7 Decade-Old ARIA Hits That Make 2007 Feel Like Forever Ago
UMBRELLA, ELLA, ELLA
You remember 2007, right? Kevin “07” Rudd was sworn in as Australia’s new Prime Minister, Apple announced the first generation iPhone, everyone was quoting Summer Heights High, and Donald Trump still identified as a Democrat.
If all those events seem to belong to an impossibly distant past, let’s consider the music of 2007. That year’s ARIA Charts and triple j Hottest 100 tell of a forgotten era wherein Fergie had Australia’s biggest-selling single, Muse and Jet were Big Day Out headliners, and Daft Punk still had a live show. So read on for seven decade-old hits that make 2007 feel forever ago.
#7 Kings Of Leon – ‘On Call’
The song: Kings Of Leon had to settle for third place behind Muse and Silverchair in 2007’s triple j Hottest 100. The next year they would seize victory with ‘Sex On Fire’ (a song frontman Caleb Followill later disowned as “a piece of shit”), but ‘On Call’ arrived at a time when hating on Kings Of Leon was a more niche pursuit. It’s the sound of a band teetering on the edge of arena rock superstardom and increasingly withering Pitchfork reviews.
The video: In the video for 2008’s ‘Sex On Fire’, lead dreamboat Caleb had a sharp new haircut and a just-so application of oil and sweat to match his vest-over-singlet look. Flashback one year to ‘On Call’ and the Followills were all long haired, black-clad and pallid like Tim Burton’s house band. This video wasn’t the last time Kings Of Leon competed to see who could appear the least interested.
2007 bingo: Music magazines containing actual printed pages comfortably referring to Kings Of Leon as Australia’s The Strokes.
#6 Silverchair – ‘Straight Lines’
The song: Silverchair’s highest-charting single since ‘Freak’ was also a swansong. By 2007, the surfie brats from Newcastle were all grown up and Daniel Johns was having some Big Ideas.
The band’s ambitious final album Young Modern feels a long way from Frogstomp (even celebrated composer Van Dyke Parks chipped in), and ‘Straight Lines’ was its standalone success. It came in at number two in the triple j Hottest 100 after Muse’s ‘Knights of Cydonia’, because 2007.
The video: Daniel, Ben and Chris went big for this one: all the way to Sydney’s Olympic Park train station, aka the stop where the sniffer dogs would be waiting before Big Day Out.
2007 bingo: The Daniel Johns only-a-vest look; Silverchair still making music; Olympic Park station as a viable music video backdrop.
#5 Kanye West – ‘Stronger’
The song: On the plus side, ‘Stronger’ remains a thrilling synthesis of hip-hop and dance music, confirming Kanye West can coast above genre. On the other hand, it probably gave David Guetta some ideas.
The video: Hip-hop impresario Hype Williams shot the video guerrilla-style in Tokyo, and Kanye spent weeks obsessively editing it until he “almost had a brain aneurysm”. Daft Punk shot their scenes in LA as they were passing through on the ‘Alive’ tour. The result is bright, kinetic and absorbing, and no one had to die making it.
2007 bingo: Kanye West in shutter shades.
#4 Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – ‘Umbrella’
The song: A year after flashing the unique “twist” functionality of her Nokia 3250 in the ‘SOS’ video, Rihanna hit the big time with ‘Umbrella’.
The song was written by the pop masterminds at Atlanta’s RedZone Entertainment and originally intended for Britney Spears. Britney’s label passed, and Rihanna landed her first mega-hit. She then went on to release six albums in a decade, a streak that makes most pop stars look like they’re slacking.
The video: In contrast to the epic scope of later Rihanna videos, this one’s straight from the darkened soundstage playbook. (We see you Illy!) All the falling sparks, umbrella choreography and groovy ’07 special effects you could desire in four minutes.
2007 bingo: Rihanna needing a Jay-Z intro.
#3 Hinder – ‘Lips Of An Angel’
The song: We all had fun with nu-metal in the early 2000s (yes?), but not every past indiscretion is so easily laughed away. Ten years ago, a song by cock rock death squad Hinder came in at number five on the ARIA end-of-year chart. That song was ‘Lips of an Angel’ and we’re all a little bit responsible.
The video: A veritable orgy of yikes. Fantasies of strangling frontman Austin Winkler with one of his several necklaces are guaranteed.
2007 bingo: F**KING EVERYTHING, but definitely the cordless home phone he’s whining on in the video.
#2 Timbaland ft. OneRepublic – ‘Apologize’
The song: In 2007, OneRepublic were one of MySpace’s Top Artists and Timbaland was one of the greatest living hip-hop and R&B producers.
Because the world works in mysterious ways, Timbaland remixed OneRepublic’s ‘Apologize’ and an ARIA chart hit was born. If you found Timbaland’s work with Aaliyah and Missy lacking in saccharine dirge, this was your jam.
The video: Your standard scenario of white guys emoting in a studio session. Timbaland’s there too, appearing to enjoy himself behind the boards. We also get dreamy fades to some kind of boy-girl story. I don’t remember exactly and please don’t make me watch it again.
2007 bingo: MySpace fame; Timbaland in his bodybuilding phase; OneRepublic coming anywhere near the Top 10.
#1 Avril Lavigne – ‘Girlfriend’
The song: There comes a time in one’s adult life when no further use can be found for Avril Lavigne’s ‘Girlfriend’. A decade ago, in our bright-eyed youth, we made this Australia’s number one single for six weeks. Now, in the cold light of 2017, I can’t recommend trying to write a pithy paragraph about it.
The video: A true house of horrors. Avril plays both the bespectacled, knit-wearing current girlfriend and the skull-and-crossbones high school sadist who wants to be the new one. In the end, the winner of this cute love spat is the emotional terrorist who thinks nothing of firing golf balls at her rival.
2007 bingo: Every item of clothing in the video you almost bought at Dangerfield; Avril before Chad Kroeger; vicious bullying before it all went online.
Jack Tregoning is a freelance writer based in New York and tweets at @JackTregoning.