Day 59 equals Now! #59, which came out on 15th November 2004.
Let’s see what the hits were as we approached the midpoint of the decade.
Track 1: Blue – Curtain Falls
Love the Gangsta’s Paradise sample and its accompanying epic atmosphere, but the tune on the vocals is not really anything special.
Track 2: Maroon 5 – She Will Be Loved
I’ve always quite liked this nice tune, though the chorus is a bit cheesy.
Track 3: Natasha Bedingfield – These Words
I like the instrumentals on the backing track, but the vocals are not really my thing.
Track 4: Robbie Williams – Radio
Great synth line, great tune – really like this one.
Track 5: Busted – Thunderbirds Are Go
Awful track that just reminds me how bad the live-action Thunderbirds film was (I am a huge fan of the original Gerry Anderson series). It bastardises the classic theme song in an even worse way than the film ruins the show.
Track 6: Eric Prydz – Call On Me
Brilliant sampling of Steve Winwood’s Valerie, though obviously I’ll always prefer the original song. Steve Winwood apparently liked this so much that he re-recorded the vocals specially. Also, I can’t not mention the infamous aerobics video.
Track 7: Girls Aloud – Love Machine
Nice upbeat song, quite like this one.
Track 8: McFly – Obviously
I’ve always found this one really irritating – annoying tune, annoying theme, annoying vocals.
Track 9: Rachel Stevens – More, More, More
Fairly pointless cover of the ’70s classic. There’s some irritating ’00s instrumentals going on, but nothing else is really changed from the original.
Track 10: Darius – Kinda Love
Boring tune, never really gets going.
Track 11: V – Hip To Hip
Quite like the tune on the instrumental hook, but the vocals are irritating and dull.
Track 12: JoJo – Leave (Get Out)
Sounds like pretty much every other song from around the same time. Very forgettable.
Track 13: Jay Sean – Stolen
Good atmosphere, though the vocals are pretty generic.
Track 14: Scissor Sisters – Mary
Nice piano line, but it’s a bit slow for me.
Track 15: Keane – Bedshaped
Takes forever to get started. When it does, it’s quite a nice tune, but again it’s far too slow for my liking.
Track 16: The Libertines – Can’t Stand Me Now
Good beat, good guitar instrumentals. Quite like this track.
Track 17: Hoobastank – The Reason
Annoying tune, and it’s not upbeat enough for me.
Track 18: Embrace – Gravity
Nice instrumentals on the intro, but it’s another one that’s too slow for me.
Track 19: Lucie Silvas – What You’re Made Of
Nice tune, but it’s a bit repetitive (and again, too slow!).
Track 20: Ronan Keating – I Hope You Dance
Another boring, slow ballad. Despite the title, this is a highly undanceable song.
Track 21: Duncan James and Keedie Babb – I Believe My Heart
Semi-repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Duncan James as part of Blue on track 1.
All of these slow, dull ballads are so samey that I can’t tell where one ends and another begins. It does get more interesting when Keedie Babb’s soprano vocals come in though.
Track 22: Daniel Bedingfield – Nothing Hurts Like Love
Cheesy lyrics/vocals, but the atmosphere’s nice and dramatic.
Track 23: Jamelia – Stop
One of those tracks that has Christmas associations for me nowadays – the music channels always play it at Christmas due to the video featuring clips from Love Actually. I was annoyed to realise recently that it’s an utterly pointless ’00s cover of the ’80s Sam Brown song.
Track 24: R Kelly – Happy People
It’s nice and upbeat (makes a change from all those dull ballads) but the tune’s pretty forgettable.
Track 25: Nelly and Jaheim – My Place
Bit repetitive, but the tune’s okay.
Track 26: The Black Eyed Peas – Let’s Get It Started
Good upbeat party song, very danceable.
Track 27: Kelis and André 3000 – Millionaire
Interesting song, but there’s not enough melody for me.
Track 28: 3 Of A Kind – Baby Cakes
I shouldn’t like this one, but I actually find it quite pleasant to nod along to.
Track 29: Khia – My Neck, My Back (Lick It)
I’m not a prude but I’ve always found this very sexually explicit song a bit squicky, to be honest. If you ignore the lyrics, it’s got a good danceable beat.
Track 30: Ice Cube, Mack 10 and Ms Toi – You Can Do It
Great beat on this one, and the vocal hook makes it a classic.
Track 31: Joss Stone – You Had Me
Great upbeat song with a good atmosphere – love that chorus.
Track 32: Christina Milian and Joe Budden – Whatever U Want
Highly generic track – nothing interesting or special going on here.
Track 33: Sugababes – Caught In A Moment
Nice atmosphere, but the tune on the vocals is pretty dull.
Track 34: The Pirates, Enya, Shola Ama, Naila Boss and Ishani – You Should Really Know
Answer song to the beautiful I Don’t Wanna Know by Mario Winans, which already sampled the Fugees sampling Enya. It’s pretty much the same song, so it’s still a gorgeous tune.
Track 35: Houston, Chingy, Nate Dogg and I-20 – I Like That
Good head-nodder, good atmosphere. Quite like this one.
Track 36: Mousse T and Emma Lanford – Is It ‘Cos I’m Cool?
Oh, it’s this one. The tune’s a little annoying, but at least it’s something different and rockier than what we’ve had so far.
Track 37: Deep Dish – Flashdance
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Despite the title, this is not actually a cover of Flashdance…What A Feeling by Irene Cara. It is instead a cover of He’s A Dream by Shandi Sinnamon, which was also on the original Flashdance soundtrack. It’s a very repetitive female-fronted rock track – there’s little of interest here.
Track 38: Angel City and Lara McAllen – Do You Know (I Go Crazy)
Painfully dull dance track that samples Robert Miles’ Children and adds some terrible vocals over the top of it. Nothing new going on at all.
Track 39: Michael Gray – The Weekend
Oh, it’s this one. It’s an okay dance track, but I find the electro hook a bit irritating.
Track 40: Intenso Project and Lisa Scott-Lee – Get It On
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Good beat, okay atmosphere, but the vocals are pretty terrible and uninspired.
Track 41: Dannii Minogue and Flower Power – You Won’t Forget About Me
Like the guitar, and the vocals are nice too.
Track 42: Danzel – Pump It Up
The chant-along bit is kind of repetitive, but the beat’s good.
Track 43: Eyeopener – Hungry Eyes
Dodgy trance cover of the Eric Carmen song. It’s pretty awful.