I have previously compiled my Top 100 lists of 2000-2019 in benji2's threads, 20 years worth. So I recently turned my eyes to the 90s to add this decade to the list and do so in its own thread!
For me it was a strange decade of music as the early 90s was perhaps the most engaged period of listening to current music of my life, with the rise and fall of Shoegaze, Grunge and Madchester. By the mid-late 90s it seemed that all music was Tool and Rancid (who were ace) and a thousand bands who were trying to sound like Tool and Rancid. I also spent most of the back end of the 90s travelling and away from Australia so didn't hear much Aussie music in this time so that is possibly an unfair characterisation, we'll see.
I'll kick things off with my fave tunes from 1999 in the pm of 24th May and see what delights the 90s bring. Last edited:
1999 found me traipsing across Europe, with a slight detour to Cuba so my opportunities to actually listen to much current music was limited bar the occasional hit of BBC Radio One. Not sure I heard any Australian music at all this year. So much of what will follow are songs that I discovered after the fact, with a few key songs I managed to get across at the time.
I actually listened to live all the Triple J Hottest 100s from 2000-2019 (with the exception of 2018) but only ever listened to one before this (1995), so a big source of the songs that make up my 2000 onwards lists is missing for 1999, although I did pick up the CD at some stage.
As with all of these lists, there have to be the unlucky few who just miss out, for 1999 this was
110
She's In Fashion - Suede
109
Prove My Hypothesis - Death Cab For Cutie
108
Northern Lites - Super Furry Animals
107
Blue Moon Rising - Gomez
106
Muscle Museum - Muse
105
The Big Three Killed My Baby - White Stripes, The
104
Asleep In Perfection - Augie March
103
Instant Messenger - Muse
102
Exerciser - Rhubarb
101
Round The Bend - Beta Band, The
So to see what actually resonated with me in 1999 read onwards....
100. Theophilus Thistler (An Exercise In Vowels) - Sonic Animation
This is one I found on the Hottest 100 CD. It's certainly a bouncy little tune but I dare you to try and say the title of the song ten times quickly!
If you've ever seen the video clip, the Telly-Tubby type characters in it were a part of Sonic Animation's live show (well at least they were the one time I saw them).
As an aside, Sonic Animation become the 14th artist to only have one entry in my yearly countdowns at #100 (Sun Kil Moon, Oh Mercy, Future, Danny Brown, Art Vs. Science, Anderson .Paak, Bloody Beetroots, The Holy Soul, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Even, Mansun, Even and Tones and I are the others if you were wondering).
99. Waltz #2 (XO) - Elliot Smith
Past entries:
2004
Memory Lane
70
2000
Son Of Sam
96
This song certainly comes with a big wrap and while it is a good song (hence it made this list) I must admit I don't quite get all the fuss (hence it isn't any higher). Certainly knowing his story and tragic end make his legacy viewed somewhat differently (see Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis as well for this) for better or worse
98. Bigger Than Tina - Fauves, The
Past Entries:
2000
Celebrate The Failure
90
From the film of the same name about someone who is obsessed with Tina Arena. The Fauves are a mid 90s favourite of mine. It seemed every couple of months they would be playing at The Annandale Hotel in Sydney with Underground Lovers and I was always there. They were quite a chaotic live act and the tension in the band did spill over a couple of times and plenty of choice language was exchanged between the members at times. I particular like Andrew Cox's voice and his amusing lyrics.
97. Blue Moon - Endorphin
A band that I didn't really know too much about, apart from their #100 Hottest 100 song Sex and Violence, which I didn't really get into. This is very different to that and I have to thank benji2 for introducing me to this one. It is quite an uptempo song and the percussion is great, no idea what they are shouting in the background though but who cares right?
96. Charlie Big Potato - Skunk Anansie
A band I associate from the mid 90s, I wasn't aware of this one at the time (thanks to benji2 again). I wasn't really a fan of their earlier work but this is a very different sound, a little bit more industrial/electronic than the straight up rock I remember. I saw them at a Reading Festival in 97 or 98 and while I didn't really enjoy the music, Skin was an excellent front-person, very charismatic, a great performer and you couldn't take your eyes off her.
If you were wondering, Charlie Big Potato is a London East End expression for a "Hot Shot". You're welcome...
95. Six - Mansun
Past Entries:
2000
I Can Only Dissapoint U
100
And then there were 13!
Mansun were a band that I very much liked in the late 90s. I heard them on the BBC in 1997 I think and in the couple of years following. I liked the broody nature of their songs and were a little bit different than the similar English indie-pop bands of the time.
They got a bit of a bad rap in the music press in England as a bit of a generic Brit Pop band but they hit the right notes for me!
94. Easter Theatre - XTC
Past Entries:
2000
Stupidly Happy
99
Bizarrely, 2000's #100 artist is followed by the #99 artist (and 4 artists from the 90s are in this years 90s as well!). Hijinx won't be happy if he reads this as this was his #1 but at least it gets a guernsey.
XTC are a fantastic band with a really strong output spanning the 70s, 80s and 90s and are definately the most famous band to come out of Swindon. They returned in 1999 after a gap of 7 years with their 13th album and it is a good one at that. There is a strong Beatles feel to this song (and the album was recorded in Abbey Road). The orchestration is top notch and really lifts the song. Andy Patridge considers this one of the few perfect songs he wrote in his career.
93. The Free Design - Stereolab
The first appearance in my lists for the last band I saw before the Covid-19 lockdown!
Stereolab just ooze cool and the French connections (Latitia Sadier the lead singer is French) shine through in their avant-pop songs. When I first saw them live in the mid 90s, she had a galss of red wine in one hand and a cigarette (in holder) in the other and while I don't condone smoking, how cool is that?
This is definitely representative of their late 90s output, very pop oriented with a repetitive beat. They were one of the first ever bands to be labelled post-rock, a label they will share with quite a few other bands to grace this list.
92. Spit On A Stranger - Pavement
Another first appearance from one of my other favourite 90s acts, Pavement. In fact the first single from their last album Terror Twilight. It got a bit of negative press from the band and fans alike when it came out but on reflection is a pretty good album. They were trying I think to produce a more poppier or lighter record than their previous slacker rock albums and this song does reflect this, while still definitely sounding like Pavement.
91. Photograph - Something For Kate
Past Entries:
2003
Déjà Vu
77
2001
Monsters
17
2001
Jerry, Stand Up
39
2000
Beautiful Sharks
9
No strangers here to these countdowns is the wonderful Something For Kate. I first heard them while listening to the 2000 Hottest 100 and their awesome song Beautiful Sharks. This is from the same album and is a really beautiful slower song, I like the tempo and subtle keyboards in the background, that give it a slight shimmery sound and it is a great choice for the last song of the album. But that voice.... just sublime
Paul Dempsey is another great lead singer, really draws your attention in their live shows. Last edited:
The Tindersticks were a thing in the 90s. In my mind a symbol of the rivalry between Melody Maker (who loved them) and NME (not as much). Also Nick Cave's favourite band of the period and you can hear his influence on their sound, especially the vocals (that deep voice). This is actually a pretty uptempo number by their standards, with hints of soul and jazz but it is great, I especially like the female backing vocals.
89. Bodyrock - Moby
Past Entries:
2000
Porcelain
12
I remember this one from 1999. This album was everywhere at the time. It is peculiar because nothing Moby has done previously or since really stacks up, just this one album. Coming on the back of Fatboy Slim's release of the year before, it was a real change of approach to dance music, with the inclusion of really fast paced guitar music fused in, as well as many other samples throughout the history of music. Bodyrock is probably the rockiest example to be found on the album.
88. If Everyone Looked The Same - Groove Armada
Past Entries:
2007
Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)
79
2002
Purple Haze
15
2001
Superstylin'
6
Interestingly the longest tenured band so far, reaching back to 2007. I'm actually surprised that they have only 3 songs before this as they always seem to get something on my shortlist. I heard their new song on Double J recently and it's another good effort.
As with all good Groove Armada songs, this one has a fantastic, well, groove to it. Great interchanging male and female vocals as well. Dare I say banger!!
87. Good Witch/Bad Witch - Charlatans, The
Past Entries:
2008
Bird/Reprise
60
2001
You're So Pretty - We're So Pretty
73
And just like that, we have a new longest tenured band, back to 2008.
Definitely a band associated with the earlier years of the decade and the Madchester movement. They never broke up and are still making music to the present day. Tim Burgess (the lead singer) is actually doing Twitter deep dives into their and his muso mates albums every Monday during lockdown.
As to this song it is an interesting one. Broody and pulsating, quite different than what you might think if you are familiar with their other works (poppy and melodic).
On a side note, I have a mate who absolutely detests the use of non-alphabet characters (think -/!# etc) in song titles (as well as all capitals) and all their songs to previously make my lists contain them. What he'll make of their new song $#^&*(( I have no idea.
86. Demetrius - Sufjan Stevens
Past Entries:
2019
Love Yourself
15
2015
Fourth Of July
1
2015
Should Have Known Better
9
2015
John My Beloved
25
2015
All Of Me Wants All Of You
53
2010
Too Much
89
2009
You Are The Blood
81
2005
Chicago
37
2004
He Woke Me Up Again
48
And a new leader, going all the way to the present 2019 and the first artist to previously be #1. And looking back I can't believe I only had Chicago at #37 in 2005, should been higher.
As you might gather, I really love Sufjan Stevens. His creativity and unique approach to music is a joy to me. All of his albums are different and trying new things. Sometimes they come off and sometimes not but they are always different.
This is the same, it starts off more like Sonic Youth than anything else and then halfway in the pan pipes kick in and it kinda sorta works and then it goes middle eastern and still kinda sorta works. Its really interesting to see so many divergent ideas try to come together in one song. The whole album (A Sun Came!) is like this. Later on, some of the songs were reworked and probably sound more coherent but some of the bizarre magic is lost along the way.
85. I Know What I'm Here For - James
Past Entries:
2001
Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
13
Another song I remember hearing a lot back in 1999. James are probably more well known for their early 90s output but they consistently put out some good work all through the 90s. This marked a change in direction for them, moving to a more electronic sound than their folk/rock origins. Not sure about the cowboy hat in the video clip though...
84. Glockenpop - Spiderbait
Past Entries:
2004
F***kin Awesome
68
2002
Arse Huggin Pants
56
2001
Four On The Floor
71
The first of a few songs that I'm shocked didn't make the Hottest 100 of the year. Spiderbait had 3 songs but not this one???
All Spiderbait songs can be (IMHO) put into two category. Kram bangers and Janet pop songs. This definitely comes in the later category. It is an absolutely spankingly sparkling pop song.
83. Billie - Pavement
Past Entries:
1999
Spit On A Stranger
92
And just like that, our first repeat performers of 1999.
I freely admit that this one makes the list because it most reminds me of their earlier work,a great slacker rock song. The way the singing shifts around the line "Sue the fortune teller" is particularly great and the slow down in tempo halfway through the song as well.
On a side note, I saw Pavement in 1993 and the support act was Magic Dirt, playing their first ever Sydney show. They were both great!!
82. Get Up - Sleeter-Kinney
Past Entries:
2019
Hurry On Home
12
2015
A New Wave
69
Another act that stretches from 1999-2019 is Washington State's Sleeter Kinney. I first came across them in 2000 when I read they worked on the comeback Go Betweens album. I checked out their back catalogue and this song stuck with me in particular.
It's sad to think so in the present day but it was still unusual to have an all female rock band in 1999 and earlier and Sleeter Kinney were part of the riot grrrl movement that tried to correct that.
This song hits me because of the intricate guitar interplaying as well as the unusual semi-shouting vocal delivery. It all adds up to a great rock song.
81. Else - Built To Spill
Past Entries:
2006
Going Against Your Mind
39
2006
Conventional Wisdom
61
2001
Strange
72
Built To Spill are one of indie rocks greatest bands and Keep It Like A Secret is one of indie rocks greatest albums. They are definitely an album band and the consistency of the songs on the albums are one of their major qualities but it does make it hard to differentiate when making lists like this as honestly any song could have made it.
The guitar playing on this song is just flat out fantastic, the bit at around 3 minutes in just soars, just perfect.
Another act I'm surprised by the lack of previous entries as I always seem to like their songs (except The Salmon Dance, pants).
This is actually a pretty simple song with just a few elements repeating throughout the song but the way they all come together over and over is great. They always have good videos as well and this is no different.
79. Major Leagues - Pavement
Past Entries:
1999
Billie
83
1999
Spit On A Stranger
92
It's turning into a Pavement party!
Their last ever release. It is certainly more melodic than some of their previous efforts but still retains that downtempo sound. Last time I saw them was in 2009 or 2010 and they still sounded fantastic. Would be interesting to see what they could come up with if they decided to go around once more...
78. Lucky Denver Mint - Jimmy Eat World
Past Entries:
2019
All The Way (Stay)
99
2005
Over
63
2005
Disintegration
79
2002
A Praise Chorus
34
2002
Sweetness
100
2001
Bleed American
28
Another band to stretch over the last 20 years! Also I must have been smoking something illegal when I did my 2005 list because Disintegration should be much higher #justiceforchicagoanddisintegration
If there is something that absolutely draws me into liking a band is earnestness and Jimmy Eat World have it in spades (see also The Smith Street Band). I really get drawn into the songs and lyrics. This is a more poppier sound than their later efforts but still contains all the Jimmy Eat World ingredients.
Side note if you've ever seen the video clip. Yes, ultimate frisbee was absolutely a thing in the 90s and I took part. Sigh.
77. Spider In The Snow - Dismemberment Plan, The
I have Hijinx to thank for this one as his 1999 list prodded me to check this album out as I have always seen it on various best of lists but probably got put off by the band name. Sounds like an insurance plan for Leatherface and in my mind it was a heavy rock sound, which isn't really my thing.
But it's not that at all, it's just another fantastic indie rock album that also doesn't really sound like anything else I've ever heard. I like this song in particular because of the orchestral parts and vocal harmonies and the unusual bass/drum patterns, which as a old bass player myself really appeal.
76. Sexx Laws - Beck
Past Entries:
2015
Dreams
24
2009
Heaven Can Wait (with Charlotte Gainsbourg)
75
2006
Think I'm In Love
72
2005
Girl
47
2002
The Golden Age
21
2002
Guess I'm Doing Fine
55
2002
Already Dead
65
2000
Mixed Bizness
74
The musical chameleon that is Beck! Another artist that seems to deliberately change styles every couple of albums, really successfully. Midnite Vultures (spelling Beck please) probably combines well with Mutations released the year before in exploring a more funk oriented sound.
My favourite random Beck fact that he is in the video clip for "The Hardest Button To Button" presenting "a box with something in it"
75. Falling Down - Muse
Past Entries:
2007
Knights Of Cydonia
77
2006
Starlight
46
2003
Stockholm Syndrome
12
2003
Hysteria
32
2003
Time Is Running Out
80
2001
Plug In Baby
30
2000
Sunburn
39
Back to the very first Muse album (Showbiz). This one wasn't a single just an album track but it appeals to me. I like the vocal delivery (did someone mention earnest before!!), it makes for a really beautiful song, not the rockers you normally associate with them.
74. Hallways - Something For Kate
Past Entries:
2003
Déjà Vu
77
2001
Monsters
17
2001
Jerry, Stand Up
39
2000
Beautiful Sharks
9
1999
Photograph
91
A much rockier offering than Photograph at #91. There is no one thing in particular that stands out about this one, just a rock song done really professionally (not a bad thing). Did I mention that voice....
73. Nice Guys Finish Last - Green Day
Past Entries:
2005
Jesus of Surburbia
15
2001
Maria
99
2000
Warning
62
2000
Waiting
73
I'm a sucker for a sharp pop-punk song and Green Day do it better than most. It was a sound that (in part) defined the 90s.
Lots of energy and momentum driving this one along (great bass playing as well) and a degree of self-aware silliness to cap it all off.
72. The Day The World Went Away - Nine Inch Nails
This starts very slow and quiet and then ramps it up very quickly, only to slow down again in time for the start of the vocals, rinse and repeat. The last minute is particularly great.
I like Nine Inch Nails alot, I've always thought Trent Reznor was a really clever musician, always lots going on and each of their albums move the sound along just enough to be identifiable but different.
71. Bad Light - Built To Spill
Past Entries:
2006
Going Against Your Mind
39
2006
Conventional Wisdom
61
2001
Strange
72
1999
Else
81
Hello again!
This one is more a fast/slow number. Again defined by fantastic guitar work.
One of the reasons that this album is so good is that it is a more polished/produced album and really highlighted the technical prowess of the musicianship and made it easier to hear this aspect of the band. Last edited:
Post rock is the genre that probably dominates this list (not giving anything away). But why does that matter when musing this delicate indie pop/folk offering of Will Oldham aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy? Well he took the photo that appears on the cover of the 1991 Spiderland album by Slint, considered the first post rock album (and copied by The Shins in their video for New Slang).
Also, Angel Olsen an absolute favourite of mine was one of his backing singers earlier in her career.
He's pretty good as well, if a bit grim sometimes.
69. The Next Movement - Roots, The
Past Entries:
2003
The Seed (2.0)
37
So Hip Hop as a genre often leaves me a bit cold. It is more something that I say I respect rather than enjoy. Having said that, there are a few bands that manage to break that down for me. Usually the more melodic offerings are what I'm attracted to (see Outkast, Jurassic 5, Thundamentals etc) and The Roots certainly qualify on this front.
This is a really funky offering. Really like the vocal delivery (the hot hot music, the hot music!)
68. Rendez-vu - Basement Jaxx
Past Entries:
2009
Raindrops
68
2006
Take Me Back To Your House
81
2003
Good Luck
57
2002
Get Me Off
46
2001
Romeo
10
2001
Where's Your Head At
59
Another banger alert and a song I remember being all over the radio at the time.
Basement Jaxx have a pretty strong catalogue. I look at all the songs that have previously made my lists as well as this one and can't really draw a common thread between them, they are all different. Just really strong pop songs really.
67. Devil Will Ride - Gomez
Past Entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
So I reckon this was actually the only album I bought in 1999, Liquid Skin by Gomez! It is a fantastic blues album by a fantastic band at the peak of their powers, following on from their 1998 debut. They are a really versatile band, with 3 of the members taking lead vocals at different times (sometimes in the same song) and a variety of instruments being played and they are one of the most fun bands to see. They seem to be having a blast and that rubs off on the audience.
Anyway, this song is a great mix of the dirty blues guitars at times and then the strings, horns and vocoded vocals all coming together very nicely indeed.
66. The Plan - Built To Spill
Past Entries:
2006
Going Against Your Mind
39
2006
Conventional Wisdom
61
2001
Strange
72
1999
Bad Light
71
1999
Else
81
And Built To Spill equal Pavement with 3 songs in so far. Well done sirs.
This is probably the rockiest song on the album (and in reflection of the countdown so far), really rocking out before coming down towards the end of the song. I said about all the other Built To Spill songs but the guitar playing is exemplary.
I also just realised that it the song I've least played on the album, according to iTunes and Else the most. I wonder what that means (well, nothing)
65. Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass
Past Entries:
2000
Mary
44
Another band I associate with the middle of the decade (and having very retro hair). I reckon they have two types of songs, the indie rock ones (like Mary or Caught By The Fuzz) and the indie pop ones like this (or Alright). It is a really good pop song, accompanied by a great video made with the Henson Studios.
I have very fuzzy memories of dancing to this in a bar in Sydney in the early 2000s with Burke from Gerling at an ungodly hour in the morning. Good times indeed.
64. Already Gone - Powderfinger
Past Entries:
2009
All Of The Dreamers
91
2003
Sunsets
13
2003
Love Your Way
64
2003
Stumblin
75
2003
Rockin'Rocks
86
2000
The Metre
79
There hasn't been much Australian music as yet so here's a good one by the recently emerged from isolation (literally) Powderfinger.
I was unaware of Powderfinger in the 90s and got caught up on my return to Australia in 2000 and checking out the Hottest 100 CDs but they were absolutely killing it at that stage in terms of their popularity. Not sure how strong their albums are but the singles were pretty much all excellent like this one. It really reminds me of the Aussie "Pub Rock" tradition of the 80s, which is no bad thing.
63. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
Past Entries:
2001
Weapon Of Choice
44
Fatboy Slim was absolutely all over the radio in England in 1998/1999 and was actually married to the breakfast presenter of Radio One (Zoe Ball) so I'm very familiar with his work. Like Moby, mentioned before it was a different style of music pulled together from a multitude of samples and when done well like in this song, it is great, really radio friendly. It is a slower number than the other big singles.
Have to mention the video though, what a classic! Academy Award winner Spike Jonze really pulls out all the stops here in a truly bizarre video. The Torrance Community Dance Group rulez!
62. Lucky Star - Alex Lloyd
Past Entries:
2003
Coming Home
89
Triple J Hottest 100 #1s don't have a great record of resonating with me and I must admit that as Amazing was the first Alex Lloyd song I heard and didn't like, I had him marked down. Then I heard this song. It is really different. I love the way it is produced. Like Amazing it is based around an acoustic guitar riff but very different backing tracks, almost a dub mix sound with different filters worked on the vocals at stages as well.
61. Stop The Rock - Apollo 440
Past Entries:
2001
Say What (with 28 Days)
50
2000
Charlie's Angels 2000
91
Another stable of English radio of the late 90s. Did you know that their name comes from the pitch note that concert orchestra tune their instruments to, An A note at 440Hz. Well you did now!
All of their songs have really high energy electronic big beat sounds. The (very distorted) vocals on this one were performed by Ian Hoxley of Gay Bikers On Acid. Last edited:
I only came across this a few years ago (2016 I think), when they released their second album and it referenced the 1999 debut as one of the most influential emo records and being somewhat a fan gave it a whirl and was most impressed. It is more like the raw emo of Brand New or Modern Baseball rather than the pomp and pageantry of AFI or My Chemical Romance. This is just a really heartfelt song
"So, let's just pretend Everything and anything Between you and me Was never meant"
Just a minute, I've got something in my eye
59. Touched - V.A.S.T.
And now it is benji2's turn to be either disappointed or impressed as this was his #1 and I only recently heard this after checking out his list. It is quite a tune. On first listen it was really quite surprising the musical twists and turns. Starts quite simply and then explodes into all sorts of different sounds and has a bit of a middle eastern twist.
In reflection of the list so far there are quite a few artists represented that are trying to push the boundaries of their music, whether from breaking away from Hardcore into new directions (American Football and The Dismemberment Plan) or trying to redefine electronic music (Moby and Fatboy Slim). Very interesting indeed.
58. All The Small Things - Blink 182
Past entries:
2016
Bored To Death
45
2003
I Miss You
50
2003
Feeling This
85
2000
Man Overboard
89
To be honest, I really want to hate this song but I just can't, it is just too infectious. The perfect example of the merging of pop and punk in my mind.
And the video clip just cracks me up every time.
57. The City - Dismemberment Plan, The
Past entries:
1999
Spider In The Snow - Dismemberment Plan, The
77
Another track from the excellent Emergency & I album. Like I mentioned with Moby earlier, nothing the band had done previously or would go on to do approached the heights of this album and (according to interviews I've read) apparently the band could sense this as the album took shape.
Anyway, this song has a great synth intro over the top of the guitar and the vocals are in a semi-spoken delivery and the whole feeling it generates is a nervous energy and a sense of regret at the way things are. It actually sums up life in isolation really well.
"The parks lay empty like my unmade bed The streets are silent like my lifeless telephone And this is where I live, but I've never felt less at home"
56. Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Past entries:
2002
Can't Stop
58
2002
The Zephyr Song
77
Take 2 on songs I couldn't believe weren't in the Triple J Hottest 100 (also see Can't Stop in 2002). I think maybe the voting list (which I've never seen) were more restrictive as there were some odd omissions in the 90s (Everlong and Disarm are 2 that come to mind).
Californication marked the return of John Frusciante to the fold after leaving after Blood Sugar Sex Magik and it does seem to mark a return to form for the band. I've always thought that one of the main strengths of the band was how tight the musicianship is, one element doesn't dominate over the others and that they have a very distinctive sound as well. Otherside is a great example of both of these. Slapping bass and drum lines, understated but intricate guitar playing, great vocals delivery and it just sounds like a Chili Peppers song.
55. Rhythm and Blues Alibi - Gomez
Past entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
1999
Devil Will Ride
67
Another great track from Gomez. I mentioned the multiple lead singers but Ben Ottewell is my favourite of them. He has a really amazing voice, it is so deep and gravelly and a perfect blues voice and his lines in this are what does it for me.
54. Electricity - Something For Kate
Past entries:
2003
Déjà Vu
77
2001
Monsters
17
2001
Jerry, Stand Up
39
2000
Beautiful Sharks
9
1999
Hallways
74
1999
Photograph
91
Another band to clock up 3 entries!
This one flat out just rocks, very different to the other two songs to appear so far. It just never lets up through the whole song. Great song to hear live.
53. Harvest Festival - XTC
Past entries:
2000
Stupidly Happy
99
1999
Easter Theatre
94
I actually woke this morning and had this song swirling around in my head. It is an ear worm. It really evokes the Beatles or Beach Boys at their best and is has lyrics about reflection of events from the path (and pagan festivals of course).
52. It's Not Too Beautiful - Beta Band, The
Can you talk about The Beta Band without mentioning the movie High Fidelity. Let's see...
After their early EPs, the buzz around The Beta Band was huge and their debut album dropping in 1999 had massive expectations. The end result was, well, not so much. The band themselves described it as "f*cking awful" It's actually not really all that bad (well they did come in here and #101 as well) but it is a bit of an incoherent mess. The sounds of a band possibly biting off more than they could chew. I say good on them for having a go.
This is a long one (8 minutes), with a feedback loop repeating throughout and the guitars and drums placed on top with all sorts of other accompanying sounds. It's a relaxing listen
I was introduced to the band through that memorable scene from High Fidelity in 2000......damn!
51. Burn Girl Prom Queen - Mogwai
Past entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
Just missing the top 50 is (as you can see above) one of my favourite bands Mogwai. In my Top 100 lists 1999-2019, they have the 3rd most songs included (behind Radiohead and Interpol). They are a very prolific band and all of their albums are great.
This song came on an EP (imaginatively titled EP) a couple of months after their second album, Come On Die Young and it (to me) marks a change of direction for the band. It is the first "softer" song that is reliant on keyboards to create the atmosphere, rather than just the guitars. As usual for Mogwai (and all post rock really), the song builds up slowly and then fades away just as slowly. It really is quite beautiful. Last edited:
Madonna had a really surprising resurgence in the late 90s (The William Orbit years shall we say), after being a bit pants in the early 90s (IMHO) and this was a highlight. She is another musical chameleon, always seeming to adapt to what the current style is or move pop music itself in a new direction. Not many people can claim to have done that over such a long period of time.
Simply a great pop song.
49. Testify - Rage Against The Machine
Past entries:
2000
Sleep Now In The Fire
3
2000
Renegades of Funk
21
2000
Maria
80
Another surprising omission from the Triple J Hottest 100 is this cracker. The Battle of Los Angeles, the album that this comes from is their (to date) last album of original material and it is great. Not as spotty as their previous albums, it was a work of a band at the peak of their powers, so for them to break up within a couple of years is a shame. Although there are always rumours of a reunion.
If you know their work, this doesn't veer from the formula very much, mix of metal and hip-hop. Big guitar riffs, hip hop style singing, very political lyrics.
48. Blow Up The Pokies - Whitlams, The
Had some technical issues but I'm back using the German forum, looks much nicer actually. If only I could read German, so this entry is the second time I've typed this one out.
Another entry I'm surprised didn't make the Hottest 100. I thought The Whitlams bossed these things.
I'm not really a fan to be honest but this is a really beautiful song. The piano, the strings and the gut wrenching lyrics will do it for me everytime. Tim Freedman has a really great voice, when he is being serious and this captures it at its best.
47. Ana's Song (Open Fire) - Silverchair
Past entries:
2002
Without You
82
Another act you can file in the not really a fan category is Silverchair. I didn't like either the grunge early stuff and the pop of the later stuff but this centre point between the two hits a sweet spot for me.
It is a nicely constructed pop song, with some rockier elements sprinkled throughout. I never knew until recently that Ana is the nickname of Anorexia given by sufferers. I did know that he was a sufferer and the song makes sense more that I know this (why was he hoping for Ana to die I always wondered).
Apologies, with technical difficulties and a longer than expected Skype call with the family didn't get time to complete this block...
46. Willful Suspension Of Disbelief - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
You can colour me a fan of Modest Mouse though, another act to have previously made #1 on my lists.
I mentioned in the comments that I'm being a bit generous of the release date of some songs as it is generally hard to find out with some songs, anyway as best I can tell this was released (in Japan only) in 1999 and then the USA in 2002. It was definately recorded 1999 so here it is.
This song quite nicely sums up the crossroads that Modest Mouse were at at the time. They had signed for a major label after the success of their second album and this comes out of the first recordings they did for Epic. You can immediately recognise this as Modest Mouse from the country-like guitar playing and Isaac Borck's voice but the increased production values are obvious as well, a deeper more brooding sound and a real pointer that something better was just around the corner.
45. Bring It On - Gomez
Past entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
1999
Rhythm and Blues Alibi
55
1999
Devil Will Ride
67
Another act to have 3 songs appear (after Pavement, Built To Spill and Something For Kate if you needed to catch up).
The first single from their second album, which is also confusingly the title of their debut album, Bring It On. Interestingly this and Rhythm and Blues Alibi were their highest charting singles in the UK (reaching #21 and #18 respectively).
It is a more straightforward blues number. The reverberating guitar sound at the beginning and end of the song is great and Ben's voice, just perfect.
44. Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Past entries:
2002
Can't Stop
58
2002
The Zephyr Song
77
1999
Otherside
56
One thing I really admire is the ability of singers to make their voice just another instrument in the song and this is a perfect example. Anthony Kiedis could be singing just nonsense lyrics (and let's be honest maybe is) but the way his delivery fits into the music around him is just perfect, the lengthening and shortening of the syllables is great. I can just close the eyes and block out what he's actually saying and listen to the sounds.
43. Mutha Fucka On A Motorcycle - Machine Gun Fellatio
Past entries:
2002
Take It Slow
36
2002
Rollercoaster
83
2000
Unsent Letter
2
<snigger>
Seriously, how do you come up with something like this? Well I guess if your band name is Machine Gun Fellatio, you do. They actually can get down and write some really heartfelt serious songs if they so choose (see Unsent Letter). Another band with multiple singers, this one is sung by KK Juggy (yes really), whose mother and father called Christa Hughes, whose grandfather (Richard Hughes) was a famous war correspondent and was the inspiration for the character Dikko Henderson in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel You Only Live Twice, and for 'Old Craw' in John le Carré's The Honourable Schoolboy.
Anyway, put the song title aside for a second, this is a pretty good song but it hard to put that song title aside....
42. My Favourite Game - Cardigans
Another song that was plastered all over BBC Radio at the time is this rocky little number by The Cardigans out of Sweden, the first but possibly not the last Scandinavian act to feature.
It has an absolute iconic guitar riff and the softness of the vocal delivery works really well aside it. A great snappy pop song.
41. Let Forever Be {Ft. Noel Gallagher} - Chemical Brothers, The
Past entries:
2015
Go {Ft. Q-Tip}
68
2003
The Golden Path {Ft. The Flaming Lips}
71
1999
Hey Boy Hey Girl
80
The Chemical Brothers actually ruined a quite impressive resume by having this song appear. Before this, they had only one song in the 90s, 2000s and 2010s appear in my lists. Wonder if anyone else could replicate this feat?
Anyway, The Chemical Brothers go back to Noel Gallagher (after 1996's Setting Sun) and it is an effective partnership. Like most of their songs there is an absolute kicking beat backing it all up .
Have to mention the video clip though, an absolute classic, by another Academy Award winner, Michel Gondry. Last edited:
Another slab of politically tinged rock from Rage Against The Machine. The bass is fantastic in this one and the way everything comes together in the last half a minute or so of the song. Best song in the 1999 Hottest 100 to have the lyrics "Turn That Sh*t Up"!
39. I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio - Sterophonics
And back to the BBC! This one was a big summer radio hit in my memory. I associate it with sunny days around the Thames River (I was living in a village on the Thames near Oxford this summer).
Not as rocky as other Stereophonics songs and has a fantastically nonsensical lyric which always makes me smile
"If I had myself a flying giraffe You'd have one in a box with a window"
38. The Pop Singers Fear Of The Pollen Count - Divine Comedy, The
Past entries:
2006
A Lady Of A Certain Age
41
Another massive summer ear worm. I've actually been quite surprised how many of the songs I heard on English radio have stuck with me. Interesting.
The Divine Comedy, who hail from Northern Ireland, were a good indie-pop band and always had witty lyrics (and song titles for that matter) to go with some infectious music. This is actually a reworked version of the song, that originally appeared on their 1993 album.
37. What's My Age Again? - Blink 182
Past entries:
2016
Bored To Death
45
2003
I Miss You
50
2003
Feeling This
85
2000
Man Overboard
89
1999
All The Small Things
58
Another slice of punk-pop from Blink-182, a band that are very happy to not take themselves very seriously both in their lyrics and videos. Can often be very amusing and this is no different. Short, sharp and funny.
36. Carry The Zero - Built To Spill
Past entries:
2006
Going Against Your Mind
39
2006
Conventional Wisdom
61
2001
Strange
72
1999
The Plan
66
1999
Bad Light
71
1999
Else
81
Well someone had to first to 4 songs and it is Idaho's finest (actually does anyone know any other bands from Idaho) Built To Spill.
The second longest songs from Keep It Like A Secret, it would have been the second shortest on the previous album as Doug Martsch (singer, guitar player extraordinaire and song writer of the band) made the conscious decision to write shorter and more concise songs.
As with all their work, it is really the complex guitar playing that is the centrepiece. The guitar playing at 4 minutes in, carrying onto the end of the song is just divine.
35. Staralfur - Sigur Ros
Past entries:
2013
Brennistein
35
2013
Isjaki
58
2012
Varuo
20
2008
Gobbledigook
18
2008
Inni Mer Syngur Vitlesingur
59
2007
Hljomalind
26
2005
Glosoli
4
2005
Svo Hljott
14
2005
Hoppipolla
29
2005
Saeglopur
44
2005
Gong
54
2002
Vaka
3
2002
Njosnavellin
7
2002
Frysta
53
2000
Ny Batteri
20
Another one of my all time favourite bands, Sigur Rós. One of the best Post-Rock artists. This album is really like nothing else I had ever heard before (and this was the first song I heard from it). Using violin bows to play the guitar, the ethereal vocals, truly amazing stuff.
I'd love to say I was across it in 1999 but (like pretty much everyone) it passed me by but I heard this song (on a mixtape a friend had) a few years later and was struck by it. The piano and strings that form the basis of the song are quite beautifully arranged. I can just picture this playing in some remote valley in Iceland and it just filling up all that space. Even though it is quite different, this might be the most "normal" song on the album. But just to be different, the strings are composed to be palindromic (the same played backwards or forwards).
34. Ex-Cowboy - Mogwai
Past entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
1999
Burn Girl Prom Queen
51
Post rock royalty back to back!
Mogwai appeared previously at #51 and I praised the beauty of that particular song. This is the other side of Mogwai, dark, brooding and brutal. There is a similar approach to the song in that is builds up and then fades away.
Ex-Cowboy builds with layer upon layer of guitars over the first 3 and a half minutes, slows down to catch a breath for a minute or so and then starts the process over again but goes harder. At 6-7 minutes in there are so many layers of feedback guitars it is quite dazzling and then back down again.
Get a pair of good headphones and listen to this late at night in the dark. Awesome.
33. Electricity - Suede
Another early/mid 90s artist, this was Suede's last big hit. While this era of Suede didn't hit the heights of their earlier work this is still a cracking glam-pop song and still very reminiscent of David Bowie's early 70s work!
I actually saw them perform in London in a HMV store when the record this was on was released (Head Music, their 4th) and as they played all the new tracks I got very excited when they said they were going to do an old song to close off (I'm a very big fan of their first two records) and they then proceeded to play Trash from their third album ;(. Still a good song though...
32. Steal My Sunshine - Len
How can you not love this song in all its nonsense.
"Well, does he like butter tarts?"
Yes, we all like butter tarts.
"My sticky paws were into making straws out of big fat slurpy treats"
OK, now you've lost me.
Anyway, this is just an incredibly bouncy sunny pop song.
31. Agaetis Byrjun - Sigur Ros
Past entries:
2013
Brennistein
35
2013
Isjaki
58
2012
Varuo
20
2008
Gobbledigook
18
2008
Inni Mer Syngur Vitlesingur
59
2007
Hljomalind
26
2005
Glosoli
4
2005
Svo Hljott
14
2005
Hoppipolla
29
2005
Saeglopur
44
2005
Gong
54
2002
Vaka
3
2002
Njosnavellin
7
2002
Frysta
53
2000
Ny Batteri
20
1999
Staralfur
35
Another piece of ethereal beauty by Sigur Ros and the title track for their second album.
There is a real fragility about this song, especially around the piano and vocals by Jonsi. The last section is sung in a made up language (Vonlenska or Hopelandic). As the song progresses, additional elements are added but it remains quite simple.
Agaetis Byrjun translates (roughly) as "a good beginning" which was attributed to a friend on hearing this song (which was the first recorded for the album) and it stuck! Last edited:
Another big radio hit (surprisingly given the naughty words) and completing the set of one song in my 90s, 2000s and 2010s lists is Kelis and her call out to her ex
"I hate you so much right now"
Tell us how you really feel Kelis.
29. Writing To Reach You - Travis
Past entries:
2000
Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
31
Another song I'm surprised didn't make the Hottest 100, given that the third single from the album (and so possibly the 3rd best song from the The Man Who) did make the Hottest 100 of 2000!
Well this is the 1st single (and album opener for that fact) and was another song I remember hearing alot at the time. It is a really sweet melodic indie-pop song really but does have a couple of rockier moments as well. It uses very similar chords to Wonderwall and, in acknowledgement has the lyric "and what's a wonderwall, anyway?".
This album was a monster hit in the UK, spending 9 weeks at #1 and is certified 9 x Platinum.
28. Anthem For The Year 2000 - Silverchair
Past entries:
2002
Without You
82
1999
Ana's Song (Open Fire)
47
I did say earlier that I didn't like Silverchair's grungier offerings but I am willing to make this exception. This one absolutely rocks out, more in Queen style than pure grunge!
I do like that "The Freak" from Prisoner is in the dystopian film clip.
27. These Days - Powderfinger
Past entries:
2009
All Of The Dreamers
91
2003
Sunsets
13
2003
Love Your Way
64
2003
Stumblin
75
2003
Rockin'Rocks
86
2000
The Metre
79
1999
Already Gone
64
This is an absolute iconic Aussie song.
Made for the film Two Hands, it was originally released as a B-side and the went on to top the Hottest 100!
It is a pretty simple song actually but all the parts fit together seamlessly and the lyrics really evoke some strong feelings in me (hopelessness, sadness etc).
26. Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim
Past entries:
2001
Weapon Of Choice
44
1999
Praise You
63
The best Fatboy Slim song (IMHO). The backing beat is awesome.
When I first heard this (on the radio in England of course) I thought that the line "Right Here, Right Now" was sampled from the movie "The Outsiders" and was said by Ralph Macchio's character in a very iconic scene. I now realise that I could actually look this up on the interwebs and find out if this is true but I choose not to because I want to go on believing it is
25. Carrot Rope - Pavement
Past entries:
1999
Major Leagues
79
1999
Billie
83
1999
Spit On A Stranger
92
The best and silliest song on Terror Twilight, this is a snappy piece of slacker rock, very identifiable as Pavement but you can hear the added production work (by Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame). The duelling vocals of Steve Malkamus and Scott Kannberg at the beginning of the song is great, which wasn't used too much in their last couple of albums.
24. Flame - Sebodah
Funny that Sebadoh comes after Pavement as they are probably the two highest profile lo-fi bands. This album was their only major label release.
It is such a funky song, the bass and drum beat is massive and powers through the whole song and Lou Barlow's vocal is great.
"You can feel anything you wanna feel And call it real"
23. Tender - Blur
Past entries:
2015
Go Out
86
2012
Under The Westway
86
2010
Fool's Day
97
2003
Out Of Time
26
2000
Music Is My Radar
88
Britpop's finest (take that Oasis)! I remember being quite surprised when this first came on the radio, as it is quite different. But then go back and listen to Parklife and see how many different styles they are attempting and maybe I shouldn't have been.
A song about the breakup between Damon Albarn and Justine Frischmann with vocal duties shared between Damon and Graham Coxon. The best feature of the song though is the backing vocals of the London Gospel Community Choir.
This was the last of their 9 ARIA Top 100 singles BTW, reaching #32. In counterpoint to their popularity in the UK, it was their 12th top 10 hit (#2).
22. Sea Song - Doves
Past entries:
2002
There Goes The Fear
29
2002
Pounding
41
2002
M62 Song
63
2000
Catch The Sun
41
2000
The Cedar Room
60
An early release from Doves (a criminally underrated band IMHO) from their second EP.
Great high energy acoustic guitar backing and drawn out vocal delivery drive this one forward. It sounds quite urgent actually. Can't make out any of the lyrics but doesn't really matter, sounds just beautiful, like all their work really.
Kicking off the top 20 is The Flaming Lips. Before this album the only song of theirs I knew was the rather silly She Don't Eat Jelly. When I first heard The Soft Bulletin, I would never have equated the two. They went from guitar heavy alt-rock into much more layered and intricate pop songs. Quite a change.
I love the uplifting string arrangements and the percussion in partcular. Another song that is relevant in our pandemic-tinged reality
"Two scientists are racing For the good of all mankind Both of them side-by-side So determined Locked in heated battle For the cure that is their prize But it's so dangerous But they're determined"
19. Dirge - Death In Vegas
Past entries:
2003
Hands Around My Throat
15
2000
Aisha {Ft. Iggy Pop}
15
At #19 is the very consistent Death In Vegas. No more than one song per year but always in the Top 20.
If you're not familiar with their work, they are an English electro-rock band. They generally write instrumentals but do occasionally have guest vocalists (it is Dot Allison providing the la la las here). Over her backing, additional sounds/instruments are added to the song one by one. It is quite the rocker by the end.
18. Red Alert - Basement Jaxx
Past entries:
2009
Raindrops
68
2006
Take Me Back To Your House
81
2003
Good Luck
57
2002
Get Me Off
46
2001
Romeo
10
2001
Where's Your Head At
59
1999
Rendez-vu
68
A banger red alert has been issued.
How about that slapping bass line! Got a bit of a funk sound and is a lot of fun. Great pop song that was my introduction to Basement Jazz back in 1999.
17. Shazam! - Spiderbait
Past entries:
2004
F***kin Awesome
68
2002
Arse Huggin Pants
56
2001
Four On The Floor
71
1999
Glockenpop
84
An absolute cracker and my favourite Spiderbait song. A much longer extended version of this was used as the opening track of their live performances the two times I saw them in the early 2000s, which was awesome and part of why I love this song so much.
Kram is in fine form on this one (both with the drums and vocals).
16. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? - Moby
Past entries:
2000
Porcelain
12
1999
Bodyrock
89
I think this was my first introduction to Moby. It certainly make me pay attention as I'd never really heard anything like it before.
It is much slower than most of the rest of the album and has a very melancholic feel.The sample used from the wonderfully named Banks Brothers and the Greater Harvest Back Home Choir is really well done.
Video clip goes very well with the song as well.
15. Christmas Steps - Mogwai
Past entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
1999
Ex-Cowboy - Mogwai
34
1999
Burn Girl Prom Queen
51
Entry #3 for Mogwai for 1999 and #24 overall is a 10 minute long brooding post rock number. They originally got their name when they first formed from the creatures in the movie Gremlins but always intended on getting a better one but never got around to it!
Here is my minute by minute coverage of the songs
Minute 1 - This is quite pretty really Minute 2 - Still pretty Minute 3 - Like the addition of the deep bass line Minute 4 - I'm actually feeling anxious now because I know it will kick in soon but not sure exactly when Minute 5 - Now Minute 6 - Absolutely losing my shit. I think my ears are bleeding... Minute 7 - Calms down somewhat (both the song and me that is) Minute 8 - This is quite pretty really Minute 9 - Getting very quiet now Minute 10 - Takes a deep breath. Wow
14. You Don't Care About Us - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
Another band with plenty of previous entries. Another album I owned in 1999 but I actually bought it in 1998. This song lands in 1999 because of the vagaries of Hottest 100 voting really.
One of the rockier numbers on the album, it flips manically between wise, sighing despair and spitting adolescent rage and the guitar riffs do likewise.
13. Adam's Song - Blink 182
Past entries:
2016
Bored To Death
45
2003
I Miss You
50
2003
Feeling This
85
2000
Man Overboard
89
1999
What's My Age Again?
37
1999
All The Small Things
58
I must admit that when I started to compile this list, I would never have expected this to be so high but here it is.
I'm an absolute sucker for a sad song and this certainly covers that. It reads as a suicide note but apparently was written about Mark Hoppus' depression he experienced when touring.
"Please tell mom this is not her fault"
12. Little Discourage - Idlewild
Past entries:
2000
Roseability
10
I discovered Idlewild through their 2000 song Roseability (my #10 for 2000) and this appears on the same album but was released as single a year earlier.
Great indie rock sound which always floats my boat. The repeated chorus "All I need is a little discourage" over the swirling guitars is great.
11. Driftwood - Travis
Past entries:
2000
Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
31
1999
Writing To Reach You - Travis
29
Just missing out on the Top 10 is this beautiful indie-pop number from Travis, the 2nd single from The Man Who
It's quite a wistful song, quite low tempo, with some beautiful guitar playing and vocals. Just lie back and let it wash over you.
They do great film clips and this is no different.
"You're driftwood floating underwater Breaking into pieces, pieces, pieces Just driftwood, hollow and of no use Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you" Last edited:
I think that this is Sigur Ros' tribute to the Olsen twins but I won't bother checking if that is true or nor because it should be.
Once the bass line kicks in, you are just taken on a dreamy voyage. Jonsi's vocals seems like they are echoing from far away, giving a sense of space for the music to fill. Flutes, strings, horns, it's got it all and it builds into a wonderful crescendo.
9. Moya - Godspeed You! Black Emporer
Past entries:
2015
Peasantry or "Light! Inside Of Light!"
74
2012
Mladic
8
2000
Antennas To Heavan
19
2000
Storm
22
2000
Sleep
36
2000
Static
61
More post rock royalty at #9, with Canada's Godspeed You! Black Emporer. I've ruminated the fact that the three titans of post rock in my list (GYBE, Sigur Ros and Mogwai) all come from sparsely populated countries (Canada, Iceland and Scotland) with lots of emptiness and they are trying find a sound to fill it. GYBE have said they were influenced by the flight of non-french speakers out of Montreal leading up to the Quebec Succession Referendum and the empty buildings left behind they would record in. It's a though at least....
First time I saw them live, all these people got onto the stage after the support act and started setting up/playing around with the instruments, I assumed they were roadies, but before too long they had started their first song. It was the band, all 9 of them.
For a band that has no vocals, there is so much emotion their music. For a band that is inspired by dystopia and anarchy and decay, there is so much hope in their music For a band with a violinist and a cello player, there is so much rock!
8. What Do You Me To Say - Dismemberment Plan, The
Past entries:
1999
The City - Dismemberment Plan, The
57
1999
Spider In The Snow - Dismemberment Plan, The
77
Is there a question mark in the song title? I bought the album on iTunes and it doesn't have a ? but the Wikipedia page for the album does. Intriguing.
Somewhat of a more straightforward indie-rock number than some of the more experimental tracks but it is a killer. There is something slightly off about the guitar in the verses which gives it a nervous or anxious sound, which suits as it is a breakup (or break apart more accurately) song.
"There was a time when you could make me laugh at will And you can do it still But never is it for the right reasons."
7. Waitin' For A Superman - Flaming Lips, The
Past entries:
2003
The Golden Path (with The Chemical Brothers)
71
2002
Do You Realise?
24
2002
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
60
1999
Race For The Prize
20
This was my introduction to the new sound of the Flaming Lips (I'm pretty sure it was on the same that I discovered Sigur Ros on as well - thanks Andy).
It's such a beautiful song (I know I say that alot but it really is). Quite down tempo, fantastic percussion with really melancholic lyrics.
"Tell everybody Waitin' for Superman That they should try to Hold on Best they can He hasn't dropped them Forgot them Or anything It's just too heavy for Superman to lift"
6. What Its Like - Everlast
I reckon this is the most randomly awesome song ever. Didn't like House of Pain don't like any other Everlast songs but this one just presses all the right buttons for me.
It's all about the lyrics for me on this one (but the backing beat is pretty cool as well), basically saying don't judge other people and their choices until you try and walk in the shoes (then you really might know what it's like )
"God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes 'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues"
5. CODY - Mogwai
Past entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
1999
Christmas Steps
15
1999
Ex-Cowboy
34
1999
Burn Girl Prom Queen
51
We are not done with Mogwai yet, as they bring up their 25th entry in my lists. Pass the cake!
This is from the album Come On Die Young (get it CODY!) and most peculiarly for Mogwai has some singing on it. No ear bleeding here, its a slower and sadder number, intertwining guitars form the backdrop to
"Old songs stay till the end Sad songs remind me of friends And the way it is, I could leave it all And I ask myself, would you care at all?"
4. Every You Every Me - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
A change of pace with the ubiquitous Every You Every Me (it does my head in a bit that the lyrics are actually Every Me Every You).
I'm a big fan, you all know this one. Nothing else needs be said. Rock on.
3. Coffee and TV - Blur
Past entries:
2015
Go Out
86
2012
Under The Westway
86
2010
Fool's Day
97
2003
Out Of Time
26
2000
Music Is My Radar
88
1999
Tender
23
The Graham Coxon penned and sung Coffee & TV. Didn't quite become their 13th Top 10 hit in the UK as it peaked at #11.
I saw Blur at the Reading Festival in 1999 and this was one of the best numbers but when they did Song 2, the crowd went absolutely nuts. I've never seen anything like it. I was a good 25m or so from the stage and the mosh pit went far beyond me. Don't know how many people were there (20,000?) but everyone was shouting "woo hoo". Good times.
2. Enter Space Capsule - Gerling
Past entries:
2003
In The City
59
2002
Hot Computer (Summer Laptop Remix)
19
2001
Dust Me Selecta
1
2001
G-House Project
20
2001
Phazer Kidz In The Windy City
48
2001
Hi Jackers Manual
75
2000
The Deer In You
11
My old drinking/dancing buddy Burke and his mates (to be fair he just happened to be in the same pub in the same state of intoxication and decided to get up and dance with us) and another previous #1 artist. I love Gerling. Their albums are great and they were one of the most fantastic live acts I've ever seen. They put on a Christmas Show every year at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney and it was always mental.
I also have a massive spot for this absolute banger of a tune as I used to rock my middle daughter to sleep to this when she was a baby (the oldest preferred Dust Me Selecta). Can absolutely bliss out to this....
1. Svefn-G-Englar - Sigur Ros
Past entries:
2013
Brennistein
35
2013
Isjaki
58
2012
Varuo
20
2008
Gobbledigook
18
2008
Inni Mer Syngur Vitlesingur
59
2007
Hljomalind
26
2005
Glosoli
4
2005
Svo Hljott
14
2005
Hoppipolla
29
2005
Saeglopur
44
2005
Gong
54
2002
Vaka
3
2002
Njosnavellin
7
2002
Frysta
53
2000
Ny Batteri
20
1999
Olsen Olsen
10
1999
Agaetis Byrjun
31
1999
Staralfur
35
It couldn't be anything else could it? Well, there were 1000s of songs released in 1999 so I guess it could but in my mind this was always going to be #1 and by a long way. Apparently the name is an Icelandic pun mixing "sleepwalkers" and "sleep angels". It certainly sounds like both of these things
I reckon if you looked the meaning of ethereal in the dictionary it would just point to this. No more words, just float away now......
Happy to see Touched in there at #59, very close to where it landed in the actual Hottest 100 . It is actually technically a 1998 release, but due to my rules of including all the Hottest 100 songs of a year I had to include it in 1999.
It's actually Bulgarian Folk music Jon Crosby sampled, with devastating effect.
Good to see Lucky Star in there as well, my favourite Alex Lloyd song. Last edited:
I like The Whitlams, though Love This City was such a letdown after the great Eternal Nightcap.
Agree that Blow Up The Pokies is full of heart and should have made the Hottest 100 instead of 'Chunky Chunky Air Guitar' I don't think it was released as a single until mid-2000 which may not have helped. It was very relevant at the time and still is now.
Guerrilla Radio is of course the centerpiece of the 1999 Hottest 100, as a song that mentions a radio/stereo, and insisting one to turn that shit up.
You often have to wonder about how many of those crazy omissions were just really close, because there's another timeline where many are baffled that Passenger didn't make the cut for Powderfinger. And curiously enough, it's that #100 finish that keeps Powderfinger ahead of Hilltop Hoods for entries (Foo Fighters doing the same with their #100 which is a song that existed).
Very nice. Great to see Sigur Ros make two of, I suspect, several appearances from their Aegetus Byrjun album. I must confess I was unaware of them until about 2001 as well. Blowed if I can recall how I discovered them, it might have been on one of those chill out compilations I think. Went out and got the album, and the rest is history.
And the 1999 vesion of These Days is the definitive one, not the overproduced album version.
Interesting point Hijinx, without access to the voting lists and also the 101-200 lists (which we can see now) there is a bit of mystery to the 90s Hottest 100s. Did Everlong come in at #101 or did Triple J just forget to put it on the voting list, who knows?
I've never seen that before thanks. Looks like really limited number of songs (only 254 in total, rather than the 2000+ now), so they obviously just omitted it in favour of Monkey Wrench, which doesn't look a great decision in hindsight
The really small voting list is in a way one of the most interesting things because it puts a different perspective on what it means to crack the Hottest 100 back then. You're literally only in the top 40 percentile of the list, with a lot less votes too, so there's probably a lot of erratic effects, like say someone convinced all their friends to vote for a song, it'd probably actually matter. In some respects, a #200 finish in 2019 has a lot more credibility than a #100 finish in 1997.
(I've heard that's more or less how Pale made the list in 1994).
Actually though with that in mind, it was still possible to be voted into the list without being on the list. I know Louis Burdett did just that, and it strongly suggests that The Whitlams were robbed of a much higher placing for that, but maybe on the other hand, that helped No Aphrodisiac get the win on a less split voting card. THAT, we'll never know. Last edited:
I remember The Vaughns with their wonderful (not) track Who Farted? in 1995 admitted they got all their friends to vote multiple times and it got into the 50s. It certainly was possible to do something like this then but couldn't now.
Very nice 25-11 OBOne! Really looking forward to your Top 10, though I think I know some of the candidates
Thanks for the 1997 voting list link Hijinx. It might help me get to 200 for that year, so I can post my next list
Nup...still don't understand how Everlong isn't on that list. It may have been on the 1998 voting list, as My Hero was from the same album, but still no excuse for it not being in either countdown!
I know the 1999 voting list is online somewhere, will see if I can find it.
I remember using the internet (at Uni) to vote for the first time in early 1997 (for the 1996 countdown).
The vaughans must have gotten all their friends to buy the single as well for it to have made it to the ARIA top 50 in 1995. Stayed in the top 100 for 2 months. 8 wasted weeks of what was actually a good year for music
Great list! I’m particularly pleased to see the excellent Driftwood with such a high ranking, along with Writing To Reach You appearing. I also enjoy seeing the multiple entries for Silverchair, Powderfinger, Blink 182, Blur and RHCP. Also very happy about The Whitlams, Len and Stereophonics nabbing a place, among many others.
1998 saw me still based in the UK but I did visit Australia for a mate's wedding and was presented with a couple of great Australian albums (from 1997) that had singles released in 1998 and find their way here. Also think I was a bit more engaged to new music as there are quite a few other albums in the list that I had at the time. Still was listening to a lot of BBC Radio One, so a few pop songs of the time are here as well. Haven't listened to the Triple J Hottest 100, just the CD (which is one of my least favourite), so it doesn't really register here.
Deloitte's found a couple of errors in my original list. A song that was released as a single in 1997 but was on a 1998 album has been reclassified to 1997. Alternatively, if a song was released on an album in 1997 but as a single in 1998, I'll put it in the 1998 list for reasons that are unclear! They also pointed out a song that had the wrong year in my iTunes collection (was on a best of and had that year rather than the original release year). This meant that The Beautiful South started at 101, snuck in at 100 and were then relegated to 101 again .
I'll list the also-rans out to 111 as well...
101
Look What I Found In My Beer - Beautiful South, The
102
Baker Street - Foo Fighters
103
Is It Wicked Not To Care - Belle & Sebastian
104
Undercurrent - Windy & Carl
105
Drunken Angel - Lucinda Williams
106
Luv Machine - Blonde Redhead
107
Metal Heart - Cat Power
108
Gangster Trippin' - Fatboy Slim
109
She-Riff - Magic Dirt
110
Leit af lífi (recycled by Sigur Ros) - Sigur Ros
111
Pig - Sparklehorse
And onwards to the (un)official guide to the best 100 songs from 1998.
Redneck Wonderland (the album) was a bit of a departure for Midnight Oil as it was both more rockier and electronic than the previous few albums. Amusingly, Peter Garret has always claimed that Midnight Oil are a dance band because he dances to them!
I saw their supposed last ever show in 2017 (since not their last ever show) and this song kicked things off so it is only fitting it does so again!
99. Sweetest Thing - U2
Another debut to my charts from a big 80s band. This song started out life as the B-side to "Where The Streets Have No Name" in 1987 but got re-recorded in 1998 for their Greatest Hits collection. U2 purists will tell you that the original version is better but they're wrong!
Hit #6 in the ARIA charts as well, their 15th of 23 Top 10 Australian hits
98. Sinner - Neil Finn
Yet another big 80s artist to make their debut, will Kajagoogoo be next
Quite surprisingly this was Neil Finn's first solo album, after many many Split Enz and Crowded House releases and it is a good one. More instrumental than Crowded House but very recognisable as Neil Finn, it just shows that he is one of the great songwriters. This is a really relaxed song and was a minor hit in Australia and the UK (where I heard it) but not New Zealand.
97. I'm Ready - Royal Trux
Ah, well they were around in the 80s and this is their debut on my lists
A very different sound to Neil Finn, Royal Trux are an American low-fi alternative rock duo peddling the drums/guitar sound that would be taken up by White Stripes (among others).
Interestingly, while other well known low-fi artists of the early 90s like Pavement and Sebadoh were refining their sound in the late 90s, Royal Trux just kept on trucking. It is a pretty simple, repetitive song but sounds great.
96. Black Umbrella - Even
Past entries:
2001
Shining Star
100
Finally an act that has appeared before, if barely. Even follow up their #100 of 2001 with a credible #96 in 1998. I have it in my mind that they used to be called Even As We Speak but can't find any evidence to back this up.
This is a pretty sparkly snappy indie pop number. That will do it for me everytime!!
95. The Boy With The Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian
Past entries:
2006
White Collar Boy
96
2005
Funny Little Frog
84
2004
I'm A Cuckoo
46
2003
Step Into My Office Baby
24
2001
I'm Waking Up To Us
91
2000
Legal Man
47
The title track of Belle and Sebastian's third album, inspired by fellow Scottish band Arab Strap. It is a bit of a different sound to both their previous and subsequent releases, which can best be described as twee. The rollicking piano and keyboards drive this along and the backing vocals by Isobel Cambell beg the question why she wasn't used more.
94. Brittle Then Broken - Pollyanna
I have two very spurious connections to Maryke the bass player of Pollyanna. She worked with my sister and was also the flat mate of a friend of mine!
Probably the rockiest of their releases. There is some very fine shouty singing in the last minute or so of the song, which is always nice.
93. Daysleeper - R.E.M.
Well, yet another 80s staple making a first appearance in my lists. R.E.M. are a big favourite of mine but I do think their 90s output lags far below their 80s output (Automatic For The People being an exception).
This is a good song though, very recognisable as R.E.M. with Michael Stipe's vocals and lyrics a standout. Don't know any other songs that have "circadian rhythms" in the lyrics. This was the first R.E.M. album to include the lyrics on the album sleeve BTW.
92. This Is Hardcore - Pulp
Pulp are a band that inspires a lot of reverence but I'm not really that big a fan.
They do have their moments though and this is one. After the big success of Different Class, they returned with something very different. Musically, this is very big sounding, lots of strings, horns and percussion, not the snappy pop sound they were famous for. It does have the (too?) clever lyrics they were famous for though.
"What exactly do you do for an encore"
I will say they usually do great film clips and this is no different.
As an aside, Jarvis Cocker's dad was a DJ at DoubleJ/TripleJ in the 80s!
91. Walking After You - Foo Fighters
Past entries:
2005
DOA
88
2002
Time Like These
97
2000
Generator
72
This is a re-recorded version of one of the songs from The Colour and the Shape album done for the X-Files soundtrack. It adds more instrumentation than the original version and the vocals were redone as well.
It's one of Foo Fighter's quieter sweeter songs and it was the first Foo Fighters song I really registered.
"If you walk out on me I'm walking after you"
Rumours he wrote the song after listening to Mental As Anything have yet to be confirmed. Last edited:
90. I Might Be A C*** But I'm Not A Fucking C*** - TISM
From the it could only be TISM files....
Not their first dalliance with the C word as their 1993 EP "Australia The Lucky C***" was amusingly later renamed "Censored Due To Legal Advice".
Putting all that to one side, this is a pretty rockin' song incorporating all the electronic elements of their 90s output (drum machines etc) with their jab at people who justify doing something bad by pointing out that it could have been worse in typical TISM fashion.
"I might have screwed your sister, but I'll never screw your mum"
If nothing else, TISM are a very unique band. I don't know of anyone even vaguely similar to them.
"I mightn't tell the truth all the time, hey, what's your mum's number?"
89. Never Ending Math Equation - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
The first previous #1 artist to appear and the beneficiary of my last minute realisation that this was actually released in 1998, not 2000 as my iTunes library says (from the Building Nothing Out of Something compilation).
This was one of Modest Mouse's last releases before signing to a major label. I read somewhere that Modest Mouse songs are either quiet and brooding or dark and pounding. This falls into the later. It starts fairly straightforwardly and then two minutes through just goes off!! Another band defined by really unique and clever lyrics.
"The universe works on a math equation That never even ever really even ends in the end Infinity spirals out creation We're on the tip of its tongue, and it is saying "Well, we ain't sure where you stand You ain't machines and you ain't land""
88. Push It - Garbage
Lots of artists making their first appearance in my lists. Maybe 1998 was marking the end of a musical era. Food for thought....
Garbage were another act that I wouldn't say I was a big fan of compared to their general popularity but this song is great. Really interesting sound and vocal delivery to match. Not as straightforward poppy as other songs by them.
87. The Restless Waves - Dirty Three, The
I saw The Dirty Three in 1998. They supported PJ Harvey at the Hammersmith Palais. Even though they were Australian, I had never heard of them before. They were amazing.
The combination of violin, guitar and drums is an unusual one but it works really well. Warren Ellis' violin guides the song and the others provide backing. The song sounds exactly like Restless Waves would, swelling and then ebbing. Just beautiful.
86. Regular John - Queens of the Stone Age
Past entries:
2017
The Way You Used To Do
18
2017
The Evil Has Landed
48
2013
If I Had A Tail
8
2013
My God Is The Sun
13
2013
I Sat By The Ocean
17
2013
I Appear Missing
43
2005
In My Head
23
2005
Little Sister
91
2002
No One Knows
2
2002
Go With The Flow
8
2002
First It Giveth
16
2002
Hangin' Tree
28
2002
God Is In The Radio
45
2002
You Think I 'Aint Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire
68
2002
The Sky Is Fallin'
76
2000
The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
18
A very common entrant to my lists (8th highest entries) spanning 19 years is Queens Of The Stone Age.
This is off their debut album but is very recognisable right from the get go as QOTSA with that dirty stoner guitar sound and Josh Homme's voice. This song wouldn't be out of place on Songs For The Deaf, which is high praise indeed.
85. Sixtyten - Boards Of Canada
Nothing that came before sounds like Boards Of Canada's 1998 album "Music Has A Right To Children" with its mix of old school synthesizers, analogue recording, samples, field recordings and hip-hop beats. Not too much since has either for that matter.
Sixyten revolves around a looped garbled sample and an absolute stomping beat and just adds and subtracts elements over the course of 5 minutes.
84. Never There - Cake
Past entries:
2001
Short Skirt/Long Jacket
77
Ah, the laconic bass driven stylings of Cake. What ever happened to them? Dare I say, did someone have their Cake and eat it....
83. Rosa Parks - Outkast
Past entries:
2004
Ghetto Musick
19
2003
Hey Ya!
4
2003
The Way You Move
29
2003
Last Call
41
2003
Prototype
62
2003
Bowtie
90
2003
Roses
97
2001
So Fresh, So Clean
52
2001
The Whole World
82
2000
Ms Jackson
8
2000
B.O.B.
45
Another familiar face to my lists. Many Outkast purists say that Aquemini is their best album. They'd be wrong but there is still some fine tunes to be found including this one.
I'm not sure about the Rosa Parks reference as it talks about going to the back of the bus not standing up to the man (and she sued them as well). It is the most straight up funky and fun song on the album and is a great example of how Andre and Big Boi can work together on one song when they so choose.
82. Bad Old Man - Babybird
I only know two Babybird and they are very different from each other (You're Gorgeous is the other BTW).
This is a brooding electronic number, with some downright disturbing lyrics.
"He had a bad old man who beat him Took a hammer to his knees just to please him Now he's thirty-five and half-alive"
When I first heard it on the radio, I didn't register the lyrics and just tapped along and half way through the song remember thinking, did he just say "paedophile" and paid attention after that.
81. New Noise - Refused
From one of the greatest album titles of all time, "The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts". The 90s were an interesting time for Hardcore as split off genres became more successful (Grunge, Industrial and Post Rock being the three most obvious). By the late 90s there weren't that many bands left who were purely hardcore anymore.
Refused decided that you couldn't marry the anti-establishment message at the core of hardcore with the increasingly commercial sound that the genre had encompassed, so something new was needed (a New Noise if you will).
They did this best in this track, incorporating drum and bass sounds into traditional hardcore sounds. I reckon Slipknot were listening..... Last edited:
Harking back to the terminology battle of the mid 90s over a really bad haircut, on the losing side are Wales' favourite suns Super Furry Animals. Until this song, they were very consistently ranking in my lists. The band thought this song was too poppy and "naff" and decided to name it after a "naff" haircut.
Its hard to describe Super Furry Animals and this song as well as it/they is a mix of a whole lot of styles and changes constantly. I particularly like the singing the chorus even though I don't really know any of the words, too poppy indeed, as if that's bad!
79. Get It On - Turbonegro
Turbonegro are a Norweigan self described deathpunk band. There is more than a hint of early KISS about their sound and their makeup choices.
They've got 10 albums but I've only heard the one this is from (Apocalypse Dudes). It's pretty silly and fun.
78. Whatareya? - TISM
Past entries:
1998
I Might Be A C*** But I'm Not A Fucking C*** - TISM
90
Neatly dividing the world into two clubs (Yob or Wanker) could actually describe alot of TISM's output. I think they see themselves as Yobs but in reality they're Wankers.
"A wanker fights class prejudice A yobbo just fights Yob or wanker, wanker or yob Pass me the brush to tar ya Make your choice then live your life Come on, pal, whatareya?"
Very clever as usual. The guitar in this song is a bit heavier than the rest of the album and the drum machine bits underneath tie it together well.
77. God Is A DJ - Faithless
Past entries:
2004
Mass Destruction
58
A classic trance track. Not usually a style that I appreciate but there is something quite captivating about this one.
76. Cold Feeling - Underground Lovers
Past entries:
2013
Au Pair
56
Underground Lovers are one of my absolute favourite bands and probably the band I have seen live more than any other (including earlier this year). They probably were the closest of any Australian band to replicate the Madchester/Shoegaze sound, which I absolutely adored.
By the time the late 90s came around, they had moved their sound on to a more electronic sound. This was the lead single off their album of the same name and it is a fairly subdued number, acoustic guitar over keyboards and a fairly understated vocal delivery. Quite dreamy actually.
75. Road Rage - Catatonia
The Welsh are taking over....
I love that Cerys sounds so Welsh in her singing, most people lose their accent. My absolute favourite thing about this song is the way she rolls her Rs when singing Rage. Is that wrong? Anyway, this was all over the radio waves in the UK in 1998, certainly takes me back there.
They had 4 albums but I've never heard anything by them other that the singles from this album.
74. Here We Go - Arab Strap
And so are the Scots...
And if Cerys sounds Welsh when she sings, Aidan Moffat sounds very Scottish when he sings.
Here We Go is an uncomplicated gentle wistful song that drifts along quite pleasantly.
Apparently Belle and Sebastian using their name in their album title created a bit of a feud between the two Scottish bands.
73. Legacy - Mansun
Past entries:
2000
I Can Only Dissapoint U
100
1999
Six
95
They are certainly creeping higher year by year.
A rocky little number from one of Britpop's other stars. There are some blistering guitar bits through the song. The lyrics are a bit down though...
"Life is wearing me thin I feel so drained My legacy a sea of faces just like me"
72. No Shelter - Rage Against The Machine
Past entries:
2000
Sleep Now In The Fire
3
2000
Renegades of Funk
21
2000
Maria
80
1999
Guerilla Radio
40
1999
Testify
49
Another song from a movie soundtrack. The song is much better than the movie (Godzilla), which the song ironically acknowledges.
"Godzilla, pure motherfucking filler; to get your eyes off the real killer"
It is, surprise surprise, a politically charged song attacking consumerism and sounds like a RATM song should
71. Your Bruise - Death Cab For Cutie
Past entries:
2011
You Are A Tourist
94
2009
Meet Me On The Equinox
13
2008
I Will Possess Your Heart
1
2008
Bixby Canyon Bridge
27
2008
Cath...
66
2005
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
22
2005
Soul Meets Body
61
2003
Transatlanticism
6
2003
We Looked Like Giants
17
2003
The New Year
31
2003
Tiny Vessels
76
2003
Title And Registration
83
2001
A Movie Script Ending
76
Taken from Death Cab's debut album, Something About Airplanes (which confusingly has a rowboat on the cover).
Death Cab are a very recognisable band. Earnest, easy on the ear, dropping place names, distinctive guitar sounds, broken up drums. I reckon this song is the template that was filled in for all future Death Cab songs. Last edited:
More Welshness in the form of Sterophonics. This was my introduction to them as it was the first of their 10 top 5 hits in the UK. I remember them actually playing this live on Top of the Pops (as opposed to lip syncing as most artists did) while not wearing shoes!
It is certainly one of the rockier numbers in their repertoire.
69. Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix) - Cornershop
Well benji2 will appreciate this. His least favourite song from 1997 remixed by the artist of his least favourite song of 1998.
This is a tremendous remix, it absolutely transforms the original to almost be unrecognisable (as all good remixes do). The tempo is much increased and the beat in the background is top notch. A great dance pop number. This was a big #1 smash in the UK.
Apparently Cornershop weren't too impressed by the success as it gave people a false impression as to their sound.
68. Ava Adore - Smashing Pumpkins, The
Past entries:
2001
Untitled
45
2000
Stand Inside Your Love
27
Adore gets a bit of a bad wrap in the Pumpkins pantheon but it actually is a pretty good record (if no Mellon Collie...). It is meant to signify a door (get it!) into a new sound for the band
This was the first single released and marks that newer musical direction, which a more electronic sound on top of the traditional guitar sound they are know for but Billy Corgan sounds just Like Billy Corgan, which is a good thing.
67. Cross Bones Style - Cat Power
I never really got into Cat Power. I remember her getting a bit of airplay in the early 2000s on TripleJ but not really liking it as it wasn't a genre I enjoyed at the time. But of course, time moves on and it is a genre that I do very much enjoy now.
Just the very bare bones of a folk song, an acoustic guitar and her amazing voice. That'll do it for me every time.
66. Begin Again - Space
On the other hand, Space were one of my favourite acts at the time! I loved the over the top theatrics of their songs, like a pop soap opera and the bad horror movie type synth work is great!
"It's me again, insignificant me again, Just me again and my broken heart. How can I love again, Now she's gone again, I'm on that ship again, Called a sinking heart."
It is a put down the car windows on a sunny day and belt out the lyrics kind of song.
65. Wildflower Soul - Sonic Youth
Past entries:
2004
Unmade Bed
59
Is that the sound of distorted guitar feedback? It could only be Sonic Youth then. Sonic Youth purists will tell you that the 80s output of the band is the best but they're wrong. I think the 90s albums are more enjoyable (which should be the point of listening).
Anyway, Wildflower Soul is a 9 minute jam, with trademark Sonic Youth sounds and Thurston Moore's laidback vocals and a delightfully trippy middle section.
64. For Martha - Smashing Pumpkins, The
Past entries:
2001
Untitled
45
2000
Stand Inside Your Love
27
1998
Ava Adore
68
One of the things I most like about The Smashing Pumpkins is that they have a large range of songs/styles. For example, Rhinocerous sounds nothing like Today, which sounds nothing like Disarm, which sounds nothing like Bullet With Butterfly Wings, which sounds nothing like Tonight Tonight, which sounds nothing like 1979, which sounds nothing like this one.
It is a tribute to Billy Corgan's mother and was recorded in one live take and the drums are played by Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam).
The beautiful piano introduction, the guitar playing at the 4 minute mark, the subdued vocals. Just beautiful.
"If you have to go don't say goodbye If you have to go don't you cry If you have to go I will get by Someday I'll follow you and see you on the other side"
63. Stay - Bernard Butler
The debut single from ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. It certainly musically evokes Dog Man Star era Suede (his last album with the band). A radio friendly rock number, with some great guitar work and he's actually got a pretty good voice as well.
62. The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim
Past entries:
2001
Weapon Of Choice
44
1999
Right Here, Right Now
26
1999
Praise You
63
1998
Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)
69
Apologies to benji2 but this is a classic. I remember when it first came on the radio thinking I'd never heard anything like it, like a very infectious mix of big beats and surf music. It does go on a bit maybe but still great.
61. Polyester Girl - Regurgitator
Past entries:
2004
My Friend Robot
84
2001
Fat Cop
31
The first of those 1997 classic Australian albums that I got in 1998! Still one of my favourite albums.
Polyester Girl was Regurgitator's highest charting song (#14) and it's probably the most overtly poppy song on the album (so shiny...) and another great singalong song (and I know most of the lyrics as a bonus!!)
Spelling please! Everytime I listen to Mercury Rev, I'm surprised how rocky they are. Not sure why but I expect them to be mellower. I saw them live in the early 2000s and was a bit underwhelmed but Deserter Songs is a classic album.
Goddess On A Hiway was actually written when Jonathon Donahue was still a member of The Flaming Lips and has more than a hint of their early work.
59. President of What? - Death Cab For Cutie
Past entries:
2011
You Are A Tourist
94
2009
Meet Me On The Equinox
13
2008
I Will Possess Your Heart
1
2008
Bixby Canyon Bridge
27
2008
Cath...
66
2005
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
22
2005
Soul Meets Body
61
2003
Transatlanticism
6
2003
We Looked Like Giants
17
2003
The New Year
31
2003
Tiny Vessels
76
2003
Title And Registration
83
2001
A Movie Script Ending
76
1998
Your Bruise
71
A more uptempo number by Death Cab For Cutie than their previous entry. I really like the swirling keyboards on this one and there is something slightly odd about the sound, like it's moving to a different beat to the lyrics (but in a good way) and then it all comes together right here
"'Cause nothing hurts like nothing at all"
58. Wildsurf - Ash
Past entries:
2001
Shining Light
18
2001
Burn Baby Burn
67
Representation for all the British Isles now as Northern Ireland's Ash power pop along.
When they get it right (which they certainly do here) Ash are quite an exhilarating listen, beefy guitars and catchy hooks.
I saw them in the mid 90s play when they were but a three piece and still underage. They were plastered and really couldn't play properly but were obviously having lots of fun. Surprisingly it was a pretty good gig.
57. Second Solution - Living End, The
Past entries:
2003
Who's Gonna Save Us
96
Another band I don't really like that much is The Living End. To me they always sounded a bit formulaic but obviously they hit the mark with many people. This is a favourite of theirs for me, very catchy and more straight up rocky than most of their other songs. The line "and what I want to know is will I get death row" is best sung at high volume.
56. Pillars - Sunny Day Real Estate
Not to be confused with Sunny Day In Glasgow (which I do) or to anything sunny really. I imagine as they were one of the earliest emo bands it is an ironic name! They also pretty much broke up after every one of their 4 albums, this coming from their third. Their previous break up happened because two of the members joined Foo Fighters in 1996. One returned two years later and more music ensued...
Pillars alternates between being broody and blistering with some fairly inscrutable lyrics.
"Don't tell me you've gone astray I walk in circles I've seen million things that tell me so"
55. Drowned World/Substitute For Love - Madonna
Past entries:
2000
Music
38
1999
Beautiful Stranger
50
Ray Of Light the album marked a return to form for Madonna (IMHO) and this is the most interesting song on the album and is quite different for a Madonna song.
Little bit of trip hop, drum loops, acoustic and electric guitars, it rises and falls and it all seems quite sad.
54. Rabbit In Your Headlights {Ft. Thom Yorke} - UNKLE
Past entries (Thom Yorke):
2019
Dawn Chorus
87
2006
Black Swan
76
2001
This Mess We're In - (with PJ Harvey)
3
It is very hard to separate this song from its film clip, once you've seem it you can't listen to the song without visualising the triumphant scene at the end of the song, it just all fits together so well and when the music quietens down you just know what's coming.
I encountered this in the 2000s sometime and didn't realise it was from the 90s untila couple of years ago (thanks benji2).
And well done to Thom Yorke for being the first artist to span more than 20 years in my lists.
53. The Impression That I Get - Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The
Another debut act and a ska-punk classic! They've been releasing albums of the last 30 years but this is the only song of theirs I know.
Another great belt out loud chorus, especially the yelling out of the "never" in "never had to knock on wood".
52. Telephasic Workshop - Boards of Canada
Past entries:
1998
Sixtyten
85
This song shudders! No idea how they came up with the sound but it sounds great if a bit unnerving. Even the garbled sample later in the song shudders. The only thing that doesn't shudder are the ethereal chimes in the background and the words "Boards of Canada".
51. TNT - Tortoise
Tortoise are a hard band to pigeon hole. Some people would say they are post rock but I don't really see it. Experimental free-jazz? Maybe. Math rock? Maybe. Whatever the genre it is quite unlike anything else.
This is the title track of their third album and to me just really sounds like a bunch of really talented musicians having an epic seven and a half minute jam! Last edited:
Kicking off the top 50 are the ever reliable James with yet another of their great 90s singles. I've never actually listened to one of their albums, just heard the singles and this was a single released on their Best Of in 1998. I'm somewhat surprised that they never were bigger on Triple J.
Anyway, this is just a great indie pop song, a move on from James' earlier folk styling. Very anthemic and lush. Love the emphasis placed on the words "freaks" and "unique" at the end of the lines in the verse.
49. Kelly Watch The Stars - Air
Past entries:
2004
Cherry Blossom Girl
85
2000
Playground Love
98
I just went to the TripleJ website to see where this song placed in the 1998 Hottest 100 and was absolutely shocked to see that it didn't! I had always assumed it did. I actually checked 1997 and 1999 as well I was so sure that it had. It was a hit in the UK and maybe that is why I was thinking so.
Anyway, this is some absolutely cool French electro-pop. It's a pretty simple song, just one refrain repeated over and over with additional elements added over time but it is just so funky (see also Daft Punk and Caribou).
I saw them perform at the Opera House a couple of years ago and they were fantastic.
48. Tijuana Lady - Gomez
Past entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
1999
Bring It On
45
1999
Rhythm and Blues Alibi
55
1999
Devil Will Ride
67
1998 saw my love affair with Gomez start when I got their debut album Bring It On (not be confused with the song of the same name of their second album!!).
Tijuana Lady is as close to a ballad as Gomez has ever gotten, as always tinged with the blues and Ben Ottewell's distinctive voice. It's really beautiful actually.
"Tijuana lady, where did you go Yeah, I been chasing you around all Mejico"
I saw them in 2018, playing this album in full (20 year anniversary) and this was the absolute standout.
47. Candlefire - Dawn Of The Replicants
Another fine Scottish act! I only know their 1998 debut of their five albums but it is a pretty solid record. Very much in the indie-rock wheelhouse, with just a little bit of quirkiness added to the mix.
46. Black Bugs - Regurgitator
Past entries:
2004
My Friend Robot
84
2001
Fat Cop
31
1998
Polyester Girl
61
More Gurge. This is a rockier number than Polyester Girl and a previous #1 winner of the QLVG (whatever happened to that?). Probably on Unit, this has the most similar sound to their previous efforst, the rest of the album was really a musical jump forward for the band.
45. Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
I reckon if I did this list 10 years ago this would have been much higher but still places a respectable #45.
It's quite an iconic song from an iconic band. The robotic singing, turntables, great rapping, funny/silly lyrics
"If you try to knock me, you'll get mocked I'll stir fry you in my wok Your knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop Like a pinch on the neck from Mr. Spock"
And (as always) a very amusing film clip.
44. Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
Jeff Magnum read "The Diary Of Anne Frank" and started having very vivid dreams about it and used those dreams to (in part) form part of Neutral Milk Hotel's second Album "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea". It is a quite extraordinary album and has gotten me through both the best and worst of times over the last 15 or so years since I first heard it.
Holland, 1945 is the rockiest number on the album and is quite frenetic musically and lyrically, relentlessly driving forward. The horns towards the end are great. Anne Frank was from Holland and died (in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp) in 1945.
"The only girl I've ever loved Was born with roses in her eyes But then they buried her alive One evening in 1945 With just her sister at her side"
43. Spottieottedopalicious - Outkast
Past entries:
2004
Ghetto Musick
19
2003
Hey Ya!
4
2003
The Way You Move
29
2003
Last Call
41
2003
Prototype
62
2003
Bowtie
90
2003
Roses
97
2001
So Fresh, So Clean
52
2001
The Whole World
82
2000
Ms Jackson
8
2000
B.O.B.
45
1998
Rosa Parks
83
An downright Prince-like seven minute jam by Outkast.
It sounds like a couple of mates having a late night reminiscence about a big night out in Atlanta and the loves found and lost with some slick guitar work and billowy horns in the background. It really shouldn't work but it certainly does.
42. Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
After the Air travesty before, I checked that this came in the Hottest 100 as well and it did at #35!!
This is the only Harvey Danger song I know, so no idea if it is representative of their sound. A great pop-punk-rock sound, blistering guitar playing, fantastic lyrics, what more could you want!
"Fingertips have memories Mine can't forget the curves of your body"
41. Cigarettes Will Kill You - Ben Lee
Past entries:
2004
Gamble Everything For Love
45
2002
Something Borrowed Something Blue
43
An artist I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with. He has some amazing songs (like this one) and some absolute rubbish ones as well. And let's face it, he's a bit of a tosser! Last edited:
When Massive Attack first came out in the early 90s, I wasn't a fan as it didn't mesh with what I was listening to at the time but by the time Protection came out in 1995 I was a big time convert and had gotten into Blue Lines as well.
Slow and druggy beats to a wall of guitar sound (anyone else hear hints of A Forest here?) adds up to one top notch song. The song samples The Incredible Bongo Band song, "Last Bongo in Belgium", which surprisingly isn't the last time Bongos will be mentioned in this list.
If you look closely in the film clip, you will spot all three members of Massive Attack and Horace Andy (the guest vocalist)!
39. Everybody Here Wants You - Jeff Buckley
Past entries:
2004
Forget Her
54
The divine voice of the sadly departed Jeff Buckley. I still remember where I was when I found out he had died (reading a newspaper on a bus between Hungary and Croatia!). For someone who only ever had one officially released studio album, he has quite the legacy.
This sounds like a fully realised song but I guess we'll never know if it was or not. As this was his first song I heard after his death, I feel a sadness when listening to it but feel its beauty quite keenly as well.
38. Windy Miller - Dawn of the Replicants
Past entries:
1998
Candlefire
47
A more unusual song by Dawn Of The Replicants. The syncopated drum patterns in particular are quite jarring. For all of that, it is a pretty good sing along, everyone now....
"I am Windy Miller And you are the wind"
37. Every Day Should Be a Holiday - Dandy Warhols, The
Past entries:
2003
You Were The Last High
16
2003
We Used To Be Friends
74
2000
Get Off
7
2000
Bohemian Like You
43
2000
Mohammed
55
Some high energy indie-pop from The Dandy Warhols. For a band that doesn't have a bass player (similar to The Doors), the keyboards do a good job of providing that bounce a bass would normally. As an ex bass player I can't say I fully approve but I'll give them a pass just this once.
"Summertime, If I was getting paid For getting drunk and getting laid. I'd grab a phone Just to call you up and say Quit your job Cause I got it made."
36. The Funny Bird - Mercury Rev
Past entries:
1998
Goddess On A Hiway - Mercury Rev
60
You know how I mentioned that I get surprised at how rocky Mercury Rev are when I listen to Deserter Songs, that's because I sort of think that they sound like they do on this song (my favourite) all the time.
Hints of psychedelia, 70s rock as well as some kick ass guitar playing. Aren't they all like this and if not why not....
35. Rie's Wagon - Gomez
Past entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
1999
Bring It On
45
1999
Rhythm and Blues Alibi
55
1999
Devil Will Ride
67
1998
Tijuana Lady
48
Nine minute of blissed out blues from Gomez.
They have experimented with different sounds throughout their career (sometimes on the same song) but this southern blues style suits them the best I think. The dirty guitars, the gravely voice, the harmonica playing in the middle when the tempo picks up are all top notch.
34. Shimmer - Fuel
Another band where it's the only song I know, so no idea if it is representative of their sound but it is certainly a radio friendly grunge-lite sound and there is nothing at all wrong with that.
33. Mulder and Scully - Catatonia
Past entries:
1998
Road Rage
75
This was my introduction to Catatonia and IMHO their best song. I love the way Cerys pronounces Scully (Scally). I think in this song there is more of a balance between her singing and the music, while Road Rage focuses too much on her singing, or maybe I'm overthinking it all.
Wouldn't have hurt this songs popularity that 1998 would have been peak X-Files popularity.
32. Sexy Boy - Air
Past entries:
2004
Cherry Blossom Girl
85
2000
Playground Love
98
1998
Kelly Watch The Stars
49
Copy and paste my shock that Kelly Watch The Stars wasn't in the Hottest 100 and double it! I would have thought this would have been quite high up the list.
It is the beefiest song on Moon Safari, with a really deep keyboard bass sound and it all sounds, well sexy.
It has been covered by Franz Ferdinand and Nena (of 99 Luft Balloons fame)!
31. She's The One - Beta Band, The
Past entries:
1999
It's Not Too Beautiful
52
Yet another Scottish band. There is a very iconic moment in the 2000 movie High Fidelity when John Cusack says "I will now sell five copies of "The Three EPs" by The Beta Band." Well this isn't the song he put on but it does come from that album and I did only check out The Beta Band after seeing the movie.
They are a fairly quirky band and this is a fairly quirky song, mixing some straightforward music ideas (acoustic guitars etc) with more unusual ones (sped up samples) and throwing it all together over the eight plus minutes of the song but it all comes off fantastically. Last edited:
benji2 messaged me last night and made the bold prediction that Holland, 1945 wouldn't be the last Neutral Milk Hotel song in the list. He's right!
Ten years ago I did a similar online ranking of various songs and I rated this as my favourite song ever, which is obviously not the case still but it still resonates very strongly with me, even though it is quite short (at 1:57 is the second shortest song on the list). One of the things missed about Neutral Milk Hotel is how great the musicianship is. There are some really unusual sounds and instruments played and on this song I love the dreamy/swirling nature of the music and the horns at the end. There is an aching beauty to the lyrics as well.
"And wanting something warm and moving Bends towards herself, the soothing Proves that she must still exist She moves herself about her fist"
I saw them live in 2013 or so and strangely this was the only song from this album they didn't play.
29. Sich Offnen - Not From There
Another band where it's the only song I know, so no idea if it is representative of their sound. To add to the confusion I had always assumed they were German but have discovered they're Ausssie!
The German singing is great though, backed by some beefy rock. Works for me...
28. The Grouch - Green Day
Past entries:
2005
Jesus of Surburbia
15
2001
Maria
99
2000
Warning
62
2000
Waiting
73
1999
Nice Guys Finish Last
73
Another short song is this sharp, snappy slice of pop-punk from Green Day. It's all a bit fun, driving guitars, solid backing beat and as I grow older some wonderful lyrics.
"I don't have fun and I hate everything The world owes me, so fuck you"
27. It's Like That - Run D.M.C. vs. Jason Nevins
This was #1 in the UK for an eternity and was all over the radio for a long time. Another great example of how to do a remix. An absolute stomping beat backs this one.
Unfortunately, lightning didn't strike twice and the remix of It's Tricky, not so much.
26. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day
Past entries:
2005
Jesus of Surburbia
15
2001
Maria
99
2000
Warning
62
2000
Waiting
73
1999
Nice Guys Finish Last
73
1998
The Grouch
28
Before this was released who would have ever thought Green Day would be played at weddings? It is certainly a change of pace and approach. It was written about an ex of Billy Joe's who moved overseas to express his anger at her but also his good wishes.
It is a contemplative song and quite beautiful really. The addition of the strings is a nice touch. It could have all come off as twee or fake but they've handled it nicely.
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go"
25. A Perfect Day Elise - PJ Harvey
Past entries:
2016
The Wheel
23
2016
The Community Of Hope
60
2011
The Words That Maketh Murder
7
2011
The Colour Of The Earth
10
2011
Let England Shake
30
2011
The Glorious Land
43
2010
Written On The Forehead
15
2009
Black Hearted Love (with John Parish)
20
2007
When Under Ether
83
2004
You Came Through
16
2004
Shame
31
2004
The Letter
74
2002
Hitting The Ground (with Gordon Gano)
54
2001
This Mess We're In {Ft.Thom Yorke}
3
2001
Big Exit
46
2000
Horses In My Dreams
16
2000
You Said Something
33
2000
Good Fortune
66
2000
This Is Love
75
Polly Jean Harvey is a big favourite of mine (5th most entries), as you can see above. Surprisingly, this is the only album of hers I don't own, so I only know this and a couple of other songs from the album. This is her highest ever placed single on the UK charts at #25, the only one of her 14 top 50 singles to crack the top 25 (and was one of her 5 top 100 ARIA hits as well).
A Perfect Day Elise continues the calmer nature of PJ Harvey's music, started on the previous album but it has a really edgy nature to it as well. The guitar work is ace, great hypnotic, distorted, echoed sound.
As I mentioned earlier, I saw PJ Harvey play in London in 1998 and I took away two things. She is really tiny and sounds just as awesome live as on record!
24. Sunday - Sonic Youth
Past entries:
2004
Unmade Bed
59
1998
Wildflower Soul
65
More great rock by Sonic Youth. For all their experimental-art-noise tendencies they had great sense of melody that really came out (occasionally) on their 90s albums. This album saw them try and cover both styles but this is more in the melodic style.
Great interchanging guitars from Thurston Moore and Lee Ranauldo and a typically low-key vocal delivery from Thurston define Sunday. Some great noise at about the 2:30 mark, just to show they can still do it!
Macauley Caulkin makes an appearance in the film clip as well.
23. Oh Comely - Neutral Milk Hotel
Past entries:
1998
Holland, 1945
44
1998
Communist Daughter
30
More Anne Frank musings from Neutral Milk Hotel.
"I know they buried her body with others Her sister and mother and five-hundred families And will she remember me fifty years later? I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine"
There is a pause (quite short but it seems to extend forever to me) before Jeff Magnum sings these lines and he sing a bit lower and my heart breaks a little time everytime I hear it.
An amazing fact I picked up from hijinx is that this was recorded in one take, not bad for an eight minute song. It is just Jef Magnum playing acoustic guitar and singing throughout. Simple but beautiful.
22. East Hastings - Godspeed You! Black Emporer
Past entries:
2015
Peasantry or "Light! Inside Of Light!"
74
2012
Mladic
8
2000
Antennas To Heavan
19
2000
Storm
22
2000
Sleep
36
2000
Static
61
1999
Moya
9
Had a bit of a dilema with this album, the wonderfully named F#A#∞ as it was released on vinyl in 1997 but re-recorded for a CD release in 1998. I went with 1998.
If you've ever seen the movie 28 Days Later (and you should if you haven't) you heard this song as it is being played as Cillian Murphy wanders around a deserted London. East Hastings is named after East Hastings Street, a run down area of Vancouver, blighted by drugs and abandoned buildings, which is the sense (abandoned landscapes) that Godspeed are trying to achieve.
At 18 minutes long, it flows through different movements and builds up steam to hit full speed at 11 minutes in, then to fade away again.
21. The Day You Come - Powderfinger
Past entries:
2009
All Of The Dreamers
91
2003
Sunsets
13
2003
Love Your Way
64
2003
Stumblin
75
2003
Rockin'Rocks
86
2000
The Metre
79
1999
These Days
27
1999
Already Gone
64
Lead single from Internationalist, Powderfinger's first ARIA #1 album (of five), this is a slow brooding number (although not as brooding as East Hastings) and was (IIRC) the first Powderfinger song I really liked and probably about the time they really discovered their "sound". Last edited:
In somewhat of a theme, another band where this is the only song of theirs I know, so no idea if it is representative of their sound.
The lead singer might smell sex and candy but this song actually sounds like sex and candy. Sort of low-fi, sort of grungy, sort of funky as well. It's good stuff.
19. Pure Morning - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
Every You Every Me
4
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
The first single from the very excellent "Without You I'm Nothing". A slower sound to Every You Every Me and You Don't Care About Us with some great lyrics and nice guitar work throughout.
"A friend in need's a friend indeed, A friend with weed is better"
Apparently Brian Molko improvised the lyrics during original recordings and decided he liked them!
18. Just Ace - Grinspoon
Past entries:
2005
Sweet As Sugar
90
2002
Lost Control
71
2002
1000 Miles
81
Not a big fan of Grinspoon but this very short pop-punk song is, well, just ace!
Lyrics are absolute rubbish but the sound is, well, just ace! Great bass line in this one!
17. Two Headed Boy pt 2 - Neutral Milk Hotel
Past entries:
1998
Oh Comely
23
1998
Communist Daughter
30
1998
Holland, 1945
44
This was the song that got me through the worst of times
"But don't hate her when she gets up to leave"
Similar to Oh Comely, in that it is just Jeff Magnum singing over an acoustic guitar.
"And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying"
It is so completely heartfelt and emotional.
"Daddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams For a lover to bring a child to your chest That could lay as you sleep And love all you have left like your boy used to be Long ago wrapped in sheets warm and wet"
16. Bongo Bong - Manu Chao
From your favourite French Basque Punk Anarchist, Manu Chao. The album this is from (Clandestino) has sold over 5 million copies world wide and is one of the biggest selling French albums ever. I saw him perform at the Sydney Festival in around 2013 and it seemed like every French person in Sydney was there. He absolutely rocked the park down, singing songs in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and English.
Probably the least punk and poppiest number on the album (especially when run into Je Ne T'aime Plus) and disappointingly doesn't actually feature any bongos but it is just a great listen.
15. Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 2) - Whitlams, The
Past entries:
1999
Blow Up The Pokies
48
That piano introduction!! Just beautiful.
This was the second of the 1997 albums I was given when I visited Australia in 1998. I must admit to being quite shocked as, when I left Australia in 1996, The Whitlams were just a joke band with songs about making hamburgers and Woody Allen and they had grown up all of a sudden.
14. ! (The Song Formerly Known As) - Regurgitator
Past entries:
2004
My Friend Robot
84
2001
Fat Cop
31
1998
Black Bugs
46
1998
Polyester Girl
61
And back to the first of those 1997 albums.
If you had told me in 1996 that Regurgitator would release a song that basically sounds like Prince, I would have scoffed. But here they are.
An amazingly funky song, that the paisley one would have been proud of. The lyrics are great as well.
"You won't see me tribal raving baby 'cause I won't ever look that good I'd rather dance in ugly pants in the comfort of a loungeroom in suburbia"
13. Whipping Picadilly - Gomez
Past entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
1999
Bring It On
45
1999
Rhythm and Blues Alibi
55
1999
Devil Will Ride
67
1998
Rie's Wagon
35
1998
Tijuana Lady
48
There's a story that goes with this one. When I first heard this song I was staying with a friend who lived in a place called Buxton in England. The nearest big city was Manchester and if you wanted to go for a day out, you jumped on the train to Manchester Piccadilly! The last stop of the train was Southport, where Gomez are from. This song is about jumping on that train and going for a day out to Manchester. Maybe they took the waters in Buxton too!
"Once upon a time, not too long ago, we took a day out in Manchester"
In any case, it is an incredibly sunny and breezy song.
12. King of Carrot Flowers pt 1 - Neutral Milk Hotel
Past entries:
1998
Oh Comely
23
1998
Communist Daughter
30
1998
Holland, 1945
44
1998
Two Headed Boy pt 2
17
This is the opening track to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and starts up the album as a story of new love
"And this is the room one afternoon, I knew I could love you And from above you how I sank into your soul Into that secret place where no one dares to go"
Just as the last track (Two Headed Boy - Part 2) finishes the album with that love being lost. Nice book ends
When my youngest daughter was 3, we received the end of year kindergarten video, in which all the kids were asked various questions, like "What is your favourite song?" After hearing many responses like Jingle Bells or Hot Potato, there is my little angel saying "King of Carrot Flowers". Priceless
11. Boys Better - Dandy Warhols, The
Past entries:
2003
You Were The Last High
16
2003
We Used To Be Friends
74
2000
Get Off
7
2000
Bohemian Like You
43
2000
Mohammed
55
1998
Every Day Should Be a Holiday
37
Was originally going to have this in 1997 but saw this was released as a single in 1998 and, as 1997 might be a very top heavy year, put it here.
An absolutely driving track, high energy that never lets up, swirling guitars and slightly distorted vocals. I particularly like this being on the radio at the time, to belt it out at loud volume. I think it was the first Dandy Warhols song I heard. Last edited:
10. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - Manic Street Preachers
On 1st February 1995, Richie Edwards, guitarist and co-lyric writer of Manic Street Preachers disappeared. He is presumed to have committed suicide by jumping of the Severn Bridge as his car was later found nearby. When I heard this, I must admit to thinking that might be the end of The Manics as it would be something hard to come back from. They did come back, starting with Everything Must Go in 1996 (partially featuring some of Richie's last lyrics). But they came back different, less angry, wearier and worldlier.
If You Tolerate This... was the first single from their first full album without Richie.
"So if I can shoot rabbits then I can shoot fascists"
The politically charged messages are still there but the delivery has changed enormously. The emotion is stripped from the song and the music less frenetic, a world weary declaration rather than an angry outburst if you will.
"Gravity keeps my head down Or is it maybe shame At being so young and being so vain"
9. The Ballad of Tom Jones - Space with Cerys Matthews
Past entries:
1998
Begin Again
66
From the very, very serious to the very, very silly (but both featuring Welshness).
"Why are we still together? Oh, I can't leave you till you're dead You mean till death do us part I mean like cyanide, strangulation or an axe through your head"
Space were one of my favourite bands of the period and the addition of Cerys Matthews is great. The story of two jaded lovers rediscovering their love through the music of Tom Jones is fabulously done to the backdrop of Space's usual sci-fi whirrings and buzzings! Not sure there is much a future for them though...
"But just a word of warning now Just in case we ever get tired of his voice I know the Mafia, Godzilla, King Kong And I know an atom bomb that's going for a song"
8. La Femme D'argent - Air
Past entries:
2004
Cherry Blossom Girl
85
2000
Playground Love
98
1998
Sexy Boy
32
1998
Kelly Watch The Stars
49
From the very, very serious to the very, very silly to the very, very cool.
This is surely one of the great opening tracks to an album in terms of how it sonically sets the scene for what is to follow. La Femme D'argent welcomes you into the sultry, sexy, sophisticated world of Air. A hint of bongos, slapping bass line and layered synths and keyboards rise and fall over seven minutes, an absolute aural treat.
7. No Surprises - Radiohead
Past entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
Radiohead's 27th song to appear in my yearly lists (2nd behind Interpol) and moved from 1997 to 1998 (it was released as a single then) to avoid a logjam of songs from OK Computer!!
I love the incredibly delicate guitar playing that provides the backing for this song. It is quite restrained and quiet but it packs a punch.
"A job that slowly kills you"
This was actually the first song recorded for OK Computer, whose theme was the a world filled with consumerism, alienation, isolation, political malaise and ultimately pointlessness and No Surprises points to these themes. They seem just as relevant now as back then
"Bring down the government They don't, they don't speak for us"
6. Get Myself Arrested - Gomez
Past entries:
2002
Shot Shot
59
2000
We Haven't Turned Around
4
2000
Machismo
29
1999
Bring It On
45
1999
Rhythm and Blues Alibi
55
1999
Devil Will Ride
67
1998
Whipping Picadilly
13
1998
Rie's Wagon
35
1998
Tijuana Lady
48
Another excellent track from Gomez and a great example of the blues infused indie rock that they were aiming at. The duelling vocals, acoustic/electric guitar work, the handclaps (!) all come together fantastically. Another great singalong song.
5. The Dead Flag Blues - Godspeed You! Black Emporer
Past entries:
2015
Peasantry or "Light! Inside Of Light!"
74
2012
Mladic
8
2000
Antennas To Heavan
19
2000
Storm
22
2000
Sleep
36
2000
Static
61
1999
Moya
9
1998
East Hastings
22
"It went like this:
The buildings toppled in on themselves Mothers clutching babies Picked through the rubble And pulled out their hair
The skyline was beautiful on fire All twisted metal stretching upwards Everything washed in a thin orange haze
I said, "Kiss me, you're beautiful - These are truly the last days"
You grabbed my hand And we fell into it Like a daydream Or a fever"
The above spoken word piece towards the beginning of the song (backed by sad violins) catch my breath everytime I listen to it. Is there a sense of hope in there? I think so. Is that hope being crushed by despair while seeing a flicker of possibility. Yes. Welcome to the universe of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
This is the first song of their first album and says everything you need to know about the landscape they were trying to achieve. All their music fits into the world described above, a world where civilization is heading towards collapse. Yet there is so much beauty to be found in this world, a glimmer of hope that we may find redemption.
4. Teardrop - Massive Attack
Past entries:
2010
Atlas Air
26
2009
Splitting The Atom
99
1998
Angel
40
Massive Attack have had some great featured vocalists over the years, Sinead O'Connor, Tracy Thorn, Tricky to name a few but was there ever a more perfect pairing for them than Liz Fraser? Apparently one of the members wanted to use Madonna instead. Glad the other two won out (no offence to Madonna) because it just wouldn't sound right otherwise. Liz Fraser has dedicated the song to Jeff Buckley as she heard about his death while recording it
The ethereal vocals are just divine, the delicate musical backing just perfect. It really sounds like it is from another time and place.
3. Without You I'm Nothing - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
Every You Every Me
4
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
1998
Pure Morning
19
The title (and standout) track of the excellent Without You I'm Nothing.
"You're slipping slowly from my reach"
A real sense of desperation and despair sweep over this song, with the occasional sense of urgency that then dies away into despair again, especially just before the first refrain of Without You I'm Nothing.
There are some absolutely blistering guitar sections as well, indicating that urgency. I'm a sucker for a sad song and this one has it in spades.
"Without you, I'm nothing at all"
Didn't at all like the version with David Bowie, lost all the facets above that made it great.
2. Brick - Ben Folds Five
Did I mention I'm a sucker for a sad song...
Ben Folds autobiographical song about a couple going through the process of having an abortion.
Contains one of my favourite lyrics ever.
"Driving back to her apartment For the moment, we're alone Yeah, she's alone, and I'm alone And now I know it"
1. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Past entries:
1998
King of Carrot Flowers pt 1
12
1998
Two Headed Boy pt 2
17
1998
Oh Comely
23
1998
Communist Daughter
30
1998
Holland, 1945
44
Not a sad song at all, in fact it is quite joyous. It makes me smile and lifts my spirits everytime I hear it.
"And one day we will die And our ashes will fly From the aeroplane over the sea But for now we are young Let us lay in the sun And count every beautiful thing we can see"
It absolutely soars. I was always intrigued by the weird ghost-like sound in the background and when I saw them live I discovered that it was a saw being played with a violin bow! Silly me for not realising.
"What a beautiful face I have found in this place That is circling all round the sun"
A truly magnificent song that forms the centrepiece of a truly magnificent album and a very worthy #1 of 1998. Last edited:
Cool countdowns. I really like the links that were shared of the voting lists from the 90s. LL Cool J was even on it lol. To answer the lower number of songs on the voting list, songs were only included if they were released as a single. These days every artist has a good 5+ songs on the voting list unless they haven't released an album and have just a random song or two included. I don't think any artist has 5 inclusions in the 90s voting list from what I can see. I was always surprised Axcidently Kelly Street never made it and to see it as one of the first songs on the list is more of a surprise. Have I read that there are lists now for positions #101-#200 for the 90s countdowns? Would love to see them if they are available.
I've never seen 101-200 lists for the 90s countdowns but agree it would be cool to see. I think that the 4 songs Regurgitator had on the list for 1998 was the most in the 90s.
Even Janet Jackson was on the 1997 list. Kylie Minogue doesn't appear to be on the list and made the countdown without being one of the shortlisted songs. Leonardo's Bride and The Offspring feature on the list but not with their bigger hits from that year with Even When I'm Sleeping or Gone Away and more surprisingly is Faithless and Daft Punk both feature but not with their iconic anthems Insomnia and Around The World. I would have thought Meet Her At The Love Parade would have been shortlisted. Freed From Desire is another. Also seeing no Oasis when they were the ones crowned as the #1 winners the year beforeI am still blown away that LL Cool J was a Triple J hit!
I've seen top 100 charts for most of 1994,98% of 1995, half of 1996 and the occasional ones from 93, 97-99,but never have i seen anything below 100. I agree with OB that it would be cool to see
Before I started with this year's list I set down a couple of significant markers from a couple of albums from later years.
2002 - Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights - 9 entries (plus 1 in 2003) - 4 top 10 2011 - The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy - 9 entries (plus 1 in 2010) - 3 top 10
Why, no reason
1997 was the first full year I spent away from Australia, so another year of no Hottest 100 or Australian music and listening to BBC Radio 1. It did mark my first visit to the Reading Festival though, where You Am I played so there is that. I spent three months backpacking around Eastern Europe and bizarrely heard Menatl As anything playing in a restaurant in Debrecen near the Hungary/Romania border
And the unlucky few to just miss out
101
Why Is Everybody Always Picking On Me - Bloodhound Gang, The
102
Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From - Teenage Fanclub
103
Mutilated Lips - Ween
104
Legend Of A Cowgirl - Imani Coppola
105
Closed For Business - Mansun
106
Capsule - Bailter Space
107
Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
108
The Ghost Of Tom Joad - Rage Against The Macghine
109
Le soleil est près de moi - Air
110
Battle of Who Could Care Less - Ben Fold Fives
Read on from the 22nd August as all will be revealed.
No, not really, just joking. Radiohead, what were you thinking???
The real #100 posted soon.
And back to reality....
100. Risingson - Massive Attack
Past entries:
2010
Atlas Air
26
2009
Splitting The Atom
99
1998
Teardrop
4
1998
Angel
40
The dark brooding lead single from Mezzanine kicks us off (for real this time). Unusually for Massive Attack it is actually the band members singing rather than guest vocalists. They don't do a bad job but they're no Elizabeth Fraser, Tricky or Tracy Thorn . Contains a sample of a Velvet Underground song (I Found A Reason) so Lou Reed gets a writing credit.
99. Your F*cking Sunny Day - Lambchop
BTW, I'm not sure what the auto-censor does to spicy language, so have self-censored just in case.
Nashville band Lambchop have released 13 albums (last was in 2019) but this is the only song of their's I know. Not sure how I came across it either but it is a sunny song!
When my kids were just little people they loved a kids TV show called Lamb Chop's Play-Along and I always wanted Lamb Chop to sing Lambchop. Never happened sadly.
98. Tellin' Stories - Charlatans, The
Past entries:
2008
Bird/Reprise
60
2001
You're So Pretty - We're So Pretty
73
1999
Good Witch - Bad Witch
87
Most people would say that The Charlatans have gotten worse over time but they have only gotten higher in my lists. So there!
Tellin' Stories is from their fifth album (of the same name), which remains their biggest selling album to date and one of their two #1s in the UK. Their keyboard player Rob Collins died in a car accident halfway through recording, which I remember hearing about on the news at the time.
Their sound has moved on from their Madchester beginnings by this stage (and this is their most Britpop sounding album) but there are still hints of it to be found, which is a good thing.
97. Rented Rooms - Tindersticks, The
Past entries:
1999
Can We Start Again
90
Not sounding like Madchester or Britpop are Nottingham's Tindersticks. They definitely display a Nick Cave (hold that thought...) influence (or even deference).
They have 12 albums (and again up to 2019) and this is off their third but I have only heard the first four. Should check the others out as I do like their sound (and Nick Cave).
96. Are You The One I've Been Waiting For - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Past entries:
2019
Waiting For You
54
2016
Distant Sky
5
2013
Jubilee Street
5
2013
Push The Sky Away
51
2013
Higgs Boson Blues
66
2012
We Know Who U R
24
2008
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!
40
2001
Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow
34
And here's the man himself.
When I was growing up, I didn't really have anyone who influenced my musical tastes. In fact, neither of my parents really listened to music at all. My dad if pushed said he liked Nat King Cole and my mum John Farnham. I had an older cousin who liked The Church (hold that thought) but that was it. I was pretty much free to form my own opinions and influences.
Why am I telling you all this? Well I'm glad you asked. Some time in the early 2000s while I was visiting my mum, she pulled out a CD and tells me I should listen as it is really good (which she had never done before or since). It was The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave.
I should check if she still has it...
95. Florian Trout - Refo:Mation, The
Who said inserting punctuation marks into a band name was a 2010s thing!
You may never have heard The Refo:mation before but you've heard of them (or the members at least). Marty Wilson Piper had an interesting relationship with the rest of The Church and after Magician Among The Spirits was finished, he went to Europe to work on some solo stuff. So the rest of The Church got their original guitarist Peter Koppes in tow who had left in 1992 (the reformation get it) and recorded and released an album.
It is less experimental than The Church albums of the time and more guitar focused but it is still a fairly unusual album.
94. Dig Me Out - Sleater Kinney
Past entries:
2019
Hurry On Home
12
2015
A New Wave
69
1999
Get Up
82
Another title track and the first act to appear in both 1997 and 2019!
I love the aggressive punky music of Sleater Kinney coupled with their great harmonies. It is quite exhilarating!
93. Miss Modular - Sterolab
Past entries:
1999
The Free Design
93
They obviously like 93 as both their entries in my lists have ended up there.
Stereolab were the last band I saw before lockdown and I'm not sure when the next will come along as I'm sure The National tour is not going ahead for December. I do miss it!!
I dare you to listen to this song and not tap your toes along. It is hard to resist their Anglo-Gallic charm. Tres cool indeed.
92. Demons - Super Furry Animals
Past entries:
2009
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
48
2003
Golden Retriever
48
2001
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
49
2000
Ysbeidau Heulog
58
1998
Ice Hockey Hair
80
I reckon everyone had Super Furry Animals pegged as Britpop wannabes after their debut album Fuzzy Logic (which is still a pretty good album) but they changed course for album #2 1997's Radiator. It is more varied, more interesting, more experimental and sounds more like an album.
I first saw them live in 1997 at the Reading Festival! I can't remember if they played this song!!!
Interestingly the filmclip for Demons was filmed in Columbia because why not!
91. Captain (Million Miles An Hour) - Something For Kate
Past entries:
2003
Déjà Vu
77
2001
Monsters
17
2001
Jerry, Stand Up
39
2000
Beautiful Sharks
9
1999
Electricity
54
1999
Hallways
74
1999
Photograph
91
Before they were sophisticated songsmiths they were a bit of a grungy rock band. Well maybe, as this is the only song I know from their first album. It must have been changing bass players after this album that set them on a different path.
They're about to release a new album apparently. Last edited:
5th song by a band starting with S in a row and also the fifth UK top 10 single released from Suede's third album Coming Up. First album they recorded after Bernard Butler left. I must admit I thought they would struggle to recreate their sound but Richard Oakes was an able replacement.
If you do know Suede's work this is one of their slower ballads, rather than the up tempo Bowiesque bangers they are better known for.
I also saw Suede at Reading this year headlining the first night. I wasn't very impressed with their live sound and wandered off to see The Boo Radleys play elsewhere.
89. Summertime - Sundays, The
Make that 6!
Another big act from the earlier part of the decade, their music (I think) fits in better with the later 90s style rather than the Madchester scene they were up against when they started. Harriet Wheeler has a very distinctive voice but I do remember listening to their first album and thinking it wore a bit thin when you listen to the whole album.
So I only have this song from their third album and it works just fine thank you very much.
88. Dirt - Death In Vegas
Past entries:
2003
Hands Around My Throat
15
2000
Aisha {Ft. Iggy Pop}
15
1999
Dirge
19
Not only is the string of S bands broken but so is Death In Vegas' streak of Top 20 songs in my list!
They played very early on one of the days of the Reading Festival and I had never heard of them before. They were really impressive live and I've been a fan ever since.
This was their first ever single and is a banger! Think electro-rock with a few samples over the top, no vocals. Has a great if somewhat disturbing video as well.
87. From "Jumbled In The Common Box" - Underground Lovers
Past entries:
2013
Au Pair
56
1998
Cold Feeling
76
The second last band I saw before Lockdown, as they were the support act to Stereolab. I follow them on Facebook and before the gig they made a call out for requests for the show. I nominated Live GI, a live favourite from back in the day. Both the band and Glenn Bennie liked my post and sure enough at the gig, they didn't play it. Bastards. Probably the band I have seen live the most of any over the years.
The lyrics from this are taken from a WH Auden poem funnily enough called Jumbled In The Common Box. The music, like most on their 5th album Ways T'Burn, is more electronic than their earlier albums.
86. Wrong Number - Cure, The
Past entries:
2004
The End Of The World
90
2001
Cut Here
96
2000
Where The Birds Always Sing
57
2000
The Last Day Of Summer
76
I have completed these yearly 100 lists from 1998-2019 (and soon 1997 as well). Interpol have the most entries over that time with 35, Radiohead are lurking 8 songs behind! And, bringing this back to The Cure (currently in 134th place), I reckon if I took this all the way back to the late 70s, The Cure would be in #1 place easily.
I remember in the 1995 Hottest 100 (the only 90s one I listened to), the DJ said The Cure could fart in a jar and it would make the Hottest 100. Obviously the smell had increased by 1997 as this was their last entry in a Hottest 100.
85. Electricity - Spiritualized
Past entries:
2001
Stop Your Crying
36
2001
Do It All Over Again
90
So in the discussions around my 1999 list there is a link that Hijinx posted to the 1997 Hottest 100 voting list. In the discussions below my 1998 list, there is a link to another thread where the songs were identified by K8 and benji2 (as the quality wasn't great). This was one of the songs on the list!!
The first single from their third album (which is why it was on the voting list I guess). Probably the rockiest Spiritualized song I can think of. Still hints of the blues and psychedelia they are better known for though. The last half minute of so is pretty wild, with harmonica and organs blazing. For an album called "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" it sure doesn't sound like it.
84. You're Not The Only One Who Feels This Way - Ammonia
I have been checking out benji2's YouTube playlists for each year as I get down to making these lists, usually reminds me of songs I had forgotten to put on my shortlist. There were three songs in 1997 that were odd. A song I'd never heard before by a band I'd never heard of, a song I had heard before (but didn't know the name of) by a band I'd never heard of and this one and a song I had heard before (but didn't know the name of) by a band I had heard of. This is the latter. Hope that all made sense.
I have no idea where I had heard this song before but it is a good one. I know of Ammonia because they had a song on the 1995 Hottest 100 CD but this one???? Maybe on the radio. Mystery.
83. Waving My Dick In The Wind - Ween
Past entries:
2008
Your Party
78
2005
Gabrielle
17
I'll say three things about Ween. First, they can be pretty funny at times. Second, musically they are fantastic, really tight songs. Third, they are really varied, covering all sorts of styles. Put all three together and they're an underestimated band I reckon because when all three of those come of it is pretty great.
82. White Skin Black Heart - Midnight Oil
Past entries:
1998
Redneck Wonderland
100
So remember when Deloitte audited my 1998 list and one song got moved to 1997. No, well this was it anyway. The lead single off Redneck Wonderland (which was 1998) and signalled both the rockier (there is some really shredding guitar work near the end) and more electronic sound the album was going to take.
They've still got it after all these years as their recent single is pretty good and seeing them live a couple of years ago was awesome.
81. Made Up Dreams - Built To Spill
Past entries:
2006
Going Against Your Mind
39
2006
Conventional Wisdom
61
2001
Strange
72
1999
You Were Right
21
1999
Carry The Zero
36
1999
The Plan
66
1999
Bad Light
71
1999
Else
81
Perfect From Now On is widely considered an indie rock masterpiece! It is an odd album to try and pick out individual songs because it is the album as a whole that is great, listened to from front to back. But I'll give it a go, Made Up Dreams is probably as close to a single as anything on the album! Last edited:
Another bright and breezy Janet sung Spiderbait pop song and their highest ARIA chart placing (#13) until Black Betty came along. Would be one of the shortest songs to feature in a Hottest 100 at 1:51 (although Buy Me A Pony is still shorter by 5 seconds).
79. Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
"I'm in heaven Trying to figure out which stack They're going to stuff atheists into And Peter and his monkey laugh And I laugh with them I'm not sure what at"
The Lonesome Crowded West is also widely considered an indie rock masterpiece! It was certainly the point at which people started to take notice of Modest Mouse, if not actually buy their records (that came in 2004).
This is the album closer and is an absolute jam, especially when the drums kick in at 2:45. Has all the elements of Modest Mouse, shouty vocals, odd lyrics, really groovy music. They still play it as part of their live shows. As a note the song they have played live the most is my #1 song from 2000 Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes!
78. The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) - Missy Elliot
Past entries:
2015
WTF {Ft. Pharrel Williams}
77
2002
Work It
69
2001
Get Ur Freak On
26
The first ever single from the one and only Missy Elliot. Samples the 70s song "I Can't Stand The Rain" and has a fantastic video, with typical crazy Missy Elliot costumes and plenty of cameos. She certainly started like she meant to go on...
77. Dogs Got A Bone - Beta Band, The
Past entries:
1999
It's Not Too Beautiful
52
1998
She's The One
31
I first encountered The Beta Band at the Reading Festival but they didn't really make an impression (it was only their third ever gig I later found out). I paid more attention after their mention in High Fidelity and checked out the collection of their first three EPs, originally called The Three EPs.
This is from EP#1, Champion Versions! Like Modest Mouse, very easily recognisable. Acoustic guitar, vaguely Scottish sounding vocals and ever increasingly odd sounds to accompany!
76. Exit Music (For A Film) - Radiohead
Past entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
OK Computer is also widely considered an indie rock masterpiece! No really it is!
This song was actually named because it was written for the Romeo+Juliet movie and ended up being played over the End Credits. Clever, heh!
One of the softer, quieter and more haunting songs on OK Computer, at least until the last minute and a half. OK Computer was (partly) recorded in a mansion owned by Jane Seymour and the vocal reverberation on this song is due to it being recorded in a stone staircase!
75. No Aphrodisiac - Whitlams, The
Past entries:
1999
Blow Up The Pokies
48
1998
Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 2)
15
The top 10 of the 1997 Hottest 100 is widely thought of as one of the best. The only year all of the Top 10 have made any of my lists is 2011, so can 1997 equal that!
Well this was the #1 and the first sign of the more serious Whitlams. I'm not really a fan but this is pretty good stuff. I particularly like the Pinky and Chit Chat (from Machine Gun Fellatio) lyrics, taken from the personal section of a newspaper.
"Forty, shaved, sexy, wants to do it all day With a gun-toting trigger-happy tranny named Kinky Renée"
74. Joga - Bjork
Another artist I'm not that big of a fan off. Find her music quite hit or miss (same as The Sugarcubes for that matter). Some good songs (like this) but some pretty average ones as well (obviously only in my opinion).
Its quite a big sounding song, sweeping strings, strong vocals. Is meant to be inspired by Iceland and its geography.
73. Cop Shoot Cop - Spiritualized
Past entries:
2001
Stop Your Crying
36
2001
Do It All Over Again
90
1997
Electricity
85
"Hey man, there's a hole in my arm where all the money goes."
Now this one sounds more like floating in space. A 17 minute odyssey, touching on jazz, gospel and pretty much everything in between. Dr John provides some piano backing as well.
At its heart, Ladies and Gentlemen... is an album about wanting something and not having it. Wanting to fill that hole in the arm or a hole in the heart. It was written in the aftermath of his (then) girlfriend (and still band member) Kate Radley leaving him and marrying Richard Ashcroft.
The song is named after another band, not actual cops shooting each other!!
72. Shady Lane - Pavement
Past entries:
1999
Carrot Rope
25
1999
Major Leagues
79
1999
Billie
83
1999
Spit On A Stranger
92
Some great slacker rock from Pavement. They had a great handle on both noise and melody and could switch between them when required. This one falls on the melodic side and is just a great indi pop song.
Video was directed by Spike Jonze, who was a busy boy around this time.
71. Truckers Atlas - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
15
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
Two themes that are repeated in Modest Mouse's lyrics are travel (usually by car or truck) and distance (and the emptiness and loneliness that entails).
"This truckers atlas roads the ways The freeways and highways don't know"
The drumming is fantastic throughout and the last five minutes of the song is just a great instrumental jam. Last edited:
Released a month before Unit, this didn't really give an indication of how different to their old stuff it would be as it sounds like their old stuff! Another very short pop-rock song, clocking in at 2:12.
Wonderfully bad film clip as well.
69. Myrkur - Sigur Ros
Past entries:
2013
Brennistein
35
2013
Isjaki
58
2012
Varuo
20
2008
Gobbledigook
18
2008
Inni Mer Syngur Vitlesingur
59
2007
Hljomalind
26
2005
Glosoli
4
2005
Svo Hljott
14
2005
Hoppipolla
29
2005
Saeglopur
44
2005
Gong
54
2002
Vaka
3
2002
Njosnavellin
7
2002
Frysta
53
2000
Ny Batteri
20
1999
Svefn-G-Englar
1
1999
Olsen Olsen
10
1999
Agaetis Byrjun
31
1999
Staralfur
35
Hello shoegaze!! This seriously could be Ride or Slowdive. Not much of a hint of what would be coming a couple of years down the track. In any case, I love shoegaze and great harmonies so get a big tick from me.
68. Your Woman - White Town
Repeating a theme from 1998, this is the only song I know by White Town. It was certainly all over the radio waves in 1997. It is quite distinctive and was a massive hit (#1 in UK, #2 in AUS). Darren Hayes and British India have both covered it!
Also another artist from 1997 still releasing new music, last album was last year.
67. Lovefool - Cardigans, The
Past entries:
1999
My Favourite Game
42
Another song from the Romeo+Juliet soundtrack although it wasn't recorded for the movie. Like #68 above was all over the radio and a massive hit. This was my first introduction to The Cardigans.
The lyrics are somewhat dark while the music is incredibly light and airy.
"I don't care if you really care As long as you don't go"
66. Lazy - Suede
Past entries:
1999
Electricity
33
1997
Saturday Night
90
And this is the 4th of those UK top 10 singles from Coming Up. Definitely falls in to the Bowie inspired rocker. A real 70s feel to it.
A few of the songs on the album have lyrics that are related to the vacuousness and vanity of the celebrity driven culture as they saw it.
"Here they come with their make-up on As lovely as the clouds, come and see them"
65. Ain't That Enough - Teenage Fanclub
Past entries:
2016
I'm In Love
99
2000
I Need Direction
87
On the 1997 Hottest 100 voting list is Sparky's Dream by Teenage Fanclub! Which is nice considering that it had already made the Hottest 100 in 1995. I wonder if this was actually meant to be on the voting list instead.
Beautiful guitar work, fantastic harmonies, they just wrote fantastic songs. Definitely a Byrds influence to be found there.
This was their biggest "hit" as well, peaking at #17 on the UK charts.
64. Dark Mavis - Mansun
Past entries:
2000
I Can Only Dissapoint U
100
1999
Six
95
1998
Legacy
73
Still climbing my lists is Mansun.
For a band that is probably better known for their singles, it is this 8 and a half minute album closer that grabbed me from their debut album. The album (The Attack Of The Grey Lantern) is partly about a superhero who encounters all sorts of dubious people in an English Village, including Dark Mavis (who is also the Stripper Vicar from another song).
Has a little bit of a Hey Jude vibe, especially the chanting towards the end.
63. Sun Hits The Sky - Supergrass
Past entries:
2000
Mary
44
1999
Pumping On Your Stereo
65
Another UK 90s band that had a series of great singles. I've never listened to a whole album of theirs but have enjoyed all the singles I've heard, including this one. They always had great sideburns as well!
I first encountered Supergrass on Hey Hey It's Saturday, when they played Caught By The Fuzz. Weird huh! I later encountered them at the Reading Festival in 1997, can't remember if I enjoyed them or not!
62. Leaving Home - Jebediah
Past entries:
2002
Nothing Lasts Forever
98
2000
Please Leave
78
Another Hottest 100 top 10 and a pretty iconic (and distinctively) Aussie song of the era. Hearing this on the Hottest 100 CD was my introduction to them.
Was never the biggest fan but I did like their first two album titles, Slightly Odway and Of Someday Shambles.
61. Hitchin' A Ride - Green Day
Past entries:
2005
Jesus of Surburbia
15
2001
Maria
99
2000
Warning
62
2000
Waiting
73
1999
Nice Guys Finish Last
73
1998
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
26
1998
The Grouch
28
One of the odd things about being in the UK in the late 90s was the lack of radio/TV coverage of non-mainstream US music. So while I was a big Green Day fan already, I didn't ever hear anything from Nimrod (except for Good Riddance) there.
Anyway I love the way this song builds up and then explodes over the last minute or so. Last edited:
One of my daughters while listening to this described it as music you could dance to but also just sit back and listen to. Nailed it much better than I ever could.
Spike Jonze video clip as well. Not as big a fan of this clip as I think it distracts too much from the music, which kinda defeats the purpose.
59. Never Say Never - that dog.
Seems using lower case as well as punctuation was a 90s thing.
If you're not familiar, that dog. are an American all-female except for the drummer rock band (which was quite the thing, Hole, Breeders etc) but were on the poppier side of that spectrum, especially on this song.
They broke up after this album (their third) but recently got back together to record an another album last year.
58. Infatuation - Moler
So this is the song I listened to from benji2's list that I had never heard of either the band or the song before. I don't know who or what or where a Moler is but I approve. Great Indie-rock, female vocals.
They do remind me of someone else but I can't quite figure out who (Life Without Buildings maybe).
57. Trip Like I Do - Filter and The Crystal Method
Past entries (Filter):
2000
Take A Picture
32
Another song recorded for a movie soundtrack, in this case Spawn. Never heard of it!!
This song is OK but then at 1:55 in, it absolutely explodes with noise and is awesome from this point onwards. It is a reworking of a Crystal Method song Trip Like I Do. Never heard it!!!
56. Bound For The Floor - Local H
"And you just don't get it You keep it copacetic"
The third of the discoveries from benji2. I don't know who or what or where a Local H is but I approve. I do know this song though, no idea how. I also don't know what copacetic means as well. I know I can look these things up on Google or something but the mystery is good sometimes.
Must have heard this on the radio or on a TV show and just assumed it was a particularly good Silverchair song (as that is what I assumed it was).
55. Stereo - Pavement
Past entries:
1999
Carrot Rope
25
1999
Major Leagues
79
1999
Billie
83
1999
Spit On A Stranger
92
1997
Shady Lane
72
And here we have the other extreme of Pavement, the noise. Very reminiscent of their first album, which is probably why it appeals so much!
I saw them at a Reading Festival, but 1999 not 1997! I've seen them 4 times overall and they are a really great live band. Very tight and can be quite funny.
54. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub - Apollo 440
Past entries:
2001
Say What (with 28 Days)
50
2000
Charlie's Angels 2000
91
1999
Stop The Rock
61
A three day festival can be quite a slog. By the third day you're pretty exhausted. Anyway, on the third and last day of the Reading Festival Apollo 440 were the first act of the day on the main stage. I had just heard this song on the radio leading up to the festival and was keen to hear how the rock/dub/ska mix would fare in a live setting so dragged all my mates along to see them.
They weren't very good and I wasn't a very popular fellow. I remember one wag turning to me after the first couple of songs and saying. "Well it is only 11 hours until The Verve are playing, glad we're here."
53. The Drugs Don't Work - Verve, The
Speaking of which....
Urban Hymns was such a massive hit but I'm not sure (as a whole) that it stands up that well anymore. In 1997 this would have been top 10 for sure but has slipped over time.
"Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown This time I'm comin' down"
So as mentioned before I saw The Verve at the Reading Festival. I was really looking forward to it. They were really fantastic but Richard Ashcroft just walked around in a small circle on the stage for the whole show and didn't talk to the audience at all. Very very odd.
"Now the drugs don't work They just make you worse"
Don't do drugs kids!! Walking around in circles on a stage isn't a great look!
52. Funky Shit - Prodigy, The
With a very distinctive sample from the Beastie Boys in tow come The Prodigy. A real dance number this one, really wild. Was an odd choice to be on the Hottest 100 voting list as it was never released as a single as opposed to Smack My Bitch Up, which was (TripleJ being controversy adverse perhaps).
I saw them live in Sydney in around 94 or so and they were excellent. Lots of people losing their nut dancing.
51. Little Babies - Sleater-Kinney
Past entries:
2019
Hurry On Home
12
2015
A New Wave
69
1999
Get Up
82
1997
Dig Me Out
94
"Dum dum dee dee dee dum dum dee dum do All the little babies go oh oh I want to Dum dum dee dee dee dum dum dee dum yeah Rock the little babies with one two three"
Those above lyrics have no right being so infectiously catchy as they are. I can't help but sing along at high volume every time I hear them.
A short extremely catchy pop-punk song, Little Babies is actually more about protesting the traditional roles of women in society (raising babies etc).
"I'm the water I'm the dishes I'm the suds I will comfort, make you clean, help you cope When you're tired feeling helpless Come inside I am the shelter And then when you're feeling better I'll Watch you go" Last edited:
Kicking off the top 50 is the last of the great Flying Nun bands of the early 90s, Bailter Space (IMHO). The Chills, Tall Dwarves and Straitjacket Fits et al were no more and this was Bailter Space's last album bringing an incredible era of music to an end.
Bailter Space to me were always a heavier Shoegaze act (more Jesus and Mary Chain than Ride) and are in top form here. Just a blistering song.
49. Staring At The Sun - U2
Past Entries:
1998
Sweetest Thing
99
On the Hottest 100 voting list, you could vote for Discotheque or Mofo of U2's Pop album but not this one. Not the last strange voting list omission.
To me this is a bit of a throwback song, a more 'traditional' U2 song rather than the more experimental Zooropa/Achtung Baby songs and is just a great pop song, something they forgot they did very well at times. The Edge is a fantastic guitar player, really understated part of their appeal.
48. High Noon - DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow was the first artist that I ever heard the term Hip Hop applied to (it was in 1996). What we would now call Hip Hop was referred to as Rap. I'm not sure when the terms were altered but there you go.
Anyway, this song sounds nothing like Kendrick Lamar! It is completely sampled even though it feels like an actual band playing. It is somewhat (although not entirely) looped. Given that is made up entirely of samples, it is intricately and painstakingly put together. Not sure I would have the patience...
47. Convenient Parking - Modest Mouse
Past Entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
"Soon the chain reaction started in the parking lot Waiting to bleed onto the big streets That bleed out onto the highways And off to others cities built to store and sell these rocks"
More songs about travel (well you have to park at the end of the trip) by Modest Mouse. More a song about Urban Sprawl and the loss of green space to create malls and parking lots. Isaac Brook (the lead singer) even had a term to describe this - "mall f**ked".
Definitely one of the rockier songs on the album. Thumping bass line and squalling guitars throughout.
46. Yob - TISM
Past Entries:
1998
Whatareya?
78
1998
I Might Be A C**t But I'm Not A Fucking C**t
90
"If it's different, punch If it's lager, lunch"
More existential angst about the yob/wanker dichotomy from TISM. They could certainly write a great pop song in the process and let's face it, although it is far from PC it is pretty funny stuff.
"If it moves, root Quacks, shoot"
45. Don't Move - Refo:Mation, The
Past Entries:
1997
Florian Trout
95
"Composed of solid song, we get along Distance crunching honchos with echo units"
Um, sure Steve. The one and only Refo:Mation album was called "Pharmakoi/Distance Crunching Honchos With Echo Units". Can I stress again, please don't take drugs kids
It does create a really smooth psychedelic pop sound though, definitely more of a Church sound (Starfish era).
44. Rocco - Death In Vegas
Past Entries:
2003
Hands Around My Throat
15
2000
Aisha {Ft. Iggy Pop}
15
1999
Dirge
19
1997
Dirt
88
Fresh off breaking their only in the teens rule, they've broken the one song a year rule too. Well in for a penny in for a pound.
A really driving rock beat in this one, fantastic guitars and bass lines.
Think the filmclip is filmed in the same underpass as their 2003 song "Hands Around My Throat".
43. All Mine - Portishead
Past Entries:
2008
The Rip
19
2008
Machine Gun
88
The unmistakable voice of Beth Gibbons. This was their biggest hit (#8 in the UK), which seems wrong given that Sour Times and Glory Box are things.
Not that it isn't a great song though, the vocal delivery is just amazing, especially the high notes and the guitar work is ace. It's a bit of a torch song really.
Tom Jones did a cover as well, which is something.
42. Come Together - Spiritualized
Past Entries:
2001
Stop Your Crying
36
2001
Do It All Over Again
90
1997
Cop Shoot Cop
73
1997
Electricity
85
"So little J's a f**ked up boy Who dulled the pain but killed the joy And little J's a f**kin' mess But when he's offered, just says yes"
For those counting, 3 apiece for Modest Mouse and Spritualized.
Sort of sounds like floating in space but just a great rock song. From the minute the drums count us in and the immediate elevation with gospel singing, synths, guitars etc it is fantastic and doesn't let up.
Like DJ Shadow, the songs on Ladies and Gentlemen... are meticulously put together, they are seem very complex but every single note also seems important.
41. The Female Of The Species - Space
Past Entries:
1998
The Ballad of Tom Jones (with Cerys Matthews)
9
1998
Begin Again
66
This was an odd song to make the 1997 Hottest 100, not because it isn't worthy but because it was released in May 1996!!
Space were one of my favourite bands of the era. I like the slightly unusual makeup of their songs, weird percussion or synth lines over otherwise straight up indie-pop songs. Last edited:
"Sun so bright that I'm nearly blind Cool, 'cause I'm wired and I'm out of my mind Warms the dope running down my spine But I don't care about you and I've got nothing to do"
Eight minutes of very chilled music. The first half is a bit Spacemen 3's with its growling synthesizer drone, dub, soul, thick, stunted bass line and twisted harmonica howls. The back half is a sassy, saxophone-backed dialogue between Jason Pierce's self-confidence and his self-doubt
"I think I can fly Probably just falling"
One of the things I do like about Ladies and Gentlemen... is the emotional ambiguity of it all. There are lots of references to love and falling in love. Is it a person he's in love with or the drugs, is he in love with the drugs because of the broken heart caused by falling love and being heart broken? We don't know...
39. Weeping Willow - Verve, The
Past Entries:
1997
The Drugs Don't Work
53
Just to stick it in, the cause of Jason Pierce's heartache slides in one spot higher.
Even though I said Urban Hymns maybe doesn't stand up too well in 2020, doesn't mean there aren't any gems to be found.
This is the song on the album that reminds me the most of their older albums (especially A Storm in Heaven). Louder and more psychedelic.
38. Mountain People - Super Furry Animals
Past Entries:
2009
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
48
2003
Golden Retriever
48
2001
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
49
2000
Ysbeidau Heulog
58
1998
Ice Hockey Hair
80
1997
Demons
92
This was the album closer for Radiator and probably best summed up the fact they were moving in a new direction. It starts as a fairly straight forward pop (and good) song and then gradually builds into a volcanic explosion of squelching, thumping techno like nothing you've ever heard before. Great stuff.
37. Cowboy Dan - Modest Mouse
Past Entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Convienient Parking
47
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
For those counting, 4 apiece for Modest Mouse and Spritualized.
"Well, Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene He goes to the reservation drinks and gets mean"
Why was I unaware that there was such a thing as a cowboy scene?
Cowboy Dan effortlessly moves between loud, angry sections and quiet reflective sections. The lyrics in particular are just great.
"Everytime you think you're walking, you're just moving the ground Everytime you think you're talking, you're just moving your mouth"
The themes of the green spaces of the American west been swallowed up are apparent, probably why Cowboy Dan is so mean.
"He "didn't move to the city, the city moved to me And I want out desperately""
36. Beetlebum - Blur
Past Entries:
2015
Go Out
86
2012
Under The Westway
86
2010
Fool's Day
97
2003
Out Of Time
26
2000
Music Is My Radar
88
1999
Coffee and TV
3
1999
Tender
23
1997
Beetlebum
36
One of two UK#1s that Blur had (Country House being the other). Shares themes with Spiritualized, as it is apparently about taking Heroin.
"Nothing is wrong I just slip away and I am gone"
35. Bitter Sweet Symphony - Verve, The
Past Entries:
1997
Weeping Willow
39
1997
The Drugs Don't Work
53
3rd song from the Hottest 100 Top 10 and the third song from Urban Hyms, which I said wasn't that good
Very iconic. Just the sound of those violins and you know what it is immediately. The Rolling Stones....
Some songs on this list are quite subtle and take many listens to appreciate. Not this one. This aims big and delivers immediately. A true anthem.
34. Remember Me - Blue Boy
The one and only song I know by Blue Boy and very well covered by Tame Impala.
It's not quite trip hop but not quite dance either. Very distinctive beat though.
33. Mogwai Fear Satan - Mogwai
Past Entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
1999
CODY
5
1999
Christmas Steps
15
1999
Ex-Cowboy
34
1999
Burn Girl Prom Queen
51
Six years after Slint laid the Breadcrumb Trails, post rock had its first commercially "successful" album in Mogwai's first album 1997's Young Team. Famously Steve Albini said in his review of that Slint album (paraphrasing here), no one will get it now but in ten years everyone will.
Mogwai Fear Satan is probably the most "famous" song from the album. The name comes from the fact that the bassist was actually scared of Satan from his Catholic upbringing. It is a 16 minutes instrumental that is, in turns, blisteringly loud and delicately soft.
The thing that always bothered me is that if they fear Satan, why is this so loud, surely will attract unwanted attention!!
32. Trailer Trash - Modest Mouse
Past Entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Cowboy Dan
37
1997
Convienient Parking
47
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
"Short love with a long divorce And a couple of kids, of course They don't mean anything Live in trailers with no class"
Isaac Brock sings of his upbringing in an trailer park as a child and his sense of guilt that he escaped but others didn't.
"Eating snowflakes with plastic forks And a paper plate, of course"
It’s woven into the most gripping intricate and beautiful melodies on the record that culminates with a guitar solo that is to die for. Alot of the songs on The Lonesome Crowded West sound angry and aggressive. Trailer Trash sounds weary and sad.
31. Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
Quite an ethereal song this one. More themes of alienation that pervade OK Computer.
"Up above Aliens hover Making home movies For the folks back home"
Did they foreshadow the drones/go pro movement of the 2010s? Last edited:
Built To Spill are a fairly anonymous band. They don't do film clips. I have no idea what Doug Martsch (the only permanent member) looks like. It's just all about the music!
"There's a mean bone in my body It's connected to the problems that I won't take for an answer And I won't take that from you Because I'd hurt a fly"
In 2000, they released a live album (imaginatively called Live) and this was the stand out song on it for me.
29. DCx3 - Grinspoon
Past Entries:
2005
Sweet As Sugar
90
2002
Lost Control
71
2002
1000 Miles
81
1998
Just Ace
18
Shouldn't this be called DC3x? Anyway, just like Just Ace, this is a pretty lyrically silly song (in a Pixes kinda way) but it absolutely rocks. I do like singing it to our cat at home. He ignores me of course.
28. Hun Jord - Sigur Ros
Past Entries:
2013
Brennistein
35
2013
Isjaki
58
2012
Varuo
20
2008
Gobbledigook
18
2008
Inni Mer Syngur Vitlesingur
59
2007
Hljomalind
26
2005
Glosoli
4
2005
Svo Hljott
14
2005
Hoppipolla
29
2005
Saeglopur
44
2005
Gong
54
2002
Vaka
3
2002
Njosnavellin
7
2002
Frysta
53
2000
Ny Batteri
20
1999
Svefn-G-Englar
1
1999
Olsen Olsen
10
1999
Agaetis Byrjun
31
1999
Staralfur
35
1997
Myrkur
69
Translated as Mother Earth, Hun Jord is creeping closer to the sound Sigur Ros would be known for. Darker and heavier than Myrkur, while still having the same Shoegaze tendancies.
I only heard this album (Von) after hearing Agaetis Byrjun, () and Takk and didn't really give it too much though at the time but came back to it later and can appreciate it more.
27. She's A Star - James
Past Entries:
2001
Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
13
1999
I Know What I'm Here For
85
1998
Destiny Calling
50
Just a stunningly beautiful pop song. One of their 4 UK top 10 hits (2 of which are re-recorded versions of Sit Down )
"Her shadow is always with her Her shadow could always keep her small So frightened that he won't love her She builds up a wall"
I was always a bit surprised at their lack of success (commercially and Hottest 100 wise) in Australia (with only 2 ARIA and Hottest 100 entries a piece). They always did it for me.
26. A Life Less Ordinary - Ash
Past Entries:
2001
Shining Light
18
2001
Burn Baby Burn
67
1998
Wildsurf
58
Another song from a movie and the first Ash song to feature Charlotte Hatherley.
Ditto the above comment about James and lack of success in Australia, although Ash were a bit more successful than James here. Another band still together (without Charlotte again) and releasing music, I must admit I haven't heard anything by them since their 2004 album.
25. Ashes To Ashes - Faith No More
The dark brooding sounds of Faith No More kick off the top 25.
At the heights of their unexpected popularity in 1990 (Epic was #1 at the time), they were playing at a small suburban Sydney venue near me (The Venue in Dee Why). I went down at 12pm to try and get tickets and the line went all the way round the block. A couple of hours later, I had my tickets. They were great, very funny and did a great cover of Vogue by Madonna.
24. Tubthumping - Chumbawumba
Top 10 #4 and a much derided song by everyone's favourite anarchist collective.
It still hold up really well (to me anyway) and is just as catchy as it was in 1997.
I must admit to being really surprised by this back in the day as I had previously heard their 1986 album "Pictures Of Starving Children Sell Millions Of Records" - a Band Aid protest of sorts. It was really terrible and nothing like Tubthumping.
23. Lucky - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
"It's gonna be a glorious day"
The third single from OK Computer and the first song to be recorded from the album and, according to the band, shaped the sound of the album.
It was inspired by the war in Bosnia, I went to Sarajevo in 1997 (war was over by then) but it was a pretty sobering experience. When I hear this song I think about the bombed out bridges and houses and the infamous sniper alley I saw.
22. I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff - Regurgitator
Past Entries:
2004
My Friend Robot
84
2001
Fat Cop
31
1998
! (The Song Formerly Known As)
14
1998
Black Bugs
46
1998
Polyester Girl
61
1997
Everyday Formula
70
Much better than the remix is the first song from Unit. Perfectly capturing the fact they had indeed a new sound and that some fans would hate it. It is very witty.
Apart from that it is just a great song. Very easy to sing along (you've only got one line to remember).
21. Pulse - Front End Loader
Rewind to 1992 and a young OBOne is the bass player in a band in the Sydney Uni Bandcomp. We thought we were pretty good and made it through to the quarter finals. We were very confident turning up! First band to play was Front End Loader. By the time their set finished, we new we weren't winning! Bastards. They made the final (as did Frenzal Rhomb) but lost to some crappy jazz band
This is probably the 'poppiest' they ever sounded. I believe the song was written about a friend's suicide. Last edited:
And the 5th 1997 Hottest 100 top 10, wait what!?! A peculiar voting list omission to be sure.
Another iconic song, there sure are a few of them in 1997. Probably the first song by them that I registered that there might be something more than 'just another rock band' to be found. Great pop sensibilities.
Great film clip as well. Michel Gondry not Spike Jonze though.
19. The Last Australian Guitar Hero - TISM
Past Entries:
1998
Whatareya?
78
1998
I Might Be A C**t But I'm Not A Fucking C**t
90
1997
Yob
46
"In a tiny inner city pub, the amps were being stacked Leads were getting wound up, it was full of pissed ANZACs "Got no more gigs for Tuesday nights," said the barman to the Star "We're putting pokies in the lounge, and strippers in the bar""
TISM railing against the decline of rock music venues and the rise of electronic music.
"Work out what happened to real music, is what I'd like to ask Everything is all machine, run with MIDI and A-DAT But all they do is go ping-ping-ping like a truck that's backing back"
It is the B-side of Yob (remember B-Sides!!). I got sent the CD single (remember CD singles!!) in 1997 and it cracked me up in 1997 and still cracks me up today.
"What's the f*cking point of drum 'n' bass If no one can play guitar?"
Of course because this is TISM, the song has only electronic music (keyboards and drum machine) no guitar to be found anywhere.
"I wouldn't drop a tab of 'E' if you fucking paid me, man I've got the guts for LSD and the only jungle I know was 'Nam"
18. Let Down - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
"Let down and hanging around Crushed like a bug in the ground"
There is a real disconnect between the beautiful guitar playing and the downright depressing lyrics. Two things I adore in a song.
17. The Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails
Past Entries:
1999
The Day The World Went Away
72
"Without you everything falls apart Without you It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces"
This is one of my favourite lyrics.
Really great, harsh industrial sound with the music contrasted with some beautiful lyrics. The crazy drumming before the above lyrics in particular I love and the way it all calms down while they are being sung as well.
16. Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth - Dandy Warhols, The
Past Entries:
2003
You Were The Last High
16
2003
We Used To Be Friends
74
2000
Get Off
7
2000
Bohemian Like You
43
2000
Mohammed
55
1998
Boys Better
11
1998
Every Day Should Be a Holiday
37
"You never thought you'd get addicted, just be cooler in an obvious way I could say, shouldn't you have got a couple piercings and decided maybe that you were gay,"
Another song with great lyrics and a memorable song title.
I love the music in the intro, the way it pulses is great and leads into the great pop sound of the Dandys. They certainly had some great songs in the late 90s and early 00s.
15. Dry The Rain - Beta Band, The
Past Entries:
1999
It's Not Too Beautiful
52
1998
She's The One
31
1997
Dogs Got A Bone
77
The first song off their first EP and their finest moment, all downhill from here.
It has a terrifically stoned groove, acoustic guitar and an arrangement that builds steadily from one verse to the next. Great sing along as well.
14. Into My Arms - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Past Entries:
2019
Waiting For You
54
2016
Distant Sky
5
2013
Jubilee Street
5
2013
Push The Sky Away
51
2013
Higgs Boson Blues
66
2012
We Know Who U R
24
2008
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!
40
2001
Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow
34
1997
Are You The One I've Been Waiting For
96
Iconic!!
So this was the song that my mum heard that inspired her to buy the Nick Cave CD.
A really simple song really, just the voice and a piano. Don't need anything more really.
13. Dammit - Blink 182
Past Entries:
2016
Bored To Death
45
2003
I Miss You
50
2003
Feeling This
85
2000
Man Overboard
89
1999
Adam's Song
13
1999
What's My Age Again?
37
1999
All The Small Things
58
Top 10 #5
I do hate myself for having this ahead of Nick Cave but there you go. It is just a fun (and funny) song. It recalls a situation that most people have experienced (being dumped) and how we react, I guess this is growing up.
"And I'll smile and you'll wave, we'll pretend it's okay The charade, it won't last, when he's gone, I won't come back"
12. Climbing Up The Walls - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Let Down
18
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
For me, this is the darkest song on OK Computer both lyrically and musically, inspired by Thom Yorke working in a mental hospital and serial killers in general.
"So lock the kids up safe tonight Shut the eyes in the cupboard I've got the smell of a local man Who's got the loneliest feeling"
11. Karma Police - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Climbing Up The Walls
12
1997
Let Down
18
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
Top 10 #6 and Radiohead's 6th song of the year. Hard to believe that this isn't in the top 10, I reckon any other year it would have been for sure, just a particularly good year for music really, certainly the top 10 is my favourite (so far).
"He buzzes like a fridge"
Part of the inspiration for OK Computer was the mindless noise of the modern world, the buzzing of fridges, car and air-plane noise etc.
The piano and fuzzy guitars are particularly nice. Really well arranged song. Well done Radiohead. Last edited:
What an absolute blast of a song. Short and to the point, no mucking about.
Shame it couldn't slot in at #2 (its Hottest 100 position) or #22 (its Hottest 100 of the 20 years position). I do wonder slightly if Triple J slightly manipulate the positions to fit some narrative or other.
9. Airbag - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Karma Police
11
1997
Climbing Up The Walls
12
1997
Let Down
18
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
Welcome to the world of OK Computer as this is the first song on the album.
Ivan Pavlov came up with a concept called the "conditioned reflex" about our biological response to external stimulus. he did it by ringing a bell when his dogs ate and observing that after a time they would salivate when the bell rang, even if there wasn't any food.
I think part of my love for this song is a conditioned response. Hearing those beefy guitars start up, makes me salivate, thinking I'm going to hear OK Computer. Even now, with iTunes and random songs, if Airbag comes on, my ears prick up and it has my full attention.
Or it could just be an awesome song...
8. Avenging Angels - Space
Past Entries:
1998
The Ballad of Tom Jones (with Cerys Matthews)
9
1998
Begin Again
66
1997
The Female Of The Species
41
"Calling all avenging angels Angels Kick-ass angels"
Who these avenging angels are and what are they doing and why are they kick-ass angels has always piqued my curiosity, since I first heard this song in 1997. I have visions of halo clad warriors with flaming swords chasing down robbers and other assorted bad guys and as they vanquish their foes, turning to each other and saying
"Vengeance is cold as ice"
Anyway, a great sing along song with the usual Space bells and whistles chugging along in the background (possibly literally).
Released as a single on 29 December 1997, so just misses out on being able to be much higher in 1998!
7. Gorecki - Lamb
Past Entries:
2001
Gabriel
19
Henryk Gorecki was a Polish classical music composer, whose 1976 Symphony of Sorrowful Songs has sold over 1 million copies and been sung/interpreted by many artists, including Beth Gibbons. Lamb sample the music from the second movement and produce one hell of a love song.
"Could we stay right here Till the end of time until the earth stops turning Wanna love you until the seas run dry I've found the one I've waited for"
Some of the lyrics were used by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge as well.
Lamb are an English duo and their style falls somewhere in the trip hop/drum and bass line. Don't know much of their other works (except Gabriel from 2001).
6. Nancy Boy - Placebo
Past Entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
Every You Every Me
4
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
1998
Without You I'm Nothing
3
1998
Pure Morning
19
Continuing their record of having a top 10 in each of my 90s lists so far is the song that started my love of Placebo. When I first heard it, I was hooked.
Fourth single from their debut album but a re-recorded version from the one on the album. Was their (equal) highest placed single on the UK charts at #4
"Alcoholic kind of mood Lose my clothes Lose my lube"
More aggressive than their subsequent releases but still the same sly sense of humour, Nancy Boy covers sex drugs and rock and roll in the usual Placebo manner.
5. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (I Can't Help Falling in Love) - Spiritualized
Past Entries:
2001
Stop Your Crying
36
2001
Do It All Over Again
90
1997
I Think I'm In Love
40
1997
Come Together
42
1997
Cop Shoot Cop
73
1997
Electricity
85
Well that's certainly a mouthful. Originally it was just called "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" but uses the lyrics from the Elvis song. The Elvis estate originally didn't give approval and those lines were scrubbed off the song in all pressings after the first one. Eventually in 2009, permission was granted as long as the song title was updated. Surprisingly not the longest song title to make my lists though. That would be "You Are the Generation Who Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve" from 2004
"All I want in life's a little bit of love To take the pain away"
There is so much going on in this song. Starts simply enough with the above lyric song repeated. Then the Elvis lyrics are sung over the top
"Wise men say Only fools rush in But I I can't help falling Falling in love with you"
And then different lyrics over the top again
"I will love you 'til I die And I will love you all the time So please put your sweet hand in mine And float in space and drift in time"
All the while the music is building and before you know it there are gospel choirs singing and strings and harmonica and guitars. It is all so painstakingly put together and just a beautiful listening experience and a hell of a way to open one hell of an album.
4. New Paths To Helicon, Pt. 1 - Mogwai
Past Entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
1999
CODY
5
1999
Christmas Steps
15
1999
Ex-Cowboy
34
1999
Burn Girl Prom Queen
51
1997
Mogwai Fear Satan
33
Another mouthful of a song title (these days usually referred to as Helicon 1) and another beautiful listening experience.
It must be harder for bands who don't have lyrics to come up with song titles, as these usually come from the lyrics. A look at the 26 Mogwai songs listed above (putting them 3rd behind Radiohead's 34 and Interpol's 35) shows it can also be a hit and miss exercise.
Helicon 1 starts slow with just a single guitar, slowly a bass and more guitars join in. At 2:50 there is a pause (and for me a bit of conditioned reflex) and the most heavenly noise explodes. Just bliss and then it all fades away again.
Having seen them live a few times, this is the only song that Stuart Braithwaite plays bass on, plays guitar on every other one and it does have a very nice bass line.
3. Broken Heart - Spiritualized
Past Entries:
2001
Stop Your Crying
36
2001
Do It All Over Again
90
1997
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (I Can't Help Falling in Love)
5
1997
I Think I'm In Love
40
1997
Come Together
42
1997
Cop Shoot Cop
73
1997
Electricity
85
And as much as Jason Pierce want to fall in love and feel love, it is the absence of that love that provides the real emotional heft of the album and (to me at least) its centrepiece.
"Though I have a broken heart I'm too busy to be heartbroken There's a lot of things that need to be done Lord I have a broken heart"
Although he denies it, You feel that this beautiful album has come about to distract him from his heartbreak.
"And I'm wasted all the time I've gotta drink you right off of my mind I've been told that this will heal, given time Lord, I have a broken heart"
Given there are very explicit drug references throughout the album, it ties it back to the why. This is an album of emotion and empathy and context.
It is a longish song (about 7 minutes) and the lyrics are over in the first half, the song's overwhelming sadness and beauty depends entirely on this length and its ability to establish an atmosphere provided by the music (particularly the strings).
2. R U Still Into It - Mogwai
Past Entries:
2017
Party In The Dark
55
2014
The Lord Is Out Of Control
67
2014
Teenage Exorcists
77
2014
Hexon Bogon
95
2013
Remurdered
76
2012
Wizard Motor
91
2011
Drunk and Crazy
20
2011
How To Be A Werewolf
60
2011
Hasenheide
77
2010
Rano Pano
71
2008
Batcat
29
2008
I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
45
2006
We're No Here
10
2006
Travel Is Dangerous
26
2006
Friend Of The Night
38
2003
Hunted By A Freak
18
2003
I Know You Are But What Am I?
52
2001
My Father My King
5
2001
D To E
47
2001
Take Me Somewhere Nice
53
2001
2 Wrongs Make 1 Right
64
1999
CODY
5
1999
Christmas Steps
15
1999
Ex-Cowboy
34
1999
Burn Girl Prom Queen
51
1997
New Paths To Helicon, Pt. 1
4
1997
Mogwai Fear Satan
33
Another achingly sad but beautiful song.
"Will you still miss me when I'm gone? Is there love there, even when I'm wrong? Will you still kiss me if you find out? I will now leave you, but don't follow me"
With the singing provided by Aidan Moffat from Arab Strap (who have just released new music).
It's not a well know Mogwai song (if there is such a thing) as it was just an album track but there is just something about it that grabs my heart everytime I hear it.
"we can go to the pub at night We can get right tanked up and go home and have a fight"
The music is just beautifully played guitars, understated drums and bass, which is like so many other Mogwai songs, maybe it is the unusual singing (which isn't). Whatever it is, this is hands down one of my favourite songs ever.
Which leaves just one more song.....
1. Paranoid Android - Radiohead
Past Entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Airbag
9
1997
Karma Police
11
1997
Climbing Up The Walls
12
1997
Let Down
18
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
So, one evening in 1986 a young OBOne is listening to the radio. It was tuned to 2SM and Club Veg (recently moved from TripleJ. Roy and HG were their replacements BTW). A song came on the radio but not just any song. I was immediately captivated by said song and pressed play on my cassette recorder. I had never heard anything like it before, it sounded so important and so vital and I obsessively listened to it for days afterwards. The song was This Charming Man by The Smiths.
Thus began my love of music and it has been a massive part of my life ever since. Hardly a day goes by when I don't listen to something.
What has this got to do with Paranoid Android I hear you ask. Good question. That immediate feeling of importance I experienced the very first time I heard "This Charming Man" and that obsessive listening for days afterwards has only happened to me subsequently three times, in 1991, 1993 and in 1997. Most of the songs I consider my favourites have grown on me over time. I won't reveal the 1991 and 1993 songs (just yet) but (obviously) the 1997 one was Paranoid Android.
OK Computer was released 4 days before my birthday and I bought it (even though I was pretty broke) as a birthday present to myself, having loved The Bends so much. Airbag came on and I was pretty happy with my purchase and then Paranoid Android happened (maybe my reflex to Airbag is more about Paranoid Android being next). Subterranean Homesick Alien (the third song on the album) had to wait hours until it was played as I just repeated Paranoid Android over and over and over.
Every time I listened to it I heard something else, something amazing, something incredible, something important. I still hear all those things to this day everytime I listen and I remember that amazing feeling. I don't get that feeling anymore from This Charming Man (still an awesome song but there are much better Smiths songs) or the songs from 1991 and 1993 (neither of which will be the #1 from that year but will still feature highly).
My late 90s travels started in mid-1996, as I departed Australia for the UK, not to return (except for occasional visits) until late 2000.
Musically 1996 turned out to be something of a let-down after the giddy heights of 1997. No song from 1996 would have cracked the top 10 in 1997. It was also, by far, the year in the 90s that I had the fewest songs from in my iTunes library.
Not all doom and gloom though because after you scratch the surface there are some gems to be found. It was also one of the few years that I didn't have a preconceived idea of what would be #1. I think 2005 and 2014 are the only other years this happened.
Anyway, the unlucky ones to just miss out for 1996 are as follows, 100 onwards from 21/10.
100. Hallo Spaceboy {Pet Shop Boys Remix} - David Bowie
Past entries (David Bowie):
2016
Lazarus
4
2016
Blackstar
76
It will be another 20 years until David Bowie makes on of my lists as (until Blackstar) the 2000s weren't (IMHO) a great period for him.
The Pet Shop Boys remix mentions Major Tom (which the original doesn't) and (sort of) completes a trilogy of songs after Ashes to Ashes and Space Oddity. It was released as a single in 1996 and seems a good way to kick things off!
99. Bigmouth Strikes Again - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
Every You Every Me
4
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
1998
Without You I'm Nothing
3
1998
Pure Morning
19
1997
Nancy Boy
6
Placebo have made the Top 10 of my lists in every year of the 90s so far. Can this continue?
"Now I know how Joan of Arc felt As the flames rose to her Roman nose And her Discman started to melt"
This is a cover of a Smiths song and changes lyrics from Walkman to Discman in the above to update it for the times, which seems quaint given how outdated Discmans are now. If anyone covered it again today they'd have to say bluetooth headphones, which sort of works!
98. Exit Does Not Exist - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Trailer Trash
32
1997
Cowboy Dan
37
1997
Convienient Parking
47
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
Modest Mouse are another band that have had plenty of success in my lists in the 90s and are back once more.
Like most people I guess, I first heard of them when Float On came out in 2004. I checked out their 2000 album as well but nothing else at the time.
Sun Kil Moon released an album of Modest Mouse covers in 2005 (called Tiny Cities). There was only one song from the 2000 and 2004 albums on it and the rest of the covers were from the 90s Modest Mouse releases, including this one. It is a really beautiful short song actually. This inspired me to get "This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About" (the album which contains this song). When I first listened to this song, it wasn't beautiful, it is harsh and jagged. Once I gave the whole album a chance though the beauty came peeking out and became apparent.
97. Everything Is Good For You - Crowded House
And a newcomer to these parts (although Neil Finn was seen in 1998)! I'm sure they will be seen again in the 90s though!!
This was a single recorded for the 1996 best of compilation and was the last of their 3 top 10 singles in Australia.
96. ATLiens - Outkast
Past entries:
2004
Ghetto Musick
19
2003
Hey Ya!
4
2003
The Way You Move
29
2003
Last Call
41
2003
Prototype
62
2003
Bowtie
90
2003
Roses
97
2001
So Fresh, So Clean
52
2001
The Whole World
82
2000
Ms Jackson
8
2000
B.O.B.
45
1998
Spottieottedopalicious
43
1998
Rosa Parks
83
The title song from Outkast's second album, back when Andre and BigBoi actually recorded songs together. It is certainly a smooth jam!
Outkast are from Atlanta, usually shorterned to ATL. ATLiens, get it!!
95. Taut - PJ Harvey and John Parish
Past entries (PJ Harvey):
2016
The Wheel
23
2016
The Community Of Hope
60
2011
The Words That Maketh Murder
7
2011
The Colour Of The Earth
10
2011
Let England Shake
30
2011
The Glorious Land
43
2010
Written On The Forehead
15
2009
Black Hearted Love (with John Parish)
20
2007
When Under Ether
83
2004
You Came Through
16
2004
Shame
31
2004
The Letter
74
2002
Hitting The Ground (with Gordon Gano)
54
2001
This Mess We're In {Ft.Thom Yorke}
3
2001
Big Exit
46
2000
Horses In My Dreams
16
2000
You Said Something
33
2000
Good Fortune
66
2000
This Is Love
75
1998
A Perfect Day Elise
25
Sounds like a song from a horror movie in parts! Some great demonic singing from PJ Harvey.
Before embarking on a solo career PJ Harvey played in John Parrish's band Automatic Dhlamini and he has subsequently collaborated on some of her albums and been a part of her touring band. This is from the first of two collaboration albums they have done so far.
94. Setting Sun - Chemical Brothers, The
Past entries:
2015
Go {Ft. Q-Tip}
68
2003
The Golden Path {Ft. The Flaming Lips}
71
1999
Let Forever Be
41
1999
Hey Boy Hey Girl
80
Usual mix of good song and great film clip from The Chemical Brothers. Features Noel Gallagher on vocals like Let Forever Be.
93. Takes You Back - Underground Lovers
Past entries:
2013
Au Pair
56
1998
Cold Feeling
76
1997
From "Jumbled In The Common Box"
87
Creeping closer to their early 90s heyday are Underground Lovers (affectionately known as Undie Lovers by fans).
Rushall Station (their fourth) was the first album recorded without Phillipa Nihill, as she left to pursue a solo career (but would be back when the reformed in the 2010s) and their first since breakthrough 'hit' Losing It in 1994. Sadly they didn't seem to get any momentum out of it and the album and singles didn't make any headway on the charts.
92. Going Out - Supergrass
Past entries:
2000
Mary
44
1999
Pumping On Your Stereo
65
1997
Sun Hits The Sky
63
This was the 1996 lead in single to 1997's In It For The Money and is one of their six UK Top 10 hits.
They certainly have a sound and look and stick to their guns here.
91. Not An Addict - K's Choice
As mentioned in the prelude, 1996 is my least represented year in terms of songs in my library. Looking for inspiration, I came across this one in benji2's 1996 list and while I've no idea who K's Choice are, I certainly know this song from back in the day!
The last remnants of grunge (like this) were still around in 1996 but Britpop was surely taking over the airways. Last edited:
90. The Day We Rode The Train - Ocean Colour Scene
So with Britpop taking over, this meant there was a plethora of new bands trying their hands at it. For every Blur there was a Menswear (truly terrible) but also bands like Ocean Colour Scene who were pretty good but didn't really stand out from the crowd in any way.
You can hear a bit of Blur, a bit of Oasis, its all very generic Britpop but still a good song and lets face it, we all love riding on trains don't we
89. Djed - Tortoise
Past entries:
1998
TNT
51
Not mining either Britpop or Grunge are Tortoise. One of the pioneers of post-rock but their sound is quite different to Godspeed, Sigur Ros, Slint (although Dave Pajo performed on this track), Mogwai or other 'well known' post rock acts. They have both more a jazz and electronic influence to their music.
Djed is a 20 minute jam. It is quite upbeat (another point of difference to other post rock artists) but has a consistency to the beat and repetition (hello post rock!!). Great one to just settle back and let it wash over you.
88. Naomi - Neutral Milk Hotel
Past entries:
1998
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
1
1998
King of Carrot Flowers pt 1
12
1998
Two Headed Boy pt 2
17
1998
Oh Comely
23
1998
Communist Daughter
30
1998
Holland, 1945
44
Before In The Aeroplane Over The Sea there was On Avery Island. It is true that there is a gulf in class between the two albums (in favour of Aeroplane) but there are still some hints of what is to come to be found.
An underrated part of Neutral Milk's appeal comes from the unusual music in the songs, which come to the fore in Naomi in the shape of the organs, just great.
87. Teenage Angst - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
Every You Every Me
4
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
1998
Without You I'm Nothing
3
1998
Pure Morning
19
1997
Nancy Boy
6
1996
Bigmouth Strikes Again
99
Doesn't Teenage Angst just sound like the perfect Placebo song title? It was the 4th single from their debut album and the first to get any notice. It is immediately recognisable as Placebo with the guitars and Brian Molko's vocals, which is always a good thing.
86. Jet Ski - Bikini Kill
Some great punk from Bikini Kill from their last album.
Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer, unintentionally came up with the title of Smells Like Teen Spirit when she wrote Kurt smells like teen spirit on his wall! She is also married to Adam Horovitz from the Beastie Boys. Rock n Roll Royalty indeed.
85. Stereotypes - Blur
Past entries:
2015
Go Out
86
2012
Under The Westway
86
2010
Fool's Day
97
2003
Out Of Time
26
2000
Music Is My Radar
88
1999
Coffee and TV
3
1999
Tender
23
1997
Song 2
10
1997
Beetlebum
36
Did someone mention Britpop?
Alot of The Great Escape (the album this comes from) actually tries to move on from Britpop but all the singles were very much to type (The Universal excepted) and this was the third.
84. The Official Ironmen Rally Song - Guided By Voices
Past entries:
2001
Chasing Heather Crazy
68
Before 1996, Guided by Voices were mainly famous for releasing albums with "sketches of songs" rather than fully formed ones. Under the Bushes Under the Stars (their 9th) changed that and an album with songs longer than 2 minutes appeared. The odd titles were still there though.
It is a bit lo-fi but the melody is great. Robert Pollard certainly has an ear for a pop tune!
They released their 30th and 31st albums this year!
83. Hey Dude - Kula Shaker
<read everything I wrote for Ocean Colour Scene but note these guys had at least one minor hit>
82. Aneurysm - Nirvana
Speaking of Smells Like Teen Spirit, this was the B-side!
It is allowed in 1996 as it was released as a single and appeared in the TripleJ Hottest 100.
In any case, a classic grunge track. I especially the way it builds up at the beginning. It is a bit of a fan favourite as well and was performed (with Kim Gordon doing the vocals) by the rest of the band when they were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
81. The Box - Orbital
This is the only song I know by Orbital and is a great if a bit unusual piece of electronica. I reckon I came across it on MTV as the video is good, starring Tilda Swinton. Last edited:
It's all very silly I know but it still makes me smile. Take away the silly lyrics and it is a pretty good rock song but...
"If I had my little way, I'd eat peaches every day"
I hear you brother....
79. Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers
Past entries:
1998
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
10
Not silly at all. This is from (and title track of) the first Manic Street Preachers album after the disappearance (and presumed suicide) of Richie Edwards. It is certainly a more sombre album but the same themes of anger and rebellion are there.
"It's high time for a walk on the real side Let's admit the bastards beat us"
It's not really Britpop but it is some shade of pop. Just a good song really.
78. Born Slippy .NUXX - Underworld
Very important that .NUXX as it represents the 9 minute blissed out version rather than the radio edit as those extra 6 minute or so of pure techno are absolutely the best bit.
Also synonymous with the film Trainspotting!
77. How To Make Gravy - Paul Kelly
"If I get good behaviour, I'll be out of here by July Won't you kiss my kids on Christmas Day Please don't let 'em cry for me"
A classic Aussie track here. Another ode from an absent father song as well from Paul Kelly (after To Her Door). Like most of his work, a simple but extremely heartfelt song.
I don't like gravy so it doesn't work as well on me I guess!!
76. Made Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Trailer Trash
32
1997
Cowboy Dan
37
1997
Convienient Parking
47
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
1996
Exit Does Not Exist
98
"And I said, "You shouldn't make facts out of opinions""
That is a very relevant line in these times, are you listening politicians of the world.
The closing (well almost, there is a 1 minute exit piece after) song of the album, this just cap things off perfectly and quite beautifully. Starts almost country like, speeds up a bit, goes a bit wonky in the middle and then just blisses out with some amazingly sweet guitar work.
75. So Slow - Sophia
Past entries:
2004
Oh My Love
27
"I turn of the light but leave the television talking No, tonight I don't want to be alone I try to close my eyes, but I'm afraid of the dark I see you everywhere"
This was part of a split 7" single (remember them!) with Swervedriver and is their debut release. Sophia is basically just Robin Proper-Sheppard, ex of The God Machine and a rotating cast of musicians.
So Slow was written after the death of another member of The God Machine. It is quite the sad number.
Another act from 1996 who have released music in 2020!
74. Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage
Past entries:
1998
Push It
88
Just a great pop song really. It is actually meant to be poking fun at the doom and gloom lyrics of most alternative rock at the time while being musically very up-tempo.
Was actually released in 1995 but was in the Hottest 100 in 1996 and I needed some extras so here it is!!
73. Flowers In December - Mazzy Star
Past entries:
2013
California
65
2011
Common Burn
73
Among My Swan is a great album but it hard to pick stand out songs, as its all just so calm and relaxing.
Like Underground Lovers, Mazzy Star were coming off a commercial breakthrough with their last album/single and also failed to pick up any traction, although this was their biggest 'hit' in the UK, peaking at #40.
72. Stripper Vicar - Mansun
Past entries:
2000
I Can Only Disappoint U
100
1999
Six
95
1998
Legacy
73
1997
Dark Mavis
64
Joining Placebo and Modest Mouse as the only artists to have songs from 1999-1996 (all have one in 2000 for that matter) are Mansun. Sadly their run of improving each year is over!
It is quite the saucy song title though. The song itself is very indie pop and another one with quite silly lyrics but if you get past that it is quite the banger.
71. E-Bow The Letter - REM
Past entries:
1998
Daysleeper
93
This is a really haunting song, especially the Patti Smith backing vocals. It is meant to be a tribute to River Phoenix so that makes sense I guess.
"I wear my own crown of sadness and sorrow And who'd have thought tomorrow would be so strange? My loss, and here we go again" Last edited:
Some Swedish grunge! The alternative music scene in Sweden in the late 90s and early 00s was pretty ace (think The Hives, The Knife, International Noise Conspiracy etc) and this is another good example. I had a friend who lived in Sweden in the 2000s and he introduced me to this one.
69. The Distance - CAKE
Past entries:
2001
Short Skirt/Long Jacket
77
1998
Never There
85
"Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse Assail him, impale him with monster-truck force"
I love that lyric and the very recognisable sound of CAKE (or Cake I never could tell)!
Did you know that this song was a bigger hit in Australia (#21) than anywhere else in the world? Go us!
68. Zero - Smashing Pumkins, The
Past entries:
2001
Untitled
45
2000
Stand Inside Your Love
27
1998
For Martha
64
1998
Ava Adore
68
From the Dawn to Dusk disc of Mellon Collie, is one of the rockier Smashing Pumpkins songs, Zero. It was the first song recorded for the album!
"Intoxicated with the madness, I'm in love with my sadness Bullshit fakers, enchanted kingdoms"
It is a harsh sounding song, both musically and lyrically and never lets up.
Zero was played in The Simpsons as well, as a part of Homerpalooza, one of my fave Simpsons epsodes!
67. The First Big Weekend - Arab Strap
Past entries:
1998
Here We Go
74
I love a Scottish accent! So the semi-spoken word singing by Aidan Moffet in his broad Scottish accent suits me very well.
This is an unusually constructed song, the semi spoken word, electronic beats, guitars wouldn't seem to come together so well but they do, especially in the way they build throughout the song.
Also released new music in 2020!
66. All Your Sisters - Mazzy Star
Past entries:
2013
California
65
2011
Common Burn
73
1996
Flowers In December
73
Another very calming, relaxing song from Mazzy Star. Not much else to say really!!
65. That Was My Veil - PJ Harvey and John Parish
Past entries (PJ Harvey):
2016
The Wheel
23
2016
The Community Of Hope
60
2011
The Words That Maketh Murder
7
2011
The Colour Of The Earth
10
2011
Let England Shake
30
2011
The Glorious Land
43
2010
Written On The Forehead
15
2009
Black Hearted Love (with John Parish)
20
2007
When Under Ether
83
2004
You Came Through
16
2004
Shame
31
2004
The Letter
74
2002
Hitting The Ground (with Gordon Gano)
54
2001
This Mess We're In {Ft.Thom Yorke}
3
2001
Big Exit
46
2000
Horses In My Dreams
16
2000
You Said Something
33
2000
Good Fortune
66
2000
This Is Love
75
1998
A Perfect Day Elise
25
1996
Taut (with John Parish)
95
"It starts at daylight I see him Before my sad eyes I hear him breathing"
A very different sounding song to Taut is this acoustic guitar driven song one of the more recognisable songs from the album as being PJ Harvey.
As an aside, with this PJ Harvey moves past Sigur Ros into having the 4th most songs in my yearly lists.
64. Stem/Long Stem - DJ Shadow
Past entries:
1997
High Noon
48
For a song that is entirely made from samples it doesn't really sound like it at all. Some samples are obvious but the musical backing in particular sounds really coherent.
Some of the samples used are by Giorgio Moroder, KRS-One, Nirvana (the 60s British band).
63. God! Show Me Magic - Super Furry Animals
Past entries:
2009
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
48
2003
Golden Retriever
48
2001
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
49
2000
Ysbeidau Heulog
58
1998
Ice Hockey Hair
80
1997
Mountain People
38
1997
Demons
92
An incredibly infectious 2 minutes of Britpop! Super Furry Animals would move on in subsequent albums but their first (Fuzzy Logic) was very Britpop tinged.
Another aside, before this Super Furry Animals were tied with Kendrick Lamar for having 7 entries a piece in my yearly lists with a highest position of 38, which isn't something you see everyday!
62. Silver Lizard - Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed were (are) a great bad, especially live. They had a definite sound, sludgy 70s infused psychedelic rock and this is a good example.
61. Novocaine For The Soul - Eels
Past entries:
2001
Souljacker - Part 1
51
I saw Eels play at the Reading Festival in 1997. I only knew this song by them at the time. After the first song E said (and I paraphrase) "A lot of you are only here to here Novocaine, so here it is." They then played it with a Bossanova beat, sounding nothing like the original. Afterwards he said "Right you've heard it, now f**k off. Anyone who wants to stay, welcome to the show.". I stayed and they were great! Last edited:
I must admit I don't know anything about this song or Matthew Trapnell and Trapezoid other than that it appears on the Hottest 100 CD.
It features samples of Ella Fitzgerald (who died in 1996) talking about playing the harmonica over some trippy music. There is some great harmonica playing towards the end, an underrated instrument IMHO.
59. Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Trailer Trash
32
1997
Cowboy Dan
37
1997
Convienient Parking
47
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
1996
Made Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds
76
1996
Exit Does Not Exist
98
Has the perfect title for a Modest Mouse song (especially from the first two albums) as they always start with talking shit lyrics (in the best possible way) before morphing into beautiful music as the sun sets. I can just picture it listening to this song.
"Looking kind of anxious in your cross-armed stance Like a bad-tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance And I claim I'm not excited with my life anymore So I blame this town, this job, these friends The truth is it's myself"
58. One Day - UGK
I'm not a massive hip hop fan but the songs I particularly like are usually more Southern Hip Hop as I find it more soulful and musically interesting (see Outkast). Texas's UGK certainly count as a part of this movement and One Day is a great example of the genre.
57. Big Bang Baby - Stone Temple Pilots
Past entries:
2000
Sour Girl
13
Tiny Music is my least favourite of the first 4 Stone Temple Pilots albums but there is still some good songs to be found. Sounding more psychedelic or glam than grunge by this stage of their career, Big Bang Baby is just a great pop song.
56. Midnight In A Perfect World - DJ Shadow
Past entries:
1997
High Noon
48
1996
Stem/Long Stem
64
This starts more obviously as using samples but soon also morphs into something you'd never really guess was entirely sampled, it has such a fully realised ambience to it.
BTW, Guinness Book of World Records cited this album (Endtroducing...) as the first created entirely from samples.
55. Woman - Neneh Cherry
Another Swedish act but perhaps better known than Fireside. This is meant to be her take on "It's A Man's Man's World" by James Brown.
I hear Portishead's Glory Box in the music but can't find anything that indicates if it uses it at all.
Surprisingly this was her biggest single in Australia (#20), beating Buffalo Stance (what an awesome song) by one place (#21). I also like the appearance of Gollum (Andy Serkis) in the film clip.
54. Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix - Radio Edit) - Tori Amos
Past entries:
2001
Strange Little Girl
79
Another important distinction is that this is the radio edit of the remix, the whole 9 minutes one is too much for me!! The remix completely changes the original version on the album (rumoured to be about Courtney Love) into something that doesn't really sound like Tori Amos at all, a sign of a really good remix.
53. Hyperballad - Bjork
Past entries:
1997
Joga
74
This is probably the first Bjork solo song that I heard in which I thought that was a move away from the tweeness of The Sugarcubes (not that tweeness is necessarily a bad thing) and that she might be forging a new direction for herself, which I think we can safely say she has (not that I'm really a fan).
52. Milk {Ft. Tricky} (The Wicked remix) - Garbage
Past entries (Garbage):
1998
Push It
88
1996
Only Happy When It Rains
74
Another great remix that really changes the song (though not as dramatically as Tori Amos) is the Tricky remix of Milk with the addition of his vocals underneath Shirley's, as opposed to The Siren remix without his vocals. Clear!
51. Cheetham Hill - Fall, The
First appearance in my lists of the curmudgeon that is Mark E Smith and The Fall. This was the last Fall album to feature Brix Smith.
Cheetham Hill unusually features some vocals by Mike Bennet (the producer) but Mark E Smith's Mancunian growl also features heavily.
I've seen them live a few times over the years and he was a great presence on stage and the band always sounded great. Sadly missed. Last edited:
Kicking off the second half is Bush, an act that I assumed were American for a long time (due to the grunge sound and Gavin Rossdale being married to Gwen Stefani I reckon) but are actually British.
Glycerine would have been much higher in this list in 1996 or even 10 years ago but has slipped somewhat in my estimation over time. It hit #5 in the ARAI charts, their highest position anywhere in the world over their career
And, what do you know, they've released an album in 2020.
49. 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins, The
Past entries:
2001
Untitled
45
2000
Stand Inside Your Love
27
1998
For Martha
64
1998
Ava Adore
68
1996
Zero
68
"With the headlights pointed at the dawn We were sure we'd never see an end to it all"
1979 is somewhat the opposite of Glycerine in that it has probably risen in my estimation over the years. Probably wouldn't have made it in my 100 favourites back in 1996 at all.
It certainly didn't sound like anything else they had done. Much poppier and incorporating loops and samples for the first time and a more reflective Billy Corgan. It was the last song recorded for Mellon Collie, which seems appropriate as it is more a pointer for the future direction than the past.
Due to release an album in 2020!!
48. The Man Don't Give A F*ck - Super Furry Animals
Past entries:
2009
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
48
2003
Golden Retriever
48
2001
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
49
2000
Ysbeidau Heulog
58
1998
Ice Hockey Hair
80
1997
Mountain People
38
1997
Demons
92
1996
God! Show Me Magic
63
An absolutely infectious pop song this one! A little bit psychedelic, little bit Britpoppy. It is a protest song about the British government of the time and samples a line from Steely Dan more than 50 times, a record for the use of the f-word the time!
"You know they don't give a f*ck about anybody else"
47. How Bizarre - OMC
Another guilty pleasure. Don't know anything about OMC except that they were from New Zealand. This was a big radio hit in the UK.
46. Beauty Of The Ride - Sebadoh
Past entries:
1999
Flame
24
I was first aware of Lou Barlow due to his work in Dinosaur Jr in the late 80s (especially Freak Scene) but didn't latch on to Sebadoh until the early 90s and their third album Sebadoh III, which was held up with Pavement's first album as the cornerstones of the lo-fi movement.
Anyway, this is off their sixth album and isn't really lo-fi anymore, just good alternative rock. I bet you it sounds familiar as many bands have subsequently used this template.
45. Come Home - Placebo
Past entries:
2009
For What It's Worth
86
2006
Meds
15
2006
Song To Say Goodbye
36
2006
Infra-Red
86
2004
English Summer Rain
32
2004
Twenty Years
66
2003
Running Up That Hill
27
2003
The Bitter End
53
2003
Special Needs
82
2001
Special K
78
2000
Slave To The Wage
14
2000
Taste In Men
94
1999
Every You Every Me
4
1999
You Don't Care About Us
14
1998
Without You I'm Nothing
3
1998
Pure Morning
19
1997
Nancy Boy
6
1996
Teenage Angst
87
1996
Bigmouth Strikes Again
99
Probably the harshest and angriest of the early Placebo singles is Come Home. Can't ever mistake Brian Molko's vocals as anything but Placebo but the music is definitely thrashier and punkier than subsequent releases (but in a good way).
It was actually re-recorded for their debut album and doesn't appear on their singles compilation!
44. Shovel - Magic Dirt
Past entries:
2003
Plastic Loveless Letter
30
2003
All My Crushes
54
2003
Watch Out Boys
72
2001
City Trash
9
2001
Supagloo
40
2000
Dirty Jeans
26
2000
Pace It
92
First 90s entries for Magic Dirt from their debut album (they had released a couple of EPs by this point though). It is a sludgy number and the last minute in particularly really rocks out.
There aren't many Aussie acts in my 90s lists because a) I didn't really listen to much at the time so it is hard to discover new music after 20+ years and b) alot of it that I have heard hasn't aged very well.
Love the album cover as well!
43. Goldfinger - Ash
Past entries:
2001
Shining Light
18
2001
Burn Baby Burn
67
1998
Wildsurf
58
1997
A Life Less Ordinary
26
42. Oh Yeah - Ash
Past entries:
2001
Shining Light
18
2001
Burn Baby Burn
67
1998
Wildsurf
58
1997
A Life Less Ordinary
26
1996
Goldfinger
43
Let's do these two together, as I flip flop all the time as to which I prefer the most and the positions could change depending on which day it is. Today 'Oh Yeah' comes out tops. Definitely both fit within Ash's 'sound' of pop-rock.
These were the 4th and 5th singles released from Ash's debut album (1995's 1977 ) and were Ash's two biggest hits in the UK (#5 and #6 respectively) and Goldfinger was the only top 50 hit they had in Australia (#50).
41. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others - Supergrass
Past entries:
2000
Mary
44
1999
Pumping On Your Stereo
65
1997
Sun Hits The Sky
63
1996
Going Out
92
Another cover of a Smiths song. Both this and the Placebo one earlier were part of a covers album called 'The Smiths Are Dead', with artists covering the songs from 'The Queen Is Dead', which would possibly be my favourite album of all time so of course the best ones will feature here.
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (the original) is an odd song to say the least. Very silly lyrics (detecting a theme here) but the most gorgeously delicate music imaginable. Supergrass decide to just rock it out rather than imitate and it sounds just awesome. Last edited:
Similar to Bush, would have been higher in my estimation at the time or 10 years ago is Scooby Snacks. It is also similar to Bush in that it just sounds like the mid 90s with its rock/electro crossover.
Bonus marks for the Pulp Fiction samples and actually writing a song about Scooby Snacks, which much younger me would have loved (being a big fan of Scooby Doo).
I've just noticed that the acts that came 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 and now 40 are appearing on my lists for the first time, what will 30 bring?
39. Slight Return - Bluetones, The
Past entries:
2000
Autophilia Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love My Car
30
I had a ticket to see The Bluetones in May this year, which was cancelled of course.
Read everything said about Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker about generic Britpop, although I reckon most people would have heard this song even if they don't recall it.
The Bluetones did manage to forge a post Britpop career for themselves and evolved their sound. Their third album, Science and Nature, is particularly good.
38. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
"Where were you while we were getting high?"
It is somewhat surprising to me that this is the first sighting of Oasis in my lists (what happened to The Hindu Times in 2002? Must have forgotten it).
It is quite the trippy number but does manage to really rock out towards the end.
Did you know there is an actual supernova, SN2003g, named after this song?
37. Breathe - Prodigy, The
Past entries:
1997
Funky Shit
52
A dark and intense piece of electronic music from The Prodigy. This, for a long time, held the record for most weeks in the Australian Top 10 singles, which seems odd.
Uses samples from Thin Lizzy and Wu-Tang Clan as well. My favourite story about samples and The Prodigy is that The Cosmic Psychos get a writing credit on Fuel My Fire (last song on Fat of the Land) because it is a cover of an L7 song that sampled one of their songs!
36. Where It's At - Beck
Past entries:
2015
Dreams
24
2009
Heaven Can Wait (with Charlotte Gainsbourg)
75
2006
Think I'm In Love
72
2005
Girl
47
2002
The Golden Age
21
2002
Guess I'm Doing Fine
55
2002
Already Dead
65
2000
Mixed Bizness
74
1999
Sexx Laws
76
This song always makes me think of Adam and Will on TripleJ as they went for a time with a 'theme song' saying 'we're just two fat bastards with a micrpohone'.
Another song to feature a number of samples, must have been a big 1996 thing!
35. The Opera House - Olivia Tremor Control
Olivia Tremor Control came out of the same musical collective that Neutral Milk Hotel did (The Elephant 6 Recording Company) and indeed Jeff Magnum (lead singer of NMH) appears. This is the opening song from their debut album "Music From The Unrealized Film Script: Dusk At Cubist Castle", which is quite a mouthful.
It is a great indie pop song, wonderful driving beat and some weird and wonderful music underlaying it all
34. The State I Am In - Belle and Sebastian
Past entries:
2006
White Collar Boy
96
2005
Funny Little Frog
84
2004
I'm A Cuckoo
46
2003
Step Into My Office Baby
24
2001
I'm Waking Up To Us
91
2000
Legal Man
47
1998
The Boy With The Arab Strap
95
"The priest in the booth had a photographic memory For all he had heard He took all of my sins and he wrote a pocket novel Called The State That I'm In"
Back to where it all began for Belle and Sebastian, as this was the first song from their debut album (Tigermilk).
They can sometimes end up sounding a bit too twee but they get the twee levels just right here! The lyrics are great and you just find yourself listening along, nodding and tapping a toe. I love the way the tempo of the song really slowly builds without you necessarily realising it.
33. On A Rope - Rocket From The Crypt
Another act where this is the only song of their I actually know. This was the first song I saw on Top of the Pops that I actually liked!
This song is somewhere in the punk/rock/ska triangle. Not very complicated (in a good way) and great for a sing along.
32. She Cries Your Name - Beth Orton
Past entries:
2000
Central Reservation
37
Another song I first encountered on Top of the Pops. She is like Bush as I always assumed she was American (due to the Country sound) until much later finding out she is British. Even the film clip looks like it is filmed in America!
31. Ladykillers - Lush
When Lush first hit the scene in the early 90s I remember the British Press calling them the new ABBA as they had the two female/male dynamics and their surnames spelled ABBA (as opposed to the first names spelling ABBA in the actual ABBA).
By 1996, Mereil Barham had left but the amazing vocal harmonies between Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson remained. The music had become more straightforward indie pop, rather than the shoegaze they had been known for and , not surprisingly, this era had their highest placing chart songs! Last edited:
"I want to fly and run 'til it hurts Sleep for a while and speak no words in Australia"
The lyrics are speaking to Nicky Wire's desire to escape all the emotional turmoil around Richie Edward's disappearance and he reckons Australia is as far as you can get from Wales, to escape it all. New Zealand is actually farther but doesn't really count does it
29. If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You - Super Furry Animals
Past entries:
2009
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
48
2003
Golden Retriever
48
2001
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
49
2000
Ysbeidau Heulog
58
1998
Ice Hockey Hair
80
1997
Mountain People
38
1997
Demons
92
1996
The Man Don't Give A Fuck
48
1996
God! Show Me Magic
63
Certainly the most Britpop of all Super Furry Animal's songs, this could pass of as Oasis if you squinted long enough, with a definite nod to the 60s.
The B-side "(Nid) Hon Yw'r Gân Sy'n Mynd I Achub Yr Iaith" translates in English as "This Is (Not) The Song That Will Save The Welsh Language", which is funny.
28. Devils Haircut - Beck
Past entries:
2015
Dreams
24
2009
Heaven Can Wait (with Charlotte Gainsbourg)
75
2006
Think I'm In Love
72
2005
Girl
47
2002
The Golden Age
21
2002
Guess I'm Doing Fine
55
2002
Already Dead
65
2000
Mixed Bizness
74
1999
Sexx Laws
76
1996
Where It's At
36
Another standout from Odelay is Devils Haircut. I love the angular percussion samples and the beefy guitar hook. Silly lyrics, which is definitely a thing for 1996.
27. Candlestick - Bellicose
I don't know who or what or where Bellicose are as I had never heard of them or this song before listening to benji2's 1996 list but I approve wholeheartedly.
26. D.A.F. - Powderfinger
Past entries:
2009
All Of The Dreamers
91
2003
Sunsets
13
2003
Love Your Way
64
2003
Stumblin
75
2003
Rockin'Rocks
86
2000
The Metre
79
1999
These Days
27
1999
Already Gone
64
1998
The Day You Come
21
I reckon hearing this on the 1996 Hottest 100 was the first time I encountered Powderfinger. Haven't been as big a fan as the rest of Australia and I do find them a bit hit and miss. File this one under hit then!
25. Alice - Cocteau Twins
The ethereal sound of The Cocteau Twins, just beautiful. There is simply no one around who can sing like Elizabeth Fraser.
I encountered this song (and Gorecki by Lamb, my #7 of 1997) from the soundtrack to the movie Stealing Beauty but it is probably better known from featuring in The Lovely Bones.
Sadly 1996 was the last year Cocteau Twins released any new music.
24. Charmless Man - Blur
Past entries:
2015
Go Out
86
2012
Under The Westway
86
2010
Fool's Day
97
2003
Out Of Time
26
2000
Music Is My Radar
88
1999
Coffee and TV
3
1999
Tender
23
1997
Song 2
10
1997
Beetlebum
36
1996
Stereotypes
85
"Educated the expensive way He knows his claret from his beaujolais I think he'd like to have been Ronnie Kray But then nature didn't make him that way"
I certainly don't know what beaujolais is (a light beer maybe)! A very Blur like song (which is of course a good thing). Very upbeat and singalongable!
23. Beautiful Ones - Suede
Past entries:
1999
Electricity
33
1997
Lazy
66
1997
Saturday Night
90
"Shaved heads, rave heads, on the pill Got too much time to kill Get into bands and gangs"
Channelling their inner-Bowie to the max are Suede! Coming out was a change of direction for Suede after Bernard Butler left and the darkness of Dog Man Star. Beautiful Ones was the one of the first guitar riff written by his replacement, Richard Oakes, in recording sessions for the new album and it is a good one!
It is a somewhat sneering but also affectionate look at the 90s club culture prevalent in the 90s.
Kim Wilde covered it as well!!
22. Popular - Nada Surf
Past entries:
2002
Killian's Red
88
The debut single and best known song by Nada Surf and it is a pretty identifiable grunge/rock song from the era.
I recommend checking out their third album (2002's Let Go). It is very different in sound to this and pretty fine! They're still going strong and, yes you guessed, released a new album in 2020!
21. Bulls On Parade - Rage Against The Machine
Past entries:
2000
Sleep Now In The Fire
3
2000
Renegades of Funk
21
2000
Maria
80
1999
Guerilla Radio
40
1999
Testify
49
1998
No Shelter
72
"Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal"
Another very identifable rock song from the era is Bulls on Parade, with its unique guitar riff!!
The song was inspired by the US starting build a wall along the border with Mexico. Things haven't really changed have they? Last edited:
This song certainly benefitted from the decrease in quality in 1996 compared to 1997, as I originally had the album version of this in the mid 30s in 1997 until I remembered that it was released originally as a (slightly different) single in 1996!
It is consistent post rock sound but also is as close to a pop number as they have ever released. Starts slow and builds up tempo nicely.
It is the only official Mogwai video that they appear in (that I've seen in any case). They look so young (and have hair)!!
19. Susan's House - Eels
Past entries:
2001
Souljacker - Part 1
51
1996
Novocaine For The Soul
61
"Here comes a girl with long brown hair who can't be more than seventeen She sucks on a red popsicle while she pushes a baby girl in a pink carriage And I'm thinking that must be her sister That must be her sister, right?"
In which, E goes through all the crazy stuff that goes down in his neighbourhood as he walks to his girlfriend's house. The minute details are wonderfully observed.
18. Dramamine - Modest Mouse
Past entries:
2007
Dashboard
29
2004
Float On
14
2004
Ocean Breathes Salty
24
2004
Bukowski
37
2000
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
1
2000
3rd Planet
34
2000
Dark Centre Of The Universe
53
2000
Lives
85
1999
Willful Suspension Of Disbelief
46
1998
Never Ending Math Equation
89
1997
Trailer Trash
32
1997
Cowboy Dan
37
1997
Convienient Parking
47
1997
Truckers Atlas
71
1997
Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
79
1996
Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset
59
1996
Made Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds
76
1996
Exit Does Not Exist
98
"Travelling, swallowing Dramamine Feeling spaced, breathing out Listerine I'd said what I'd said, that I'd tell ya And that you'd killed the better part of me"
Dramamine is medicine used to combat motion sickness and is a great name for the feeling generated by these Modest Mouse early songs, which are generally about travelling and disorientation. This is the first song on their debut album so sets the scene very early indeed.
It is a really beautiful, delicate song with a haunting guitar melody repeated throughout. I can just picture looking out a window at the endless unchanging countryside during a long drive while I listen to this.
17. Stinkfist - Tool
Past entries:
2006
Vicarious
54
2006
The Pot
82
2001
Schism
87
Not a beautiful or delicate song is this slab of industrial rock by Tool. Taking the supposed subject matter away, it is just a great rock song pure and simple. The musical arrangements are spot on.
16. Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead
Past entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Paranoid Android
1
1997
Airbag
9
1997
Karma Police
11
1997
Climbing Up The Walls
12
1997
Let Down
18
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
"This machine will, will not communicate These thoughts and the strain I am under"
The final track on The Bends and the last single released. With this Radiohead move past Interpol to have the most song in my lists, round of applause please.
We've moved back to delicate again, which is a word that could accurately describe most of The Bends but this song in particular, with the arpeggiated guitar work (rather than the acoustic guitar that dominated the other slower songs on the album).
15. Henry Lee {Ft. PJ Harvey} - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Past entries (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds):
2019
Waiting For You
54
2016
Distant Sky
5
2013
Jubilee Street
5
2013
Push The Sky Away
51
2013
Higgs Boson Blues
66
2012
We Know Who U R
24
2008
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!
40
2001
Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow
34
1997
Into My Arms
14
1997
Are You The One I've Been Waiting For
96
Past entries (PJ Harvey):
2016
The Wheel
23
2016
The Community Of Hope
60
2011
The Words That Maketh Murder
7
2011
The Colour Of The Earth
10
2011
Let England Shake
30
2011
The Glorious Land
43
2010
Written On The Forehead
15
2009
Black Hearted Love (with John Parish)
20
2007
When Under Ether
83
2004
You Came Through
16
2004
Shame
31
2004
The Letter
74
2002
Hitting The Ground (with Gordon Gano)
54
2001
This Mess We're In {Ft.Thom Yorke}
3
2001
Big Exit
46
2000
Horses In My Dreams
16
2000
You Said Something
33
2000
Good Fortune
66
2000
This Is Love
75
1998
A Perfect Day Elise
25
1996
That Was My Veil (with John Parish)
65
1996
Taut (with John Parish)
95
"She leaned herself against a fence Just for a kiss or two And with a little pen-knife held in her hand Well she plugged him through and through"
If ever there was a match made in heaven (hell) it was Nick Cave and PJ Harvey and for a while in the mid 90s they were a couple. It ended just as well as it did for Henry Lee. I remember seeing a picture of them in a music mag around this time and they were both looking suitably miserable!!
Henry Lee is based on a traditional Scottish folk song, Young Hunting, which details a scorned lover's revenge on her cheating beau!
14. Firestarter - Prodigy, The
Past entries:
1997
Funky Shit
52
1996
Breathe
37
This song rocks so much! From the second the unmistakeable guitar riff kicks in (sampled from The Breeders) and the beat just blasts out. It is quite sinister in style and lyrically as well.
It was the first Prodigy song I remember Keith singing on as well (RIP)
13. Disco 2000 - Pulp
Past entries:
1998
This Is Hardcore
92
"Oh, what are you doing Sunday, baby? Would you like to come and meet me maybe? You can even bring your baby"
There is just something about this song that I absolutely love, even though I'm not a big fan of Pulp. Could be the great guitar, the amazing driving tempo, the great lyrics, my love of singing along at volume. Or even all of these things!!
12. Naked Eye - Luscious Jackson
A song so good it made two Hottest 100s!
It is the only song I know by Luscious Jackson I must admit but it is certainly a style I do like, with the female harmonies and guitar driven indie pop.
11. Dogs Are The Best People - Fauves, The
Past entries:
2000
Celebrate The Failure
90
1999
Bigger Than Tina
98
"It's true dogs are the best people His love comes free and unconditionally Come on how long till you let him sleep with us? Little head on the bed but you say no way"
Another silly song, which is on form for The Fauves! They could be very intense on stage (I once witnessed a screaming match between two members) but were always entertaining.
I am a dog person rather than a cat person so this one rings true for me. Last edited:
Metronomic Underground is the opening track to Stereolab's 'best known' album Emperor Tomato Ketchup, which apart from the naff title is a fabulous album that is included on many best of decade lists for the 90s.
It is built around a couple of loops, some thumping bass and cool synth lines. The vocals are more just another instrument to loop around (mainly just the repeated line "Crazy, sturdy, a torpedo" with some backing). The guitar weaves in and out and everything just ramps up over the nearly 8 minutes of the song.
I never really think of Sterolab as being a post-rock band, as alot of their work is very avant-garde pop but then I listen to songs like this and you can really hear it.
9. Neighbourhood - Space
Past entries:
1998
The Ballad of Tom Jones (with Cerys Matthews)
9
1998
Begin Again
66
1997
Avenging Angels
8
1997
The Female Of The Species
41
"Oh they want to knock us down, cuz they think we're scum But we will all be waiting when the bulldozers come In a neighbourhood like this you know it's hard to survive So you better come prepared cuz they won't take us alive"
I'm not sure whose neighbourhood has a better collection of colourful characters, Space's or Susan and E's!! It is semi-autobiographical about growing up in the council estates of Liverpool.
Juicy pop hooks, with a hint of reggae and dub to it, and some wry lyrics all make a great song!
8. Buy Me A Pony - Spiderbait
Past entries:
2004
F***kin Awesome
68
2002
Arse Huggin Pants
56
2001
Four On The Floor
71
1999
Shazam!
17
1999
Glockenpop
84
1997
Calypso
80
"But wait out in the hall We've just received a call We'll have to dump you all"
Continuing the S band top 10 is the first ever Australian artist to take out #1 in the Hottest 100 (which was a big thing back in 1996), Spiderbait, with their very catchy and very short rock song Buy Me A Pony.
It is fitting that it is so short (1:45) as it is about the fleeting stardom of being in a band at the mercy of record companies.
I wonder if we'll ever have a rock song hit #1 in the Hottest 100 again? 3 of the first 6 #1s were (Cranberries, Spiderbait and Offspring) and then 2 of the next 8 (QOTSA and Jet) and then Muse in 2007 was the last!
7. Trash - Suede
Past entries:
1999
Electricity
33
1997
Lazy
66
1997
Saturday Night
90
1996
Beautiful Ones
23
"But we are trash, you and me, We're the litter on the breeze, We're the lovers on the streets"
Keeping up the S's is an absolute perfect power pop song by Suede. This was their first release after Bernard Butler left and was a fantastic way to signal the new era. It doesn't really sound much different to their early singles (Metal Mickey, The Drowners, Animal Nitrate) just ups the glam to 11.
6. Stagger Lee - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Past entries:
2019
Waiting For You
54
2016
Distant Sky
5
2013
Jubilee Street
5
2013
Push The Sky Away
51
2013
Higgs Boson Blues
66
2012
We Know Who U R
24
2008
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!
40
2001
Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow
34
1997
Into My Arms
14
1997
Are You The One I've Been Waiting For
96
1996
Henry Lee {Ft. PJ Harvey}
15
"She saw the barkeep, said, "O God, he can't be dead!" Stag said, "Well, just count the holes in the motherfucker's head!""
I reckon Stagger Lee would fit right into Space's beautiful neighbourhood! Another song loosely based on an old folk song (this time American). Stagger Lee is a bad, bad man indeed.
I love the story of Stagger Lee but I particularly like this song for the insane blast of music in the last minute of the song. It is intense. I'm assuming that we have Blixa Bargeld to thank for it as it is somewhat similar to Einstürzende Neubauten's sound.
5. Talk Show Host - Radiohead
Past entries:
2019
Ill Wind
86
2017
I Promise
78
2016
Burn The Witch
26
2016
Daydreaming
81
2016
True Love Waits
82
2011
Lotus Flower
21
2011
Codex
75
2011
Morning Mr Magpie
95
2009
These Are My Twisted Words
74
2007
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
9
2007
Reckoner
34
2007
All I Need
48
2007
Bodysnatchers
75
2005
I Want None Of This
75
2003
2 + 2 = 5
5
2003
There There
38
2003
Go To Sleep
45
2003
Myxomatosis
65
2001
Pyramid Song
22
2001
Knives Out
27
2001
I Might Be Wrong
57
2001
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
74
2000
Idioteque
6
2000
Everything In Its Right Place
46
2000
The National Anthem
56
2000
How To Disappear Completely
95
1998
No Surprises
7
1997
Paranoid Android
1
1997
Airbag
9
1997
Karma Police
11
1997
Climbing Up The Walls
12
1997
Let Down
18
1997
Lucky
23
1997
Subterranean Homesick Alien
31
1997
Exit Music (For A Film)
76
1996
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
16
"You want me? Fuckin' well come and find me I'll be waiting With a gun and a pack of sandwiches"
The B-side to #16, Street Sprit (Fade Out), is actually better than the A-side (although both are ace)! It is a strong sign of what was to come in 1997 with OK Computer as I reckon this could easily have been included. It reminds me a little of Climbing Up The Walls.
4. A Design For Life - Manic Street Preachers
Past entries:
1998
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
10
1996
Australia
30
1996
Everything Must Go
79
"We don't talk about love We only wanna get drunk"
This was the first release after Richie Edward's disappearance and, to my mind, seems an attempt to grapple with the feelings generated but according to the band is more about the class struggle still going on in the UK.
Ironically, if this ever got played on a jukebox in a pub the UK while I was living there, everyone would sing it at top volume rather than talk about love!!
This hit #2 and began a run of 18 top 20 singles in the UK for The Manics.
3. Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis
Past entries:
1996
Champagne Supernova
38
Written as Noel Gallagher's attempt to create a cross between Bowie and The Beatles is Don't Look Back In Anger. I must admit I've always liked Noel Gallagher's singing better than Liam.
This really is the ultimate sing along song. I saw Oasis in the early 2000s and Noel didn't even bother singing most of the time as the crowd did it for him.
It's one of Oasis's 8 #1 singles in the UK (strangely does not include Wonderwall, their only #1 in Australia).
2. Wide Open Space - Mansun
Past entries:
2000
I Can Only Disappoint U
100
1999
Six
95
1998
Legacy
73
1997
Dark Mavis
64
1996
Stripper Vicar
72
"I'm in a wide open space, I'm staring There's something quite bizzare I cannot see"
This was the first song I really remember getting into when I first moved to the UK in mid 1996. It was released late in the year and I had bought a crappy car for a couple of hundred pounds and was able to travel about abit. The cassette player didn't work and the radio was the only option. I drove up through Scotland (which really is a wide open space) in December and would be hanging out for this to come on the radio again!
The song really brings across a sense of dread, hopelessness and loneliness, both musically and lyrically and towers over anything else Mansun did before or subsequently.
1. Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
Past entries:
2001
Untitled
45
2000
Stand Inside Your Love
27
1998
For Martha
64
1998
Ava Adore
68
1996
1979
49
1996
Zero
68
"Believe in me as I believe in you"
So when I started this exercise I genuinely had no idea what would end up at #1 and, what do you know, Smashing Pumpkins did with their gorgeous ballad Tonight, Tonight.
Like 1979, it doesn't really sound like anything else they had ever done but unlike 1979 it does sound like them. From the soaring vocals, the wonderful lyrics, the orchestral music, the change of pace throughout the song. Just a wonderful listening experience.
It also helps that the film clip is amazing as well. Like a Jules Verne novel come to life on the screen! Last edited:
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I don't think it was released as a single until mid-2000 which may not have helped. It was very relevant at the time and still is now.
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