The Cockroaches were playing the long game
January 23, 2022 2:00 AM Subscribe
Venerable Australian institution, The Wiggles, have clinched the top spot in the poll of Australia's favourite songs of the year with a cover of a Tame Impala song.
More than 2.5m votes were submitted in this year’s Hottest 100.
More than 2.5m votes were submitted in this year’s Hottest 100.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- loup
Oh megami- that title made me smile.
Extra cultural context- the Wiggles is of course much loved children's band. The hottest 100 is on Triple J, a youthful (but like teens and young adults) branch of the national broadcaster that is all about new music.
posted by freethefeet at 3:21 AM on January 23, 2022
Extra cultural context- the Wiggles is of course much loved children's band. The hottest 100 is on Triple J, a youthful (but like teens and young adults) branch of the national broadcaster that is all about new music.
posted by freethefeet at 3:21 AM on January 23, 2022
Thanks to a combination of torpor and pandemic skeeviness I sat at home listening to the Hottest 100 for the first time in years. I had a lot of fun although I thought that for all of the controversial youth credential Triple J boasts about the list sounded weirdly reactionary. A lot of covers, a lot of throw back 90ish sounding indie. Justin Bieber in the top 10 for fucks sakes and a novelty wiggles cover of a song from 10 years ago at #1.
And then today Double J ran the hottest 100 from 2001 and holy shit how wrong I was about anything being better 20 years ago. Wall to wall white middle class male angst, with the odd grudging allowance for PJ Harvey and Shirley Manson. I’m fairly certain the, by far, most successful Australian single of the year was ineligible for nomination even.
Not sure what point I’m making except that this result was weirdly on point for the Hottest 100, the popularity contest that almost always manages to slightly miss the zeitgeist.
posted by arha at 3:24 AM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
And then today Double J ran the hottest 100 from 2001 and holy shit how wrong I was about anything being better 20 years ago. Wall to wall white middle class male angst, with the odd grudging allowance for PJ Harvey and Shirley Manson. I’m fairly certain the, by far, most successful Australian single of the year was ineligible for nomination even.
Not sure what point I’m making except that this result was weirdly on point for the Hottest 100, the popularity contest that almost always manages to slightly miss the zeitgeist.
posted by arha at 3:24 AM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
the popularity contest that almost always manages to slightly miss the zeitgeist
I mean any wide enough popularity contest will do that, I think - the cutting edge moves on, so the majority votes are cast by the people who are behind and people who are voting for the new hotness and filling out their list with the best of the old news.
posted by Merus at 3:29 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
I mean any wide enough popularity contest will do that, I think - the cutting edge moves on, so the majority votes are cast by the people who are behind and people who are voting for the new hotness and filling out their list with the best of the old news.
posted by Merus at 3:29 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
But is a Hottest 100 without the Hilltop Hoods really a Hottest 100? (Ineligible this year due to no new releases.)
Some years are stronger than others, I think. I've got the discs from the 2020, 2019 and 2018 Hottest 100s. 2018 was, to put it kindly, not great (it's basically hours of middling melancholy with a couple of fun songs dropped in). 2019 was better and 2020 was a shit year for Australia but a great year for the Hottest 100.
We're currently listening to a Hottest 100 disc from 1994 and it's honestly pretty great. Lots of songs I am unfamiliar with but really enjoying.
posted by rednikki at 8:16 AM on January 23, 2022
Some years are stronger than others, I think. I've got the discs from the 2020, 2019 and 2018 Hottest 100s. 2018 was, to put it kindly, not great (it's basically hours of middling melancholy with a couple of fun songs dropped in). 2019 was better and 2020 was a shit year for Australia but a great year for the Hottest 100.
We're currently listening to a Hottest 100 disc from 1994 and it's honestly pretty great. Lots of songs I am unfamiliar with but really enjoying.
posted by rednikki at 8:16 AM on January 23, 2022
I saw The Wiggles live! TWICE!
(credit really goes to my children, who were small and Wiggle FANATICS back in the day)
posted by cooker girl at 8:28 AM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
(credit really goes to my children, who were small and Wiggle FANATICS back in the day)
posted by cooker girl at 8:28 AM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
Link to the video. I subscribe to Triple J and missed this one. Probably because I'm not a child.
Bonus Behind the song.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:35 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Bonus Behind the song.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:35 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yummy yummy.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:46 AM on January 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:46 AM on January 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
I saw The Wiggles live! TWICE!
I took my oldest son, who was about six at the time. He was a big Wiggles fan right up until he looked at the audience around him at the gig and realised that all the other kids were about two years younger. I think that was his first realisation that kids grow out of things. He's 15 now, and we still occasionally shout "Wake up, Jeff" at each other.
posted by pipeski at 9:34 AM on January 23, 2022 [6 favorites]
I took my oldest son, who was about six at the time. He was a big Wiggles fan right up until he looked at the audience around him at the gig and realised that all the other kids were about two years younger. I think that was his first realisation that kids grow out of things. He's 15 now, and we still occasionally shout "Wake up, Jeff" at each other.
posted by pipeski at 9:34 AM on January 23, 2022 [6 favorites]
If your Wiggles curiosity is piqued, I highly suggest learning way too much about the Wiggles (and the Wiggles fandom) through this amazing HobbyDrama post.
posted by thebots at 11:43 AM on January 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by thebots at 11:43 AM on January 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
I am currently living with an Australian punk and pub band enthusiast so I got a crash course in "why The Wiggles are one of the greatest pub bands in Australia" a few months back, along with lamentations he missed The Cockroaches touring. Up there with missing Frenzal and Flangis playing on NY (thanks covid).
I cannot think of another children's band/music group with the pedigree of sheer rock and skanky pub rock that The Wiggles has, and have maintained that alongside. The original Red Wiggle was in the DZ Deathrays clip for Like People (great video) and The Cockroaches are a genuinely solid band. The subcultural cachet the band has, through the years, is phenomenal given their dominance as a kids band as well.
And yeah sure, the Hottest 100 gets plagued by the latest sad warbling cover by sad boys noodling on guitar, but it also tends to have some serious left field and Aussie talent. It's a bit of a crapshoot, but not the worst you could do. Like A Version has a lot to answer for in the sad boy cover genre, but it's also given us some truly amazing works.
posted by geek anachronism at 2:08 PM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
I cannot think of another children's band/music group with the pedigree of sheer rock and skanky pub rock that The Wiggles has, and have maintained that alongside. The original Red Wiggle was in the DZ Deathrays clip for Like People (great video) and The Cockroaches are a genuinely solid band. The subcultural cachet the band has, through the years, is phenomenal given their dominance as a kids band as well.
And yeah sure, the Hottest 100 gets plagued by the latest sad warbling cover by sad boys noodling on guitar, but it also tends to have some serious left field and Aussie talent. It's a bit of a crapshoot, but not the worst you could do. Like A Version has a lot to answer for in the sad boy cover genre, but it's also given us some truly amazing works.
posted by geek anachronism at 2:08 PM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
I'd never heard of the Hottest 100 until Tom Cardy begged his fans to vote for him (I did multiple times). Not sure if the results are great in general, but I just listened to the Wiggles for the first time and I'm delighted they won. Can't believe a 16 year old is going to replace the current drummer!
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:37 PM on January 23, 2022
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:37 PM on January 23, 2022
My kids are now 6 and 9, but were huuuge Wiggles fans when they were younger (one went through a phase of wanting to dress up as Emma Wiggle like every day).
The main vestige of The Wiggles Era is that my partner learned to play "Big Red Car" on the guitar for them. Even though the kids have long moved on, partner stuck with it and adapted the song into a punk / heavy metal version, which he uses as his warmup and thus sings pretty much every day. (Imagine a growly, shouty "CHOO CHOO CHUGGA CHUGGA BIG RED CAR" and you've pretty much got it.)
That song is now embedded in my soul and when I'm old and demented I will still remember "wake up Jeff!!" so, thanks partner and thanks Wiggles.
posted by contrapositive at 3:00 PM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
The main vestige of The Wiggles Era is that my partner learned to play "Big Red Car" on the guitar for them. Even though the kids have long moved on, partner stuck with it and adapted the song into a punk / heavy metal version, which he uses as his warmup and thus sings pretty much every day. (Imagine a growly, shouty "CHOO CHOO CHUGGA CHUGGA BIG RED CAR" and you've pretty much got it.)
That song is now embedded in my soul and when I'm old and demented I will still remember "wake up Jeff!!" so, thanks partner and thanks Wiggles.
posted by contrapositive at 3:00 PM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
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