Day 67 means Now! #67, which was released on 23rd July 2007.
Let’s get on with those summer hits. Not that it felt very summery in Shetland!
Track 1: Rihanna and Jay-Z – Umbrella
Classic pop song that was everywhere in 2007. I’ve always really liked this one.
Track 2: Gwen Stefani and Akon – The Sweet Escape
Great atmosphere, great vocal hook. Quite like this track.
Track 3: Gym Class Heroes and Patrick Stump – Cupid’s Chokehold
I really like the hints of ’70s rock inspiration – there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on here.
Track 4: Kate Nash – Foundations
Interesting instrumentals, but the vocals annoy me.
Track 5: Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend
Highly irritating high-pitched pop-pop-punk. Avril Lavigne’s stuff did get easier on the ear later on.
Track 6: Take That – Shine
Another great tune from ‘Fake That’ – generally when Mark Owen’s singing lead, you’re onto a winner.
Track 7: Enrique Iglesias – Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)
Great chorus and synth line, but the song’s not nearly as interesting as the title suggests.
Track 8: Mika – Love Today
Brilliant, danceable track, one of my favourites from this era. Great tune.
Track 9: Mutya Buena – Real Girl
I like the sample of Lenny Kravitz’s It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over – it gives the track a nice retro tinge – but the vocals are pretty bland.
Track 10: Beyoncé and Shakira – Beautiful Liar
Love the Eastern-tinged instrumentals – this one’s got a great atmosphere.
Track 11: Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado – Give It To Me
Nice eerie instrumentals, making for another awesomely atmospheric song.
Track 12: Amerie – Take Control
This one’s pretty uninspired – nothing interesting here.
Track 13: Christina Aguilera – Candyman
Great classic big band feel – really like this one.
Track 14: Kelly Clarkson – Never Again
I find the lines on this very jarring and the vocals too high-pitched and headache-inducing, which is a shame ’cause there’s a good atmospheric tune in there somewhere.
Track 15: McFly – Baby’s Coming Back
Boring tune, cheesy vocals. Not keen on this.
Track 16: Natasha Bedingfield – I Wanna Have Your Babies
Terrible title, irritating vocals. The tune’s okay though.
Track 17: Fergie and Ludacris – Glamorous
Love the tune on the backing track, and the sung vocals are quite interesting, but I could do without the rap bits.
Track 18: Justin Timberlake – LoveStoned/I Think She Knows
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Justin Timberlake on track 11.
Some interesting instrumentals, but on the whole the tune’s not really doing it for me here.
Track 19: Ne-Yo – Because Of You
Saccharine and boring. Not my thing.
Track 20: Akon and Snoop Dogg – I Wanna Love You
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Akon on track 2.
Unfortunately I seem to have accidentally added the explicit version to my Spotify list, and everything about it is just offensive. Sometimes hilariously so, but mostly just offensive.
Track 21: Robin Thicke – Lost Without U
There’s a slight lounge-y retro tinge that is quite nice, but in general I’m not really feeling this tune.
Track 22: Snow Patrol – Signal Fire
All the versions on Spotify are very proud of the fact this song was used in Spiderman 3 and so have ‘FROM THE MOTION PICTURE SPIDERMAN 3’ and things like that stamped all over them. I don’t remember it for that – I remember it because it was used in a random Doctor Who fanvid, which gives you a good indication of where my head was at the time. The track itself is pretty dull and depressing.
Track 23: Maroon 5 – Makes Me Wonder
Interesting ’80s-tinged instrumentals, which is always a good thing. The tune’s pretty forgettable though.
Track 24: Mark Ronson and Daniel Merriweather – Stop Me
Cover of the Smiths track Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, with added bits from the Supremes’ You Keep Me Hangin’ On. A double cover! As it’s Mark Ronson, though, there’s nothing pointless about it – the track is quite innovative.
Track 25: Hellogoodbye – Here (In Your Arms)
Irritating vocals, twee lyrics. The backing track’s nice and ’80s-tinged once it gets going, but unfortunately it’s mostly drowned out by the boring tune.
Track 26: Alex Gaudino and Crystal Waters – Destination Calabria
Mash-up of the saxophone hook from Rune’s Calabria and Alex Gaudino’s earlier track Destination Unknown. Of the two tracks, I think it’s Calabria I want to go listen to after this, ’cause I love a good bit of saxophone.
Track 27: Booty Luv – Shine
Fairly generic dance track, but it does have a good retro ’70s disco tinge to it.
Track 28: Calvin Harris – The Girls
Awkward theme to the lyrics, but the synth line’s good. I think I’m going to have to hunt for an instrumental version.
Track 29: Reverend & The Makers – Heavyweight Champion Of The World
Good upbeat tune, quite like this one.
Track 30: Paolo Nutini – New Shoes
Daft but highly appreciated theme, good atmosphere, nice tune. Good stuff.
Track 31: Paul McCartney – Dance Tonight
Good tune, interesting guitar.
Track 32: Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
Gorgeous tune with a beautiful melancholy atmosphere, probably the best track Amy Winehouse ever did.
Track 33: The Fray – Over My Head (Cable Car)
Cheesy and boring, not to my liking at all.
Track 34: The Twang – Either Way
Pleasant if repetitive tune, but the spoken word verses are very irritating.
Track 35: Editors – Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors
Great title! Very topical at the time given the recently-introduced smoking ban. The track itself is a bit slow, but it’s got a good anthemic feel.
Track 36: Manic Street Preachers and Nina Persson – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Oh, it’s this one! Great tune, really like this track.
Track 37: Fall Out Boy – Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
That should be ‘Thanks For The Memories‘, if you’re struggling with the silly ‘wacky’ vowel-less title.
Great eerie atmosphere, excellent upbeat rock track. Really like this one.
Track 38: Klaxons – It’s Not Over Yet
Great backing track, and the chorus is nice and epic.
Track 39: Super Mal and Luciana – Bigger Than Big
Upbeat but slightly messy dance track – there are some good lines but they get lost in the mishmash of stuff that’s going on.
Track 40: Groove Armada, Stush and Red Rat – Get Down
Tuneless and messy with bad rapping over the top – not a fan of this at all.
Track 41: Unklejam – What Am I Fighting For?
Great atmosphere, great synth, and a wonderful ’80s feel – loving this one!
Track 42: The Chemical Brothers – Do It Again
Great beat, really interesting vocals. Very danceable.
Track 43: Jamie T – Sheila
Awful vocals, messy instrumentals, not enough melody. Poor track to end the compilation on.
