Revisiting the Hottest 100 of 20 years ago can be a whole heap of nostalgic fun. But it can also frustrate.
There is, of course, a stack of excellent songs that we loved back then, and still love today. But part of the fun of looking back is waxing about what triple j voters got wrong as much as right.
Ahead of reliving the 2005 countdown on Double J, we’re taking a closer look at some of the injustices toward tunes that rightfully deserved to be at the pointier end of the polls.
Bright Eyes — First Day of My Life (#77)
The music video is worth your time, showing a mix of heterosexual and gay couples listening to the song on headphones. (Supplied: Saddle Creek Records)
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I maintain that Conor Oberst’s 2005 album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning is still his finest hour. Well, a sterling 45 minutes of folksy honesty and alt-country rebellion, to be precise.
There’s any number of stand-out cuts that coulda, shoulda, woulda made the Hottest 100. But the unabashedly sentimental First Day of My Life is the obvious choice. Over old-as-the-hills chords, its romantic tenderness has the power to pull tears from even the stoniest of hearts.
It already sounded timeless upon release and remains far more authentic than many of the tunes that charted high above it.
The Mountain Goats — This Year (#70)
This Year is from The Mountain Goats’ ninth album, The Sunset Tree. (Supplied: 4AD)
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There’s no such thing as a casual Mountain Goats fan. You’re either essentially clueless, or you believe John Darnielle is music’s most criminally underrated storyteller. And you’ve got the tattoo to prove it.
You’re crafting impassioned rankings of the group’s wildly prolific career, spanning rock operas themed around wrestling, goths, action movies, meth addiction, and more.
For many devotees addicted to spreading the Mountain Goats gospel, This Year was the gateway drug. Powered by its determined rallying cry (“I am going to make it through this year, if it kills me”), it’s arguably the most triumphant song ever penned about living under an abusive step-father.
But that’s precisely the kind of rich depth you get with Darnielle, and why — in retrospect — it deserves to be higher than the likes of Jack Johnson, Audioslave and Team America’s theme song, AMERICA F*CK YEAH! (Though, I could be talked down on that final example.)
Ween — Gabrielle (#66)
Gabrielle was taken from Shinola, Ween’s 2005 album of b-sides and rarities. (Supplied: Schnitzel Records)
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You could be forgiven for thinking this Ween track is a love song to a woman named Gabrielle. But true rock nerds know it’s really a salute to Irish legends Thin Lizzy.
Ween have always excelled at borrowing from their heroes without losing their own weird magic — turning homage into something flattering, never cringey.
Dean Ween’s guitar snaps tight in the verses before detonating in the choruses, while Gene channels Phil Lynott with uncanny devotion.
This was Ween’s fourth and penultimate Hottest 100 entry, and if you honestly think 65 songs from 2005 were better, I’ve got a great hearing specialist for you.
Sarah Blasko — Always Worth It (#65)
Always Worth It was another highlight from Sarah Blasko’s debut album The Overture & the Underscore. (YouTube)
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Sarah Blasko has enjoyed plenty of Hottest 100 success, and 2005 was a solid year for her, with two tracks in the countdown.
Her stunning cover of Cold Chisel’s Flame Trees soared to #15 — her highest-ever placing — but Always Worth It from her 2004 debut The Overture & the Underscore landed earlier than it deserved.
Now considered one of Blasko’s signature songs, it’s an ageless piece of songwriting: hopeful lyrics, an irresistible hook, and a sense of quiet strength that feels indomitable. She sounds just as good playing it today: maybe even better?
Blasko’s albums are so consistently strong that singles rarely define her, which might explain why this gem ranked lower than a tune from Team America.
Martha Wainwright — Bloody Mother F***ing Asshole (#59)
The track was released on a 2004 EP before featured on Martha Wainwright’s self-titled 2005 debut album. (Supplied: Report Card Music Inc.)
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In response to her absent singer-songwriter father, Loudon Wainright III, spending years communicating to his children through song instead of parenting, his daughter gave him a taste of his own medicine.
A devastating example of four chords and the truth, this ferocious slice of empowering folk parses Martha Wainwright’s conflicted feelings of patriarchy into what became her most well-known song.
Transforming raw frustration into inspiring resilience, BMFA is a bona fide anthem that deserved more respect than to be rubbing shoulders in the bottom 50 with B-tier material from Queens of the Stone Age and The Dandy Warhols.
Arctic Monkeys — I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (#50)
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor was the lead single to Arctic Monkeys’s 2006 debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. (Supplied: Domino Records)
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Not to throw shade at all the Aussies partying at the pointy end, but these young Sheffield lads and their 2006 lead single were really done dirty.
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor is emblematic of an era where bands could burst forth from MySpace to chart-busting success, helping make Arctic Monkeys’s first album the fastest-selling debut album in UK history.
The song isn’t just historically important; the scrappy energy and Alex Turner’s relatable observations on lust still hit you where it counts. There’s a reason it remains a setlist staple.
Modern day Monkeys have long abandoned their youthful roots for sci-fi lounge music and artsy baroque surrealism. But even they would admit it’s hard to beat dancing like a robot from 1984. FROM NINETEEN-EIGHTY-FOOOOOOOURR!
Bloc Party — Helicopter (#40)
To a certain generation, Bloc Party’s Helicopter immediately conjures time spent shredding on plastic guitars with Guitar Hero III. (Supplied: [PIAS])
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Another example of a significant UK indie band not getting enough love … or a case of split votes?
Charged as much by Kele Okereke’s politically-veiled, quotable barking as the firepower of its choppy, duelling guitars and Matt Tong’s light-speed drumming, Helicopter is a belter.
And yet, at #40, this stand-out cut from debut album Silent Alarm — along with the equally potent Positive Tension and Like Eating Glass — charted lower than standalone single Two More Years (at #23).
It’s baffling in retrospect. Especially when you consider the love Bloc Party has received in recent years showcasing Silent Alarm material on tour in Australia.
Hear the Hottest 100 of 2005 replayed on Double J on Sunday 25 January.