The Triple J Hottest 100 countdown is sneaking up with just one week until voting closes, leading to a number of bands making some interesting appeals for recognition in the “world’s biggest music democracy.”
Favourites like Lorde, The Preatures, Karnivool, Birds of Tokyo, and more vied for attention in a Triple J-shot spoof video to commemorate Hottest 100 polling opening, while Aussie hip hop star Illy went incognito (ie took his hat off) and went fishing for votes in the streets of Melbourne to hilarious results.
Now Sticky Fingers is the latest band angling for Hottest 100 glory in ‘An Important Message’ for Australian voters that’s patriotic in its position but powerfully funny in its delivery.
The Sydney band are pushing for their single ‘Australia Street’ – taken from debut album Caress Your Soul – to make an appearance in the annual countdown and have unleashed a humorous campaign video in the style of heated election advertising to get the job done.
Rather than a simple ‘vote for us’ clip, Sticky Fingers has digs at everything from politicians and The X Factor to Aussie music vanguard like Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham. There’s also a few cheeky pokes at fellow emerging Aussie talent and Hottest 100 contenders like Melbourne rock band Kingswood and Sydney five-piece The Preatures.
The government advertising spoof opens with some tongue-in-cheek narration describing Down Under as the “land of pleasure beaches, babes, blokes having a punch-on over a kebab and good old quality live Australian music,” juxtaposing the latter with footage of reality TV contestants performing for the Aussie populace. “The Australia you know is changing fast with the introduction of strange new bands like Dune Rats and Jackie Onassis who don’t sound anything like Jimmy Barnes at all.”
“The Australia you know is changing fast with the introduction of strange new bands like Dune Rats and Jackie Onassis who don’t sound anything like Jimmy Barnes at all. That’s somehow ruining the economy,” intones the doom-and-gloom narration.
The faux propaganda also extends to mischievous xenophobia directed at the ‘un-Australian’ Kingswood (their guitarist is half-French!) and linking Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s infamous “she’s got sex appeal” comment to The Preatures, while accusing the band as being “solely responsible for the carbon tax – ‘Is This How You Feel?’ Australia.”
The solution to Australia’s conjured concerns?
“Vote for the one band in Triple J’s Hottest 100 that can actually save Australia’s economy for good. Vote for the band that’s essentially five clones of John Farnham.” Because what could be more patriotic than spending one of your 10 precious Hottest 100 votes on a band from Newtown with a song called ‘Australia Street’? The lasting message of the video as it concludes, replete with the fast-talking terms and conditions coda.
Sticky Fingers may already be fairly familiar to Triple J audiences given they were among the Top 50 Most Played Triple J Unearthed Artists of 2013 (and even topped the digital station’s ‘top songs’ mid-year list).
Assuming the Newtown-based outfit are victorious in their Triple J pledge, their forthcoming 2014 tour plans will be a nice victory lap of the country to celebrate.
The five-piece have already been announced for a few festival slots, including St Kilda Festival in February, the ‘friends-of-friends only’ event The Hills Are Alive in March, and the just announced boutique event Mountain Festival Sounds.
Now the band have announced details for a national tour to support brand new single, ‘Gold Snafu’. The new tune drops in early February and is taken from the band’s forthcoming sophomore effort Land Of Pleasure; full dates and details below.
You can vote in the Triple J Hottest 100 here before polls close on 20th January ahead of the traditional broadcast on Australia Day (that’s 26th January 2014 for you non-patriots) unveiling the results for the annual poll’s 21st birthday.
Sticky Fingers Australian Tour 2014
Saturday 22nd February – Party In The Paddock, Tasmania
Friday 28th February – The Zoo, Brisbane
Saturday 1st March – Coolie Hotel, Coolangatta
Thursday 6th March – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury WA
Friday 7th March – The White Star, Albany WA
Saturday 8th March – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River WA
Thursday 13th March – Garden Party, Wollongong Uni
Friday 14th March – TBA, Canberra
Saturday 15th March – Mountain Sounds Festival, Central Coast NSW
Friday 21st March – The Metro, Sydney NSW
Friday 28th March – The Gov, Adelaide SA
Saturday 29th March – The Corner, Melbourne
Sunday 30th March – The Corner, Melbourne
Info and tickets at facebook.com/stickyfingersmusic
