Revisiting triple j’s Hottest 100s of years gone by: 2006

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 2006.

Taking place on January 26th, 2007, the triple j Hottest of 2006 was the 14th annual countdown held by the station which limited votes to songs released in the last year.

Throughout 2006, it had become almost a certainty that Eskimo Joe were set to top the Hottest 100 of the year, thanks in part to their hit single ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’ from their album of the same name.

However, as even triple j presenters explained at the time, Augie March’s come-from-behind victory was a “huge upset”, with ‘One Crowded Hour’ being crowned the top song of the year.

In years since, some people have looked into Augie March’s win, surmising that the majority of their votes came from the fact that they were one of the first-listed bands alphabetically, thus being one of the first acts that people voted for.

Whatever the case, Augie March became the first band since Spiderbait in 1996 to score #1 with no other songs in the countdown, while the countdown became the first since 1999 to have an all-Aussie top three.

Check out Augie March’s ‘One Crowded Hour’:

Elsewhere in the countdown, a couple of other interesting events occurred, including Hilltop Hoods charting at #3 with ‘The Hard Road’. To date, this is the highest position the band have achieved, hitting this number twice more, in 2009 and 2014, and becoming the only artist to reach the same position more than twice.

Meanwhile, The Living End’s appearance at #53 with ‘Wake Up’ served as the tenth consecutive countdown they’ve appeared in, first charting in 1997. To date, the band have only charted once more since, with ‘White Noise’ reaching #23 in 2008.

Lastly, at #91, Panic! At The Disco made their first (and to date, last) appearance in a countdown with their song ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage’. As of 2019, this is the longest song title in a countdown, beating out Primitive Radio Gods’ ‘Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand’ from 1996.

Check out Panic! At The Disco’s ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage’:

At the end of the day, triple j’s Hottest 100 for 2006 featured songs by 69 different artists from a total of 6 countries, including 41 from Australia, 34 from the USA, and 20 from England.

The Hilltop Hoods were the best-performing acts of the countdown, with five of their tracks charting. The Grates and Lily Allen trailed closely behind, each charting four times.

Meanwhile, the Arctic Monkeys and Placebo both charted three times, while a further 19 artists placed twice, including Pendulum (who appeared once as themselves, and once with Freestylers), and Lupe Fiasco (who appeared as a solo act, and with Kanye West).

Also, if you’re keen on some of the more obscure facts, the shortest track to appear in the countdown was The Grates’ ‘19-20-20’ at 2:05, while the longest was Tool’s ‘Vicarious’ at 7:07.

Check out the full list of songs in the triple j Hottest 100 for 2006 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 2006

#1. ‘One Crowded Hour’ – Augie March
#2. ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’ – Eskimo Joe
#3. ‘The Hard Road’ – Hilltop Hoods
#4. ‘When You Were Young’ – The Killers
#5. ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin” – Scissor Sisters
#6. ‘Crazy’ – Gnarls Barkley
#7. ‘Chasing Cars’ – Snow Patrol
#8. ‘Hearts A Mess’ – Gotye
#9. ‘Starlight’ – Muse
#10. ’19-20-20′ – The Grates

#11. ‘Come On Come On’ – Little Birdy
#12. ‘Funky Tonight’ – The John Butler Trio
#13. ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ – My Chemical Romance
#14. ‘Here It Goes Again’ – OK Go
#15. ‘Smile’ – Lily Allen
#16. ‘Young Folks (feat. Victoria Bergsman)’ – Peter Bjorn And John
#17. ‘Science Is Golden’ – The Grates
#18. ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ – Muse
#19. ‘Kick, Push’ – Lupe Fiasco
#20. ‘Fidelity’ – Regina Spektor

#21. ‘Forever Young’ – Youth Group
#22. ‘Vicarious’ – Tool
#23. ‘Clown Prince’ – Hilltop Hoods
#24. ‘Gold Lion’ – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
#25. ‘Meds (feat. Alison Mosshart)’ – Placebo
#26. ‘Ta Douleur’ – Camille
#27. ‘You Only Live Once’ – The Strokes
#28. ‘Steady, As She Goes’ – The Raconteurs
#29. ‘The Pot’ – Tool
#30. ‘When The Sun Goes Gown’ – Arctic Monkeys

#31. ‘Bones’ – The Killers
#32. ‘Gone’ – The Butterfly Effect
#33. ‘Call Me Anytime’ – The Cops
#34. ‘Dani California’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
#35. ‘LDN’ – Lily Allen
#36. ‘Nowhere Without You’ – Bob Evans
#37. ‘Don’t You Think It’s Time?’ – Bob Evans
#38. ‘Memories & Dust’ – Josh Pyke
#39. ‘A Slow Descent’ – The Butterfly Effect
#40. ‘Take Me Back To Your House’ – Basement Jaxx

#41. ‘What A Great Night’ – Hilltop Hoods
#42. ‘Inside Outside’ – The Grates
#43. ‘Paper Aeroplane’ – Angus & Julia Stone
#44. ‘Love Me Or Hate Me’ – Lady Sovereign
#45. ‘Roquefort (With Empire Horns)’ – Karnivool
#46. ‘Miss Murder’ – AFI
#47. ‘The Truth About Cats And Dogs (Is That They Die)’ – Pony Up
#48. ‘On The Radio’ – Regina Spektor
#49. ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco’ – Arctic Monkeys
#50. ‘Heart In A Cage’ – The Strokes

#51. ‘Cigarettes And Suitcases’ – Something For Kate
#52. ‘Unpredictable’ – The Herd
#53. ‘Wake Up’ – The Living End
#54. ‘I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)’ – Eagles Of Death Metal
#55. ‘Woman (MSTRKRFT Remix)’ – Wolfmother
#56. ‘Stopping All Stations’ – Hilltop Hoods
#57. ‘Private Education’ – Josh Pyke
#58. ‘Always On This Line’ – Sarah Blasko
#59. ‘Song To Say Goodbye’ – Placebo
#60. ‘Over And Over’ – Hot Chip

#61. ‘Everlong (Acoustic Live)’ – Foo Fighters
#62. ‘We Are Your Friends’ – Justice vs. Simian
#63. ‘Wolf Like Me’ – TV On The Radio
#64. ‘Apple Of The Eye (Lay Me Down)’ – Something With Numbers
#65. ‘The Prayer’ – Bloc Party
#66. ‘Phenomena’ – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
#67. ‘Love Like Winter’ – AFI
#68. ‘Happiness Is A Chemical’ – Darren Hanlon
#69. ‘Nausea’ – Beck
#70. ‘Such Great Heights’ – Ben Folds

#71. ‘Lies Are Much More Fun’ – The Grates
#72. ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’ – Jet
#73. ‘King Without A Crown’ – Matisyahu
#74. ‘Hands Open’ – Snow Patrol
#75. ‘Sundress’ – Ben Kweller
#76. ‘Rip It Up’ – Jet
#77. ‘Recapturing The Vibe’ – Hilltop Hoods
#78. ‘Infra-Red’ – Placebo
#79. ‘{explain}’ – Sarah Blasko
#80. ‘Love Train’ – Wolfmother

#81. ‘Gone Daddy Gone’ – Gnarls Barkley
#82. ‘Painkiller (feat. Pendulum & SirReal)’ – Freestylers
#83. ‘Get Up Outta The Dirt’ – Butterfingers
#84. ‘Black Swan’ – Thom Yorke
#85. ‘Love Like Semtex’ – Infadels
#86. ‘Touch The Sky (feat. Lupe Fiasco)’ – Kanye West
#87. ‘Better Way’ – Ben Harper
#88. ‘Tarantula (feat. Fresh, $Pyda & Tenor Fly)’ – Pendulum
#89. ‘Mardy Bum’ – Arctic Monkeys
#90. ‘Work It Out (feat. Dave Matthews Band)’ – Jurassic 5

#91. ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage’ – Panic! At The Disco
#92. ‘Alfie’ – Lily Allen
#93. ‘Everything’s Just Wonderful’ – Lily Allen
#94. ‘Learnalilgivinanlovin’ – Gotye
#95. ‘New York’ – Eskimo Joe
#96. ‘Slide In Next To Me’ – Red Riders
#97. ‘World Wide Suicide’ – Pearl Jam
#98. ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ – Gossip
#99. ‘Original Fire’ – Audioslave
#100. ‘Come And Check Your Head’ – Blue King Brown

Quick Facts:

Artists: 69
Most Successful Artist: Hilltop Hoods (5 tracks)
Number Of Countries: 6
Top Three Countries: Australia (41 tracks), USA (34 tracks), England (20 tracks)
Shortest Song: ‘19-20-20′ – The Grates (2:05)
Longest Song: ‘Vicarious’ – Tool (7:07)

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