The indie girl’s guide to…Triple J’s Hottest 100 of all time
I know I am a week too late with this post, but never the less, here we go:
Triple J’s Hottest 100 of all time
Overall the list was pretty predictable and a mix of eras and styles but admittedly not a mix of the sexes. I was truly disappointed to see no female artists/singers/bands in the list. The most notable female appearance was that of Meg White, one half of the White Stripes at #20 with Seven Nation Army. I find it strange that there are TWO Jeff Buckley songs in the top 10, and Rage Against the Machine at #2 – that song just has no resonance with me (a 26-year-old female who was 10 years old when it came out) and I have no history or nostalgia for it, so personally it baffles me that it is that high.
Top 10
1. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. Rage Against the Machine – Killing In The Name
3. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah
4. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
5. Radiohead – Paranoid Android
6. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
7. Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge
9. Foo Fighters – Everlong
10. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
It appears others are quite dismayed with the lack of female content as well, with Fasterlouder publishing the “30 Ladies we wanted in” including my faves Tori Amos (albeit I would’ve gone Cornflake Girl over Crucify, although Little Earthquakes is my fave Tori record), Fiona Apple (I would’ve said Criminal over Sleep to Dream), Bjork (Hyperballad – good choice) and PJ Harvey (I chose To Bring You My Love over Good Fortune, which is possibly the poppiest of all her songs).
The Sydney Morning Herald also published an article called “Women forgotten in Triple J’s poll” by Clem Bastow, in which she details all the female appearances:
“The only women to appear in any notable capacity were The White Stripes’ drummer Meg White (Seven Nation Army, number 20), Massive Attack guest vocalists Elizabeth Fraser (Teardrop, 22) and Shara Nelson (Unfinished Sympathy, 93), Pixies bassist Kim Deal (Where Is My Mind, 29), Smashing Pumpkins bassist D’arcy Wretzky (1979, 35; Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 51; Today, 78), and Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle (Common People, 81). And that’s it.” And asks, “What leads 500,000 plus votes to a result that effectively eliminates female artists from the huge impact that rock and alternative music has made on our generation?”
PJ Harvey, Bjork & Tori Amos.
Photo by John Stoddart.
This angers me so because a lot has been said about the countdown being one big 90′s nostalgia party, but the 90′s to me where was I discovered “girl music of the indie rock persuasion” (to borrow from 10 Things I Hate About You). The first cd I ever bought was Post by Bjork. I listened obsessively to Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. I loved Sheryl Crow and Jewel, then moved onto Veruca Salt and Fiona Apple and Tori Amos and Cat Power and finally PJ Harvey. And from that period went three of my votes for Lisa Loeb’s Stay, Tori Amos’ Cornflake Girl and PJ Harvey’s To Bring You My Love. Now I was never expecting Lisa Loeb to infiltrate the countdown (unless the geek girls with glasses brigade had a sudden uprising), but Tori Amos and PJ Harvey, along with Bjork are three of the most unique female artists to ever grace the stage, and I can only console myself with the fact that they have so many “hot” songs that fans must have voted each their separate way and not elevated one single track into the top 100.
Well now that’s off my chest we can continue….
Only one song I voted for got in which, with much pleasure and glee I can say, was TV on the Radio which scraped in at #99 with Wolf Like Me. I just absolutely love this song, and it completely surprises me that it got in.
Here’s what I voted for:
Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (Shoreline)
Lisa Loeb – Stay (I Missed You)
Midlake – Roscoe
Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl
TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me
Youth Group – Shadowland
PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love
Dappled Cities Fly – Holy Chord
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