I was glad a few weeks ago when my mate Troy reminded me to vote in the Hottest 100 music poll. He asked me what I’d be voting for, which I hadn’t even started thinking about at the time. To me this was one of those years where there were a lot of good driving/chilling out songs, but not so much killer music left on my mind.

Anyway, I shamefully FORGOT to vote in the Triple J radio poll. So awful – I mean, not really, it’s not like it really matters. But I confess, it does make me feel youthful and ‘withit’ when I usually place my votes in January. Ah well.

So, sorry I never replied Troy, but now you know … I was a slacker and didn’t vote!

For the record though, if I had’ve voted, here is what I would have nominated for my top ten. It’s in order (favourite song first) and I’ve included the actual place it came in on the Hottest 100 chart.

OK, here we go…!

:::

1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Same Love {Ft. Mary Lambert} [15]

This is such a beautiful song, if you haven’t heard it, do yourself a favour and press play! The filmclip does an excellent job of building on the narrative of the song, which is about homophobia and marriage laws. I was proud to see people had voted this up to number 15 on the countdown, but for me it was number 1!

“no freedom til we’re equal, damn right I support it”

2. Django Django – Default [28]

This is a kick-ass pop song in the sense that it is really upbeat, but the lyrics are defiant. A scottish band, this was a staple driving-to-work song for me in 2012!

“we just lit the fire and now you want to put it out”

3. Tame Impala – Elephant [7]

Viva la psychedelic rock … Tame Impala’s 2010 album Innerspeaker was so, so, so good and I still play it all the time. They are an Australian band and their second album was just as good (I just don’t have it yet).  Elephant – such a funky song, enjoy!

4. Illy – Heard It All [76]

Ahhh, Aussie hip hop. I love it! There was more hip hop I could have voted for, but when it comes to genres, I like to spread the love around!

Although I am a grunge girl at heart, there is something about hip hop, and especially Aussie hip hop, that also speaks to me. Where grunge reflected the despair of our lives in the 90s, I feel like hip hop gives us a glimpse of hope at the end of all that. Where Nirvana screamed “here we are now entertain us”, hip hop flips the bird and says “f- you, I bought some spray paint, I’ll entertain myself”.

This song by Illy makes me smile, because it taps into that idea that nothing is really ‘original’, but that we are creative people who can share perspectives nonetheless.

“producers made beats before you could spell ‘drum kits'” LOL, indeed Illy, indeed.

5. Regina Spektor – All The Rowboats [72]

This song is pretty, and clever, and poetic and Regina’s voice gives the whole thing s perfectly haunted tone. It’s a song about museums and art galleries…and about how the artefacts are all trapped in there. Spooky!

“masterpieces serving maximum sentences, it’s their own fault for being timeless, there’s a price to pay and a consequence…”

6. Skrillex – Bangarang {Ft. Sirah} [25]

Not everyone loves dubstep, I realise. But you can’t deny that this year has seen a surge in popularity for this genre in Australia, and whether you think Skrillex represents that genre well or not, for many radio listeners he has been the face of the scene. I have no idea why, but I like it!

YouTube link (watch)

7. Grimes – Genesis [65]

OK, for the life of me I could not pick up the lyrics to this song, and had to look them up in the end. But it’s not the lyrics I love about this song, it’s the cute, ethereal sound of the track and Grimes’ gentle, siren-like vocals. The filmclip is pretty cool too, with lots of flaming swords and wild costuming. Lots to think about there!

YouTube link (watch)

8. The Presets – Ghosts [52]

Maybe it’s because I live near a river now, but I’m noticing a sea-faring theme with my music taste this year. This song has that ‘heave-ho’ sailor tune to it. A shanty? Someone help me out here…

“lost my mind in streets of neon, now coming on home…”

9. Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks [2]

Everyone loves a good duet, and this one is lots of fun 🙂 This is the other big sone with ship/sea references in it this year that I liked.

“cause while the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore”

10. Flight Facilities – Clair De Lune {Ft. Christine Hoberg} [17]

It’s always tricky picking number ten in a list, because you know how many other songs are being bumped off the list in the process! I was a sucker for this song because I am a sucker for the classical piece Clair De Lune, so that was that 😉 At 7 mins 44 secs it’s a nice indulgent listen, too.