Hottest Australian Countdown

By Adam Gerrard | Posted in Mix Master | 25 January 2012 5:58AM

The one day a year we can proudly wear the Southern Cross on our cheeks, chest, bikinis, boardies and capes, without looking like a complete bogan, is tomorrow. As is tradition among most of the country’s youth and musically conscious population, Triple J’s Hottest 100 Countdown will be blasted from stereos in backyards, parks and beaches all day long. However, shouldn’t we be playing the hottest Australian-made music of 2011 on this most Australian of all days?

Bloody oath we should. Thus, I have compiled a playlist – albeit a modest 20 tracks in total – filled with only the best Aussie music of 2011. Years ago one would be excused for thinking there weren’t 20 Australian bands around worth listening to, but we’re lucky enough to be graced with a thriving music industry in Australia at the moment that is home to many more than 20. This is so much so that most of the bands in the playlist are up and comers on the cusp of ‘breaking through’.

Admittedly, there are tracks from established bands/artists that were too good to be ignored such as Cut Copy, Architecture In Helsinki and Gotye, but I’ve purposefully not chosen their obvious singles (don’t expect to hear ‘Somebody I Used To Know’!) in an effort to keep it fresh.

There’s also a great degree of variance in styles throughout the playlist, with tracks from psychedelic rock bands The Otchkies (whom I saw mesmerize The Joynt on Friday night), King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Total Control; straight-up indie rock from WIM, Papa Vs Pretty and Stonefield; electro-pop songs by Canyons, Pluto Jonze, Hermitude and Alpine; and experimental dance tracks released by Oliver Tank, Seekae and the (tragically) recently defunct Ghoul. At every Australia Day party there’s always at least one New Zealander masquerading as an Aussie and enjoying the party, so I’ve also included a track by my favourite Kiwis, Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Happy Australia Day!

Image credit to cover art

From The Urban List Team: Stream our Hottest Australian Countdown direct from the sidebar on the right and find all of our other playlists on our Urban List 8tracks page.

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