The Vulture

Triple j’s Hottest 100

January 27, 2012 by Sebastian K in The Vulture with 0 Comments

2011 was a big year, Prince William got married, the US declared an end to the Iraq war and Gotye went international in about the biggest way possible. A lot of shit went down. No matter what you call it, Australia Day, Invasion Day, Triple J Day: January 26 marks a time when everyone comes together to remember the year in music that was and get nice and rowdy as triple j counts down the hottest 100 songs of the year gone by.

Each year more and more people have their say in the world’s biggest musical democracy and this year was no exception. An incredible 158,258 voters from 144 countries registered 1,378,869 million votes (up 9% on last year) in triple j’s Hottest 100. Add to that 3924 registered Hottest 100 parties held by listeners across Australia and internationally, it’s pretty effing big.

Gotye and Kimbra took the world by storm in 2011

Taking out the top spot this year was Gotye’s ‘Somebody that I used to know (Feat Kimbra)’. Gotye is no stranger to triple j’s Hottest 100, with songs ranking in the 2006, 2009 & 2010 polls, as well as last year’s Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time. But 2011 was the year that Gotye became an international phenomenon. His album ‘Making Mirrors’ had two additional songs make the list, ‘In Your Light’ ranking at #87 and ‘I Feel Better’ at #34.

It’s not difficult to see why the track did so well, the song itself has very real and intense emotions. Varying from melancholy over love lost to an intense bitterness. It’s these achingly personal insights into the end of a relationship which makes it resonate with so many people around the world. Wally explained to triple j that the song wasn’t based on a single relationship, stating “It’s kind of an amalgam of lots of relationships and experiences I’ve had in my life, and certain elements of fiction all kind of edited and rolled into one.” Shortly after its release, the song quickly rose to being one of the most requested songs on triple j, and proved its staying power. Gotye went on to win a slew of awards including triple j’s J Award for this year’s Best Album and six ARIA’s. Now that we call a successful track! Triple j’s Acting Music Director Nick Findlay said of the song “It was pretty obvious from the first time we started playing Somebody That I Used To Know, back in July, that we had something truly special in our hands. It was how quickly it rose to being one of the biggest songs on the planet, that really took us all by surprise. It is a satisfying acknowledgement of just how much of a musical mastermind Wally DeBacker is.”

2011 was a massive year for Unearthed artists and this was reflected well in results. The ongoing success story of 2010 Unearthed J Award winners Boy & Bear, who took out two places in 2010 Hottest 100, sees them land another three spots in this year’s Hottest 100. Unearthed High alumni Stonefield and Snakadaktal both made an appearance, as did 2011 Unearthed J Award winners Ball Park Music.

If you missed the countdown (we’re going to assume you were face down in vomit) you can hear it all again from 2-6PM on Saturday 28 Jan and then at the same time the next day.

Incase your memory got a bit shonky like ours at around 8:30 you can check out the top ten here in the meantime:

1	Gotye	Somebody That I Used To Know {Ft. Kimbra}
2	The Black Keys	Lonely Boy
3	Matt Corby	Brother
4	Boy & Bear	Feeding Line
5	M83	Midnight City
6	Lana Del Rey	Video Games
7	San Cisco	Awkward
8	360	Boys Like You {Ft. Gossling}
9	The Jezabels	Endless Summer
10	Hilltop Hoods	I Love It {Ft. Sia}