With the 2021 Hottest 100 set to take place on January 22nd, 2022, we here at Tone Deaf have decided to take a stroll down memory lane, recapping the countdowns of yesteryear in the lead-up to the latest edition of musical democracy. Today, we’re taking a look back at the Hottest 100 of 1996.
Taking place in January of 1997, the triple j Hottest of 1996 was the fourth annual countdown held by the station which limited votes to songs released in the last year.
After three years of artists from all around the world topping the countdown, speculation had been rising as to whether or not an Australian artist would ever achieve this feat. Thankfully, music lovers didn’t have to wait too much longer, with Spiderbait’s ‘Buy Me A Pony’ managing to top the countdown for the year.
Currently, ‘Buy Me A Pony’ holds the record of being the shortest song to ever top a countdown, running at a measly 1:43.
Check out Spiderbait’s ‘Buy Me A Pony’:
The 1996 poll also featured a couple of different milestones, with Allen Ginsberg being the third-oldest person to chart in a countdown (he was 69 years old at the time), and Larry Mullen Jr. & Adam Clayton’s Mission: Impossible theme being the first movie theme to chart.
Meanwhile, Australian jazz singer Frank Bennett also made his only appearance to date, turning up at #95 with his cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’. Incidentally, this is the first time a cover of a song that had previously charted was voted into the countdown. Radiohead’s original version of the song managed to make it to #2 back in 1993.
Speaking of covers, the 1996 countdown holds the record for the most amount of covers, with eight. Take a look below to see if you can spot them all! (Answers are at the end of the article!)
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On a sadder note, The Whitlams made their first appearance in a countdown (reaching #79 with ‘I Make Hamburgers’), on the one year anniversary of guitarist Stevie Plunder’s passing. In a bittersweet turn of events, the following countdown would be taken out by The Whitlams, exactly two years after Plunder’s premature passing.
The Whitlams’ ‘I Make Hamburgers’:
At the end of the day, triple j’s Hottest 100 for 1996 featured songs by 82 different artists from a total of 8 countries, including 45 from the USA, 29 from Australia and 18 from England.
No specific artist ended up becoming the best-performer of the countdown, though Bush, Pearl Jam, Powderfinger, and The Smashing Pumpkins all appeared three times.
Likewise, a number of artists also appeared twice, including Ash, Beck, The Eels, Everclear, The Fauves, Garbage, Metallica, The Prodigy, Regurgitator, and You Am I.
Meanwhile, a handful of artists also appeared with different bands, including Bones Hillman (who appeared with Midnight Oil and The Hunting Party), Dave Grohl (who appeared with both the Foo Fighters and Nirvana), Jarvis Cocker (who played with both Pulp and Barry Adamson), and Nick Seymour (who performed with both Crowded House and Deadstar).
Also, if you’re keen on some of the more obscure facts, the shortest track to appear in the countdown was Spiderbait’s ‘Calypso’ at 1:39, while the longest was Matt Trapnell & Trapazoid’s ‘Ella’s Uncle’ at 5:56.
Check out the full list of songs in the triple j Hottest 100 for 1996 below. If you’re keen to learn more, head over to the Hottest 100 Database, and check out the Hottest 100 songs that didn’t make the Hottest 100.
triple j’s Hottest 100 of 1996
#1. ‘Buy Me A Pony’ – Spiderbait
#2. ‘Stinkfist’ – Tool
#3. ‘Underground’ – Ben Folds Five
#4. ‘Pepper’ – Butthole Surfers
#5. ‘Glycerine’ – Bush
#6. ‘Pick You Up’ – Powderfinger
#7. ‘Breathe’ – The Prodigy
#8. ‘The Ballad Of The Skeletons’ – Allen Ginsberg
#9. ‘El Scorcho’ – Weezer
#10. ‘You’re Gorgeous’ – Babybird
#11. ‘Down’ – 311
#12. ‘Born Slippy .NUXX’ – Underworld
#13. ‘1979’ – The Smashing Pumpkins
#14. ‘Scooby Snacks’ – Fun Lovin’ Criminals
#15. ‘Kong Foo Sing’ – Regurgitator
#16. ‘Spaceman’ – Babylon Zoo
#17. ‘Firestarter’ – The Prodigy
#18. ‘D.A.F.’ – Powderfinger
#19. ‘Swallowed’ – Bush
#20. ‘Dogs Are The Best People’ – The Fauves
#21. ‘Down In The Park’ – Foo Fighters
#22. ‘Oh Yeah’ – Ash
#23. ‘I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am’ – Regurgitator
#24. ‘Santa Monica’ – Everclear
#25. ‘Just A Girl’ – No Doubt
#26. ‘Setting Sun’ – The Chemical Brothers
#27. ‘The Distance’ – Cake
#28. ‘Zero’ – The Smashing Pumpkins
#29. ‘Devils Haircut’ – Beck
#30. ‘The Muppet Song (Mah Nà Mah Nà)’ – Skin
#31. ‘Living Type’ – Powderfinger
#32. ‘California Love (feat. Dr. Dre)’ – 2Pac
#33. ‘Mother Mother’ – Tracy Bonham
#34. ‘Killing Me Softly’ – Fugees
#35. ‘Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand’ – Primitive Radio Gods
#36. ‘Virtual Insanity’ – Jamiroquai
#37. ‘Comedown’ – Bush
#38. ‘Novocaine For The Soul’ – Eels
#39. ‘Milk (The Wicked Mix) (feat. Tricky)’ – Garbage
#40. ‘Whoever You Are’ – Geggy Tah
#41. ‘Coppertone’ – Fini Scad
#42. ‘Where It’s At’ – Beck
#43. ‘Salvation’ – The Cranberries
#44. ‘Aneurysm’ – Nirvana
#45. ‘Bulls On Parade’ – Rage Against The Machine
#46. ‘Popular’ – Nada Surf
#47. ‘Pass The Vibes’ – Definition Of Sound
#48. ‘Mach 5’ – The Presidents Of The United States Of America
#49. ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ – Garbage
#50. ‘Self Abuser’ – The Fauves
#51. ‘Until It Sleeps’ – Metallica
#52. ‘Hyperballad’ – Björk
#53. ‘If I Could Talk I’d Tell You’ – The Lemonheads
#54. ‘Tonight, Tonight’ – The Smashing Pumpkins
#55. ‘Susan’s House’ – Eels
#56. ‘Hail, Hail’ – Pearl Jam
#57. ‘So Rude’ – Rebecca’s Empire
#58. ‘Heartspark Dollarsign’ – Everclear
#59. ‘Silver Lizard’ – Tumbleweed
#60. ‘Hey Dude’ – Kula Shaker
#61. ‘I’ll Be Your Majick’ – Def FX
#62. ‘Hero Of The Day’ – Metallica
#63. ‘Punk Rock Song’ – Bad Religion
#64. ‘Wombo Lombo’ – Angélique Kidjo
#65. ‘Here In Your Bedroom’ – Goldfinger
#66. ‘What’s Come Over Me’ – Frente!
#67. ‘Everything Is Good For You’ – Crowded House
#68. ‘Theme From Mission: Impossible’ – Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen
#69. ‘Speculator’ – Insurge
#70. ‘Don’t It Get You Down’ – Deadstar
#71. ‘Disco 2000’ – Pulp
#72. ‘Punch In The Face’ – Frenzal Rhomb
#73. ‘Gold Dust Woman’ – Hole
#74. ‘Lay Lady Lay’ – Ministry
#75. ‘Surf’s Up Tonight’ – Midnight Oil
#76. ‘In The Meantime’ – Spacehog
#77. ‘Burden In My Hand’ – Soundgarden
#78. ‘How Bizarre’ – OMC
#79. ‘I Make Hamburgers’ – The Whitlams
#80. ‘Soldiers’ – You Am I
#81. ‘Shut My Eyes’ – The Superjesus
#82. ‘Naked Eye’ – Luscious Jackson
#83. ‘Waking Up Tired’ – Hoodoo Gurus
#84. ‘Good Mornin” – You Am I
#85. ‘Goldfinger’ – Ash
#86. ‘Woman’ – Neneh Cherry
#87. ‘E-Bow The Letter’ – R.E.M.
#88. ‘Grooving’ – The Hunting Party
#89. ‘Cromagnonman’ – Snout
#90. ‘Leaving Here’ – Pearl Jam
#91. ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis’ – Barry Adamson
#92. ‘Thunder’ – The Mavis’s
#93. ‘All I Want’ – Skunk Anansie
#94. ‘Mankind’ – Pearl Jam
#95. ‘Creep’ – Frank Bennett
#96. ‘Ella’s Uncle’ – Matthew Trapnell With Trapezoid
#97. ‘Hail Caesar’ – AC/DC
#98. ‘Professional Widow (Armand’s Star Trunk Funkin’ Mix)’ – Tori Amos
#99. ‘Ready To Go’ – Republica
#100. ‘Gold To Me’ – Ben Harper
Quick Facts:
Artists: 82
Most Successful Artists: Bush, Pearl Jam, Powderfinger, and The Smashing Pumpkins (3 tracks)
Number Of Countries: 8
Top Three Countries: USA (45 tracks), Australia (29 tracks), England (18 tracks)
Shortest Song: ‘Mah Nà Mah Nà’ – Skin (1:39)
Longest Song: ‘Ella’s Uncle’ – Matt Trapnell & Trapazoid (5:56)
Did you spot the record-breaking eight covers in the above list? Here they are for quick reference!
#21. ‘Down In The Park’ – Foo Fighters (Original artist: Gary Numan & Tubeway Army)
#32. ‘Living Type’ – Powderfinger (Original artist: Piero Umiliani)
#35. ‘Killing Me Softly’ – Fugees (Original artist: Roberta Flack)
#68. ‘Theme From Mission: Impossible’ – Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen (Original artist: Lalo Schifrin)
#73. ‘Gold Dust Woman’ – Hole (Original artist: Fleetwood Mac)
#74. ‘Lay Lady Lay’ – Ministry (Original artist: Bob Dylan)
#90. ‘Leaving Here’ – Pearl Jam (Original artist: Eddie Holland)
#95. ‘Creep’ – Frank Bennett (Original artist: Radiohead)
