#425-#421

#425. RÜFÜS DU SOL - Say a Prayer for Me (#55, 2016)

44th of 2016

Sometimes a lengthy campaign stretched across multiple years can lend itself to getting the best of both worlds. All those fans who are steadfast about only voting one song per artist get duped into double dipping from the same album, or maybe they just never stop. We've seen it time and time again that the most successful artists going around just rarely take a year off, or if they do, it's because what they've already got out is hanging around sufficiently so it doesn't feel like they're gone. Billie Eilish has not released any new music in 2025, but her last album was just as big as it was in 2024. RÜFÜS DU SOL don't operate like this and seem content to only put out an album roughly every 3 years, and it's been working pretty well for them, or it was until their last album. They still made three Hottest 100 entries in 2024, but it feels like it's painting over some cracks that they'll need to sort out.

Anyway, I tend to forget that "Bloom" came out in 2016 because all the big hitters were already out before then. "Innerbloom" was out in November as the 3rd single, and they probably could have put it out around then, but maybe they liked spreading it out a bit better. It's a lot easier to get a #1 album at the start of the year than at the end, so that worked for them, but then they didn't have a lot to show for themselves after that. The only new song from the album to make the cut was "Say a Prayer for Me", and it's hardly coming to match the two big hits (note: you can read this as either in the moment or retrospectively but you're gonna have to switch out one of the songs).

I'm not sure how they could have gone about it better. If we look in hindsight, "Until the Sun Needs to Rise" has become a decent streaming hit, but I don't see it flying as a single. The two somewhat close calls they had were "Brighter" at #149 & "Be With You" at #171. The former I rate quite highly as something of a throwback to their first albums synth tones, but the latter doesn't feel like a single at all. "Daylight" and "Hypnotised" are the other choices I'd be looking at, but I'd be lying if I said I thought they had it all worked out either. There's a want for a big hook that only "Say a Prayer for Me" is finding a way to provide.

As we continue to ascend this countdown mountain (or maybe we're descending?), we're increasing a tendency towards entries that I downloaded for myself prior to the countdown. That might make it a stealth diss towards that group for the time being though. Being at the bottom part of that group and falling below songs I never would have downloaded otherwise implies falling out of favour. I think I still hold "Say a Prayer for Me" in a similar regard to a decade ago, it just never had an amazingly high ceiling to begin with. It's just how it works out when RÜFÜS DU SOL lock into a solid groove that pretty much writes itself.

#424. E^ST - TALK DEEP (#70, 2019)

33rd of 2019

We've got two E^ST entries here. I'm once again ruining the narrative perspective by doing it out of order, but on the other hand, it works as a means to build up hype. I feel as though this wouldn't be here if not for the mysterious benefactor entry two years prior. When you storm the castle, you have to get through the henchmen first.

We can't discredit "TALK DEEP" though. Unlike other apparent cases of riding on momentum, this didn't come one direct year after, and in that intervening year, E^ST had a couple of singles that weren't quite able to make the full leap. I hold "I Don't Lack Imagination" in high regard because deep down I am always of the opinion that there aren't enough popular songs that sound like circus music. Well, that as well as a good helping of off kilter melodies to make it stand out.

I never really kept up with the E^ST story after this one, and it's only just now that I'm realising it ended while I was in the process of making this list. There hasn't been a new E^ST song in years, and Melisa ended the project years ago. Just 6 months ago she went on full social media reset with a rebranding as Headaches, I will continue to refer to her as E^ST for this purpose as it's the era of music I'm talking about, and because I always did like typing that visually striking set of characters.

E^ST has had some memorable singles over the years, often built around structural, or just singular ideas that are particularly striking. "TALK DEEP" never quite got to me in this way, but it's pretty good for what it is. It's a song that takes so long to get going initially that it ends up feeling a bit short. By the time the second verse (more or less same as the first) starts, you're already 60% of the way through the song and there are only about 90 seconds left!

#423. Ruby Fields - Pretty Grim (#61, 2020)

35th of 2020

Much of the Ruby Fields canonisation that makes it through here has happened when I wasn't listening as closely to triple j, so there's an arbitrary feeling to it from my perspective, although it's one that matches up closely to the airplay quotient. Maybe still though, it's strange to see what the winning formula has ended up being sometimes. "Pretty Grim" is an enjoyable song that seems to be lacking the obvious standout factor from the rest of her catalogue. Maybe the limited competition of 2020's release schedule has struck again.

I'm a random contributor as well, and most of the Ruby Fields songs I've downloaded over the years are not actually Hottest 100 entries. One of them is still pending (vote for "92 Purebred"?) but it's generally been pretty far off the mark. It's something that's tricked me into thinking that there will be many entries for Ruby Fields but it's actually just the 3. Inevitably it will push me into another one of those awkward split ups where I want to tell a single story through multiple entries. Just the challenge of the piece.

I think a lot of the appeal in the field of Ruby is the presentation. It's the D.I.Y. dream making songs through a love of the game and not filtering it through typical marketing. Ruby Fields does have a band, and doesn't try to hide it, but it's still a lot of songs about that relatable underdog status. That's filtered through Australian culture. It's not quite as unavoidably present as with The Chats, but you've still got songs that mention Uluru and titles like "R.E.G.O.", "Pokies" and "Bottle'o". By the way, here's the arrival of the call forward, because this is the same album that Adam Newling appeared on before he'd made it via "Sweetness" (#691).

"Pretty Grim" is where the self-deprecation is amped up to the fullest. It's not the only song lamenting living a shitty life on the album ("Clothes Line" isn't subtle about it), but there is some self-reflection. It feels like it's about being stuck in a rut and struggling to find the motivation to do anything about it. After all, how often have you had to make yourself presentable to impress strangers who you'll forget about in a day. The song ends without any kind of resolution to the problem; we're not even at "Dreamers" (#543) level. Nothing about that screams of being the most obvious popular song, but at the end of the day, it's an upbeat tune that passes the observational test. I suppose it's a good representation for this as there are quite a few other songs of hers that go like this, but the other two songs I'll get to are quite a bit different.

#422. Holy Holy - True Lovers (#40, 2017)

42nd of 2017

I don't claim to know what true love is. Maybe it means telling someone they smell great, kneeling down to make them look taller, and various other things I couldn't possibly quote without looking suspect. I will claim that this is Holy Holy's most popular song though. It's not even close. It's the song that took them to some level of fame, and remains their highest polling Hottest 100 entry to date. It felt strange in that moment to see from a band who had never succeeded like that before, but that tends to happen when artists find that one defining hit, it just unlocks something.

A defining hit can mean two things. It can be the song that agreeably encapsulates everything about what an artist is trying to do, a culmination of their efforts. Or it could just mean it's the one that fits in best with everything else, and so it's just the one song that people who don't have any interest in them will put into their playlists. It's peering into a world that they're not really going to explore. I want to call back to this thought so long into the future that I could probably get away with repeating it verbatim, but this is me putting a note down to expand on it further.

"True Lovers" isn't my favourite Holy Holy song, but I wouldn't begrudge it if it's yours. It's a very well made piece of pop rock. A song with a big hook that gets the job done, but doesn't solely rely upon it for replay value. For a band with effectively two members, they bring quite a lot to this arrangement, and that's where the replay value lies. It's not a song that would otherwise scream 'guitar solo!', but they're some of the best moments here. Just a really nice cherry on top of something that already had things locked into place.

#421. Ball Park Music - Trippin' the Light Fantastic (#99, 2014)

46th of 2014

There are too many songs by a certain two indie rock bands from Brisbane. Close to one a week for the last few months. Can't I alleviate the struggle by instead talking about 2025 Grand Final highlights? Like how good is that Gallop to Ashcroft to Reville possession chain near the end of the third quarter that leads to the 2nd Cameron goal? It's so tidy. Oh anyway if you were wondering where the titular phrase comes from, it's attributed to a John Milton poem from 1645, though his version of it is a little more cluttered than the one we're used to. You can't have a phrase about footloose and fancy-free dancing that struggles to get to the point.

This song has all the energy of being an album opener, although I'm probably being influenced by its position in this countdown. This is so obviously building up to the main event that it's weird to think that it already happened 4 tracks ago on "Puddinghead". Ball Park Music are once again in full recognition of their forebearers in Custard. They're having a fun time, they've got a funny robot voice, they probably feel like Ringo as well.

There are quite a few passages to go through with this and it's hard to pick out a favourite. Funny to think that the chorus they go for is actually the part without any words. I guess I'm most partial to the bridge which brings a contrasting intensity to the song. Man just wants to get high with his friends, I can't knock that.