Last week, at Slimming World weigh-in, I was half a pound away from my target weight. So close!
I would kill to get to target at weigh-in tomorrow. This weekend, there will be lots of delicious food opportunities, and Geth has been talking about them all week, and my mouth has been watering like mad. If I get to target tomorrow, I know I can enjoy the weekend safe in the knowledge that I have the freedom to put on a couple of pounds, whereas if I don’t get to target tomorrow, I will have to spend another week trying really really hard, like I have been the last couple of weeks. I’m starting to feel a bit deprived, and so I’m crossing everything that things will go my way.
Thing is, because I had a really big loss last week, I’ve been very nervous about maintaining or gaining back, as has happened a few times over the last month or so.
As such, after carb-loading for the EMF 10k on Saturday, I’ve done four SP days (all veg and protein, no carbs except for fibre-rich Healthy Extras) in a row. I’ve made sure to get out for at least a walk every day. I’ve stuck to under 80 syns for the week. I made sure not to over-celebrate after the 10k and skipped out on the pub lunch Geth was having on Saturday. In short, I’ve done everything I could under the circumstances – if I hadn’t had a race on, I suppose I could have done a complete SP week, but I find SP a struggle as I miss my pasta and I think a full week of it would have made me feel even grumpier!
If I gain or maintain tomorrow, I will be pretty upset, to tell you the truth. But if it happens, I will just have to keep plugging on. I am so determined to get to target now.
But it would be really nice if tomorrow I could have that doughnuts ‘n’ champagne celebratory lunch I’ve been fantasising about for sixteen months.
Day 49, and Now! #49, which was released on 30th July 2001.
This is the way the world looked in July 2001. Those unflattering midriff-baring shirts with the American football style numbers on the front were all the rage, and I was taking full advantage of the Spanish weather to slob about in sarongs. Not the greatest look in my repertoire.
Time for some summer hits!
Track 1: Robbie Williams – Eternity
This was a double A-side with The Road To Mandalay, which is a much better song, so I wish they’d included that one instead. This track is a slow ballad, so it’s a bit dull for my liking.
Track 2: Gabrielle – Out Of Reach
I’ve always found the tune on this really annoying. Not keen.
Track 3: Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame
Fairly pointless cover of the Bangles classic, with upbeat instrumentals in the background, which are just generic and don’t improve anything.
Track 4: Blue – All Rise
One of those ubiquitous teenage party tracks. Loved it at the time, still quite like it now – the lyrics are quite cute.
Track 5: S Club 7 – Don’t Stop Movin’
More irritating cheese from S Club 7. There’s just no edge to it at all – not my thing.
Track 6: Geri Halliwell – It’s Raining Men
Utterly pointless cover of the Weather Girls song, released as part of the Bridget Jones’ Diary soundtrack. There’s nothing different from the original at all.
Track 7: Ronan Keating – Lovin’ Each Day
Irritating vocals, irritating tune. Not keen on this one.
Track 8: Stereophonics – Have A Nice Day
Another dull, drone-y one from Stereophonics. Not a fan.
Track 9: Wheatus – Teenage Dirtbag
Absolutely loved it as an awkward teenager, obviously. Still have a soft spot for this one.
Track 10: Blink-182 – The Rock Show
Another bit of pop-punk that I loved as a teenager – happily singing along right now!
Classic pop track with a great singalong chorus – good stuff.
Track 14: Hear’Say – The Way To Your Love
Nauseatingly saccharine, uninspired pop tune. Nothing special here.
Track 15: Backstreet Boys – More Than That
More cheesy, generic pop. Utterly dull and forgettable.
Track 16: Britney Spears – Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know
Boring ballad with irritating jarring melodies between vocals and instrumentals – not my thing at all.
Track 17: Marti Pellow – Close To You
Another dull ballad. Can we get an upbeat track soon?
Track 18: Dido – Thank You
The beautiful, melancholy verses (sampled so brilliantly on Eminem’s Stan) are a stunning piece of music. When the chorus shows up and switches to major key and an irritating tune, it ruins the song completely. This has always really annoyed me.
Track 19: Zero 7 – Destiny
Chillout track with a boring tune. Not a fan.
Track 20: Radiohead – Pyramid Song
Pretty tune, great melancholy atmosphere, but it’s a little slow for me.
Track 21: Eddy Grant – Electric Avenue [Ringbang Remix]
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
‘Remix’ of the 1982 classic with some drum ‘n’ bass beats at the start and some motorbike noises over the top. Other than that, it’s pretty much identical to the original version, which is a classic ’80s record, so I won’t moan.
Track 22: Gorillaz – 19-2000
Oh, it’s this one! Quite like the beepy instrumentals and the tune – good stuff.
Track 23: DJ Pied Piper and The Masters Of Ceremonies – Do You Really Like It?
Unbearably irritating chorus, probably one of the worst so far on this Now! marathon.
Track 24: Mis-Teeq – All I Want
Good atmosphere, great chorus, but the track is a little frantic and messy.
Track 25: Roger Sanchez – Another Chance
I’ve always found this tune a bit annoying, but the beat is quite danceable.
Track 26: Basement Jaxx – Romeo
Good head-nodder – quite like this one.
Track 27: Da Hool – Meet Her At The Love Parade
Irritating squeaky hook on the intro, then it launches into some generic drum lines before bringing back the squeaky hook and getting very repetitive. Not my thing.
Track 28: Ian Van Dahl – Castles In The Sky
Highly annoying trance track – never been keen on this one.
Track 29: Fragma – You Are Alive
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Good atmosphere, but the tune’s pretty boring.
Track 30: Steps – Here And Now
Cheesy, annoying tune – not one of Steps’ best.
Track 31: A*Teens – Upside Down
Formerly just an Abba tribute band, this lot started doing original tracks with an Abba-sounding tinge on their second album. This song is pretty awful – very generic pop with no edge.
Track 32: Bellefire – Perfect Bliss
Nice tune, but the vocals are too saccharine for me.
Track 33: Texas – I Don’t Want A Lover [2001 Mix]
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
‘Remix’ of the 1989 track, which is basically the original track with some annoying ‘wub’ bits over the top. As with Electric Avenue, I’m not going to complain (but give me the original version any day).
Track 34: Boris Dlugosch and Róisín Murphy – Never Enough
Once it actually gets out of the drum intro, it’s quite a good tune with some interesting instrumentals.
Track 35: Janet Jackson – All For You
Good beat, good tune – quite like this one.
Track 36: Eve – Who’s That Girl
Good singalong chorus, happily nodding along.
Track 37: Nelly and City Spud – Ride Wit Me
Classic tune, always liked this one – great chorus.
Track 38: Sisqó – Dance For Me
Spanish guitar on the intro, which is always a plus in my book. The rest of the track’s got a good atmosphere, but the vocals are pretty irritating.
Track 39: Aaron Soul – Ring, Ring, Ring
Good vocals, okay tune, but there’s not really anything interesting going on here.
Track 40: Damage – So What If I…?
Fairly uninspired tune, very forgettable.
Track 41: Melanie B – Lullaby
Cheesy track about Melanie B’s then-baby daughter. It’s far too saccharine for me.
Geth and I arrived back home in Newcastle today after a lovely few days in Edinburgh – we ran the EMF 10k for the second year running, met the tiny baby daughters of our friends Lisa and Kieran, and had a good catchup (and Indian takeaway in Geth’s case) with my mum and dad last night. Great weekend!
Day 48 means Now! #48, which was released on 9th April 2001.
This is how the world looked in April 2001 (actually May). No family photos from spring 2001, so here’s a pretty vista photo that Mum took on a work trip to the Czech Republic.
Wikipedia has an interesting factoid about Now! #48: it is the favourite album of the character Kayleigh from Peter Kay’s Car Share (NO SPOILERS FOR THAT PLEASE, I know the final special episode aired last night but Geth and I have not seen any of the series yet and we want to catch up with it at some point!). As a result, it charted on Amazon in spring 2017 despite being out of print. Impressive!
Track 1: Atomic Kitten – Whole Again
Found it too cheesy at the time, still do nowadays. This was the one where Kerry Katona left and they released a new version of the video with Jenny Frost replacing her, so there’s still twoversions of it kicking about on the music channels.
Track 2: Hear’Say – Pure And Simple
The first of the noughties talent show winners, which was where pop music really started to go downhill. Awful, irritating song.
Track 3: S Club 7 – Never Had A Dream Come True
It’s one of those ones that is a Christmas song nowadays. Nice tune, but it’s a bit overplayed.
Track 4: Nelly Furtado – I’m Like A Bird
I’d not thought about this one for a while. The tune’s okay, but I’ve always found the chorus a bit annoying.
Track 5: Shaggy and RikRok – It Wasn’t Me
Absolutely awful theme, but it’s a great tune!
Track 6: Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood
I remember everyone going on at the time about how ‘revolutionary’ the idea of a virtual band was, but really all it involved was the musicians using pseudonyms and getting some cartoons made for the videos. It’s a good song, other than the fact it’s a bit drone-y.
Track 7: Modjo – Chillin’
Slight ’70s tinge, which is no bad thing. The tune’s pretty dull though.
Track 8: Chocolate Puma – I Wanna Be U
Boring, tuneless, not my thing.
Track 9: Fragma and Maria Rubia – Everytime You Need Me
‘Every time’ should be two words ARGH.
Leaving aside their awful grammar, though, I quite like this tune.
Track 10: Samantha Mumba – Always Come Back To Your Love
I find the vocals on this one a bit annoying – not hugely keen.
Track 11: Britney Spears – Stronger
Great atmosphere, good tune, though I’ve always been really annoyed by that callback to …Baby One More Time in the chorus!
Track 12: Steps – It’s The Way You Make Me Feel
Nice tune. It’s pretty saccharine, but I still quite like this one.
Track 13: Emma Bunton – What Took You So Long
Good tune, but it’s a bit slow for me.
Track 14: Ronan Keating and Bryan Adams – The Way You Make Me Feel
It’s almost a repeated title from the Steps offering above, but it’s a very different song – this one is a dodgy nausea-inducing guitar ballad.
Track 15: Backstreet Boys – Shape Of My Heart
Super saccharine, but the tune’s okay.
Track 16: LeAnn Rimes – I Need You
Extremely boring ballad with overblown vocals. Not my thing at all.
Track 17: Damage – Still Be Lovin’ You
Another irritatingly cheesy track with a dull tune.
Track 18: Kaci Battaglia – Paradise
Nice atmosphere, like the Latin tinge and Spanish guitar. Good track.
Track 19: Martine McCutcheon – On The Radio
Pointless cover of the Donna Summer classic. Nothing new here at all, except the irritating ’00s hi-hat on the backing track.
Track 20: Kylie Minogue – Please Stay
Lovely atmosphere, with more Spanish guitar – loving that trend! Gorgeous tune.
Track 21: Bob The Builder – Can We Fix It?
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
I read ages ago (I can’t find a link so hopefully this daft concept has disappeared from the public imagination) that your ‘life song’ is supposed to be the song that was number one on your sixteenth birthday. Being a tail-end-of-Christmas baby, my birthday number one is usually still whatever was number one for Christmas. For my sixteenth birthday, it was this novelty charity single from the kids’ TV show Bob The Builder. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to say about my life.
Track 22: Eva Cassidy – Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Slow, acoustic cover of the Judy Garland number from The Wizard Of Oz. Beautiful vocals, but the style’s not my kind of thing.
Track 23: U2 – Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
I’ve always quite liked this one – good tune, interesting lyrics.
Track 24: Stereophonics – Mr Writer
Good guitar riff, but the vocals are depressing and drone-y.
Track 25: Coldplay – Don’t Panic
Oh, it’s this one. The tune’s okay, but it’s pretty dull.
Track 26: Texas – Inner Smile
Great tune, great singalong chorus – really like this one.
Track 27: Robbie Williams – Let Love Be Your Energy
Nice tune, interesting vocals, though Robbie Williams is still trying to do the Britpop thing a few years after it ended.
Track 28: Feeder – Buck Rogers
Great, classic singalong rock track. Loved it at the time, still really like it now, with bonus amusement at the notion that a car having a CD player made it top of the range in 2001. Also, I could never work out whether the lyric was ‘drink cider from a lemon‘ or ‘drink cider from eleven‘.
Track 29: Papa Roach – Last Resort
This pop-punk classic was a bit of a soundtrack song in my teens – we always had it blasting at parties and in cars and so on. I still quite like the track.
Track 30: Planet Funk – Chase The Sun
Nice tune, but it’s too repetitive for me.
Track 31: Safri Duo – Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)
Good beat (obviously), good danceable track, though the trance bit is fairly generic.
Track 32: Dario G – Dream To Me
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Cover of the Cranberries’ Dreams. High-pitched classical/opera-style bit irritates throughout, and is joined by an uninspired trance beat. The whole thing is a bit messy.
Track 33: Jakatta – American Dream
Oh, it’s this one. Quite like the clangy instrumental, but it’s a bit dull otherwise.
Track 34: Sonique – I Put A Spell On You
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Spiky, upbeat, atmospheric cover of the ’50s rock ‘n’ roll classic. Really like this one.
Track 35: Melanie B – Feels So Good
Irritating, repetitive tune – not keen on this track.
Track 36: Mýa – Case Of The Ex
Great atmosphere, good tune, great singalong bit on the bridge and chorus. Good stuff.
Track 37: Chanté Moore – Straight Up
Highly irritating tinkly xylophone-sounding instrumental at the start, then it launches into an uninspired tune. The vocals are okay, but it’s generally not my thing.
Track 38: Joe – Stutter
Boring tune, irritating lines, annoying theme. Not keen on this one.
Track 39: Architechs – Show Me The Money
Too repetitive for me, and the tune’s very generic.
Track 40: DJ Luck & MC Neat – Piano Loco
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Nice Latin flavour – good danceable track. Could do without the added ‘wub’ bits and rap though, it makes it very messy.
Track 41: Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Loco
A slower type of loco here, maybe because there’s no piano this time. Still a good helping of Spanish vocals though, so I quite like it.
This poster has been in the house for as long as I can remember…
Poster from the Rarities of Chinese Painting exhibition at the Talbot Rice gallery in September 1984.
…which makes sense, given that the exhibition took place a few months before I was born. The poster used to hang on the wall, but as Mum and Dad’s book collection has expanded, that wall space has been taken over by bookshelves, hence the poster being moved to the window shutters.
Given that the big work project I just finished a couple of weeks ago was on the subject of art in Edinburgh, I’m interested to see that the Talbot Rice gallery has been going for some time. No Edinburgh Art Festival back then, either – it all seems to have been under the banner of the International Festival.
I’ve always liked this poster – the black leaves are really pretty, and remind me of the numerous houseplants we used to have in the family home before they all died. The ’80s lettering on the poster is just a bonus!
Day 47 takes us to Now! #47, which was released on 20th November 2000.
This is how the world looked in November 2000 (actually October). Italy probably still has nice weather in the autumn, and I most definitely still wear that hoodie (it’s my favourite hoodie for keeping warm pre and post running).
Let’s see what the hits were going into the winter.
Track 1: Robbie Williams – Rock DJ
Great, danceable, singalong track – loved it at the time, love it now.
Track 2: Modjo – Lady (Hear Me Tonight)
I don’t normally like this kind of repetitive turn-of-the-millennium house music, but I quite like the tune on this one.
Track 3: Ronan Keating – Life Is A Rollercoaster
Super annoying chorus, cheesy theme. Not a fan.
Track 4: Texas – In Demand
Really like this track – great tune. Love the video with Alan Rickman too.
Track 5: Bon Jovi – It’s My Life
Loved it at the time, still really like it now. Always had a soft spot for Bon Jovi.
Track 6: U2 – Beautiful Day
The perceived wisdom is that U2 took a nosedive in quality sometime in the mid-’90s, but to be honest I’ve always really liked the stuff off the All That You Can’t Leave Behind album. This is a nice epic track – I don’t like it as much as I did at the time, but it’s still solid.
Track 7: David Gray – Babylon
Nice chillout track, quite like this one. I don’t know why I’ve always liked David Gray’s White Ladder album, ’cause it’s not the sort of thing I’d normally be keen on, but I do enjoy most of the tunes.
Track 8: All Saints – Pure Shores
The soundtrack song for the film The Beach. I really like the tune on the chorus.
Track 9: Spice Girls – Holler
The now-Geri-less Spice Girls with a fairly bland tune. The end was clearly nigh, especially as they were all launching solo careers.
Incidentally, it always annoys me when British artists sing songs written in American vernacular. ‘Holler’ is not a word over here!
Track 10: Architechs and Nana – Body Groove
Quite like the hook, but the vocals are irritating.
Track 11: Craig David – 7 Days
Always had a soft spot for this one – really like the theme! I was really annoyed when it was sampled by Kojo Funds and Raye for Check earlier this year.
Track 12: Samantha Mumba – Body II Body
Love the Ashes To Ashes sample, but the rest of the track is pretty generic.
Track 13: Britney Spears – Lucky
This is a highly cheesy, irritating song. Thankfully, at the time, some of my mates at school livened it up by coming up with alternative German history themed lyrics:
He’s so lucky He’s Bismarck And he tries so hard at this union lark, thinking: If there’s nothing missing in my reich Then why won’t the states unify?
As a result, I think of nineteenth-century Germany whenever I hear it. Good effort, friends!
Track 14: LeAnn Rimes – Can’t Fight The Moonlight
Soundtrack song for the film Coyote Ugly. It’s okay, but the chorus is a little annoying.
Track 15: S Club 7 – Natural
Quite like the interesting instrumentals on this one, but the vocals are pretty irritating.
Great, classic singalong song. Really like this one!
Track 18: Tom Jones and Heather Small – You Need Love Like I Do
Two great voices on this duet, but I find the song a bit so-so.
Track 19: Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue – Kids
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Robbie Williams. This duet with Kylie is great, though, so I won’t complain too much. Nice upbeat track, awesome tune.
Track 20: Coldplay – Trouble
I like the piano intro, but one it launches into the vocals it gets very depressing.
Track 21: Martine McCutcheon – I’m Over You
Nice tune, but the vocals are super saccharine, which puts me right off.
Track 22: Kylie Minogue – On A Night Like This
Repeated artist alert…again. We already had Kylie on the Kids duet – give some other artists a chance!
This is a great track, though – lovely tune, good atmosphere.
Track 23: Steps – Stomp
Disco-tinged track, very Abba-inspired. Good solid pop song.
Track 24: Vanessa Amorosi – Absolutely Everybody
Found it highly irritating at the time, still do now. Twee, annoying theme.
Track 25: Billie Piper – Walk Of Life
Not my favourite Billie Piper track – it’s a bit generic.
Track 26: True Steppers, Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham – Out Of Your Mind
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Quite like this one, mainly due to the tune on the chorus.
Track 27: Melanie C – I Turn To You
Gorgeous dance-infused track from Melanie C – beautiful tune.
Track 28: Delerium and Sarah McLachlan – Silence
Classic tune, lovely vocals.
Track 29: Sonique – Sky
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Slightly messy lines, but the vocal is nice.
Track 30: Zombie Nation – Kernkraft 400
There’s a common misconception that ‘Zombie Nation’ is the name of the song and ‘Kernkraft 400’ is the name of the band, but it’s actually the other way round. This misconception is especially prevalent in the goth/industrial scene, largely due to Grendel calling the track ‘Zombie Nation’ when they covered it. Great tune, either way.
Generic dance track for about two minutes, then it switches gears into a more chilled out version of itself, which is a bit jarring. After that, there’s some washing machine noise and it goes back to where it was at the start. Also, I’m pretty sure that’s a sample from 9PM (Till I Come), which is highly uninspired if so.
Track 33: Aurora – Ordinary World
Fairly pointless cover of the Duran Duran song with a dance beat over the top. I love Duran Duran (as you might be aware by now) so I’m always going to side-eye a bit when somebody attempts a cover. It’s still a great song, but nothing can touch the original.
Track 34: SuReal – You Take My Breath Away
Boring, uninspired, forgettable dance track. Not a fan.
Track 35: Madison Avenue – Who The Hell Are You
Too similar to Don’t Call Me Baby – guess they only really had one song in them.
Track 36: Azzido Da Bass – Doom’s Night
Irritating ‘wub wub’ bit at the start, then the rest of the track is fairly tuneless. Not my thing.
Track 37: Baha Men – Who Let The Dogs Out?
I’ve always quite liked this song and its comedy tone – it soundtracked quite a few summer holidays in the early ’00s for me. Great chant-along chorus.
Track 38: Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot…)
Generic, messy track. Too much going on and not enough melody for me.
Track 39: Sisqó – Unleash The Dragon
Nice instrumentals, but the rap is fairly generic.
Track 40: Melanie B – Tell Me
The squeaky intro is annoying, though there’s some interesting stuff going on with the vocals.
Track 41: Louise – Beautiful Inside
Good beat, but the vocal is boring.
Track 42: Gabrielle – Should I Stay
And we return to a dull ballad as the last track of a Now! compilation. Nothing interesting about this track.
It’s been nice to have a relaxed Sunday for the first time in a couple of months – I spent today listening to music, writing and chilling out, and then went to visit my friends Lisa and Kieran and see their gorgeous newborn twins in the hospital.
More chilling out tomorrow! Looking forward to it.
Day 46 means Now! #46, which takes us to 24th July 2000.
This is how the world looked in July 2000, though I think that bit of Ireland has looked that way for some time! I wore that orange Miss Selfridge shirt to death – I had a lime green one as well.
Let’s see what the hits were that summer.
Track 1: Britney Spears – Oops! I Did It Again
I thought it was okay at the time, but find it insanely annoying now after hearing it intermittently for eighteen years.
Track 2: S Club 7 – Reach
Thought it was insufferably awful then, still think that now. Cheesy and twee.
Track 3: Sonique – It Feels So Good
Nice tune – quite like this one.
Track 4: Mary Mary – Shackles (Praise You)
Great atmosphere, good tune. Happily nodding along.
Track 5: Samantha Mumba – Gotta Tell You
Loved this at the time and bought the single. I still quite like the tune.
Track 6: Gabrielle – When A Woman
Upbeat, head-noddable track, but the feelgood vocals are a bit irritating for me.
Track 7: Kylie Minogue – Spinning Around
Classic tune, classic video. Always really liked this track – it’s very danceable.
Track 8: Tom Jones and Mousse T – Sex Bomb
Another great danceable track that was everywhere at the time. Good stuff.
Track 9: Bloodhound Gang – The Bad Touch
Generally known as ‘the Discovery Channel song’, this one is an absolute classic – I’ve always loved that instrumental, and the theme is hilarious.
Track 10: Shania Twain – Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)
Quite like the folky instrumentals, but the vocals on this one annoy me.
Track 11: Billie Piper – Day And Night
Billie Piper going for a more grown-up sound on her second album meant that her stuff was no longer squeaky and irritating but was instead nice solid pop. This one is a great tune with a good atmosphere.
Track 12: Louise – 2 Faced
Generic, dull tune – not keen on this one.
Track 13: Aaliyah – Try Again
Great atmosphere, interesting lines. Really like this one.
Track 14: NSYNC – Bye Bye Bye
I don’t remember NSYNC being that huge generally in the UK, but this track was a fairly big hit. It’s got a good atmosphere – solid piece of pop.
Track 15: Damage – Ghetto Romance
You know it’s the noughties when lyrics like ‘body like a racecar‘ start to show up in the charts. Generic, irritating track.
Track 16: Steps – When I Said Goodbye
This was released as a double A-side with Summer Of Love, which is a much, much better song, so I can’t help wishing the Now! compilers had chosen that one instead for this summer release. If previous patterns are anything to go by, though, it’ll probably show up on the November one.
This track is a slow, boring ballad, and I’m not keen on those.
Track 17: Stephen Gately – New Beginning
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Nice atmosphere on this one, nice epic chorus. Quite like this track.
Track 18: Backstreet Boys – The One
Good beat, interesting instrumentals, but the vocals are pretty generic and dull.
Track 19: Moby – Porcelain
Oh, it’s this one! Nice chillout track, like the tinkly piano.
Track 20: Coldplay – Yellow
Another indicator it’s now the noughties: Coldplay show up for the first time. Yellow has quite a good intro, but it all goes downhill when Chris Martin opens his mouth, which may become a bit of a theme, as I’ve got a feeling this is not the last time they’ll feature on these Now! compilations.
Track 21: Richard Ashcroft – A Song For The Lovers
The Verve frontman goes solo. Unfortunately this track’s just as depressing as the stuff he was doing with the Verve, although I do quite like the sax on the intro.
Track 22: Black Legend – You See The Trouble With Me
Irritating house cover of the Barry White classic that gets rid of most of the melody. Not keen at all.
Track 23: Spiller and Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)
Great tune, great atmosphere, great danceable beat – love this track.
Track 24: Darude – Sandstorm
Oh, it’s this one! Classic dance track, great hook.
Track 25: York – On The Beach
Another dance track with a memorable hook that I’m guessing most people would recognise but couldn’t name. Quite like this one.
Track 26: Marc et Claude – I Need Your Lovin’ (Like The Sunshine)
Good atmosphere on the intro, segueing into a great dance track. Really like this.
Track 27: Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love [Rob Searle Club Mix]
Remix of the 1984 classic, which is very definitely considered a Christmas song nowadays and hence feels out of place both in May 2018 as I write this and in July 2000 when this compilation was released. It is nice to see some love for old ’80s tracks, although this remix only really uses one instrumental line from the track to begin with, and as such the first four minutes are fairly unrecognisable before it launches into the well-known first verse. After that, it gets a bit messy and super trance-y.
Track 28: Different Gear and The Police – When The World Is Running Down (You Can’t Go Wrong)
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM)
Irritating sample on the intro, before it launches into the remix of the 1980 Police track. It’s pretty dull and repetitive.
Track 29: Southside Spinners – Luvstruck
Boring, generic dance track with irritating orgasm noises over the top.
Track 30: Alice Deejay – Will I Ever
Annoying tune, not keen. I’m starting to fear that the imaginary ’00s nightclub (the setting for these Now! disc 2s full of dance tracks that started to become the pattern in the mid-’90s) will be even worse than the ’90s one.
Track 31: Angelic – It’s My Turn
Quite like the instrumentals and the atmosphere, but the vocals annoy me.
Track 32: Rank 1 – Airwave
Generic dance tune, very dull. Not a fan.
Track 33: B-15 Project, Crissy D and Lady G – Girls Like Us
Quite like the chorus, but otherwise it’s a bit messy for my liking.
Track 34: Lonyo – Summer Of Love
Quite like the Latin-tinged backing vocals, but the main tune is a bit cheesy.
Track 35: MJ Cole – Crazy Love
Really like the tune on the intro…then it launches into the world’s most annoying vocals. Urgh.
Track 36: DJ Luck & MC Neat and JJ – Masterblaster 2000
Cover of the 1980 Stevie Wonder track, with ‘bonus’ No Diggity sample. It’s upbeat and danceable, but I’m not sure about the tune.
Track 37: Tru Faith and Dub Conspiracy – Freak Like Me
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Great atmosphere on this cover of the Adina Howard track, later made more famous by the Sugababes. Love those instrumentals.
Track 38: Jamelia – Call Me
Nice tune, but it’s a bit slow for me.
Track 39: Vengaboys – Uncle John From Jamaica
More lively Eurodance from the Vengaboys. The tune on this one’s a little irritating.
Track 40: Fe-M@il – Flee Fly Flo
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
I’d forgotten about this daft call-and-response track. It’s at least different, but it’s pretty cheesy and annoying.
Track 41: Scooch – For Sure
Twee and irritating tune – not keen on this one.
Track 42: Atomic Kitten – I Want Your Love
I quite liked this retro-tinged atmospheric track at the time, but I find it a bit headache-inducing nowadays.
Track 43: Steps – Deeper Shade Of Blue
Repeated artist alert! Now I’m even more annoyed that they didn’t include Summer Of Love.
This dance-infused track’s got a good beat and atmosphere, but the tune on the vocals irritates me a bit nowadays.
So, the EMF 10k, which is always a memorable race. I first signed up to do it in 2016, but then it turned out to be the wee bro’s wedding in Toronto the same weekend, and I obviously couldn’t be in two places at once, so I had to wait till 2017 before I could do this challenging race for the first time.
2017 certainly did not disappoint in terms of challenge – the 30°C weather, almost unheard of for Edinburgh, took care of that. This year was much more amenable with the temperature, and so not only did I take almost fifteen minutes off my time from last year, but I was only one minute and two seconds slower than the PB I set in Sunderland a fortnight ago. That’s pretty good going considering the ridiculous elevation of the EMF 10k and its steep climb up Arthur’s Seat!
Geth was only about a minute off his Sunderland time as well, so we’re both pretty happy today. Next up is the Blaydon Race in another fortnight’s time!
Day 45 brings us to Now! #45, released on 17th April 2000.
This is the way the world looked in April 2000. You can tell it’s the year 2000, because I was right at the start of my two-year ‘dress shirt over combat trousers’ phase. I’m guessing Gran Canaria still looks similar, but I’d have to revisit it to confirm. Anyone want to buy me a plane ticket?
Let’s see how chart music sounded now that we’d entered a new millennium.
Track 1: Gabrielle – Rise
The tune’s too boring for me – not keen on this one.
Track 2: Melanie C and Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes – Never Be The Same Again
Another gorgeous track from Melanie C – lovely tune, great atmosphere. This was a real favourite of mine at the time.
Track 3: Craig David – Fill Me In
Great upbeat danceable track, but I do find the chorus a bit annoying.
Track 4: Britney Spears – Born To Make You Happy
Urgh, super saccharine! Not a fan of this at all.
Track 5: Backstreet Boys – Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely
I shouldn’t like it, ’cause it’s a slow, saccharine ballad, but the instrumentals and atmosphere are great.
Track 6: Lene Marlin – Sitting Down Here
Too high-pitched and cheesy for me – no edge to it.
Track 7: Tom Jones and Stereophonics – Mama Told Me Not To Come
Great, energetic cover of the ’60s classic. Really like this one.
Track 8: Shania Twain – Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
Anthemic song – it did get a bit overplayed at the time, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it. Awesome singalong chorus.
Track 9: Geri Halliwell – Bag It Up
It’s a bit of a daft track, but I really like it. Another fabulous singalong song.
Track 10: S Club 7 – You’re My Number One
Nice retro-tinged tune, but the vocals are pretty annoying.
Track 11: Aqua – Cartoon Heroes
Good atmosphere to the track – this one’s sort of interesting, and I find I quite like it.
Track 12: Vengaboys – Shalala Lala
Originally a Danish glam rock track from the early ’70s, fact fans! Love that slightly chilled-out electro hook.
Track 13: Daphne & Celeste – Ooh Stick You
Hilariously awful then, hilariously awful now! Classic Pop magazine tells me these two are making a comeback as well, if you can believe that!
Track 14: Atomic Kitten – See Ya
Generic, squeaky pop – pretty boring track.
Track 15: Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby
I’ve always quite liked this one – it’s got a nice edge and is very danceable.
Track 16: Martine McCutcheon – Love Me
Quite a nice tune, but it’s pretty forgettable.
Track 17: Steps – Say You’ll Be Mine
Solid pop track from Steps – there’s a nice atmosphere to this one.
Track 18: Honeyz – Won’t Take It Lying Down
Bit more interesting and edgy than previous Honeyz songs on these compilations – quite like this track.
Track 19: Precious – Rewind
Another atmospheric track with great instrumentals. Good stuff.
Track 20: Montell Jordan – Get It On Tonite
Dull tune, but it’s got an okay beat.
Track 21: Fierce – Sweet Love 2K
Fairly pointless cover of the Anita Baker track. Too slow for me, though the tune’s quite pretty.
Track 22: Boyzone – Every Day I Love You
Slow, saccharine, generic ballad. Not keen on this one.
Track 23: Chicane and Bryan Adams – Don’t Give Up
Dance track, which sounds a bit odd with Bryan Adams’ vocals. It’s not very interesting otherwise.
Track 24: Fragma – Toca’s Miracle
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Quite liked it at the time, find the chorus annoying now.
Track 25: Moloko – The Time Is Now
I’ve always liked this one – great atmosphere.
Track 26: Artful Dodger and Craig David – Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Craig David. This track’s a bit of a legendary one though, inspiring the Bo Selecta! TV series, so they couldn’t really have left it out. It’s a bit repetitive for me, but it is a classic.
Track 27: DJ Luck & MC Neat – A Little Bit Of Luck
Interesting vocals, but it’s pretty repetitive.
Track 28: Sisqó – Thong Song
Awkward then, awkward and dated now. Let’s gloss over this one.
Track 29: Jamelia and Beenie Man – Money
Nice epic operatic-style intro, good atmosphere. Great track.
Track 30: Kelis – Caught Out There
Oh, it’s this one! I always assumed it was called I Hate You So Much Right Now. The verses are pretty dull, but it is nice and danceable.
Track 31: Artful Dodger and Romina Johnson – Movin’ Too Fast
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Artful Dodger. Really, the Now! compilers should just have gone with Re-Rewind for Artful Dodger and Craig David and saved themselves a couple of slots (especially as the number of tracks on these compilations is starting to get a bit bloated now).
I like the nice tinkly instrumentals, but the vocals are fairly boring.
Track 32: Nu Generation – In Your Arms (Rescue Me)
I like the Rescue Me sample, but the rest of the stuff in this track is pretty poor – it’s largely a lot of strange special effects.
Track 33: Basement Jaxx – Bingo Bango
Oh, it’s this one! Great Latin-tinged instrumental hook, quite like this track – very danceable.
Track 34: ATB – Killer 2000
Cover of the Adamski and Seal classic that samples bits of the original. Utterly pointless – there’s nothing new here.
Track 35: Sash! – Adelante
Pretty tune on this dance track, but it’s fairly repetitive, and some of the instrumentals are a bit headache-inducing.
Track 36: Watergate – Heart Of Asia
Quite like the Eastern-inspired synthy bits – nice tune.
Track 37: Progress and The Boy Wunda – Everybody
Love that Papa Don’t Preach sample – the rest of the track is pretty uninspired though.
Track 38: Lock ‘N’ Load – Blow Ya Mind
No melody, irritating screechy noise-based lines. Not keen.
Track 39: Precocious Brats and Kevin & Perry – Big Girl
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Bit of a messy mishmash of ’60s-inspired instrumentals and irritating vocal samples from Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke’s comedy characters. Not a fan of this one.
Track 40: The Tamperer and Maya – Hammer To The Heart
Quite like the electro line on this one – shame the vocals are irritating and generic.
Track 41: Cuban Boys – C vs I
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Oh, it’s this one. I hadn’t thought about this track for a long time, but the yodeling bit is still just as annoying as it was back in the day, even if it did spawn the singing hamster toy craze and provide great hilarity via novelty Christmas gifts for a couple of years.
Track 42: Robbie Williams – It’s Only Us
Nice tune, still sort of hanging off the back of Britpop. Great singalong chorus too.
Track 43: Blink-182 – All The Small Things
Absolute classic piece of pop-punk. I remember dancing to this on Millennium Eve – great times.
Track 44: Moby – Natural Blues
Great tune, but it’s a little repetitive for me.
Track 45: John Lennon – Imagine
This track periodically re-enters the charts, and has probably done so a good dozen times since Lennon’s death in 1980. Surprisingly, this is the first time the Now! compilers have picked it up though. It’s a classic tune – there’s not much else to say about it.
