It’s become an Australia Day institution listening out to the Hottest 100 countdown. For all the disses and backhanders delivered to the national youth broadcaster Triple J it plays a pretty good spread of music and helps break a lot of great acts in this country. Occasionally there are even songs in the 100 that you love. Or that I love.

Anyway, it’s really the only annual prize in Australia that matters, so if you want to make it representative and keep the Pete Murrays and Jack Johnsons out of the top however many, VOTE.

Now, is it unreasonable to hope for a top whatever could include: Jamie Liddell, M83, Mike Ladd, Architecture In Helsinki, The Chap, !!!, Unkle Ho, Clue To Kalo, The Herd, Dangerdoom, Datarock, Damien Marley, Deerhoof, Hanne Hukkelberg, Sons & Daughters, Sodastream, Youth Group, Magic Numbers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Pivot, Dave Miller and Francis Plagne?

(the full list of nominations is here)

2005 finished with a week or two of perfect summer weather. Kayaking down at the Spit, surfing at Queenscliff and Clifton Gardens every day and generally summering it up. Now it’s the new year and the fact is it started fantastically and terribly. Getting the bad bit out first, which is not so bad really – yesterday was ridiculously hot, 45 degrees hot, like a record for Sydney on a new year’s day.

But the Frigid and Popfrenzy New Year’s Eve was a great way to finish the year/start 2006.

Tim, Nick and I started off the night: Nick played a super twee set of indie pop under the alias Fflloyd Quinlan, Tim played all the favourites from his old club Bazooka, and I tried to play indie pop classics, but kept getting waylaid by other records. Here, in no particular order, is my setlist from last night:

Iggy Pop – I’m Bored
A-Ha – Take On Me
The Dodgems – Lord Lucan Is Missing (Ollo remix)
MC Saquinho – Montagem The Smith
Beck – Black Tambourines (South Rakkas Crew mix)
DJ Delores – De Dar Do
Chow Nasty – Ungawa (hosted by Chow Nasty)
Love – You Set The Scene
The High Llamas – Might As Well Be Dumbo
KOtix vs George Bush – Georgey Bush and Kanye chopped and screwed
Howard Jones – Like To Get To Know You Well
B-52s – Dance This Mess Around
The Chap – Baby I’m Hurt’n
Dmitri From Paris – Nothing To Lose
Remington Super 60 – Please Don’t Go
Various – Hater
Little Richard – Good Golly Miss Molly
Happy Mondays – Bob’s Yer Uncle
Stereo Total – Rock That Harpsichord Shit
Swamp Dogg – Do You Believe

Later on we danced to NZ pop band The Brunettes (flash listening at their website). Everything I’d heard of theirs was very much on the bubblegum tip, but live they sound like an edgier Architecture In Helsinki – I’m looking forward to their upcoming record on Sub Pop. Sydney’s Pivot played a stripped down but rocking out set of just Laurence and Richard Pike going mad on drums and guitar.

Levins, Bec Paton (pictured above), Hello Sailor, Tommy, Some Freak and Eli Murray all played great sets taking in crunk, dubstep, techno, weird acid, rave, r&b, pretty much anything you could want. I missed loads – especially Von Boyage, who rocked Frigid a month or two ago – and I only caught a moment of Seymour & Gemma, Sub Bass Snarl and Clark Nova, but all sounded cool.

Like last year, the unquestionable highlight of the night was Frigid mainman Sir Robbo’s set at the end in the ‘chill out’ room. It was an intoxicating mix of psychedelic rock and soul that had virtually everyone left in the club dancing wildly and unlike many of the earlier sets in the Popfrenzy area, didn’t rely on pop tunes to make people dance, just fantastic music from Robbo’s ridiculously large record collection.

Well a highlight alongside spending the night deep in short and long conversations with new and old friends.

Happy new year everyone, here’s to 2006 being a different and better year…