Triple J’s Hottest 100 of All Time

If you didn’t vote for this year’s Hottest 100 of All Time: too late! Voting’s over. But just for shits and giggles, why don’t you post a shortlist of your top ten; the ten you would have voted for, weren’t you so lazy. If you’re really into it, you can post about why you chose your ten! Here’s mine:

Nine Inch Nails – Ruiner: I love this track because it puts into the form of lyrics many of my emotions, and puts into the form of music my will to overcome those emotions. The song is essentially accusing the Ruiner of destroying the protagonists’ life through betrayal, deceit, and hardship. The protagonist struggles to understand how the Ruiner became so powerful, and acknowledges that the Ruiner has seriously fucked things up. In the end, the protagonist resolves to continue anyway…
Karnivool – Synops: This is not my favourite Karnivool song. I actually don’t have a favourite Karnivool song, because I love them all. I picked this one however, because I believe it is a great example of how Ian Kenny’s voice has the power to inspire any emotion, with the right combination of lyrics and music. In this song, I believe the protagonist is struggling with an inner turmoil, and is having trouble understanding how it affects him.
Cog – The Spine:This song explores the haphazard lifestyle that many people lead. If you were to read the lyrics without music, it may come across as a string of terrible haikus. I love it because it questions the listener: are you really sure that what you’re doing is what you want out of life? The lyrical talent of Flynn Gower, combined with the powerful driving music carries the song through to the end at great speed, leaving the listener pondering the questions raised through the lyrics. I love the guitar solo.
Ponyloaf – Aargh’s Townhouse: This is a near perfect example of how to make awesome electronic music without ruining it by having someone attempt to sing over the top of it. This is simply a great song to dance to. It’s also very good to put on as background music while you’re thinking, or doing something else – tone down the bass, and you have an extremely logical and progressive track that makes getting things done rewarding.
Pendulum – Through The Loop: A near-perfect example of how to make awesome drum’n'bass music without ruining by having someone rap/rhyme over the top of it. The quote from the original ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ film of 1971 is perfectly tweaked to fit in with the song, and the emotion in the voice peaks right at the perfect moment: the higher pitched music slowly builds, and then, WHAM! The bass hits and you are dumped into a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions. This song is a fucking blast to dance to, and it never gets old.
System of a Down – Vicinity Of Obscenity: This one’s quite the euphemism, isn’t it? Apparently the song is about anal sex. I must admit I never really picked up on that before doing a little reading into it, but hey, it works. I love this song because it’s so crazily energetic like most SOAD tracks; you can sing it loud and proud and most people won’t know what the fuck you’re on about!
Fear Factory – Edgecrusher: I love this song because it is the epitome of anger, expression and making your fucking point heard. It’s about the Edgecrusher, a machine with a singular purpose: to destroy human life. The protagonist sings about his history and how his singular purpose is to destroy the Edgecrusher. This song is similar in theme to Ruiner by Nine Inch Nails, but while the protagonist in Ruiner expresses his emotions with quiet reserve and controlled words, the protagonist in Edgecrusher screams his purpose to the world.
Death From Above 1979 – Romantic Rights (The Phone Lovers Remix): This remix heavily samples the chorus, which brings about my own interpretation of the song: I started listening to these guys right around the time I met my beloved Carly, and the song has very special meaning for me.
Nine Inch Nails – We’re In This Together: After reading the lyrics, you can come to a pretty straightforward conclusion that this is some kind of love song. Well, I think that it is, and it isn’t. It’s a typical love song in the sense of the singer’s need to cling to someone, but I personally interpret it as a song of friendship. The ubiquitous and ambiguous L-word is never mentioned. Great to sing along to.
Nine Inch Nails – Meet Your Master: When taken literally, and in context with the Year Zero ARG, it would appear this song is a message from the resistance to the government, or perhaps vice-versa. However, I take the song less literally: I interpret it as being a general “you had your chance, now it’s my turn” or “now I will prove myself to you” type song, which encourages me to do my best and really put effort into what I’m trying to achieve. It’s also pretty damn awesome to dance to, and the lyrics melt together in a way that makes singing along with the song very easy.