Voting for triple j's Hottest 100 of the Decade opens next week, so what better time to dig into some blasts from the past?

Not every song stands the test of time.

Even tracks that were the bangers of their day can get washed out of our memories by the ever-shifting tides of musical tastes. To prove it, we dusted off our time machines to revisit seven songs that, for better or worse, will have you going 'Damn! I remember that'.

Despite them all making it into past Hottest 100s, we're not anticipating these tunes to compete with the Kanyes, Lordes, and Flumes of the music world in the Decade countdown.

But hey, they could be the wildcard in your voting ballot. If nothing else, enjoy the soundtrack down memory lane.

Loon Lake – ‘Cherry Lips’

#29 in the Hottest 100 of 2012

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There was a time in the early 2010s where it looked like a few Australian indie rock bands were vying to do what it turned out the Rubens eventually did. Melbourne’s Loon Lake seemingly had that potential, and it was largely to the success of this breakout single.

With its choppy guitar and catchy melodies, ‘Cherry Lips’ feels like a breezy, upbeat sing-along, but frontman Sam Nolan has said the lyrics tell a darker story of a girl that likes to party just a little too hard.

Where are they now? Three years after their Hottest 100 peak, the five-piece quietly called it a day, announcing “there is no fall out, no drama here, it’s just over and it was fun while it lasted.” Sure was.

Snakadaktal – ‘Dance Bear’

#93 in the Hottest 100 of 2012

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The 2011 winners of triple j Unearthed High, Snakadaktal’s ‘Dance Bear’ is often overlooked because of the simple fact their track ‘Air’ had placed higher a year earlier (#22 in 2011’s countdown). But it’s the former that’s arguably aged better.

Where most of the band’s music was reflective of turn-of-the-decade trends – a combination of chillwave and fey indie pop – ‘Dance Bear’ injects those dreamy textures with some full-blooded energy and a propulsive rhythm that’s closer to dance music.

Where are they now? Though Snakadaktal are no longer a thing – they split in 2014 – band members Phoebe Lou and Joey Clough are still making sophisticated tunes as Two People.

Robert DeLong - 'Global Concepts'

#45 in the Hottest 100 of 2013

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American producer and multi-instrumentalist Robert DeLong was as much remembered for his live show than his studio recordings, which had a very mid-00s gimmick: Wii remotes. Yep, a one-man jam band who would hammer a stand-up drumkit and pads while singing and firing off sounds synced to videogame controllers. Think Tash Sultana playing percussion-heavy EDM.

The breakout single from his 2013 debut album Just Movement scored him an anticipated set at Splendour In The Grass that year, where we could hear him pronounce ‘Did I leave my life to chance? Or did I make you f**king dance?’ Well for a good while there, yeah, I guess you did, Robert.

Where are they now? DeLong kinda went quiet after releasing his second album, In The Cards, in 2015. But then he actually toured Australia last year (for the first time in five years) and, hey, he actually covered Tash Sultana!

Mikhael Paskalev – ‘I Spy’

#75 in the Hottest 100 of 2013

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For a period in the early 2010s, folksy indie rock was still a big thing – harmonicas and twangy guitars were still very much in (blame Mumford & Sons). For a hot minute, Norwegian singer-songwriter Mikhael Paskalev benefited from that wave.

Carried by a music video that riffed on that scene from Risky Business, his debut single ‘I Spy’ became a Platinum-selling hit with over 8 million streams. It was enough to bring him out for a scratch tour of Australia in 2014, grooming him for a return trip a few months later for Splendour In The Grass.

Where are they now? After releasing another solo album in 2017, called Heavy, Paskalev formed a project alongside fellow Nordic musicians Billie Van and Jonas Alaska called Hollywood. They released their debut album last year.

Kimbra – ‘Warrior’ [Ft. Mark Foster & A-Trak]

#98 in the Hottest 100 of 2012

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You know who Kimbra is. If not for the New Zealand talent’s endlessly creative solo career then definitely as the counterpoint on ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. But you’ve probably forgotten about this collab released a year after she hit #1 in the Hottest 100 with Gotye.

This zippy electro number demonstrates how Kimbra’s elastic falsetto can enliven any hook and you can hear Canadian DJ A-Trak’s handiwork in the chunky synths and popping bass but also the whole Foster The People Houdini-era feel to it. (Frontman Mark Foster and Kimbra were romantically linked at the time, dontchaknow?). Fun fact: ‘Warrior’ was the product of Converse’s ‘3 Artists, 1 Song’ campaign (the same series that spawned Gorillaz’ ‘DoYaThing’)

Where are they now? All three artists are still going strong. Kimbra has gone all 2020 and launched a Patreon. Foster The People are still touring and releasing music. A-Trak has recently reunited with Armand Van Helden for their project Duck Sauce; remember them cracking #15 in the Hottest 100 of 2010 with ‘Barbara Streisand’? ‘Course you do.

Hungry Kids of Hungary – ‘Coming Around’

#75 in the Hottest 100 of 2010

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Arguably the most beloved of a wave of indie bands that rose up through the triple j Unearthed ranks (do the names Jinja Safari, John Steel Singers, and The Holidays tickle your nostalgia bone?), Hungry Kids of Hungary released a couple of buzz-worthy EPs before finally making their Hottest 100 debut.

A slice of summery swagger and bright ‘oooh-wah-oohs’, ‘Coming Around’ was the opening track to the Brisbane band’s debut album Escapades. It kind of encapsulates the indie rock charm that made them such a delight to listen to. And hey, the album’s still a fun spin if you’ve got the time.

Where are they now? The band split in late 2013 but the kids didn’t stay hungry for long. Vocalist-guitarist Dean McGrath formed a new trio, the psych-tinged Rolls Bayce, but they only managed a string of songs before quietly disappearing in 2016.

C2C – ‘Down The Road’

#88 in the Hottest 100 of 2012

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Okay, we actually had to Google this one to remind ourselves. C2C - a collective of four world champion turntablists with a passion for jazz and hip hop music – became chart-toppers in Europe with this banger, which flips a vintage blues sample into a French House breakdown, complete with flashy DJ breaks and the big beats that Justice once cornered the market on.

In hindsight, ‘Down The Road’ is pretty indicative of what was on-trend in an electronic music era before Flume came along and turned it on its head.

Where are they now? After releasing their one and only album, 2012’s Tetra, all four members – DJ Atom, DJ Pfel, DJ Atom, and 20syl – appear to be regularly touring the European circuit. They’ve even crossed paths on projects and remixes.

Get cracking on that shortlist! Voting for the Hottest 100 of the Decade is now open.

Need some more #votespiration? Check out our triple j presenters' picks, some Hottest 100 songs that shoulda been higher, and a loving look back at the novelty songs of the 2010s.