#945-#941

 #945. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz) - Downtown (#18, 2015)

95th of 2015

2015 is a really strange year on the ARIA Chart. In some ways it's the last hurrah for it having its own identity separate from the US & UK charts, as well as being one of the last hurrahs for a time when sales, rather than streams had the dominant slice of the pie graph. There are just so many weird things that happened. Nelly had another top 3 hit, Nico & Vinz had another top 2 hit, Meghan Trainor had a second #1 hit. There are some more enduring hits, some of which will even show up on this list eventually, but it just feels like two audiences fighting over their idea of what popular music should sound like, and the more antiquated one tending to win out.

In many ways this song might be the true poster child for the phenomenon. Here, Macklemore makes the unusual decision to go as far back as possible for hip-hop co-signs. You've got guys behind songs like "Rapper's Delight" and "The Message" on here. In America, this didn't gel quite right and swiftly ended Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's hitmaking run. Australia on the other hand was the only country in the world to take this song to #1, and it stayed there for 4 whole absurd weeks. We really couldn't get enough Macklemore in the 2010s. It produces some irony because I sometimes see more favourable opinions on this song internationally. Underrated, deserved better, what have you. Here it just felt like a nuisance that far overstepped any expected performance.

Is it all that bad though? Not really. The biggest crime it has is being so incredibly dorky that I wince every time it comes on. Both on this list and in my mind it occupies a similar space to "The Trouble With Us". The other thing about this song is that it only feels more stranded in the current pop landscape. It stretches to nearly 5 minutes but somehow only has space for 2 choruses, not just because of all the verses but because Eric Nally really stretches out that chorus for all its worth.

This is also the last time Macklemore shows up here. It's pretty unlucky because I'm generally more willing than most to defend him, I just don't have much to work with in this case. Actually my favourite Macklemore song caught me off guard because it's on the same album as this song. That being "Need To Know" which is admittedly strongly carried by a rapper who will eventually appear on this list.

#944. Machine Gun Kelly (feat Kellin Quinn) - love race (#59, 2021)

95th of 2021

I've spent so long putting this list together that he still went by Machine Gun Kelly when I was doing it. I'll continue to use that name on the headers but will probably just call him mgk in the blurbs. Maybe he'll change back at some point.

It's so strange to me that triple j got onto this bandwagon. Not just because it feels archaic to say that triple j were waiting for a rapper to make more playlist friendly pop punk, but it's like reading the room where mgk is increasingly clowned upon and considered uncool and thinking 'now's the time to play him'.

How could I have known when I first started collecting Hottest 100 entries that I'd have to make it an annual tradition for a while to collect a new mgk song? I'm not disgusted on principle but I'd hope for something better than this. All I think of with this song is its dumb and repetitive hook. If you or someone you know has ever been on the run, then I've got a song for you.

Sleeping With Sirens also falls far astray from the kind of music I tend to listen to. Listening to some of their stuff now, I do think Kellin Quinn's style of singing is not generally to my taste, although he can occasionally command a strong presence. I don't think mgk gets the best out of him here though, the harmonies are a bit flat too.

#943. Amy Shark - I Said Hi (#5, 2018)

92nd of 2018

If "Weekends" was a pretty solid success for Amy Shark then this is an astounding one. Comfortably her second biggest hit to date and especially huge in a time when not many Australian artists were cracking the ARIA top 10. On the other hand, like Dean Lewis before her, this proved to be a big miss down the track, as I believe it's the highest ranking song in an annual list to miss triple j's Hottest 100 of the Decade. That might come down to a slight bit of recency disadvantage as well as being overshadowed by that elephant hit in the room I'll eventually talk about.

Amy Shark is subject to a lot of dumb jokes. It doesn't take a genius to realise that her name rhymes with "Baby Shark" and that her rise to popularity happened around the same time as that. This song gets a bit of it too, whether you want to make a mole joke or a Rove McManus joke. It's a bit worn out, but I always wondered if she was partly in on this, the most striking thing about this song to me is the memorably mundane title.

I've never really found an in for it myself. It's just a bit too overproduced and a bit not very catchy. That's especially important for a song like this because it's one that breezes through the verses as quickly as it can to get to the hook. She's still utilising the detail-ridden writing that stood out for her in the first place, but it just doesn't feel like it amounts to anything.

#942. Alex the Astronaut - Not Worth Hiding (#23, 2017)

94th of 2017

I tend to root for Alex the Astronaut because for the most part, there really isn't a lot of representation in the music world for people who like me, are on the autism spectrum. Looking into it, I'm finding some higher profile examples like Dave & Martin from Depeche Mode, as well as Diane Warren. Growing up, I only really knew of Ladyhawke and Craig Nicholls. The latter is a particularly rough example because his struggles in keeping composure under high scrutiny are probably part of why a lot of people looking back feel completely validated in seeing The Vines as a joke in hindsight. But then from what I've seen, it's unfortunately still socially acceptable to make fun of people for exhibiting neurodivergent behaviour, so it's not even necessarily incidental.

Alex was only diagnosed as an adult so their story is not the same as mine but I appreciate the perspective. Part of why so many people aren't diagnosed sooner, or at all, is because of the stigma attached to it. In turn we can't help but feel more distant and alone with no one to relate to. You go through life with so many cases of things that are tailor made for neurotypical folk and feel like there's something wrong with you, or you're a bad person when you can't comply. Or you don't need to because someone else will just tell that to you instead.

I wish I could get more behind this song. If you haven't heard it in a while, don't let my previous paragraphs distract you because it's about being gay rather than autistic. I think the heart's in the right place and it's not anywhere near as cynical as the Logic song. I'd say it's a song that oversimplifies the narrative except the last verse covers that base as well. I don't doubt at all that Alex knows coming out isn't just a simple problem that can be solved by telling people to cheer up and that everything will be fine. If this song has managed to help anyone with the process and had a positive impact on their life, that's awesome. I just don't really enjoy listening to it.

#941. Lorde - Stoned at the Nail Salon (#81, 2021)

94th of 2021

Online consensus has a habit of sandpapering over all of the nuance into very broad and simple takes. They're the kind that become so generic that when I do see them parroted outright, it's hard to tell if someone really does think that way or they're just following convention to a tee. The most common way this manifests itself is in a simple system: Artist X is good, all their music is good. Artist Y is bad, all their music is bad. To suggest otherwise is sacrilege. There are of course exceptions to this, where the strokes get just a little less broad. For Lorde, the first two albums are near untouchable, but this one's a terrible mistake that we're waiting to be made redundant when the next one comes out.

I'll be entirely honest, I never actually listened to the album. There are two more songs from it on this list so I'll probably get to it when I get to one of those. I'm kind of fascinated to see if the rest of it does fall in line with any of the singles. I'd hope it's not like this one, too many gentle ballads can get exhausting.

The most interesting thing about this song for me is the one lyric about growing out of the music you loved at 16. That's prime rage bait if there ever was such a thing. People are so proud of still liking the first thing they were introduced to as a kid and so damning of anyone of a different age group for doing the same. It is a little funny to hear such a thing from Lorde at the ripe age of 24, but I trust her for introspection more than most. Still find the song fairly boring though.