Hottest 100 of Australian songs: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s votes
Anthony Albanese’s selections in a Triple J Hottest 100 poll include widely loved pub rock anthems, ballads tied to the national character, and a lesser-known ode to canines.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has cast his votes in an all-important election for the nation’s music fans, and his 10 selections include celebrated pub rock anthems, ballads tied to the national character, and a lesser-known ode to canines.
“Hard to narrow down to just 10,” Albanese wrote on social media on Wednesday, while sharing his nominations for Triple J’s upcoming Hottest 100 of Australian songs.
The PM affirmed his rock ’n’ roll fandom by picking tracks by Cold Chisel (Flame Trees, 1984), Midnight Oil (Beds Are Burning, 1988) and the Angels (Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, 1976) – three indelible compositions that are played, and loved, across the nation daily.
“I’m glad Albo picked Flame Trees,” Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes told The Australian on Thursday. “It’s a great song and he’s a great leader. Maybe he could lead us all into singing the chorus. Come on Anthony, let’s sing!”
Albanese’s selection from the Angels’ catalogue famously took on a new life in the live arena, when audiences began chanting an explicit rejoinder – “No way / Get f..ked / F..k off!” – during its chorus.
“It’s an honour to be included with all these amazing artists,” said the Angels’ guitarist and co-writer Rick Brewster. “How Face Again took such a sharp left turn when the well-known chant began is anyone’s guess. No internet, no mobile phones … just good old Aussie bush telegraph! Maybe you started it, Anthony?”
Born in 1963, Albanese’s love of 1990s indie rock was represented by a trio of songs including scene stalwarts You Am I (Purple Sneakers, 1995) and Spiderbait (Buy Me a Pony, 1996), and completed by Melbourne band the Fauves (Dogs Are the Best People, 1996).
“It’s heartening to see an Australian prime minister so engaged with Australian culture, and such an active Australian music listener and concertgoer,” said Andy Kent, You Am I bassist. “As an Australian prime minister should.”
In 1997, Buy Me a Pony became the first Australian song to top Triple J’s annual Hottest 100 music poll. “We’re all really chuffed,” said Spiderbait drummer Mark “Kram” Maher of its inclusion. “It seems like a really honest list. I know Albo pretty well; he’s a good mate, and it just seems like a list that’s reflective of his stuff, that he’s a fan of. It’s just nice to have an Australian music fan as the Australian PM. It’s a good vibe.”
In a change of pace, the PM picked ballads by The Triffids (Wide Open Road, 1986), Paul Kelly (How to Make Gravy, 1996) and Hunters & Collectors, whose signature song, Throw Your Arms Around Me (1984), continues to be well-travelled: Ed Sheeran’s cover version recently popped up on the season four soundtrack of foodie TV drama The Bear.
Rounding out Albanese’s top 10 was Cattle and Cane (1983) by Brisbane indie pop band the Go-Betweens – a sweetly sung remembrance of a Queensland farm boyhood co-written by Grant McLennan, who died in 2006.
The distinctive drumbeat that powers Cattle and Cane was played by Lindy Morrison, who told The Australian on Thursday: “I really admire Albanese, and I really respect him, so I couldn’t be more proud that he chose Cattle and Cane as one of his favourite songs.”
“It is a masterpiece of a song exploring a boy growing up – but it’s also a masterpiece of instrumentation, and I couldn’t be happier that he loves that song,” said Morrison. “My early drumming work is my very best, when I was with the Go-Betweens, and so I’m really happy that he chose a song where I think my playing was idiosyncratic, unusual and, may I say, exemplary.”
According to youth radio station Triple J, the mid-year countdown is “dedicated to the homegrown artists and tracks that have resonated across generations, and helped define our nation’s sound”.
Australian music fans willing to cut their preferred songs down to 10 essential favourites have until July 17 to place their own votes; the only condition is that the song must have been released before January 19, 2025, the date that marked Triple J’s 50th anniversary.
The countdown will be broadcast from 10am on July 26, across both the Triple J and Double J radio stations.
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