Hottest 100 of Australian Songs: Reading List
Last month, triple j announced the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs. Our IASPM-ANZ members have written extensively about Australian music, including some of the songs and artists that featured in the top 100.
Have a read of some of their research below:
89. Amyl And The Sniffers – Hertz
Ben Green and Steven Threadgold have a chapter on Amyl and the Sniffers in the book Pub Rock in the UK and Australia: From the 1970s to the Twenty-First Century, due to be released in November.
Their chapter is called “Amyl and the Sniffers: Authenticity, Class and Gender in the Australian Pub Rock Revival”.
Pub Rock in the UK and Australia: From the 1970s to the Twenty-First Century. Edited by Andy Bennett, Jon Stratton
29. The Church – Under The Milky Way
Under The Milky Way was the lead single from Starfish, by The Church.
Chris Gibson’s book looks at the album’s background, composition, production and reception, through original interviews with band members and analysis of four decades of media coverage.
27. Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head
Kylie, by Adrian Renzo and Liz Giuffre, is one of the only scholarly books on Kylie Minogue.
Through their analysis of her debut album, Renzo and Giuffre interrogate the way that commercial pop albums are remembered, and how notions of ‘mainstream’ play out in an Australian context.
Kylie Minogue’s Kylie - Adrian Renzo and Liz Giuffre
9. Paul Kelly – How to Make Gravy
Ben Green has been interviewed by various media outlets to discuss Paul Kelly’s iconic song, and why Australians love “Gravy Day”(21st of December) so much.
How to Make Gravy: why Paul Kelly’s Christmas song is a uniquely Australian institution - ABC News
Why Do Australians celebrate “Gravy Day”? - Griffith University
@griffith_uni So who is going to make the gravy? Cultural Sociologist Dr Ben Green unpacks the reason we #celebrate National #gravyday every year on the 21st of December. #paulkelly #howtomakegravy #australia #christmas ♬ original sound - Griffith University
5. Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over
Barnaby Smith has researched and interviewed Crowded House, who had 3 entries in the Hottest 100 of Australian songs.
His book Crowded House's Together Alone is a key addition to the surprisingly limited range of scholarship on one of Australasia's most successful and adored bands.
Crowded House’s Together Alone - Barnaby Smith
Effort for Effortlessness: Neil Finn’s Favourite Albums - The Quietus
2. Hilltop Hoods – The Nosebleed Section
Dianne Rodger has written a 33 ⅓ on The Calling (2003) by the Hilltop Hoods, analysing the impact of the album by drawing on original interviews with 15 Hip-Hop practitioners from across Australia (including artists who contributed to the album).
Chapter 5 of the book focuses on ‘The Nosebleed Section’, which came in at #2 on the Hottest 100 of Aus Songs.
For the people in the nosebleed section: the Hilltop Hoods’ The Calling at 20 - The Conversation
Interested in reading more research on Australian music?
Here are a few other articles by IASPM-ANZ members that discuss the role of radio stations in championing Australian music:
Local Minimum Content Requirements on Commercial Radio: An Australian Case Study - Chrissie Vincent
Youth Broadcasting and Music Festivals in Australia - Ben Green and Ian Rogers
What makes a song ‘Australian’? Triple J’s Hottest 100 reignites a bigger question of national identity - Catherine Strong and Ben Green
50 years of Triple J: challenging censorship, supporting Australian artists, and ‘no dope in the studio!’ - Liz Giuffre
Australia’s music artists are in dire straits – yet taxpayer-funded Triple J won’t shake its commercial flavour - Sam Whiting