Forget the debates, the Hottest 100 revealed a truth about Australians

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

The plan was not to spend Saturday listening to a music countdown. But Jaydo texted our WhatsApp group when I was in aisle seven: 'Guys, Hottest 100 of Australian songs just kicked off on triple j! #100 Screaming Jets Better.' I put down the bronzed pasta I was checking for protein content and got back to her.
Soon all of us on the Rat Chat were swapping lists, wondering if the Sunnyboys' Alone With You is the only song ever with the words 'really attractive' in it, how high Yothu Yindi's Treaty would rank.
There was silence at my inclusion of Billy Field's You Weren't in Love with Me. Mia broke it: 'Will the Js crowd understand the toe-tapping beauty of Tucker's Daughter?!'
From there, even with footy on, the countdown had us in its grip. I made an orange cake to These Days. Hung washing to Under the Milky Way. Had Throw Your Arms Around Me remind me of the long-ago day interviewing Mark Seymour at his Melbourne place while his girlfriend wafted about in an apricot nightie.
By the time Scar by Missy Higgins floated in at number four – thrilling every woman who knows it as the backing track to late-night conversations with themselves – I'd cried a fair bit from joy and memories, and we were a nation undone.
Loading
In the wash-up, I was less interested in the Veronicas debate (other than to say 4ever is their best song) and fascinated by what the countdown really revealed: that Australians reckon we're chill AF or tough as nails, but we're actually marshmallows.
Sentimental as hell.
For all the Millennial and Gen Z representation – Tame Impala, Gang of Youths – the list was thick with Farnesy, Mossy, Crowded House. Some songs just won't die. Not just because they're bangers. Because they're time machines.