Day 62 takes us to Now! #62, which came out on 21st November 2005.
Let’s have another go with these mid-’00s hits.
Track 1: Sugababes – Push The Button
The tune’s a little repetitive, but it’s a good solid pop song.
Track 2: Robbie Williams – Tripping
Really like the beat on this – lots of interesting stuff going on. Good track.
Track 3: The Pussycat Dolls and Busta Rhymes – Don’t Cha
I shouldn’t like this, but it’s got a good rhythm and I’ve always been quite fond of it.
Track 4: Daniel Powter – Bad Day
Awful and whiny. The complete opposite of my kind of thing.
Track 5: David Gray – The One I Love
I find this one really dull and kind of annoying.
Track 6: Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone
I like the rock-tinged guitar, but the vocals are too generic for me.
Track 7: Will Young – Switch It On
Good beat, but the tune’s not interesting enough.
Track 8: Girls Aloud – Biology
It’s an okay pop song, but it’s a bit repetitive.
Track 9: McFly – I’ll Be OK
The tune’s annoying, and the vocals are really not my thing.
Track 10: Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
Absolute classic. This one was great to see live at T in the Park 2005 – the energy in the crowd was immense.
Track 11: Franz Ferdinand – Do You Want To
Interesting as ever from Franz Ferdinand – great tune.
Track 12: KT Tunstall – Suddenly I See
I’ve always found this tune incredibly irritating.
Track 13: t.A.T.u – All About Us
I wasn’t aware that t.A.T.u made a brief comeback in 2005. Good atmosphere, quite like this one.
Track 14: Hilary Duff – Wake Up
Irritating high-pitched vocals, boring tune.
Track 15: Rachel Stevens – I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)
The attempt at a rock edge is a bit cringeworthy, but the tune is quite good.
Track 16: Liberty X – Song 4 Lovers
Starts off as a slow piano ballad with a nice atmosphere, then somebody starts rapping all over everything. Dreadful.
Track 17: Friday Hill – Baby Goodbye
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
The instrumentals are nice, but the vocals are a bit too cheesy for me.
Track 18: Simon Webbe – Lay Your Hands
Everything about this is extremely dull. Not my thing at all.
Track 19: Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
Another slow ballad with a bland tune.
Track 20: Elton John – Electricity
Lovely piano line, but it’s a little slow for me.
Track 21: Katie Melua – Nine Million Bicycles
Nice Celtic-inspired instrumentals, but I don’t like the vocal line.
Track 22: Westlife – You Raise Me Up
One of the most saccharine ballads from the most saccharine of bands. It’s almost unbearable.
Track 23: Gorillaz – DARE
Great tune, brilliant hooks. Love this one.
Track 24: Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
Good chant-along chorus, good beat. Really like this.
Track 25: Kanye West – Diamonds From Sierra Leone
The Shirley Bassey Diamonds Are Forever sample is cracking, and I do like the ‘forever ever‘ nod to Ms Jackson by Outkast. Great atmosphere on this one.
Track 26: Coldplay – Fix You
This was everywhere during summer 2005 as Coldplay headlined Glastonbury. The tune is nice and anthemic, if extremely overplayed, but the theme and lyrics are really problematic.
Track 27: Oasis – The Importance Of Being Idle
Nice interesting tune from Oasis, much better than the generic stuff they’d been putting out for a few years at this point. Love the instrumentals.
Track 28: The Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Lie
Interesting intro, but once it gets into the main part of the track it’s a bit dull.
Track 29: Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani – Can I Have It Like That
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Gwen Stefani on this compilation.
Good beat, but there’s not enough melody for my liking.
Track 30: Goldfrapp – Ooh La La
Nice piece of chilled-out pop – I’ve always quite liked this one.
Track 31: Mylo and Miami Sound Machine – Doctor Pressure
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Mash-up of Mylo’s Drop The Pressure and Miami Sound Machine’s Doctor Beat. I hate mash-ups, as they usually ruin both songs. This one’s not horrible, but I’d still far rather listen to the original version of Doctor Beat.
Track 32: Bob Sinclar and Gary Pine – Love Generation
The spoken word intro is pretty uninspired, but the guitar line is nice, if a bit repetitive.
Track 33: Daddy Yankee – Gasolina
Who knew Daddy Yankee (of Despacito fame in 2017) actually had a hit back in 2005? Every day’s a learning experience.
This track’s got a great atmosphere and some interesting lines, but it could do with some more melody.
Track 34: Rihanna – Pon De Replay
Good beat, very danceable.
Track 35: Amerie – 1 Thing
The instrumentals are okay, but the vocals are too high-pitched for me and give me a bit of a headache.
Track 36: Akon – Bananza (Belly Dancer)
It’s got a good beat, but the tune’s pretty boring.
Track 37: Mattafix – Big City Life
Some interesting lines going on here, but it’s too slow for my liking.
Track 38: Damian Marley – Welcome To Jamrock
Nice reggae beat, but there’s not enough going on with the tune.
Track 39: Depeche Mode – Precious
The lead single off the beautiful Playing The Angel album. This track is absolutely stunning, with a haunting atmosphere and gorgeous instrumentals.
Track 40: U2 – City Of Blinding Lights
Not hugely keen on this one – the tune is a bit uninspired.
Track 41: The Magic Numbers – Love Me Like You
I still find this tune a bit twee, but there’s a kind of mid-’00s summery nostalgia about it now. Maybe because the Magic Numbers seemed to be constantly on Jools Holland and BBC festival footage and the like in 2005.
Track 42: Texas – Getaway
Really like this track – lovely tune, great instrumentals.
Track 43: Bon Jovi – Have A Nice Day
Nice classic rock sound – I love that Bon Jovi never really change.
