Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time

That's it till 4pm local time. Thanks for listening

The only women to appear in any notable capacity were The White Stripes' drummer Meg White (Seven Nation Army, number 20), Massive Attack guest vocalists Elizabeth Fraser (Teardrop, 22) and Shara Nelson (Unfinished Sympathy, 93), Pixies bassist Kim Deal (Where Is My Mind, 29), Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky (1979, 35; Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 51; Today, 78), and Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle (Common People, 81). And that's it. Female artists with a history of solid Triple J airplay disappeared from the proceedings: Frente, P. J. Harvey, Tori Amos, Hole, Missy Elliott, Garbage, The Mavis's, Bjork and Missy Higgins. They were all, to borrow Maya Arulpragasam's stage name, M.I.A.

Non-Triple J rock monsters like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Beatles made it into the list " what of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Madonna?

What leads 500,000 plus votes to a result that effectively eliminates female artists from the huge impact that rock and alternative music has made on our generation?

How did Triple J, a station with a fine history of outspoken female presenters, feel about broadcasting it?

A "pocket history" of music " a decade-by-decade account of notable albums and artists featuring just two female solo artists, and a handful of female musicians " that ran on the Triple J website in the lead-up to the poll suggests they wouldn't bat an eyelid.

Many people have reacted with shock and dismay at the Hottest 100's male skew; many more have refused to react at all. It is, they say, just another radio poll.

But casually dismissing the result not only misses the point, it ignores the cultural power that Triple J still wields. This isn't any old golden oldies filler countdown wheeled out so the disc jockeys can have a night off " it is by name and nature definitive. People throw parties and take sickies to hear Triple J roll out its countdowns; the same can't be said for, say, the latest Gold FM walk-through.

Have we just been so bombarded with the work of male artists that, come voting time, we forget about the women?... <cont>

I don't think I'm a sexist pig, but I wouldn't if I was - would I?