Day 69 brings us to Now! #69, which came out on 17th March 2008.
On with the hits!
Track 1: Duffy – Mercy
I’ve always really liked this track – classic, danceable tune.
Track 2: Rihanna – Don’t Stop The Music
Great dance track! Happily nodding along here.
Track 3: Basshunter and DJ Mental Theo’s Bazzheadz – Now You’re Gone
Great tune, love the atmosphere – and that bass is awesome.
Track 4: Girls Aloud – Call The Shots
I don’t find this tune very interesting, but the atmosphere’s quite good.
Track 5: Nickelback – Rockstar
I mentioned in the Now! #56 review that there are only two Nickelback tracks worth listening to, and neither is for reasons to do with the song itself. How You Remind Me is the first (see Now! #51 review for why) and this is the second, because of the video with all the celebrities and random fans miming along.
Track 6: OneRepublic – Stop And Stare
A bit slow and depressing for my liking.
Track 7: David Jordan – Sun Goes Down
Interesting track, great harmonies, epic guitar. Quite like this one.
Track 8: Kelly Rowland – Work [Freemasons Remix]
Upbeat and danceable, but it’s a bit repetitive.
Track 9: Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)
Good atmosphere, but there’s not enough melody for me, and I find the rap style irritating.
Track 10: Britney Spears – Piece Of Me
Slightly awkward theme, and it could do with being a bit more uptempo.
Track 11: T2 and Jodie Aysha – Heartbroken
Too messy on the intro, and then the tune’s irritating once it gets going.
Track 12: H ‘Two’ O and Platnum – What’s It Gonna Be
Another annoying tune with headache-inducing high-pitched vocals.
Track 13: Taio Cruz – Come On Girl
Good head-nodder, but the tune’s pretty generic.
Track 14: Kylie Minogue – Wow
Another solid pop track from Kylie Minogue. Great tune.
Track 15: Robyn – Be Mine!
Irritating vocals, boring tune. Not keen on this one.
Track 16: Cascada – What Hurts The Most
Slow ballad intro before it launches into the usual Eurodance. The tune’s fairly uninspired, but it’s quite danceable.
Track 17: Booty Luv – Some Kinda Rush
More ’70s-tinged dance from Booty Luv. Good stuff.
Track 18: Samim – Heater
Repetitive, messy and irritating – not my thing at all.
Track 19: Mary J Blige – Just Fine
Jarring electro instrumentals that don’t really go with the soul-tinged vocals. Also, the tune’s pretty forgettable.
Track 20: Jay Sean – Ride It
Great tune and atmosphere – lovely track.
Track 21: Shayne Ward – Breathless
Slow ballad, too saccharine for me.
Track 22: Leon Jackson – When You Believe
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Pointless cover of the Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston soundtrack song for The Prince Of Egypt. This was the X Factor winner’s single for 2007 and also the Christmas number one, as was standard for the late ’00s and early ’10s (otherwise known as the era when Simon Cowell ruined everything that was fun about the Christmas number one race). Leon Jackson was one of those X Factor winners who immediately faded into obscurity and never released anything else, hence why his stuff’s not even on Spotify.
Track 23: Adele – Chasing Pavements
It’s an okay tune, but a bit slow for me. I’ve never been that keen on the stuff off Adele’s 19 album – 21, for me, was her real masterpiece.
Track 24: Timbaland and OneRepublic – Apologise
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had OneRepublic on track 6.
This one’s nice and atmospheric – love the piano at the start. Great tune.
Track 25: Alicia Keys – No One
Nice tune, but the vocals are too saccharine and overblown for my liking.
Track 26: Mika – Happy Ending
Not keen on the tune, and it’s too slow for me.
Track 27: Kanye West and Chris Martin – Homecoming
Interesting instrumentals, great tune on the sung vocals – quite like this one.
Track 28: The Hoosiers – Goodbye Mr A
Quite like the circus-y instrumentals at the start – good upbeat track.
Track 29: The Feeling – I Thought It Was Over
Retro feel, good beat, nice tune. Really like this one!
Track 30: Alphabeat – Fascination
Another nice upbeat song with a retro tinge – happily chair-dancing again.
Track 31: Scouting For Girls – Elvis Ain’t Dead
Classic tune, but I have to be in the right mood for it, as I sometimes find the style annoying.
Track 32: One Night Only – Just For Tonight
Love the instrumentals, but I find the vocals a bit dull.
Track 33: Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor
Nice to hear some electropop, but this one’s a bit repetitive.
Track 34: Bloc Party – Flux
Good beat, good electro lines – very danceable.
Track 35: Utah Saints – Something Good ’08
Shaking my head a bit here, ’cause we already had the original on Now! #22, and this redone version is not different enough to the original, in my book, to justify its inclusion.
See the link for my review of the song.
Track 36: Mark Brown and Sarah Cracknell – The Journey Continues
Dull tune, and I don’t like the way the operatic vocals clash with the pop ones.
Track 37: Amy MacDonald – This Is The Life
Another nice folk-rock song from Amy MacDonald – great tune on the vocals.
Track 38: Kate Nash – Pumpkin Soup
There are some interesting lines here, but in general the track’s a bit messy with too much going on.
Track 39: Sugababes – Change
Slow, dull ballad. There’s always one.
Track 40: Goldfrapp – A&E
Again, this one’s too slow for my liking.
Track 41: Amy Winehouse – Love Is A Losing Game
Lovely tune, gorgeous vocals as ever from Amy Winehouse.
Track 42: Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua – What A Wonderful World
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
So Eva Cassidy did a slow, acoustic-y cover of the ’60s classic, and then when she became posthumously famous, Katie Melua decided to do one of those creepy duets from beyond the grave by replacing half the vocals with her own. It’s not at all inspired or fun to listen to.