# | Title | Artist | Time | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | No Aphrodisiac | The Whitlams | 4:20 | ![]() |
2 | Song 2 | Blur | 2:01 | ![]() |
3 | Tubthumping | Chumbawamba | 3:34 | ![]() |
4 | Bitter Sweet Symphony | The Verve | 5:59 | ![]() |
5 | Back Door Man | Pauline Pantsdown | 4:18 | ![]() |
6 | Dammit | Blink-182 | 2:47 | ![]() |
7 | Paranoid Android | Radiohead | 6:24 | ![]() |
8 | The Beautiful People | Marilyn Manson | 3:39 | ![]() |
9 | Karma Police | Radiohead | 4:22 | ![]() |
10 | Leaving Home | Jebediah | 3:00 | ![]() |
11 | Walkin' On The Sun | Smash Mouth | 3:28 | ![]() |
12 | One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces | Ben Folds Five | 3:52 | ![]() |
13 | Freak | Silverchair | 3:49 | ![]() |
14 | Down Again | The Superjesus | 5:13 | ![]() |
15 | Prisoner Of Society | The Living End | 3:55 | ![]() |
16 | Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) | Quindon Tarver | 7:10 | ![]() |
17 | Crazy | Cordrazine | 4:03 | ![]() |
18 | Into My Arms | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 4:15 | ![]() |
19 | Everyday Formula | Regurgitator | 2:12 | ![]() |
20 | I Will Survive | Cake | 5:11 | ![]() |
21 | Monkey Wrench | Foo Fighters | 3:54 | ![]() |
22 | The Drugs Don't Work | The Verve | 5:05 | ![]() |
23 | Calypso | Spiderbait | 1:51 | ![]() |
24 | A.D.I.D.A.S. | Korn | 2:33 | ![]() |
25 | Hitchin' A Ride | Green Day | 2:52 | ![]() |
26 | The Perfect Drug | Nine Inch Nails | 5:16 | ![]() |
27 | The Door | Silverchair | 3:38 | ![]() |
28 | Cows With Guns | Dana Lyons | 5:14 | ![]() |
29 | Semi-Charmed Life | Third Eye Blind | 4:27 | ![]() |
30 | Forty Six & 2 | Tool | 6:04 | ![]() |
31 | Ashes To Ashes | Faith No More | 3:36 | ![]() |
32 | Coma | Pendulum | 6:46 | ![]() |
33 | Military Strongmen | Jebediah | 3:28 | ![]() |
34 | DCx3 | Grinspoon | 2:55 | ![]() |
35 | Summertime | The Sundays | 3:31 | ![]() |
36 | Mutilated Lips | Ween | 3:49 | ![]() |
37 | Naughty Boy | The Mavis's | 3:13 | ![]() |
38 | The Memory Remains | Metallica | 4:39 | ![]() |
39 | Captain (Million Miles An Hour) | Something For Kate | 4:43 | ![]() |
40 | Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me? | Bloodhound Gang | 3:22 | ![]() |
41 | Deadweight | Beck | 6:12 | ![]() |
42 | Brimful Of Asha | Cornershop | 4:08 | ![]() |
43 | You're Not The Only One Who Feels This Way | Ammonia | 3:54 | ![]() |
44 | Temptation | The Tea Party | 3:25 | ![]() |
45 | Wrong Number | The Cure | 6:03 | ![]() |
46 | Fire Water Burn | Bloodhound Gang | 4:52 | ![]() |
47 | (Can't You) Trip Like I Do | Filter & The Crystal Method | 4:29 | ![]() |
48 | Anatomically Correct | Custard | 2:43 | ![]() |
49 | From Here On In | The Living End | 2:42 | ![]() |
50 | Eat Me | Arkarna | 4:06 | ![]() |
51 | So Much For The Afterglow | Everclear | 3:54 | ![]() |
52 | #1 Crush (Nellee Hooper Mix) | Garbage | 4:47 | ![]() |
53 | You Sound Like Louis Burdett | The Whitlams | 4:02 | ![]() |
54 | Everything To Everyone | Everclear | 3:20 | ![]() |
55 | Love Rollercoaster | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 4:37 | ![]() |
56 | Funky Shit | The Prodigy | 5:16 | ![]() |
57 | Girl At The Bus Stop | My Drug Hell | 3:28 | ![]() |
58 | I Go Off | Diana Ah Naid | 3:15 | ![]() |
59 | Your Woman | White Town | 4:20 | ![]() |
60 | New York City | They Might Be Giants | 3:03 | ![]() |
61 | Block Rockin' Beats | The Chemical Brothers | 5:15 | ![]() |
62 | The End Is The Beginning Is The End | The Smashing Pumpkins | 5:08 | ![]() |
63 | Repeat | Grinspoon | 3:18 | ![]() |
64 | Stripsearch | Faith No More | 4:31 | ![]() |
65 | The Outdoor Type | The Lemonheads | 2:35 | ![]() |
66 | JC | Powderfinger | 2:50 | ![]() |
67 | I Choose | The Offspring | 3:55 | ![]() |
68 | Cosmic Girl | Jamiroquai | 4:04 | ![]() |
69 | Waving My Dick In The Wind | Ween | 2:13 | ![]() |
70 | Place Your Hands | Reef | 3:38 | ![]() |
71 | Sick With Love | Robyn Loau | 3:48 | ![]() |
72 | Pulse | Front End Loader | 3:08 | ![]() |
73 | Lakini's Juice | Live | 4:59 | ![]() |
74 | The Ghost Of Tom Joad | Rage Against The Machine | 5:39 | ![]() |
75 | Female Of The Species | Space | 3:17 | ![]() |
76 | Legend Of A Cowgirl | Imani Coppola | 3:47 | ![]() |
77 | Lovefool | The Cardigans | 3:19 | ![]() |
78 | Degenerate Boy | The Mark Of Cain | 4:03 | ![]() |
79 | All Mine | Portishead | 4:02 | ![]() |
80 | Faded | Ben Harper | 4:50 | ![]() |
81 | Did It Again | Kylie Minogue | 4:14 | ![]() |
82 | Shake Hands With Beef | Primus | 4:03 | ![]() |
83 | I Wanna Be A Drug-Sniffing Dog | Lard | 3:18 | ![]() |
84 | Feelin' Kinda Sporty | Dave Graney 'N' The Coral Snakes | 3:11 | ![]() |
85 | Nightmare (Sinister Strings Radio Edit) | Brainbug | 3:29 | ![]() |
86 | Smokin' Johnny Cash | The Blackeyed Susans | 3:48 | ![]() |
87 | 6 Underground | Sneaker Pimps | 3:49 | ![]() |
88 | Nothing | Beaverloop | 2:39 | ![]() |
89 | Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth | The Dandy Warhols | 3:12 | ![]() |
90 | Society | Pennywise | 3:25 | ![]() |
91 | Remember Me | Blue Boy | 3:58 | ![]() |
92 | Titanic Days | Sidewinder | 3:40 | ![]() |
93 | Weightlessness | Skunkhour | 3:59 | ![]() |
94 | Way Of All Things | Rebecca's Empire | 5:26 | ![]() |
95 | Don't Leave | Faithless | 4:04 | ![]() |
96 | Bound For The Floor | Local H | 3:42 | ![]() |
97 | The Future's Overrated | Arkarna | 6:52 | ![]() |
98 | Da Funk | Daft Punk | 5:30 | ![]() |
99 | Naked Eye | Luscious Jackson | 4:43 | ![]() |
100 | I Give In | Effigy | 4:40 | ![]() |
Facts for 1997
The 1997 Hottest 100 was the fifth annual Hottest 100 countdown since the change of the format which allowed only songs from the previous year to be voted for.
The Countdown
The countdown took place in January of 1998 and featured a mixture of 88 different artists, which is currently the highest amount of artists to appear in a countdown.
This high number of artists is due to no artist appearing more than twice in the countdown. Incidentally, this is also the only countdown to have no songs with a featured artist performing alongside the main artist.
The 1997 countdown was the second time that an Australian act had topped the charts, with Spiderbait doing it the year previously. The number one song was announced by Gough Whitlam, the namesake of winning band The Whitlams. Fellow Triple J listeners, I'm Gough Whitlam, and as an avid supporter of Australian music I'm very proud to announce the number 1 song for 1997's Hottest 100. With their smash hit, 'No Aphrodisiac', please put your hands together for my favourite band, my eponyms, The Whitlams.
— Gough Whitlam, former Australian Prime Minister (1972 - 1975)
The countdown was also subject to a small amount of controversy. On August 21, 1997, Triple J started to play the satirical track 'Back Door Man' by Pauline Pantsdown. The song was a collection of audio clips of politician Pauline Hanson, put to music with intent to ridicule her in the lead up to the election. However, after only 11 days of airplay, the track was banned by a Queensland court, and Triple J were legally forbidden from playing the song.
Nevertheless, the song reached the #5 position and is, to date, the only song voted into, but omitted from the airplay of a countdown.
At #22, The Verve charted with their song 'The Drugs Don't Work'. In the 2001 countdown, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals charted at the same position with their cover of the track.
Additionally, in 1998, Ben Lee reached #2 with his song 'Cigarettes Will Kill You'. Reportedly, the title of his song was based upon the blunt, factual nature of The Verve's song.
It is worth noting that Pendulum, who feature at #32 with their track 'Coma', are a different band to the drum and bass band of the same name who feature in later years.
At #46, the Bloodhound Gang featured with their song 'Fire Water Burn', which features numerousreferences to various pop culture figures such as Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, who are both deceased musicians who have featured in either yearly or All Time countdowns previously. The song also includes the line "I'm not black like Barry White, no I am white like Frank Black is.
So if man is five and the devil is six then that must make me seven; this honky's gone to heaven."
This line references Frank Black, best known as the frontman for the Pixies who performed under the name Black Francis. The following sentence parodies the line "If man is five, then the Devil is six and God is seven", from the Pixes' song 'Monkey Gone To Heaven" which featured in the 1990 and 1991 All Time countdowns, reaching positions #34 and #91 respectively.
At #78, The Mark Of Cain featured with their cover of X's 'Degenerate Boy', which was featured on the soundtrack for the film 'Idiot Box'. The film also starred, in a supporting role, Robyn Loau, who featured at #71 with 'Sick With Love'.
Grinspoon's appearance in the countdown marks the first time that songs from album have been featured in non-consecutive countdowns. In 1995, Grinspoon released their track 'Sickfest' which was later re-released on their debut album 'Guide To Better Living' in 1998. The album also managed to feature in both the 1997 and 1998 countdowns. To date, it is the only album that features in 3 different countdowns. Non-consecutive appearances also occurred in the 2011 countdown with Architecture In Helsinki, and the 2015 countdown, when The Wombats charted.
The countdown also features the moderately rare distinction of having no artists reach consecutive entries. This has also happened in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Artists Featured
The 1997 countdown was unique in that it was the only year in which no artist achieved more than 2 entries. This incidentally led to the 1997 countdown having the most number of artists, 88, and therefore, the most diversity of any of the countdowns to date.
Artists With Multiple Entries
2 Tracks
- Arkarna (50, 97)
- The Bloodhound Gang (40, 46)
- Everclear (51, 54)
- Faith No More (31, 64)
- Grinspoon (34, 63)
- Jebediah (10, 33)
- The Living End (15, 49)
- Radiohead (7, 9)
- Silverchair (13, 27)
- The Verve (4, 22)
- Ween (36, 69)
- The Whitlams (1, 53)
Countries Featured
The 1997 Hottest 100 featured artists from 8 countries, including 40 from the USA, 34 from Australia and 21 from England.
Countries Represented in the 1997 Countdown
Flag | Country | Entries |
---|---|---|
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Australia | 34 |
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Canada | 1 |
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England | 21 |
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France | 1 |
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Italy | 1 |
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Scotland | 1 |
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Sweden | 1 |
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USA | 40 |
Quick Facts
Number Of Artists Featured
- 88 Artists
Most Successful Artists
- Arkarna (2 tracks)
- The Bloodhound Gang (2 tracks)
- Everclear (2 tracks)
- Faith No More (31, 64)
- Grinspoon (2 tracks)
- Jebediah (2 tracks)
- The Living End (2 tracks)
- Radiohead (2 tracks)
- Silverchair (2 tracks)
- The Verve (2 tracks)
- Ween (2 tracks)
- The Whitlams (2 tracks)
Number Of Countries Featured
- 8 Countries
Top Three Countries
- USA (40 tracks)
- Australia (34 tracks)
- England (21 tracks)
Unearthed Artists
- Grinspoon (2 tracks)
Average Track Time
- 4:04 (4 minutes, 4 seconds)
Shortest Track
- Calypso - Spiderbait (1:51)
Longest Track
- Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Quindon Tarver (7:10)
Leaderboard as of 1997
Flag | Country | Total |
---|---|---|
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USA | 221 |
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Australia | 143 |
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England | 84 |
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Ireland | 11 |
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Canada | 10 |
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Sweden | 6 |
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New Zealand | 5 |
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Iceland | 4 |
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Jamaica | 4 |
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Scotland | 4 |
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Benin | 2 |
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Denmark | 1 |
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France | 1 |
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Germany | 1 |
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Italy | 1 |
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Senegal | 1 |
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Wales | 1 |
CD Release

Cassette Release
