’ Stones
15 - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home
16 - The Gossip – Heavy Cross
17 - Kasabian – Fire
18 - Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars
19 - Muse – Undisclosed Desires
20 - Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
21 - The Temper Trap – Fader
22 - Vampire Weekend – Cousins
23 - The Bloody Beetroots – Warp 1.9 (Ft. Steve Aoki)
24 - Flight Of The Conchords – Carol Brown
25 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero
26 - Metric – Help I’m Alive
27 - La Roux – In For The Kill
28 - Sarah Blasko – We Won’t Run
29 - Sarah Blasko – All I Want
30 - Flight Of The Conchords – Hurt Feelings
31 - Seth Sentry – The Waitress Song
32 - Paul Dempsey – Ramona Was A Waitress
33 - Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness (Ft. MGMT & Ratatat)
34 - Little Birdy – Brother
35 - Muse – Resistance
36 - Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
37 - Hilltop Hoods – Still Standing
38 - Passion Pit – Little Secrets
39 - John Butler Trio – One Way Road
40 - Angus & Julia Stone – And The Boys
41 - Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity of Huge (Ft. Chris Keating)
42 - British India – Vanilla
43 - The Bloody Beetroots – Awesome (Ft. The Cool Kids)
44 - Florence + the Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
45 - Florence + the Machine – Drumming Song
46 - Bon Iver – Blood Bank
47 - Karnivool – Set Fire To The Hive
48 - The Temper Trap – Science Of Fear
49 - Powderfinger – All Of The Dreamers
50 - Sia – Buttons {CSS Remix}
51 - Kasabian – Where Did All The Love Go
52 - Vampire Weekend – Horchata
53 - Miike Snow – Animal
54 - Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning
55 - Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls
56 - The xx – Islands
57 - Philadelphia Grand Jury – The Good News
58 - The Temper Trap – Love Lost
59 - Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone
60 - Lily Allen – 22
61 - Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
62 - Bloc Party – One More Chance
63 - Karnivool – All I Know
64 - The Middle East – Blood
65 - Eskimo Joe – Foreign Land
66 - Illy – Pictures
67 - Washington – Cement
68 - The Prodigy – Omen
69 - Death Cab For Cutie – Meet Me On The Equinox
70 - Animal Collective – My Girls
71 - Bertie Blackman – Byrds Of Prey
72 - Sia – You’ve Changed
73 - MSTRKRFT – Heartbreaker (Ft. John Legend)
74 - Art vs. Science – Friend In The Field
75 - Wolfmother – New Moon Rising
76 - Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension
77 - Jet – She’s a Genius
78 - Tame Impala – Remember Me
79 - Yves Klein Blue – Getting Wise
80 - Dizzee Rascal – Holiday
81 - Mumford & Sons – The Cave
82 - Miami Horror – Sometimes
83 - Basement Jaxx – Raindrops
84 - Muse – United States of Eurasia
85 - Kasabian – Underdog
86 - Flight Of The Conchords – Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)
87 - The Middle East – The Darkest Side
88 - NOFX – Creeping Out Sara
89 - Jay-Z – D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
90 - Florence & The Machine – Kiss With A Fist
91 - Manchester Orchestra – I’ve Got Friends
92 - Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy
93 - Bertie Blackman – Thump
94 - Regina Spektor – Blue Lips
95 - Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch
96 - Deadmau5 – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff (Ft. Rob Swire)
97 - Regina Spektor – Laughing With
98 - Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang
99 - Tegan And Sara – Hell
100 - Foo Fighters – Wheels