My Thoughts on The Hottest 100 of Australian Songs

We’ve pulled together a Hottest 100 Vinyl Collection to celebrate the albums that feature songs from this iconic list but really I want to talk about my reaction when the number 1 was announced...

I love INXS. I grew up with INXS. I remember exactly where I was the day I heard Michael Hutchence had passed... I remember when Kylie and Michael were a thing... I remember my cousins and I playing Kick over and over like it was a religion. But when I heard that Never Tear Us Apart had taken out number 1 in the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs? I just sat there in my car yelling noooooooooooo at the radio.

It wasn’t that it didn’t deserve the spot – of course it did. That song is a masterpiece. For me, it was the timing. The symbolism. That weird superstition that applies to football games in Adelaide.

The Night of Number 1

It was Saturday night. About 7.34pm. Pouring with rain. I’d been listening all day as the countdown rolled on... but this was it. The top spot. I’d just dropped my husband and daughter off in the city and pulled up at home, but I couldn’t go inside yet. I sat in the car, rain drumming on the roof, waiting for that final announcement.

Meanwhile, across town, my husband and daughter were standing up, scarves in the air, cheering on the Adelaide Crows as the first bounce of the Showdown was about to happen.

And then it hit me, Never Tear Us Apart wasn’t just number 1. It was Port Power’s anthem. It’s their Liverpool FC moment... they’ve made that song their own. It plays before every home game, the crowd stands up, scarves high, voices loud, goosebumps everywhere.

And here I was, in my car, listening to their song get crowned as the greatest Australian song of all time on the exact night of a Crows v Port showdown. I’m not superstitious, but at that moment? It felt like a bad omen. Like the football gods were trying to tell me something.

Hilltop Hoods at #2

As much as the number 1 shocked me, I couldn’t help but be so incredibly happy with number 2. The Nosebleed Section by Hilltop Hoods. South Aussie pride right there. To be honest I didn't expect it...  I thought something more classic would get the runner-up spot; like another Crowded House or Paul Kelly. But the Hoods? They’ve earned it.

That track has this incredible way of sounding both nostalgic and fresh at the same time. It’s modern Australian hip-hop, but it’s also stitched into the fabric of a generation who grew up blasting it at house parties and road trips.

A Cross-Generational Top 20

The beauty of this year’s list is how diverse it is. It’s not just Gen X or millennials or boomers voting for their songs. Look at the top 20, you’ve got The Veronicas sitting at #3 with Untouched, and then you’ve got AC/DC, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, and Tame Impala all rubbing shoulders on the same list.

It proves what I’ve always believed: music isn’t about decades or trends. It’s about the moments it soundtracks in your life. The mixtapes we make in our heads. The way a single lyric can drag you back to a first kiss, or a heartbreak, or a jukebox in a country pub.

What do you think about the list? Did your favourite song make it? Are you surprised by any of the top 20? Personally, I still can’t get over how The Veronicas feel both nostalgic and totally relevant at the same time.

If you want to see which albums from the Hottest 100 we’ve tracked down, you can browse the full collection here. And if there’s a record you think deserves a re-press, come tell me over on Instagram @peninsularecordsandbooks. I’m still debating this list daily, so I know I’m not alone.