If you’re still upset about Triple J’s decision to move its Hottest 100 Countdown by a day, get over it. That was announced last year so surely it is time to stop living in the past, right? Alright I make that comment a little facetiously, as I don’t think we get to decide what others find upsetting or that there is really a timeline on how long something can be upsetting for. But if you have asked Indigenous Australians to get over their opposition to a national day of celebration on the 26th of January, then perhaps you’ll appreciate the irony. Judging from social media, there are plenty of people out there who haven’t just gotten over Triple J’s decision (it turns out getting over things isn’t actually so easy when you’re the one who has to do it), so it is little wonder that a number of radio stations and the Australian Conservatives are all having their alternative (cheap knock off) music countdowns on Australia Day. It is pretty cynical from the radio stations involved, but hardly surprising. I applauded Triple J’s decision to reschedule the Hottest 100 until the day after Australia Day, but in their insistence that it was not a political decision but a commercial one, the station basically left a vacancy for competitors to exploit and it won’t be the last time Triple M wins a race to the bottom.
Which isn’t to say I am happy about it. I wholeheartedly believe we should change the date of Australia Day and am yet to hear a convincing argument not to do so. It’s also rare enough that we see real progress in this country at the moment. Do we have to have it immediately undermined by such a crass and cynical stunt? Let’s be clear, there is nothing edgy or courageous about a lack of empathy, it just speaks to a lack of character. So yeah I am pretty disappointed, but how do I respond? I keep it in perspective. There is only one Triple J Hottest 100. That is the only one that will trend on social media and get any lasting attention or interest. The imitations only get as much interest as we give them. So while I think voting for January 26 by A.B. Original in any Australia Day countdown is a creative way of making your point, it still gives the bottom feeders running these alternative countdowns more respect and attention than they deserve. Treat them with the appropriate disdain, ignore them and remind yourself that this is why you don’t listen to those radio stations. The same is true for Corey Bernardi (if you had forgotten who he is, you aren’t missing much) who I hope will fade to obscurity if we let him. So while it makes interesting social media fodder, the artists engaging in Twitter fights with the senator are potentially playing into his hands a little. There’s nothing wrong with publicly distancing themselves from hate groups, including the Australian Conservatives, but attacking them publicly is risky as it can significantly increase publicity and can be portrayed as overreach and censorship. If prominent musicians really want to strike a blow against ultra-right conservatives, they would do better to cut the zealots out of the equation and speak directly to the Australian people. Speaking publicly and frequently about your support for progressive causes is not without risk to your own brand (just ask U2), but it does largely excise creeps like Bernardi from the conversation and gives a lot less fuel to their attempts to be noticed. Perhaps the most effective way of doing this is through their music, and there are a plethora of excellent (and admittedly in some cases less-than-excellent) songs written to highlight issues of social justice in recent decades. The power of messages through songs is that they are repeated often and that they offer little opportunity for opponents to refute the argument. In summary then, this year, Triple J’s Hottest 100 will be held on January 27. Australia Day will still be on the 26th and some stations will hold their own countdowns on that day. This is pretty disappointing but shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the known emotions around this debate. They also shouldn’t be treated as in any way comparable to the Hottest 100, because they are not. Those of us who are displeased by such pretenders might do well not to give them more publicity than they deserve.
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