Analysis: triple j's Hottest 100 of 2008

...and the winner is... *drumroll*... Kings of Leon! What a surprise. I don't know about you, but I picked it. It was always going to be a race between the Kings and MGMT and with the former placing at numbers 3 and 1 and the latter at numbers 5 and 2, Australia's love of these two bands was confirmed. I was quite pleased to see Empire of the Sun poke their heads into the top 5 at number 4 with their sublime single "Walking on a Dream," which I'm proud to say I voted for.

That brings me to how the rest of my votes fared. Five out of ten made it into the countdown, which I think is a reasonable result:

  • Band of Horses - Ode to LRC [didn't score]
  • Bon Iver - Skinny Love [21]
  • Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream [4]
  • Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal [65]
  • Goldfrapp - Clowns [didn't score]
  • Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning [26]
  • Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone [didn't score]
  • Pnau - Embrace [12]
  • Portishead - The Rip [didn't score]
  • Sigur Rós - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur [didn't score]

So, a big WTF to two things. Fleet Foxes coming in at 65?! That song deserved a much higher place, c'mon. And no sign of Lykke Li... geez Australia, what's wrong with you?

Anyway, personal gripes aside, I attended a very fun Hottest 100/Australia Day BBQ at my friend Hannah's place in Richmond. Part of the festivities involved me printing off a whole bunch of Hottest 100 sweepstakes forms for everyone to fill out to see who could pick the top ten. My picks were:

  1. Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire [1]
  2. MGMT - Electric Feel [2]
  3. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream [4]
  4. Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa [58]
  5. The Presets - This Boy's In Love [8]
  6. Cut Copy - Lights and Music [15]
  7. TV on the Radio - Golden Age [didn't score]
  8. Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning [26]
  9. Pnau - Embrace [12]
  10. Bon Iver - Skinny Love [21]

I was pretty proud of that effort. It wasn't perfect, but it won me the sweepstakes competition! Though I think it's fair to say I had a pretty unfair advantage over most of the other people at the party in that I listen to triple j almost every day to keep me sane at work, so I have a pretty good idea of what's popular.

To see the rest of the results, click here.

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