Writer turns Hottest 100 obsession into a book

At least that's the way it worked for Helensburgh-born Tom Clarke, who has written Shoulda Been Higher, a celebration of triple j's Hottest 100.

"The Hottest 100 has been a bit of obsession," Clarke said.

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"I've always loved it - it's always been my favourite day of the year. I just found that I had this ever-burgeoning brain for the trivia and titbits and statistics.

"Then COVID hit and, like a lot of people, I had a lot more time on my hands than I expected. Some people used that to develop a new skill like baking or crochet or coding - and I wrote 80,000 words on the Hottest 100."

Shoulda Been Higher isn't a straight history of the annual countdown but rather homes in on part of the argumentative appeal of the Hottest 100.

As the title suggests, each year's vote comes with criticisms about this band not finishing higher, or that singer not even being worthy of being in the top 100, and of course the relative merits of whatever finished No1.

While The Offspring's No1 finish in 1998 with Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) now makes people cringe, I maintain future generations will see The Wiggles' 2021 win with Elephant in the same light.

Clarke conceded future listeners will find it "a little bizarre" that The Wiggles won, but pointed out the song perhaps provided a bit of light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

"Maybe we'll look back on it and go 'oh yeah, we all had cabin fever'," he said.

The Hottest 100 as we know it started in 1993, where only songs of that year were eligible. For several years previously triple j ran the Hot 100 - the best songs of all time - which got canned when it became obvious the same songs would appear in the top 10 each year.

While Clarke has a soft spot for Elephant, it's not the same for the inaugural winner in 1993 - Asshole by Denis Leary.

"There are a lot of parts of the book where I tried to be objective in capturing what Australia was thinking and feeling the time, but then there are some that I think just require comment," he said.

"Denis Leary is a rough one. That's something we have to live with as a country, that we let Denis Leary be the first ever winner of the Hottest 100."

In the early years of the Hottest 100, triple j itself had the most influence on what songs would appear - simply by playing certain songs more often. An increase in airplay meant more people heard it, and therefore it was in their mind come voting time.

These days, however, Clarke said social media had a bigger influence on the Hottest 100.

"More so than triple j itself, I think it's TikTok - if something goes viral on TikTok that's going to completely change the amount of people who hear it and who love it," he said.

"Heat Waves by Glass Animals got an enormous lift from TikTok, to the point where millions of people discovered Glass Animals even though they'd been a band for almost 10 years."

Part of the enduring appeal of the Hottest 100 is that it provides an excuse for a party, and allows people to debate something important to them - music.

But Clarke reckoned it all goes a bit deeper than that.

"I think what's so alluring and fascinating about the Hottest 100 is that it's probably one of the few areas where young Australians have full control over the results of something - even if it's something as trivial as music," he said.

"It really inspires a massive community of people to combine over one thing. The debate and arguments and jokes are all in really good spirit and everyone can collaborate on something that is contentious but in the funnest way possible.

"I think it does provide a voice to music lovers and young people in particular and I think that's why people love it."

Shoulda Been Higher, published by Melbourne Books, is released on October 1.

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