Revisiting triple j’s Hottest 100s of years gone by: 2004

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 2004.

Taking place on January 26th, 2005, and attracting 475,000 votes, the triple j Hottest of 2004 was the twelfth annual countdown held by the station which limited votes to songs released in the last year.

After Jet’s breakthrough single, ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl?’ managed to top the poll in 2003, listeners were undoubtedly eager to see which track would manage to emerge victorious in 2004.

However, despite tracks by The Killers, Missy Higgins, and Eskimo Joe all being in the running, it was pretty clear from the start that Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Take Me Out’ was going to rightfully claim the #1 spot.

The countdown was also notable for a number of other interesting milestones, including being one of the few polls to feature both the original and cover version of a track. In this case, Scissor Sisters charted at #44 with their cover of ‘Take Me Out’.

This feat would occur in two other countdowns over the years, with Something For Kate covering Jebediah’s ‘Harpoon’ in 1998, and San Cisco covering Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ in 2013.

Check out Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Take Me Out’:

Meanwhile, the countdown also featured something of a comical ending as well, with Drive host Chris Taylor making a bet that if the theme to the ABC’s Mediawatch made the countdown, he would streak around through the grounds of the Sydney Big Day Out festival.

When the countdown got to #7, announcers revealed that the track had indeed made it, and Taylor was forced to honour his bet. Upon his return, Richard Kingsmill revealed that the track was ineligible since it wasn’t recorded in 2004, and announced that The John Butler Trio’s ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ had placed at #7 instead.

Funnily enough, Pendulum’s remix of the ABC News theme would later be voted into a countdown, reaching #11 in 2010.

Check out Pendulum’s ‘ABC News Theme Remix’:

At the end of the day, triple j’s Hottest 100 for 2004 featured songs by 71 different artists from a total of 10 countries, including 47 from Australia, 28 from the USA, and 10 from England.

The John Butler Trio and Scissor Sisters proved to be the best most successful acts of the countdown, with four tracks to their names. Eskimo Joe, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Little Birdy, and Missy Higgins all scored three tracks, while 13 other acts appeared twice.

Also, if you’re keen on some of the more obscure facts, the shortest track to appear in the countdown was The Von Bondies’s ‘C’mon C’mon’ at 2:14, while the longest was The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Galvanize’ at 6:34.

Check out the full list of songs in the triple j Hottest 100 for 2004 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 2004

#1. ‘Take Me Out’ – Franz Ferdinand
#2. ‘Scar’ – Missy Higgins
#3. ‘From The Sea’ – Eskimo Joe
#4. ‘Somebody Told Me’ – The Killers
#5. ‘Black Betty’ – Spiderbait
#6. ‘Ten Days’ – Missy Higgins
#7. ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ – The John Butler Trio
#8. ‘Beautiful To Me’ – Little Birdy
#9. ‘Bless My Soul’ – Powderfinger
#10. ‘Jolene (Live Under Blackpool Lights)’ – The White Stripes

#11. ‘Float On’ – Modest Mouse
#12. ‘Coin-Operated Boy’ – The Dresden Dolls
#13. ‘Mr. Brightside’ – The Killers
#14. ‘It’s Too Late’ – Evermore
#15. ‘Gamble Everything For Love’ – Ben Lee
#16. ‘Hard Act To Follow’ – Grinspoon
#17. ‘Yo Mama’ – Butterfingers
#18. ‘Fit But You Know It’ – The Streets
#19. ‘Dry Your Eyes’ – The Streets
#20. ‘Fucken’ Awesome’ – Spiderbait

#21. ‘Common People’ – William Shatner
#22. ‘American Idiot’ – Green Day
#23. ‘Take Your Mama’ – Scissor Sisters
#24. ‘Look What You’ve Done’ – Jet
#25. ‘Treat Yo Mama’ – The John Butler Trio
#26. ‘Better Off Alone’ – Grinspoon
#27. ‘Don’t U Eva’ – Sarah Blasko
#28. ‘Ch-Check It Out’ – Beastie Boys
#29. ‘This Fire’ – Franz Ferdinand
#30. ‘Girl Anachronism’ – The Dresden Dolls

#31. ‘The Bucket’ – Kings Of Leon
#32. ‘Older Than You’ – Eskimo Joe
#33. ‘Chicken Payback’ – The Bees
#34. ‘What The Fuck’ – Machine Gun Fellatio
#35. ‘Not Many – The Remix! (feat. Savage & Con Psy)’ – Scribe
#36. ‘Forget Her’ – Jeff Buckley
#37. ‘Adelaide’ – Ben Folds
#38. ‘Vertigo’ – U2
#39. ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ – The Killers
#40. ‘This Is A Love Song’ – Little Birdy

#41. ‘Mass Destruction (P*Nut & Sister Bliss Mix)’ – Faithless
#42. ‘This Old Love’ – Lior
#43. ‘Godhopping’ – Dogs Die In Hot Cars
#44. ‘Take Me Out’ – Scissor Sisters
#45. ‘Woman’ – Wolfmother
#46. ‘Amerika’ – Rammstein
#47. ‘I Can’t Give You What I Haven’t Got’ – The Living End
#48. ‘Memory Lane’ – Elliott Smith
#49. ‘Casualty’ – Missy Higgins
#50. ‘The Dark Of The Matinée’ – Franz Ferdinand

#51. ‘What You Want’ – The John Butler Trio
#52. ‘My Friend Robot’ – Regurgitator
#53. ‘English Summer Rain’ – Placebo
#54. ‘Bridal Train’ – The Waifs
#55. ‘Walk Idiot Walk’ – The Hives
#56. ‘Shelter’ – Xavier Rudd
#57. ‘For One Day’ – Evermore
#58. ‘Laura’ – Scissor Sisters
#59. ‘Solace’ – Xavier Rudd
#60. ‘L-A-C-H-L-A-N’ – Your Wedding Night

#61. ‘Flashdance’ – Deep Dish
#62. ‘Smoke’ – Eskimo Joe
#63. ‘She Wants To Move’ – N*E*R*D
#64. ‘Process This’ – Powderfinger
#65. ‘Self Destruct In Five’ – Epicure
#66. ‘Galvanize’ – The Chemical Brothers
#67. ‘Little Yellow Spider’ – Devendra Banhart
#68. ’10 A.M. Automatic’ – The Black Keys
#69. ‘Push Up’ – Freestylers
#70. ‘Four To The Floor (Thin White Duke Mix)’ – Starsailor

#71. ‘C’mon C’mon’ – The Von Bondies
#72. ‘Section 12 (Hold Me Now)’ – The Polyphonic Spree
#73. ‘Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town’ – The Panda Band
#74. ‘Slow Hands’ – Interpol
#75. ‘Paco Doesn’t Love Me’ – The Spazzys
#76. ‘Evil’ – Interpol
#77. ‘Run’ – Snow Patrol
#78. ‘Tonight’s The Night’ – Little Birdy
#79. ‘Dirty Hearts’ – Dallas Crane
#80. ‘Young Man, Old Man (You Ain’t Better Than The Rest)’ – The Dissociatives

#81. ‘Rough Diamonds’ – End Of Fashion
#82. ‘Drop The Pressure’ – Mylo
#83. ‘Numb All Over’ – Dallas Crane
#84. ‘I Love You ‘Cause I Have To’ – Dogs Die In Hot Cars
#85. ‘The Drop’ – Regurgitator
#86. ‘I Was Born (A Unicorn)’ – The Unicorns
#87. ‘Breathe Me’ – Sia
#88. ‘Imagine’ – A Perfect Circle
#89. ‘Get What You Need’ – Jet
#90. ‘Lotion’ – Greenskeepers

#91. ‘Somersault’ – Decoder Ring
#92. ‘Comfortably Numb’ – Scissor Sisters
#93. ‘Hello’ – The John Butler Trio
#94. ‘Ride’ – The Vines
#95. ‘Twenty Years’ – Placebo
#96. ‘Mirror, Mirror’ – After The Fall
#97. ‘Safe Forever’ – Gyroscope
#98. ‘Catch Me Up’ – Gomez
#99. ‘Always’ – The Butterfly Effect
#100. ‘I’m Gonna Haunt You’ – Fabienne Delsol

Quick Facts:

Artists: 71
Most Successful Artists: The John Butler Trio and Scissor Sisters (4 tracks)
Number Of Countries: 10
Top Three Countries: Australia (47 tracks), USA (28 tracks), England (10 tracks)
Shortest Song: ‘C’mon C’mon’ – The Von Bondies (2:14)
Longest Song: ‘Galvanize’ – The Chemical Brothers (6:34)

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