Day 56 equals Now! #56, which was released on 17th November 2003.
Let’s see what would have been played at the club I went out to later that night (spoiler: none of the following, ’cause I’m pretty sure I went to Opium rock club, which didn’t play a lot of chart music).
Track 1: The Black Eyed Peas – Where Is The Love?
I quite like the Black Eyed Peas, but I’ve always found the chorus on this one a bit irritating.
Track 2: Rachel Stevens – Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
Good head-nodder, good atmosphere. Quite like this track.
Track 3: Kylie Minogue – Slow
Great synth instrumentals, good atmosphere, though the tune’s a little repetitive.
Track 4: Blue – Guilty
Slow, cheesy, boring ballad. Not my thing.
Track 5: Fatman Scoop and The Crooklyn Clan – Be Faithful
Good bit of chant-along hip-hop. Could do without the generic sung vocals though.
Track 6: Beyoncé and Jay-Z – Crazy In Love
This one was everywhere in 2003, especially on holiday in Zante that summer. I still quite like the tune, but that’s probably more nostalgia than anything else.
Track 7: Sugababes – Hole In The Head
Great pop tune – really like this one.
Track 8: Liberty X – Jumpin’
Good beat, but the vocals are annoying.
Track 9: Jamelia – Superstar
It did get a bit overplayed at the time, but it’s a good tune.
Track 10: Lumidee – Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
Irritating vocals, irritating tune, irritating drum beat in the background. Not a fan of this.
Track 11: Stacie Orrico – Stuck
Nice guitar in the background, but the vocals give me a headache.
Track 12: Lemar – Dance (With U)
Like the retro tinge, and it’s got a nice beat.
Track 13: Javine – Surrender (Your Love)
Great instrumentals – love that trumpet – but the tune’s pretty boring.
Track 14: Emma Bunton – Maybe
Good uptempo song, interesting vocals – good track.
Track 15: S Club 8 – Sundown
If you ignore the kiddie vocals, it’s quite a good danceable tune.
Track 16: Ultrabeat – Pretty Green Eyes
Love the backing track on this dance hit, but the vocals are a bit cheesy (even if they do have good taste in eye colour!).
Track 17: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World
Great danceable beat, but it’s a bit messy in general, and the tune’s pretty generic.
Track 18: Phixx – Hold On Me
Quite like the electro lines, but the vocals are pretty cheesy.
Track 19: D-Side – Invisible
Bland tune, saccharine vocals and really creepy lyrics. Not keen.
Track 20: Louise – Pandora’s Kiss
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Repetitive tune, irritating backing track. When the guitar kicks in on the chorus, though, it gets a bit better.
Track 21: Girls Aloud – Life Got Cold
Some more nice guitar – lovely tune.
Track 22: Atomic Kitten – If You Come To Me
Not keen on the vocals, and the tune’s pretty bland.
Track 23: Elton John – Are You Ready For Love
’70s classic back in the charts due to a re-release and TV advert. Not complaining – it’s a welcome break from all the poor quality early ’00s pop!
Track 24: Justin Timberlake – Rock Your Body
It’s fairly standard Justin Timberlake, with a danceable beat and irritating falsetto all over the place. It’s okay, sort of.
Track 25: Robbie Williams – Something Beautiful
Like the backing instrumentals, but the tune’s not interesting enough for me.
Track 26: Nickelback – Someday
There are only two Nickelback tracks that are in any way listenable, and both of those are due to reasons outwith the song. This is not one of these two.
Track 27: Busted – Sleeping With The Light On
Irritating and cheesy – not keen on this one.
Track 28: Mark Owen – Four Minute Warning
Mark Owen coming back out of nowhere about eight years after Take That split up. This is a great track and I wish he’d done more solo stuff.
Track 29: Amy Studt – Under The Thumb
Irritating vocals, bland tune. At least it’s got some good guitar in the background though.
Track 30: Texas and Kardinal Offishall – Carnival Girl
Quite like the carnival-music-themed intro, but then it just launches into boring soft rock with misplaced rapping over the top.
Track 31: 50 Cent and Nate Dogg – 21 Questions
Don’t really like the way the lines mix together on this one, and it’s a bit repetitive.
Track 32: Ashanti – Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)
Boring, generic song, very forgettable.
Track 33: Joe Budden – Pump It Up
Quite like the backing track, and it’s got a good beat. This one’s okay.
Track 34: Jaimeson – Complete
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Very bland tune, nothing interesting going on here at all.
Track 35: Lisa Scott-Lee – Too Far Gone
Annoying messy lines, dull vocals. Highly generic.
Track 36: Angel City and Lara McAllen – Love Me Right (Oh Sheila)
Extremely ’90s dance sounding cover of the ’80s song. It’s not bad, actually.
Track 37: Richard X and Kelis – Finest Dreams
Good atmosphere, good beat – happily nodding along.
Track 38: Rishi Rich Project, Jay Sean and Juggy D – Dance With You
Some interesting lines, but the main vocal is very dull.
Track 39: UB40 and The United Colours Of Sound – Swing Low
You know it’s a Rugby World Cup year when somebody does a dodgy cover of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. At least UB40’s reggae stylings sort of suit the song.
Track 40: Starsailor – Silence Is Easy
Boring, forgettable soft rock. Not a fan.
Track 41: Stereophonics – Maybe Tomorrow
Interesting instrumentals, but the vocals are as drone-y and boring as ever.
Track 42: Daniel Bedingfield – Never Gonna Leave Your Side
Super saccharine, slow and bland. Not my kind of thing.
Track 43: Michael Andrews and Gary Jules – Mad World
Slow, melancholy cover of the Tears For Fears classic, and the Christmas number one for 2003 (BUT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE DARKNESS AND I’M STILL ANGRY ABOUT THAT ahem). It’s beautiful, because the Tears For Fears original is also beautiful. I’ll always prefer the original version, but this one is lovely too.