Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free. Freedom comes in many forms. Freedom is the ability to get whatever you want from your day/week/month/year/life. Freedom is the ability to go about your day without anyone breathing down your neck with surveillance or minty-fresh breath. Freedom is a retailer that knows that great style never dates, it only gets better with age. As any rooting' shootin' 'Murican could tell you, democracy and freedom go hand in hand. And it is here, that we need to pause as I make a point. You are butchering a democracy, Australia, and it's all the media's fault.

General, another settlement needs your help...

I'm not getting you worked up about a political disaster looming on our fair horizon, but the world's largest musical democracy, the Triple J Hottest 100. Now in its 22nd year, the Hottest 100 has faced a fair few ups and downs, and more than its fair share of emotion when it comes to surprising (or not surprising) the nation's drunkest 18 - 35 year olds (that key demographic, apparently). In the lead up to this year's countdown, there have been a number of articles, lists, listicles, artists and testicles from a number of music-based media outlets that have been cashing in on the only day that everyone pretends to be a musical hipster. Take for example this article, courtesy of Tone Deaf: "14 WEIRDEST SONGS EVER TO MAKE TRIPLE J’S HOTTEST 100" or this one from FasterLouder: "10 songs that prove the Hottest 100 wasn’t better in the ‘90s" or this one, from FasterLouder: "A complete history of Hottest 100 fails" or this one, from list newcomer, FasterLouder: "The 5 best Hottest 100 moments, according to Birds of Tokyo".

Now I want to make it clear, I'm not having a dig at the volume of articles on the same topics. That, I am totally ok with. I get it, you need to make content, this is a topical issue, these are interesting articles for the most part. I would also like to point out that I am quite a fan of both websites' work, and this is, in no way, a reflection of my opinion on their general content or style. However, what I am somewhat perturbed by, is that these articles are analysing and passing judgements on somethings that I don't believe need analysis or judgement.

Since 1993, there have been more changes in general musical taste than there have been Keeping up with the Kardashians spin-offs, which is saying something (Kourtney and Kim have just about taken so many locations they may be up on title theft charges). Alt-rock, Nu Metal, pop-punk, Grunge, and just about every form of EDM have all come and gone (or stayed) in that time, and that's just on the First World iPod. So, with that said, it's fairly clear to see that there have been a number of phases in music, ones that you may look back on and shudder when you think about your Phat Pants or your Fauxhawk, but phases you may have enjoyed at the time, nonetheless.

SIIIIIICK

I'm disappointed that some authors seem to believe that any particular year's votes are worth less than any other countdown. Take, for example, a lambasting of 'Boombastic' by Shaggy. Sure, its not lyrical genius or musical mastery, but we all have thrown some shapes to that song, and in its hey-day (you know, when it was voted for) I'm sure that there was some pleasure to be had in it. Similarly, another article pans the entirety of the 1997 countdown, which is just plain ridiculous. 'Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)', again, isn't exactly the collected works of Rudyard Kipling, but its a stupidly fun song to chant at 2am in a seedy dive bar.

I don't think the authors of these articles truly dislike the songs, or the countdowns or even process by which votes are counted. Sure, they may not particularly be fond of individual pieces, but I hardly think that you can label something a failure. If a collective vote managed to place it so high on the list, clearly a number of people didn't mind the tunes. Furthermore, time has a way of eroding how we perceive these songs and the impacts they had. We might remember that we loved a certain song during our angsty teenage years that we'd rather forget, and lump the song into the hopefully-those-photos-don't-show-up-at-my-next-major-birthday category, but there's no use denying what fun or happiness or dancing that it may have brought at the time.

In short, Triple J fans, don't let musical snobbery get in the way of enjoying your countdown on Australia Day, or the enjoyment that you've had of any song previously. No one likes every song, and you're entitled to your opinions, but don't deliberately try to hate a song just because of how other people perceive it. You like what you like, wear it proud. Enjoy the countdown, enjoy the day, and remember, it's just a wave of energy through air particles interacting with a membrane in your ear that creates electrical signals that your brain interprets that you're enjoying.