Voting in the much anticipated (if search engine queries into disassociated are anything to go by) triple j Hottest 100 Of All Time (2009) gets underway in a few weeks time, on Monday 1 June.

Unlike the annual Hottest 100 countdowns which are usually broadcast in their entirety each Australia Day, the all time countdown looks like it will be staggered, as it starts on Tuesday 7 July and culminates on Sunday 12 July.

In the meantime let’s get the grunge revival really kicking, and vote in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at number one. :)

(Thanks Coffee Girl)

Writing a Triple J Hottest 100 number one song: while your mileage may vary with some tips, making the title more memorable by including it in the chorus is definitely a recipe for success; since 1989 13 songs that do so have reached the top spot:

Songwriters love featuring the song title in the chorus hook, as it makes the song much easier to remember. Simply reading the title in print brings the song to mind, which translates to a stronger response from voters. The Cranberries’ Zombie features a chorus of nothing more than the song’s title being yelped by singer Dolores O’Riordan, Bernard Fanning’s Wish You Well is more polite, ending the chorus with the song title in a manner that almost insists that the listener sing along. In fact, no less than thirteen previous Hottest 100 winners sung the title in the chorus, ranging from the subtle (Powderfinger – My Happiness and Alex Lloyd – Amazing) to the sledgehammer (Dennis Leary – Asshole). Even the dark horses of 2006, Augie March, open the chorus of One Crowded Hour with the title lyric.

During the Australia Day countdown of the Hottest 100 of 2008, Triple J’s music director Richard Kingsmill announced the next Hottest 100 Of All Time poll will take place in July.

Unlike annual Hottest 100 countdowns, where only music released during the current year can be voted for, the field will be wide open for the “all time” 100. The last such countdown was in 1998, and saw Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” top the poll.

As Kingsmill said however, “there’s been a bit of a chance in the landscape”, as you’d expect after almost 11 years, so it will be interesting to see the all time choices of Triple J listeners this time around.

In time honoured Australia Day tradition, the Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown gets under way this morning, Australia wide, from 10am EDT.

If you’re in Sydney and want to make a day of it, head along to Parramatta Park, where the Triple J crew will broadcasting the show, or simply throw your own Hottest 100 party.

Also follow the action on Twitter via @JJJhottest100 or with the tags #hottest100 and #triplej.

Update: Dukes of Windsor – It’s a War, came in at number 100… anyone know what was at number 101?!

Update #2: Kings of Leon “Sex on Fire” takes out the number one spot for 2008! I’ll post a link to the full Hottest 100 listing as soon it becomes available.

Update #3: full list of the Hottest 100 for 2008 (minus the popup box).

Voting has opened for this year’s Triple J Hottest 100, regarded as “one of the largest public music polls in the world”.

The countdown of 2008′s top songs, as voted by Triple J listeners takes place, as usual, on Australia Day Monday 26 January 2009. It’s a cool sort of way to spend what is considered the (very) end of the summer holiday period in Australia.

Update: updated Hottest 100 info here.

Australian radio station Triple J won’t be quite the same with news that long-time sports funny guys “Rampaging” Roy Slaven and HG Nelson will be leaving at the end of the year.

Triple J confirmed in a statement last night that after 22 years of presenting iconic programs such as This Sporting Life, Festival Of The Boot and Golden Ring Show, the pair have quit the station. Triple J manager Linda Bracken says they will be sadly missed.

Although I was not their most regular or dedicated listeners, I can’t remember a time Triple J was without the antics of Roy and HG… but as the maxim goes, nothing lasts forever, unless you start reading some of the comments left by their listeners.

The Cracker Comedy Festival kicks off on 16 April and features a load of local and international acts including Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld), Ross Noble, Charles Ross and his One Man Star Wars Trilogy, and The Chaser team.

A notable omission, at least as far as I am concerned, is any appearance by Wil Anderson, former Triple J breakfast co-host, (and part time… scientific genius in the guise of Professor Wil), who now works for rival radio station Triple M.

In a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Anderson spoke of some of the restrictions that a celebrity “alter-ego” can be bound by, including, curiously enough, not being able to “age”…

“I have this theory that in entertainment, you’re always the age you are when you start your job,” says Anderson, who is still in the same jeans that went to a Rage Against The Machine gig the night before. “So if you start Triple J breakfast at 25, you’re 25 until you stop doing it because you can’t grow old on the show. “The problem with that, particularly on Triple J, was I was 30 trying to pretend I didn’t have a partner or a mortgage or blah blah blah. And I don’t have to pretend here. I can talk about the fact I feel really unmanly because I’ve got these light globes at my house I just can’t change so I had to call Hire-a-Hubby.

Inept husband jokes might have been one thing, but I don’t think even Wil Anderson could have turned a topic as eternally boring as mortgages into laughing material.

This week’s trivia item, picked up while listening to last week’s streamed 2008 show on Triple J.

Kate Nash’s song “Foundations” was awarded perhaps one of the countdown’s more notorious gongs, being ranked at number 101 in Triple J’s annual poll of their listeners’ favourite , er, 100 songs for 2007.

Personally I think the song deserved better.

… or rather the number one song in this year’s Hottest 100 was “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse. I’d gone for either Silverchair or the John Butler Trio. Oh well.

It’s a disassociated tradition of sorts to lock the doors, dim the lights, twist the volume dial to TEN, and while the day away listening to the best tracks of the previous year, as voted by Triple J listeners.

The fact that Australia Day proper falls on a Saturday (with the holiday being marked this Monday, drinks tomorrow night then, anyone?) escaped my attention this year, and sadly I have scheduled a load of “domestic” stuff (some of it well overdue according to MySweetHeartTheFlirt) which will see me ducking in and out all day.

I hope they’re recording for later streaming… the Hottest 100 of 2007, that is. :)