Honestly I was going to avoid it, hence why this update is nearly towards the end of the first month of 2010, mainly  just because it is a stressful experience . However voting in this years Triple J – Hottest 100 forced me to look back the year that was. I’ll keep the lists brief, no explanations and no particular order just a list. Now as friends will know I also don’t just countdown 10 items, that is boring. I use Spinal Taps method of always turn it up to 11.

The Flaming Lips – Festival Hall, Melbourne

11 concerts of 2009

1. The Flaming Lips @ Festival Hall, Melbourne, Wednesday 29 July 2009
2. Handsome Furs @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Sunday 30 August 2009
3. Jarvis Cocker @ Metropolis Fremantle, Perth, Tuesday 8 December 2009
4. Jebediah @ Rocket Room, Perth, Thursday 3 December 2009
5. The Stray Cats @ Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth, Sunday 15 February 2009
6. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals @ Metropolis Fremantle, Perth, Sunday 25 January 2009
7. Shonen Knife @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Sunday 27 September 2009
8. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Friday 25 September 2009
9. Shihad @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Friday 16 October 2009
10. Pearl Jam @ Members Equity, Saturday 14 November 2009
11. The Who @ Members Equity Stadium, Perth, Saturday 4 April 2009

Handsome Furs – I’m Confused (from the album Face Control)

Video clip contains Zombies – A++

11 Albums of 2009

1. Handsome Furs – Face Control
2. The Decemberists – Hazards of Love
3. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
4. Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
5. Passion Pit – Manners
6. Manic Street Preachers – Journal For the Plagued Lovers
7. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
8. The Horrors – Primary Colours
9. Julian Plenti – Julian Plenti Is… Skyscraper
10. The Dead Weather – Horehound
11. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Dark Night Of The Soul

Manic Street Preachers – Jackie Collins Existential Question Time

11 Songs of the Year for Triple J’s Hottest 100

1. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Fix It
2. The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song
3. The Flaming Lips – Silver Trembling Hands
4. Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls
5. Passion Pit – Make Light
6. Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang
7. The xx – Crystalised
8. Jarvis Cocker – You’re In My Eyes – (Discosong)
9. Handsome Furs – Evangeline
10. Manic Street Preachers – Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
11. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Revenge (Featuring Wayne Coyne)

Last week I updated with my votes, My Hottest 100 of All Time, and below is a mixtape of these songs. Simple. Enjoy. Listen. Dance. Remember.

Smashing Pumpkins – Mayonaise
Foo Fighters – Everlong
You Am I – If We Can’t Get it Together
Pulp – Common People (#81)
The Smiths – There is a Light that Never Goes Out
The Beatles – Oh! Darling
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt.1
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
The Cure – Love Song
Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Download: 10 Songs. All Time. Hottest 100.

Playing tracks from their debut LP – Is This It? The Strokes give you a quick look into their live sound from the early days. Its hard to beleive this was recording 8 years ago now, I still remember the success of this album … it was like something I had never heard from a new band at the time.

Hope you enjoy this recording from the Sunky Vault, its up to you … you can can either take it, or leave it, and take it, or leave it, and take it, or leave it! (Oh such a bad pun)

Setlist:

01. The Modern Age
02. Is this it?
03. Barely Legal
04. Soma
05. Someday
06. Alone, Together
07. Last Night
08. Hard to Explain
09. New York City Cops
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take it or Leave It

Download: The Strokes – Live at the Wireless (2001)

So the ‘King’ himself, Richard Kingsmill posted the list of the songs that just didn’t make it … the 101-200 list. Did I do any better? Could I grasp onto some form of ‘current culture’ and get at least one song in this list?

• Cure, The – The Only One 
• My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges 
• Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – More News From Nowhere (#114)
• Snowman – We Are The Plague 
• Smashing Pumpkins – The Rose March 
• Ryan Adams and the Cardinals – Fix It
• Mars Volta, The – Goliath 
• TV On The Radio – Golden Age (#130)
• Wolf Parade – Bang Your Drum 
• Nine Inch Nails – Discipline (#125)

Hey, 3 out of 10 ain’t bad? Im still ‘slightly’ in touch. Suck it Hall and Oates – Im not out of touch!

What radio news introduction contains; a guitar, a drill, the beat from the Prince song ‘Get Off‘, the scratch from NWA’s ‘Fuck the Police‘, sections of the original ABC news music and a few other sound samples?

The answer of course is the Triple J news introduction we’ve all heard a gah-zillion times before. While researching an article for another blog I was reminded of this old audio clip from 2005, the year Triple J celebrated 30 years of broadcasting. Alicia Brown speaks to the people behind putting together this iconic news intro way back in 1991.