It's the most wonderful time of the year!
We JUST had Christmas and New Years and right now is a magical time before all the optimism fades and you realize that it's the middle of winter, you don't see the sun anymore, and the S.A.D. sets in causing all sorts of melancholic ennui. Right now, the Triple J Hottest 100 happens.
Now what it this magnificent musical moment, you may ask?
How can I join this delightfully democratic delineation of the years best music, you want to know?
What's so special about this popular perennial poll to cause such annoyingly awesome alliterations?
Short Answer: Check out my past posts on 2012 (votes and recap) and 2011
Long Answer: Every year the Australian radio station Triple J hosts a worldwide poll of the greatest music released (in Australia) that year. This means you not only can make sure artists you love get recognition, but you can also find great music that also puts you ahead of the pop culture curve. The top songs of years past have all gone on to be huge hits in the US the following year, yes that's right, our own musical culture is influenced by this vote and the Aussies who run it (wait, the US isn't the center of the cultural universe?!?!... well, it's still pretty close as last year Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis was one of the first #1 songs to be big in the U.S. when the poll was happening, and those Haim sisters seem to be picking up momentum in Australia at the same time (but maybe slightly faster) as in the U.S.), example: Gotye, Kings of Leon, and Mumford & Sons had the #1 songs in the Triple J Countdown the years before they exploded across the US.
You can listen to the eligible songs here through spotify (might take a few days, but oh! what days they'll be)
Once you've heard enough, you can get instructions to submit your own vote here
But HURRY, voting closes in 6 DAYS!
My Votes:
*Matt Corby- Resolution*
*Gossling- Never Expire*
*Chvrches- Gun*
*Haim- Let Me Go*
*Daughter- Youth*
*Local Natives- Heavy Feet*
*Phosphorescent- Song for Zula*
*MS MR- Fantasy*
*The Postal Service- A Tattered Line of String*
*San Cisco- Get Lucky {Like a Version}*
Voting factors/explanations:
- Exposure for some lesser-known artists
- A solid track regardless of artist infamy
- I want my vote to make a difference so rather than write-in a few favorites I stuck with songs I thought had a chance to get into the top 100, but not necessarily what I think will make top 10
- My own arbitrary selection process
Unfortunately Triple J is no longer on Pinterest which means no cool icon/graphic for each song this year =(
But here's a spotify playlist of my selection (minus Gossling and the San Cisco cover of Get Lucky, both of which are currently unavailable in the USA).
Tune in online on January 26, 2014 to hear the whole countdown (it takes literally the whole day). Actually, scratch that, if you're in the US tune in January 25 since they're ahead of us on the whole time thing. If you're someone like me who needs sleep at night, never fear, they break it down into internet streamable chunks afterwards so you can listen to the beginning, sleep, and then wake up to finish the top 10 and then later fill yourself in with songs 80-11.
And don't worry, I'll be recapping it here after it all goes down.
