Triple J’s Requestival is a week-long event that invites listeners to submit their own music tracks to be played on the airwaves between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day. It’s a rare celebration, but it’s always worthwhile tuning in because not only do you get to hear some absolute bangers, you also get to hear some batshit crazy musical choices. Four days into this year’s Requestival, we’ve already seen some flat-out weird shit — including special guest appearances from Julia Gillard and WWE’s The Undertaker.
Sure, there’s some people making sensible choices with their Requestival picks — Thursday morning was a trip from Fleetwood Mac through to No Doubt and The Black Eyed Peas. But we’ve also had the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Zack Tempest’s ‘Loaded’, which served as the theme song for The Hardy Boyz around their 2017 return to WWE.
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And that wasn’t the first wrestling theme song to get a look-in this Requestival.
On Wednesday, Jim Johnston’s ‘Rest in Peace’, better known as The Undertaker’s theme song, graced the Triple J airwaves. It’s a killer track, and one that got the worthy airing it deserved. Since the Undertaker is now ‘officially’ retired, it may be one of the last times we ever get to hear this track in public (until next Requestival, anyway).
But even that wasn’t the strangest play during this week’s Requestival. That honour goes to this gem:
Julia Gillard – Misogyny Speech [11:19]
— triple j Plays (@triplejplays) May 12, 2021
Yes, in the middle of pop hits, Triple J played the iconic 2012 speech from then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard where she verbally destroyed then-Opposition Leader Tony Abbott after he accused her of being a sexist. It’s a beautiful slice of Australian history, and one that deserved its place amongst all the Requestival goodness.
The surprises didn’t end there, either! There have been plenty of weird hits airing on Triple J this week including ‘Sea Shanty 2‘ from the Runescape soundtrack and ‘Mii Channel Theme’ from the Nintendo Wii.
The early 2000s kids who grew up with the Bratz Rock Angelz soundtrack were also majorly validated by the appearance of ‘So Good’, a movie track that has no reason to be as good as it is. The whole album absolutely slaps, and it’s great seeing it get the longevity and recognition it deserves.
Aussie comedians Aunty Donna got a share of the love too, with the delightful track ‘Morning Brown‘ being played Thursday afternoon. It’s no ‘Everything’s A Drum‘, but it’ll do in a pinch.
Earlier in the week, Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets got a major appearance with underrated banger ‘These Kids‘, The Getaway Plan rocked out with ‘Where the City Meets the Sea’, the Teriyaki Boyz brought out ‘Tokyo Drift’, and we even got Zac Efron’s Troy Bolton singing ‘Bet On It‘ from High School Music 2.
So far it’s been wall-to-wall greats in this Requestival, and there’s sure to be plenty more gems to come. While they may not be of the same calibre as ‘Rest in Peace’ or the misogyny speech, expect more weird tunes as the event comes to a close on Friday. If you like, you can even put in a request yourself.
If you want to keep up with all the latest Requestival bangers, you can tune in online here or stay tuned to the running feed of songs played via the Triple J Plays Twitter account.