Spotify listeners shun Australian music says Wrapped 2025

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Spotify listeners shun Australian music says Wrapped 2025

5 December 2025

The suggestion, made by The Daily Aus (TDA), is that few Australians listened to local music in 2025. On Spotify at least.

Zero local acts featured in Australia’s most listened-to artists, tracks, and albums on Spotify in 2025.

You’ll have to go to Instagram (IG) to read the slide card since TDA mainly publish their news reporting on IG, because their target audience, mainly Generation Z and some Millennials, consume news and current affairs reporting on the socials.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the world needs more niche blogs, and TDA, with their fine writing would slot nicely into news and current affairs niche. They do republish articles to their website, but sadly there is no RSS feed to subscribe to.

But back to the headline. I checked my 2025 Spotify Wrapped, and found Moon Motion, by Brisbane based Australian act First Beige (er, Instagram page), was my second most listened to track this year.

Tame Impala, Peking Duk, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and Vera Blue, are among Australian acts on my liked songs playlist. I can’t be the only person in Australia with local acts on their playlist.

It seems surprising to me that not one floated to the top, or at least near it, on the overall most-listened to lists. But maybe it’s some sort of Spotify quirk, and maybe next year we won’t be talking so much about them.

I also learned I have a music listening age of twenty-two (thank-you Spotify), why then all this talk about niche-blogs and RSS feeds? At my “age” I’m meant to be all in the socials.

Star Trek reboot, Kelvin timeline, movie series cancelled

10 November 2025

Tatiana Siegel, Brent Lang, and Matt Donnelly, writing for Variety:

The hope is to have a fresh “Star Trek” movie, though the studio has moved on from the idea of bringing back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the ensemble from the J.J. Abrams reboot.

The news probably comes as no surprise to Star Trek fans who were nonetheless hopeful of a fourth film in the Kelvin timeline series, which kicked off with Star Trek in 2009, directed by J.J. Abrams.

There are likely numerous reasons for the apparent cancellation, with poor box office takings for 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, the last film in the series, being among them. The tragic death, also in 2016, of Anton Yelchin, who portrayed Pavel Chekov, a key character, might have been a factor as well.

The decision to not make any more instalments in the Kelvin series is not thought to be the end of the Star Trek stories however, and it is believed producers are considering other film and TV ideas.

Reading the Variety article reminded me the first of the rebootedTrek movies had its world premier at the Sydney Opera House, in 2009. While many of the cast and production crew were present, some sixteen-hundred “tastemakers” were also invited to the screening.

As a moniker for influencers, tastemakers didn’t last long, but many of those present would have been conveying their impressions of the new film through their blogs, and possibly Twitter.

How times change, regardless of which timeline you are on.

Vale Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall, First Wives Club, and many more

15 October 2025

American actor Diane Keaton died a few days aged 79.

Keaton will be remembered for many things. Her collaborations with Woody Allen. Her performance in Manhattan Murder Mystery was a stand out to me, but there were many more. Annie Hall (of course), The Godfather, First Wives Club. Even Father of the Bride, where she was the perfect foil to Steve Martin’s somewhat trite portrayal of a father of a bride to be.

The big screen will not be the same.

Vale Patricia Routledge: Mrs Bucket has left the building

7 October 2025

British actor Patricia Routledge died at the age of ninety-six last week. I came to know Routledge through her role as Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced bouquet, it would seem), in the BBC produced TV sitcom Keeping up Appearances, which ran from 1990 to 1995.

I think the show screened in Australia a little after that time.

I’m not much of TV watcher, but I’d come home one day, flicked on the TV, and there was her show. Hyacinth, originally from a working class family, believed her place was near the top of the pecking order, not the bottom. Her attempts however to scale the social ladder were frequently thwarted by her sisters, and brother-in-law, who were quite content with their working class lives.

I made a point to tune-in each week, and ended up seeing a series or two of the show. After production ceased in 1995, Routledge was frequently asked to reprise her role as Hyacinth, but refused. Speaking later, Routledge said she wanted the show to go out on a high. A good call.

Keeping up Appearances starred numerous well known British actors. Clive Swift portrayed Hyacinth’s hen-pecked husband Richard, with Shirley Stelfox, and Judy Cornwell, as her sisters Rose and Daisy, respectively. Geoffrey Hughes played Daisy’s husband Onslow, and Josephine Tewson was cast as Liz, Hyacinth’s jittery neighbour.

Although Routledge was opposed to continuing the show, a prequel film, Young Hyacinth, with Kerry Howard in the titular role, was made in 2016, which was set about forty years before events of Keeping up Appearances.

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Trailer for One More Shot, a time travel comedy by Nicholas Clifford, with Emily Browning

7 October 2025

If you’ve ever wanted to travel back in time so you can put something right, then One More Shot, trailer, the debut feature of Melbourne based Australian filmmaker Nicholas Clifford, staring Australian actor Emily Browning, might be for you.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and Minnie (Browning) discovers a bottle of tequila, Time Traveling Tequila no less, is able to transport her back to the beginning of NYE party she’s at, with each swig. For some people, going that far back in time could possibly just be enough to put the world to rights.

From what I can tell, One More Shot is going to straight to streaming (the way I prefer things) in Australia on Sunday 12 October 2025.

Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, return for Northern Lights trip

12 August 2025

It seemed pretty clear 2020’s The Trip to Greece was the final jaunt for British foodies Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. This after travels to the north of England, Italy, and Spain.

But now a new six-part series, The Trip To The Northern Lights, where the pair will venture around Scandinavia, starts production later in 2025, and presumably screens sometime in 2026.

Never Tear Us Apart, by INXS, tops all Australian Hottest 100

28 July 2025

The 1987 ballad by Australian rock act INXS claimed the number one spot in Triple J’s countdown of the Hottest 100 Australian Songs, last Saturday.

INXS rose to prominence during the 80’s and 90’s, when the late Micheal Hutchence, who died in 1997, fronted the act. The band last performed live in 2012, though they’ve not officially retired.

The top ten was not quite as old-school Australian rock as I thought it might be. Cold Chisel featured at numbers seven and eight, with Flame Trees (1984), and Khe Sanh (1978), respectively. Veteran singer Paul Kelly made it to number nine with his 1996 track How to Make Gravy.

Somebody That I Used to Know (2011) by Gotye, My Happiness (2000) by Powderfinger, Scar (2004) by Missy Higgins, Untouched (2007) by The Veronicas, and The Nosebleed Section (2003) by Hilltop Hoods, also charted in the top ten. Music recorded in the twenty-first century (which I’ll say includes 2000), ended up being well represented here.

Ben Lee suggests shock jocks host Triple J Hottest 100. No, not quite

19 July 2025

The shock jocks in question are Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O, who host a show — The Kyle and Jackie O Show — on a Sydney based commercial Australian radio station. The pair, especially Sandilands, often find themselves in hot water, on account of inappropriate and offensive comments made on air.

Last Wednesday, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article making the claim Australian musician Ben Lee had suggested Kyle and Jackie O host Triple J’s annual Hottest 100 countdown.

Triple J is a non-commerical Australian radio station with a focus on broadcasting new and independent local music, but mixed with non-Australian indie music. The Hottest 100 charts listeners’ favourite songs of the previous calendar year, regardless of country of origin.

But next Saturday, 26 July, Triple J will broadcast a one-off Hottest 100 of listener’s all-time favourite Australian only songs, as part of their fiftieth birthday celebrations.

In response to the Herald article, Lee posted a clarification on his Instagram page, saying Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown, in its present format, should be broadcast by a commercial station. The jays, Lee explains, as a government funded station, should only support Australian music.

What I’m saying is let commercial radio handle servicing multi-national major labels — that’s their job. Triple J is taxpayer funded and I think those funds would be better used almost exclusively supporting Australian artists and culture.

I get where Lee is coming from here.

But the Hottest 100 is a draw card event for the jays, and likely introduces new listeners to the station, who in turn go on to hear the station’s predominately Australian music programming. On the other hand, as Lilya Murray, writing for Arc, a UNSW student publication, points out, representation of Australian artists in the Hottest 100, has been declining in recent years:

In 2024, only 29 Australian artists featured in the Hottest 100. This was a significant drop from 2023, which featured 52 local artists, and 57 from 2022.

Triple J has a mandate to broadcast a minimum of forty-percent Australian music, though the station claimed in 2019 they played closer to sixty-percent. Why then would fewer Australian musicians be featuring in the annual countdowns?

One suggestion here is that many Hottest 100 voters are not regular Triple J listeners, and are voting up music they’ve heard elsewhere. But I’m not sure you can stop people voting for non-Australian music, unless maybe it wasn’t aired on Triple J in the first place. After all, the Hottest 100 is meant to be a poll of Triple J listeners, not other stations.

But I doubt a one-hundred percent focus on local music, both played by Triple J, and included in the countdown, is the answer either. I’ve always enjoyed the jay’s mix of new and independent, and predominantly Australian music, and the annual Hottest 100 that results.

But more discussion about local music can only be a good thing, something the misleading notion that Kyle and Jackie O host the Hottest 100, might have precipitated.

Cast of The Castle reunite, but not for a sequel, nor a prequel

16 July 2025

Alisha Buaya, writing for Media Week:

Uber has reunited Australian film icons, stars of The Castle, Michael Caton, Stephen Curry and Anthony Simcoe, to highlight Uber Green’s transition to a fully electric rideshare product.

The Castle was made by Australian actor, comedian, and filmmaker, Rob Sitch. The 1997 film is a feel good, David versus Goliath comedy, about a working class family attempting to stop property developers taking their home, their castle, away from them.

But wait until you see where the home is located.

The Uber promotion informs riders they now have the option to hire an EV for their journey. As yet, I’m not sure just how much of The Castle — aside from the stars — comes into this.

Triple J turns fifty, will rank Hottest 100 Australian songs to celebrate

12 July 2025

Happy birthday to the jays, which clocked the milestone back in January.

To mark the momentous occasion, a special all-time Hottest 100 countdown of Australian songs will be broadcast in a week, on Saturday 26 July 2025. This chart varies from the annual Hottest 100 countdowns, which rank the favourite songs of Triple J listeners, released each calender year, regardless of country of origin.

Voting closes on Thursday 17 July 2025, at 5PM AEST, so if you haven’t participated, time is running out. Now to the thorny question. What would I vote for? After giving the matter some thought, here’s what I came up with:

Alive by RÜFÜS DU SOL
Lie to Me by Vera Blue
Evening Star by All India Radio
Anthem for the Year 2000 by Silverchair
Rabbit Hole by Jess Day
Never Dance Alone by Crooked Colours
Let Me Down Easy by Gang of Youths
Under the Milky Way by The Church
Heart Attack by Flight Facilities
The Trouble with Us by Chet Faker and Marcus Marr
Beds are Burning by Midnight Oil

There are more I’d choose, but I think ten songs is the most you can vote for, as is I’ve listed eleven.

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