The Rubens are no doubt on top of the world after coming in at number one on yesterday’s triple j Hottest 100 countdown, one of the most highly coveted accolades that can be bestowed upon an Australian artist.
However, not everyone is celebrating. Despite repeated calls to see a rock song top the countdown again, many, including media outlets like Fairfax, have hit out at this year’s countdown for being “unsurprising and safe”.
The Rubens have now hit back at the criticism, saying the countdown is not meant to be surprising or dangerous, but simply a representation of the tastes of young Australian music lovers and the songs they voted for.
“Unsurprising — that’s an interesting way to describe something voted by people, I guess,” the band told ABC News Breakfast. “It’s not meant to be surprising.” Though the band admitted they were surprised by some of the entries.
“I think we were surprised, but I guess I was really surprised at some of the results,” they said. “I thought certain songs would have been much higher or lower. And that all comes down to personal taste.”
Commenting on the predictions leading up to the countdown, most of which were influenced by social media or betting odds, the band said, “If you look at that, it didn’t play the way that… people expected, but that’s good.”
