Natalie Prass - self titled
I'm surprised at how universally praised this is by critics, while not even cracking the top 100 of 2015 on rym. The music is beautiful, the vocals are sweet, and there's not a track that's noticeably worse than the others. But I can't go for those lyrics. I know it's a breakup album, but I can only listen to so much "why don't you love me?". The one track I've got on repeat is Violently. "And I'll break by arms 'cause they want to hold you" is the kind of thing I'm into.

Megan Washington
I haven't seen much on the internet about Insomnia. Its highs are higher than her debut. I've probably mentioned before that Sentimental Education is my favourite track of hers, and it's back on high rotation. Holy Moses is a fun singalong now that my voice is a bit higher, not to mention its lyrical relevance.

Kimbra - As You Are
I didn't give The Golden Echo as much attention as I should've because it got a fairly negative review from someone I follow, and I generally can't be bothered with long albums. I gave As You Are a go because I saw it in Kimbra's top tracks on Spotify. "Honey that hourglass got me thinkin', you ain't no friend of mine" 

The Church - Wide Open Road
The original is great, but a bit of extra jangliness and modern recording helps. According to Wikipedia, Paul Kelly has also done a cover, but there doesn't seem to be a recording. Damn.


Crowded House - Don't Stop Now
"Give me something I can cry about." Oh wait, this song is about the singer's wife driving and getting lost? Wow. I feel like it ought to be placed next to The Go-Betweens' Finding You on a mixtape. They're both about driving, getting lost, and mention lightning.

From this list here. This was the best I could find when looking for a list of  "classic" Japanese songs. English sources that talk about J-pop mostly focus on idols or anime songs. The list is a bit outdated, but it covers a good variety of genres.

1. Southern All-Stars
tsunami (2000)
涙の海で抱かれたい　～sea Of Love～  (2003)

2. YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra)
firecracker (1978)
solid state survivor (1979)

3. Yumi Matsutoya
ひこうき雲 (1973)
ルージュの伝言 (1975)

4. Happy End
風をあつめて (1971)
夏なんです (1971)

5. Hibari Misora
川の流れのように (1988) - voted best Japanese song of all time in 1997
愛燦燦 (1986)

6. Tatsuro Yamashita
Ride On Time (1980)
Christmas Eve (1983)

7. Momoe Yamaguchi
さよならの向こう側 (1980)
秋桜 (1977)

8. Yosui Inoue
夢の中へ (1989)
少年時代 (1990)

9. Eiichi Ohtaki (member of Happy End)
君は天然色 (1981)
さらばシベリア鉄道 (1980)

10. Seiko Matsuda
風は秋色 (1980)
あなたに逢いたくて ～Missing You～ (1996)

11. Ryuichi Sakamoto (member of YMO)
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983)
bibo no aozora (1996)

12. Keisuke Kuwata (member of Southern All-Stars)
明日晴れるかな (2007)
白い恋人達 (2001)

13. Motoharu Sano
Visitors (1984)
アンジェリーナ (1980)

14. Eikichi Yazawa
止まらないHA～HA (1986)
I LOVE YOU, OK (1975)

15. Flipper's Guitar
恋とマシンガン (1990) - highlight of this quarter of the list for me.
Groove Tube (1991)

16. RC Succession
I LIKE YOU (1990)
Transistor Radio (1980)

17. Kenji Sawada
時の過ぎゆくままに (1975)
勝手にしやがれ (1977)

18. Kyu Sakamoto
上を向いて歩こう (1961) - aka Sukiyaki. The only Japanese song to top the Billboard 100.
坂本九見上げてごらん夜の星を (1963)

19. The Blue Hearts
Linda Linda (1987) - heard it in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
Train-Train (1988)

20. Miyuki Nakajima
わかれうた (1977)
地上の星 (2000)

21. Tetsuya Komura
Running to Horizon (1989)
I want you back (1989)

22. Boowy
Marionette (1987)
わがままジュリエット (1986)

23. Yutaka Ozaki
I Love You (1991)
Oh My Little Girl (1991)

24. Hikaru Utada
First Love (1999)
travelling (2001)

25. Tamio Okuda
愛のために (1994)
息子 (1995)

2015 Releases

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
This is super hyped, but I'm not totally won over yet. I like the songs that are on Spotify, so there's hope.

Courtney Barnett - Depreston
"If you've got a spare half a million, you could knock it down and start rebuilding" makes me think of my friend who is knocking down his house and splitting the lot in half. Early contender for song of the year for me. Future Australian classic, even.

Susanne Sundfor - Ten Love Songs
This is fun. Current highlight for me is Kamikaze.

The Grates - 7-Eleven
Used to hate this band. But this song was just what I needed after coming back from two weeks in Japan, which involved a lot of hanging around in convenience stores. "I light up like a NightOwl in Brisbane" gets it some points too.


Vocaloid - Because I actually heard Vocaloid songs playing in shops in Japan.

rerulili - Spinal Fluid Explosion Girl
This is it, this is my theme song. Those lyrics are on point. There should be more pop songs with jazz piano and chiptune together.

hachi - Panda Hero
Does this song have two bridges? Excellent. Covers don't hold up to the original, because I think it works better with the deadpan, robot voice. Everyone seems to think it needs to be shouted because of the rollicking backing track.

Jin - Kagerou Days
Worth watching the PV and reading the subs.


Other things

Halfway - Dulcify
Won Song of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards. Improves my opinion of QLD slightly. But they seem to have misplaced 2014 on the website.

Went to Queensland on the holidays. Will mostly be talking about what I listened on the 31-hour train ride between Brisbane and Cairns.

Paul Kelly: Watched the doco last night. Really odd to see all those youths moshing and cheering to How To Make Gravy at the end. Sometimes I forget that a lot of "normal" white people grow up with this kind of music because of their parents. My one Asian friend who also likes him calls it "white privilege". Also on the train playlist: The Sunlander.

Augie March: There is now an odd video for After The Crack Up. It's grown on me a bit more. I've been playing Toorak Fires a lot too. It makes me think of Arcade Fire for some reason. I wonder why we never got a real Australian Arcade Fire expy promo'd by Triple J.

Darren Hanlon: I really need to go through his discography properly. Ends Of The City is a new favourite. "To see the city from that point on every line/ Where buildings kiss the trees". Reminds me that I have to line bash Brisbane one day.

Ed Kuepper: The Way I Made You Feel was a standout when I saw him live, and I put him on the playlist because I needed more Bris/QLD artists. Hadn't seen the video until just now, but I'd already associated the song with goods yards somehow.

Misc. Jingles: Check out the offical Queensland Day song. I unironically like the instrumental section...

Megan Washington: This version of Rich Kids is great. Meh to the rest of her material and that indie white girl image/character she's got going though. Dunno what happened with QANTAS either.

Augie March: Glad that they reformed, mostly because there might actually be a chance of seeing them live now. New song also sounds promising.

Meanwhile, I've been listening Future Seal on repeat. I don't usually go for songs longer than 6 minutes, but the lyrics of this one keep me coming back. Paul Dempsey picked it as one of his favourite Australian tracks, and I think it would've been bigger if it wasn't so long.

The Middle East: Hey, remember how I loved Land Of The Bloody Unknown? My new favourite from their album is Months. The instrumental section is gorgeous.

The Parameters: Pig City was posted by someone I follow on Tumblr. It might be the most obscure thing that someone I know has actually heard of. (I know it's legendary, but my Brisbane friends and their non-knowing were the whole reason I started this blog.)

Ed Kuepper: Finally got around to picking up a copy of ...Sings His Greatest Hits For You. Liking it so far.

Lana Del Rey: Ultraviolence is decent. Nothing on it is as terrible as some of the low points on Born To Die, but there isn't anything as good as Video Games either. I think my favourite off it is The Other Woman.

Grimes: Go is so-so. It's pretty, but it doesn't really... go anywhere. Sonic equivalent of those ~soft ghetto~ tumblogs, maybe.

Australian hip-hop: Discovered last week that my friends are not aware of its existence. Ah, racial segregation.

Future Islands: Thanks to Robert Forster for recommending Seasons on Double J a while back. Great vocals.

St Vincent: Nah, not really feeling it. I'm over both Birth In Reverse and Digital Witness. The rest of the album is similarly dull and the "image" seems way too forced. This person explains it pretty well. This one is a bit harsh but I kinda feel the same way.

You Beauty: Jersey Flegg is currently my favourite 2014 album. Best legit free thing I've ever heard. I don't even like football.

The National: Watched the live stream, don't regret not going at all. I don't think their music suits that kind of setting, though I was a bit moved by Mr November at the end.

Neil Finn & Paul Kelly: Only just noticed that the full set is on Youtube, but I've been listening to the album on Spotify. Here's something I regret not attending. I was planning to, but I woke up late and by then it was sold out already!

Megan Washington: New single is eh. I still have hope that she may release something that I'll like as much as Sentimental Education. (Rich Kids could've been good too if the production wasn't so bland.)

Sky Ferreira: I was enjoying her album a bit at the beginning of the month, but not so much now. I think I might like the Unknown Mortal Orchestra remix of Everything Is Embarrassing more than the original.

Spotify: Jesus, I wish they'd advertise something other than condoms and alcohol, two things that I have zero interest in. Hell, I'm more interested in that train station and duck pond.

Infrastructure in Brisbane: Not really music-related, but there's a competition to name Brisbane's new tunnel, and lots of people are going for another band. I've been joking about a Powderfinger Tunnel since they built the Go-Between Bridge. Regurgitator Tunnel would be acceptable also.

Australian Compilations: Look at this link! Damn, wish I'd discovered this earlier. One of the better Australian music compilations I've seen. Dirty Jeans has a pretty average second half (the decline of jjj?) and Great Australian Songbook is just mostly tragic.

Older things I just discovered:
Augie March - Addle Brains
The Magnetic Fields - Born On A Train
Crowded House - Private Universe

Top Artists:

1. The Go-Betweens [1,008]
2.  Vampire Weekend [408]
3.  You Am I [407]
4.  The National [397]
5.  Arcade Fire [388]
6.  Robyn Hitchcock [299]
7.  Kraftwerk [283]
8.  Dirty Projectors [278]
9.  Ben Salter [262]
10.  The Drones [247]

Arcade Fire: The more I listen, the less I like. So I think I'm gonna leave it here. They're doing a sideshow here next year, but it's on a weeknight, at the damned Convention Centre, and I have no friends, so blah. It'll probably be full of the kind of people I don't like.

St Vincent: New song is surprisingly fun. I didn't care much for the previous album and I was set on not caring about this, but now I'm going to be cautiously interested. Has it stopped being shocking for female singers to talk about masturbating?

Jenny Hval: Innocence Is Kinky came out ages ago, but I'm revisiting it because one of the songs came up in shuffle and I distinctly heard the lyrics, "Do you remember, in Brisbane in December? It was raining..."

RCO: Saw them at the Opera House at the beginning of the month. Mariss Jansons had to pull out halfway through, which made for some awkwardness at the end when the audience threw streamers at the orchestra. Especially since they'd advertised it as his last concert with them. But I still enjoyed it, I guess.

Television: Went to the concert ages ago, but I somehow neglected to mention it here! They were impressively tight, and one of the few bands where I wasn't even slightly annoyed when they jammed and drew out songs. Ed Kuepper of The Saints was the support act. I really like Sleepyhead, and now it's on my high rotation playlist.

ARIA Awards: I wasn't really paying attention. Tame Impala won a bunch of things and I'm pretty OK with that. I'm not even sure Nick Cave should count as Australian anymore. The Flume guy seemed annoying. Resolution has to be the meh-est song to get Song Of The Year ever, I'm glad Matt Corby just said, "I don't have much to say" and walked off the stage.

Youtube: Keeps recommending me terrible Youtube singers because I keep clicking on things that people post on my Glee Club's Facebook group. They can sing well and all, but oh the overproduction! Oversinging! The worst thing is amateurs imitate and add stupid affectations to their singing when they haven't even got the basic "singing in tune" thing right.

Tumblr: I'm gradually unfollowing all of the music writers, because I just don't care anymore. They're all clambering over each other to say stuff like, "I liked Taylor Swift back when everyone else hated her!" and it's just stupid and annoying.

Lana Del Rey: Tropico is... something. I still listen to Driving In Cars With Boys a lot. Looking forward to her new material.

The Whitlams: Yeah, people say they're terrible. But I just rediscovered You Gotta Love This City, and I'd never noticed the disparaging lyrics before: "You've gotta love this city for it's body, not it's brain. My city's a whore..." Absolutely perfect. I'd kill to hear Tim Rogers sing it.

Darren Hanlon: Manilla NSW is one of my favourite discoveries of this year. I've been looking for Sydney/NSW kind of songs because The Go-Betweens' perfection was making me want to move back to QLD. Alas, this guy is from Gympie!

Lorde - Pure Heroine: A bit annoyed that the album stream is only available to the US. Found a way to listen to it anyway. I like the sound, but everything else is meh..  Cringey lyrics at times, but I guess she's just a kid. It's like pop music for people who think they're too good for it.  Highlight for me is "Ribs" for its interesting pace and "Lover's Spit" shout-out.

Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady: I always skip those skits tbh. I don't care. I still need to give the rest of it a few more listens.

Arcade Fire - Reflektor: Why does this song need to be so long? Everyone seems to like it. I thought it was fine until I read the lyrics. Doesn't sound much more mature than the 16 year-old mentioned above.

Spotify: Everybody is suddenly getting into Allo Darlin's "Tallulah". Yes, it's a song about leaving Brisbane. Wish fulfillment, I guess. Also, I made a friend who likes some similar stuff as me! An Asian too! She is a breath of fresh air on my Spotify Social feed.

Silverchair: Just made the front page of Reddit. I had no idea people outside Australia cared about them. "Nirvana in Pajamas". Excellent.

This is what I get for choosing advanced-level subjects as electives.

You Am I: Saw them at the Enmore in August. That was cool. Surprised that they did Berlin Chair, since they didn't in Brisbane, and I'd assumed it was like their "Creep". Tim Rogers did make a bit of a joke about "Berlin Chair Heights".

John Adams: Conducted the Sydney Symphony last Friday. Comments from the crowd indicated that they were not entirely sold on him being a conductor. I enjoyed it well enough, though I couldn't really get used to the idea of a saxophone concerto. It doesn't sound right!

Julia Holter: New album, BNM'd. I listened to it twice. It's pretty and makes for nice background music, but I'm yet to find any standout track. That comes with time, I guess.

King Krule: First thought was "British Gareth Liddiard." Then I looked him up and found that he's a weedy redhead kid five days younger than me. Shit, I've accomplished nothing with my life. (If only the album didn't sound so... overproduced?)

Rainbow Chan: "Skinny Dipping" is damn catchy. Also, omg an Asian-Australian musician.

Speedy Ortiz: Vocalist described on Triple J as sounding a bit like Fiona Apple, which was odd since the station pretty much never plays her. My first thought was Liz Phair. Seems like the kind of thing that will be forgotten before the year is finished.

The Dismemberment Plan: Two new songs! Not particularly enamoured by either though. I will still be cautiously excited about their album.

Temi Dollface: "Pata Pata" was featured on The Singles Jukebox with some Janelle Monae comparisons. I really like the video.

The National: Concert apparently sold out while I was having a breakdown on the train about forgetting my wallet. Oh well, the new album hadn't grown on me, and I'm content to wait for them to play some hipstery highbrow seated show in a concert hall.

Blargh, been busy with exams and I'm going to Brisbane next week.

Kraftwerk: Not in June, but I wen to Computer World and loved it for reasons outlined in every other review on the internet.  Isolating 3D glasses, technology, etc. Okay, I really loved not having to see people sip champagne in the periphery. Sydney Opera House is a awkward as hell venue for everything.

Charles Ives: Been listening to his 4th symphony while studying. It's terribly distracting, which means it must be good. Also, Richard Tognetti said it was his favorite symphony in an interview.

Witold Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto is the other classical thing on rotation. I remember earlier in the year being asked if pieces evoked visual images in my head in a music psychology experiment and answering "no" all the time. This piece would get a "yes".

The National: I'm starting to think that the good reviews for The National's album are from people not wanting to seem late to the praise party like with their previous, "grower" albums. I've listened to it a fair bit and I'm still not getting much from it, to be entirely honest. Pink Rabbits is going on my holiday playlist for it's terrifically clunky lyric, "I was a television version of a person with a broken heart."

Vampire Weekend: On the other hand, I was initially dismissive about Step, but now it's one of my favorites from the album. This band isn't very popular with the Australian critics I read, but screw them, Robert Forster covered one of their songs so they can't be that bad.

The Go-Betweens: Which brings me to this band! I was looking through a "Cityrail in Pop Culture" thread on Railpage, and one of the linked videos was "Streets Of Your Town" (which I was already familiar with). In the sidebar was "Cattle and Cane", and I've racked up like 40 plays of that in one day. Hoooly shit those meter changes. No wonder there's a bridge named after them. I'm going to listen to it on the Brisbane Airtrain and cry. I also like "Dive For Your Memory", and "Here Comes A City".

Powderfinger: I can imagine a future Brisbane having a "Powderfinger Tunnel" or something, oh boy. I still don't feel much for them, and I don't understand why they keep topping polls. I guess I was born too late for them (though I like You Am I somehow). Even so, "My Happiness" is way better than "These Days". Apparently its music video increased slinky sales.

The Church: Giving Starfish a go now. It's a bit of a difficult listen at the moment, but it takes me forever to get into things. "Under The Milky Way" is basically Lovesong but earlier, which is pretty cool.

Easybeats: This is just a note to myself to try and find one of their albums or a best-of. They were recommended to me back in 2011, with a caution of it being "very commercial-sounding". "Friday On My Mind" is great. I can't sing those "dododododo"s in the chorus.

Lorde: Spotify friends love "Tennis Court". "Swinging Party" is what Lana Del Rey's songs wish they sound like. Possible ARIA nomination?

50. Pearl Jam - Better Man

49. Florence + the Machine - Dog Days Are Over
Considering how classic rock these countdowns tend to be, I really didn't expect this.

48. The Strokes - Last Nite

47. The Offspring - Self Esteem

46. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Into My Arms
Oh no, I forgot about this song!

45. Modest Mouse - Float On
I downloaded Good News... and for some reason this song wasn't in the zip, so I didn't hear it for ages.

44. Daft Punk - One More Time

43. John Butler Trio - Betterman

42. Matt Corby - Brother
I don't think this belongs here. I don't think it's a bad song, but there are probably a hundred songs better than it.

41. Coldplay - Yellow
I'm really glad Coldplay exists now. It seems to be the one thing that both pop music and indie rock types can enjoy/tolerate, judging from how the uni music club always ends up singing one of their songs at the end of gatherings.

40. Nine Inch Nails - Closer
My IB45 friend was into romance novels, so I read one with her so we'd have something to talk about. In the book, the heroine would nearly faint every time she heard this song because it reminded her of her ex. And that's how I first heard this great song.

39. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box
Thumbs up for this song. Ooh, the Spotify playlist updates in real time.

38. The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
Having seen this band at the ARIAs, I can confirm that the singer can goddamn sing.

37. Beastie Boys - Sabotage

36. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Whoa, expected this to be higher. I could live without hearing any version of this song again though, it's good but overplayed to death.

35. Radiohead - Karma Police
Cool. I remember a friend showing me how to play this on guitar. Paranoid Android better be up there somewhere.

34. Ben Folds Five - Brick
Didn't expect this. I guess this is the song that made Ben Folds decide to focus on sappier sort of songs, but I do like it.

33. The Cranberries - Zombie
The chord progression sounds a bit like Coldplay's "The Scientist", doesn't it? But this came first. People just love songs that go "eh eh eh oh". It's pretty fun to sing to.

32. Tool - Stinkfist
Oh, so this is Tool. Interesting. Another album atarred on Spotify for later listening.

31. Massive Attack - Teardrop
Here's another song I considered voting for. Thank you, House MD.

30. RHCP - Californication
Only listened to this album because of how much I heard about its terrible mastering. It really was exhausting to listen to. This song is okay/meh, though I'd probably hate it if I were born a bit earlier.

29. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Ridiculously catchy guitar riff.

28. RHCP - Scar Tissue
See above RHCP words. Oh yeah, I remember living in Brisbane and being on a train full of crazy excited people going to their concert. Ah, Ipswich line.

27. The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Finally, another song I voted for! It would have been embarrassing for everyone if the only one I got right(!?) was Lana Del Rey.

26. System Of A Down - Chop Suey
I'm not at all familiar with this.

25. Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Didn't vote for this song, but happy it's here.

24. Augie March - One Crowded Hour
Hooray, another vote in. Probably the only #1 I really like. Awesome lyrics.

23. Muse - Knights of Cydonia
This song is hilarious. I wouldn't say that I like Muse ironically, but I don't really think they're great either. Their songs are just really fun to sing to and play on Guitar Hero. Just sitting around quietly listening to them? Nah.

22. Blur - Song 2
Woo hoo. (But I like the Parklife stuff more...)

21. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
Hmm, I probably should have voted for this.

20. The Living End - Prisoner Of Society
Didn't expect this so high. I remember the teachers at my high school singing this at the graduation of the cohort above ours. For my year, they did Green Day, and it was nowhere near as fun.

19. Blink-182 - Dammit
I don't really like this band. I was never into pop punk or emo.

18. Outkast - Hey Ya
What!? Thought it'd be top 10. This is a nice break from all of those rock songs.

17. Silverchair - Tomorrow
*shrug* I thought this was supposed to be a youth radio station.

16. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Can't be surprised, considering how popular that Birdy cover became. I feel like the only person who doesn't think Justin Vernon's voice is beautiful, but his songs still manage to be pretty.

15. The Prodigy - Breathe
Heard this a lot but didn't what it was called.

14. Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man
The best thing about this band is how people get entertainingly angry about them. I feel the same way about this as Angus & Julia Stone: hilarious in hindsight. (This really does not belong here though.)

13. Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Should be higher, but whatever. Gosh, what's going to be in the top ten then?

12. Gotye - Hearts A Mess
Surprising. I think I like this a bit more than STIUTK, probably because it's a lot less overplayed.

11. QOTSA - No One Knows
Wasn't really paying attention because I was eating, but I heard a nice guitar bit.

10. Powderfinger - My Happiness
Nostalgia votes, I guess. Haha, someone on Spotify just added it to their terrible early 2000s nostalgia playlist ("listen @ own risk").

9. Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
Thank you to my vocal group for showing me the intricacies of this song, as well as giving it some future sentimental value. I also remember it playing at my Yr 12 formal.

8. Powderfinger - These Days
I don't know this one, so no nostalgia for me. Bernard Fanning seems nice enough though.

7. The Killers - Mr Brightside
I actually think this song has the potential to grow on me a little more.

6. Foo Fighters - Everlong
I've... actually never heard this song. At least, I don't remember it

5. The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
Here's another one of my votes. Thank God I like something that a lot of other people like. It's not actually one of my top 20 songs from the last two decades, but I wanted to vote for things that had a chance.

4. Hilltop Hoods - The Nosebleed Section
Probably the best of Australian hip hop, but I don't think that's saying much. The little explanation about the sample was interesting though.

3. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
That's some impressive falsetto. Seven Nation Army and Wonderwall next?

2. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Yep. Some kid at school suggested this to be our school song, with the seven nations representing the six IB groups and the hub. The guitar riff is basically this whole song.

1. Oasis - Wonderwall
I don't like Oasis. I only have to know this song for things like music club singalongs. That kind of thing is probably why so many people voted for it.

My votes are over here. How long will I last before I switch over to the Classic 100?

100. Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
We're off to a good start, though I guess all of the good stuff will be in the bottom half of the countdown, as always.

99. Lana Del Rey - Video Games
I didn't actually expect this to make it. I figured that to everyone else, this would be just another terrible buzz single. Overall, her catalogue is awful, but this one song is good. (So much Twitter butthurt.)

98. Jebediah - Leaving Home
Not familiar with this, though the I know the band is Australian. Meh.

97. MIA - Paper Planes
This should probably be higher, but okay.

96. The Cat Empire - Hello
Hmm. Definitely not better than Paper Planes. This looks like it's going to be a "Best of Triple J-Core" countdown.

95. Ben Lee - Cigarettes Will Kill You
There's a Ben I particularly dislike, it's either this guy or Ben Kweller. Definitely not Ben Folds, but all three are probably similar. Oh, this is the "Catch My Disease" one? Alright, this is my least favourite Ben.

94. Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
Catchy but insubstantial fluff. Sorry to my friends who love this band.

93. Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
I was going to vote for either this or Smashing Pumpkins' "Today". If "Today" doesn't make it, I'll probably wish that I gave a vote to this song.

92. Of Monsters & Men - Little Talks
Are you fucking serious? Meanwhile, Philip Glass is on the Classic 100, so over there I go for now.

91. Jebediah - Harpoon

90. Silverchair - Straight Lines
Glass is finished, so I'm back. This song has a tiny bit of nostalgia value for me, but I don't really like it. It's a bit Coldplayish? I can see why people love it though.

89. TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
This band has been on my to-listen list for years, but I never got around to it. This seems like the kind of thing I'd be into.

88. Something For Kate - Monsters
Okay, nothing special, meh, etc.

87. The Kooks - Naive
Boring.

86. The Killers - When You Were Young
I like this in an indifferent, 6/10 sort of way.

85. Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
Shit, I'm too young for this. This has nice production.

84. Kanye West - Gold Digger
This is really fun, but I think most of it is because of that sample.

83. Pulp - Common People
Ah, another song I wanted to vote for. This song is about middle-class people wanting to go ooh-ah at poor people, right? It's great.

82. Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
I guess this counts as a pop classic now. I think it's annoying, but it could be worse.

81. Angus & Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane
Oh my God, the nostalgia. People were so angry about this song! And my high school music teacher suggested them to me when I said most Australian music was boring...

80. Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade
Missed most of this because I went to do the laundry.

79. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
My father likes this band.

78. Silverchair - Freak
I don't see anything really memorable about this song.

77. The Presents - My People
What's the difference between a good song and a song you heard a lot when you were young? It's really hard to tell. Apparently this song is about asylum seekers, and that's pretty cool.

76. MGMT - Electric Feel
I think there's a Foster The People song that sounds exactly like this!

75. The Killers - Somebody Told Me
Eh, I liked the other Killers song more. I didn't have any interest in music until 2009, and I've found that it's really hard to like anything I heard a lot before then.

74. The Wombats - Let's Dance To Joy Division
The disco noises and children's chorus make me cringe. Also, I feel like a horrible person because I seem to hate everything that my friends like.

73. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
Hey, it's the original version of "Little Talks". There's something likable about it despite being one of those stupid "hey ho" songs.

72. Wolfmother - Joker & The Thief
All these old songs make me feel like I'm listening to that station that says, "the best mix of the 80s, 90s, and now!"

71. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
Whoops, zoned out.

70. Regurgitator - ! (The Song Formerly Known As)
69. Eminem - Lose Yourself
Nope, I'm not old enough for this.

68. Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl?
All of the celebration about their breakup made me really embarrassed for Australia.

67. Alt-J - Breezeblocks
Liked this song the first few times I heard it, but it got tiring. And 67 is waaaay to high.

66. You Am I - Berlin Chair
I couldn't decide which You Am I song I wanted to vote for. I'm glad this is here, even though I probably wouldn't consider it one of the best 100 songs of the last 20 years. But hey, this list was always going to be Australia-centric, and not really the best.

Right, I'm going to Hurstville. See you tomorrow.

Lorde: Apparently "Royals" has been No. 1 in New Zealand for a while. I love the "I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies" line, and the pre-chorus thing is catchy, but something about the song makes it feel like it's twice the length it really is. Might be because it peaks so early. (7/10)

Passenger: Meanwhile in Australia, "Let Her Go" is topping the chart. Father borrowed the album from the library some time ago, and the most interesting thing I got out of it was that a member of the ACO played the violin on it. Worse than Ed Sheeran. (3/10)

Classic FM: Final Fantasy soundtrack came 3rd in their Hall of Fame poll. That's like saying the complete works of Beethoven count as one piece. I don't think video game music is any worse than film soundtracks. Might even be better, since you have to put up with it for a much longer time. (Canon in D is there at 18, and that's something I definitely don't need to hear again.)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: New album leaked in terrible quality, so I can't have a proper opinion on it yet. "Sacrilege" is average and I think the gospel choir is gimmicky, "Mosquito" is kind of annoying, and one of the later tracks has a random rap that doesn't quite fit. (6/10)

Spotify: The random Australian sportspeople/D list celebrities that Spotify suggests I follow seem to have better taste than most of my friends. Except for Johnny Ruffo. I like that Bernard Fanning has a "Whip Cracking Songs" playlist.

Updated every 20 songs. Might graph the numbers afterwards.

100. Everything Everything - Cough Cough
Jesus, this was the worst feature album in recent memory. 3/10

99. MIA - Bad Girls
Hmm, fun, but could probably get annoying quickly. 6/10

98. Kimbra - Warrior (Ft. Mark Foster & A-Trak)
Bland. 4/10

97. Jack White - I'm Shakin'
7/10

96. Kanye West - Clique
Twitter has a lot of hate for Kanye. Bet the same people will be happy when Macklemore wins. Production sounds pretty good (as with everything Kanye is involved in). 8/10

95. Last Dinosaurs - Andy
Facebook friend voted for 3 songs by this band. They sure can play the guitar, but that production smothers the whole album into a samey mess. 5/10

94. The Gaslight Anthem - 45
Generic rock song. Annoying lyrics. 3/10

93. Snakadaktal - Dance Bear
I guess it's better than "Air". 6/10

92. Lisa Mitchell - Spiritus
IN MY LUMALUMALUM! Her voice has become so much more annoying. I suppose people encourage that horrid accent because it makes her "unique". 4/10

91. Allday x C1 - So Good
Don't know why, but it's reminding me of Kitty Pryde. 4/10

Triple J Hottest 100

You voted for: 

David Byrne & St Vincent - Who 

Dirty Projectors - Gun Has No Trigger 

Bat For Lashes - Laura 

Beach House - Myth 

Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless 

Courtney Barnett - History Eraser 

Fiona Apple - Every Single Night 

Grimes - Oblivion 

Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards 

Catcall - The World Is Ours

I try to vote for things that are already listed, because they actually have a chance of making it in the countdown. The only one I added was Catcall. Here are the betting odds. Not a Macklemore fan, but it had better beat that awful Of Monsters & Men song.

San Cisco: Debut album is finally here! I'm hearing a lot of Vampire Weekend, maybe some MGMT, and Arctic Monkeys. It's mediocre and I doubt that I'll listen to it again.

Birds Of Tokyo: Their latest song  whoops, it's Something for Kate with Miracle Cure ripping off Arcade Fire's 'Rebellion' several months after Delta Goodrem did. (Though the BoT is kind of similar too?)

Rebecca Black: New song is surprisingly not terrible. It's not good but it's probably not any worse than a lot of generic female singer-songwriter stuff. Good for her.

Ke$ha: It's cool to like her now? Well, okay, I listened to her demos before she even released her first album. She's not completely devoid of value, but I wouldn't say she was good. 

Pitchfork: Readers Poll, yay. Not that I'm going to vote, since I don't give a crap about album covers or musician twitters. We all know that Album of the Year is gonna be Kendrick Lamar or Frank Ocean, right?

Triple J: Hottest 100, on the other hand, I will participate in, because it comes with a handy guide of what to vote for! According to last.fm, my favourite 2012 songs were Oblivion, Satellites, and Gun Has No Trigger.

Pixies: Listened to Doolittle while on a road trip. It brought me no joy. I don't think I want friends who listen to the same stuff anymore if this is the aftermath. Maybe friends who hate the same stuff?

Radiohead: Went to the concert. I learned that if you don't like Radiohead, you're not listening to it loudly enough. Hipsters were reluctant to dance, despite the amount of beer I saw them with. The stage lighting was great, with The National Anthem being particularly seizuretastic.

Spotify: Some person has been playing the Radiohead setlist on repeat since the concert. I guess they went too. I know that feeling; most of the 2000 plays I have for Muse were racked up the week after the concert.

J Awards: Tame Impala for AOTY, obviously. I'm surprised that they've actually heard of Kirin J Callinan. Of course, The Rubens will win Unearthed.

Sarah Blasko: The new album is... meh. It's okay, but it's not the step forward that everybody says it is. Everybody's all "OMG orchestra!!1!", but it's mostly string section, and strings are used in everything so it's not particularly special. I feel like a lot of people shout "innovative" when they enjoy a work but can't think of anything insightful to say about it.

Lana Del Rey: Paradise EP is out. They're sticking with the dark, heavy production, which is a shame. A lot of people who are fans of her actually seem to see "Video Games" as her worst song, so I guess they'll be sticking with this direction.

Of Monsters & Men: "Little Talks" sounds like Edward Sharpe's "Home", and it's now popular enough to get played on Nova. Is it going to top the Hottest 100? I'm not sure if it's any better than Mumford & Sons.

Violent Soho: Still can't decide if they're too much of a Pixies ripoff to be good. Like what Silverchair were to Nirvana.

Courtney Barnett: I am really enjoying History Eraser.

Last.fm: Upon hearing an incredibly irritating track on the radio, I Googled it (Mystery Jets - Greatest Hits) to see if anybody else hated it and its egregious name-dropping. Apparently not, but I discovered this Last.fm account, whose usefulness makes up for having to listen to that song.

Triple J: Oz music month or something happening. I'm ready to tut tut at the J Award. Here's a somewhat worrying article that pretty much confirms my theory that they promote Australian crap that just sounds like better overseas bands. Edit: Yay, they're playing a Royal Headache song.

Spotify: A guy in my feed seems to be listening to some kind of "A-Z of Pitchfork". In alphabetical order, even. Sometime last week he started listening to Arcade Fire, then Bon Iver, Cults, Death Cab, and Grimes. After that, it seems that he gave up and listened to Marina and the Diamonds. More entertaining than my Facebook feed!

Philip Glass: I listened to Music In 5ths. I don't think I will ever need or want to listen to it again.

Ben Salter: His album won Album of the Year at the QLD Music Awards. I finally got around to listening the whole thing, and yes, it deserves it. (I feel like I don't say that often.)

Homebrand 1: Hey, remember them? They released a new song. No oohs + no Mumford = a step in the right direction. But the glock reminded me of another song by a guy who went to our odd network of schools. He's doing pretty well now, with this song winning a QLD Music Award.

Everywhere else I've seen on the internet about this has the same typos and missing track and album names, because they just copy/pasted from the ARIA Twitter. They've also left out the Fine Arts winners. Get it together, Australians. (Though I am not bothering with artisans because eh.) So here you go, all on one page. I will listen to all of it. ALL OF IT. Then I will return and add appropriate notes to this entry.

FINE ARTS WINNERS
Best Classical Album: Sydney Symphony & Vladimir Ashkenazy – Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
Best Jazz Album: Sarah McKenzie - Close Your Eyes
Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album: Triple J – Tribute To Nick Cave (4/10)
Best World Music Album: Joseph Tawadros – Concerto Of The Greater Sea (7/10)