Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #92

Day 92 means Now! #92, which brings us to 20th November 2015.

November 2015
This is how the world looked in November 2015 – or how I looked, rather – because this was the year we started going down to London for the Beat:Cancer event in November. I honestly think I looked about fifteen years older when I was bigger, although my improved hair/makeup game has helped too.

Let’s see what the party tunes were that year!  No, they most certainly wouldn’t have been played at Beat:Cancer.

Now! That's What I Call Music #92
Track 1: Sam Smith – Writing’s On The Wall

It’s a Bond theme, so it’s got a good epic atmosphere, even if it is a slow Sam Smith song.

Track 2: Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean?

Not keen on the tune – it’s a bit depressing.

Track 3: The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face

Another tune that I don’t find particularly exciting.  The chorus has quite a good rhythm, though.

Track 4: Calvin Harris and Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love

The vocals on this one really irritate me.

Track 5: Naughty Boy, Beyoncé and Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose It All)

Too slow for my liking, and again the tune doesn’t do anything for me.

Track 6: Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor – Marvin Gaye

Great upbeat big-band-sounding pop – really like this tune.

Track 7: R City and Adam Levine – Locked Away

One of those songs that’s so dull I can’t concentrate on it.

Track 8: Rachel Platten – Fight Song

Too high-pitched for me – it gives me a headache.

Track 9: Jess Glynne – Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself

Irritating tune, but the beat’s okay.

Track 10: Olly Murs – Kiss Me

I like the ’80s-tinged synthy lines on this one.

Track 11: Ellie Goulding – On My Mind

Some really nice instrumentals on this track.

Track 12: Little Mix – Love Me Like You

I find this tune a bit irritating.

Track 13: One Direction – Drag Me Down

Good rhythm, and it builds quite well, but the tune is fairly uninspired.

Track 14: Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer

I really like the synth on this one.

Track 15: Years & Years – Eyes Shut

Nice piano at the start, but it’s a little too slow for me.

Track 16: Grace and G-Eazy – You Don’t Own Me

Cover of the Lesley Gore song.  It was used in the 2015 House of Fraser Christmas advert, so now it’s a feature of the annual Christmas playlists on the music channels.  It’s an okay tune, but in general I find there’s too much going on in this track.

Track 17: Birdy – Wings

Good tune, though it’s a little too slow for me.

Track 18: Aurora – Half The World Away

Cover of the Oasis song, the original being best known as the theme tune to The Royle Family.  This was the 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert offering.  It’s a pretty cover, but I find it a little depressing when it shows up on the music channels at Christmas time.

Track 19: Jamie Lawson – Wasn’t Expecting That

Too slow, cheesy and acoustic-y for my liking.

Track 20: Ed Sheeran – Photograph

Boring, depressing and again far too slow.

Track 21: Selena Gomez and ASAP Rocky – Good For You

Good atmosphere on this one, but as ever I could do with a more interesting tune.

Track 22: 5 Seconds Of Summer – She’s Kinda Hot

Good upbeat bit of pop-rock – the tune’s not that exciting but it’s refreshing to hear something in a different style.

Track 23: The Vamps – Wake Up

Great instrumentals, great atmosphere – shame the song is a bit too cheesy for me.

Track 24: KDA, Tinie Tempah and Katy B – Turn The Music Louder (Rumble)

Great danceable track – really like this tune.

Track 25: Galantis – Peanut Butter Jelly

Good beat, but the track’s pretty messy.  I do like the ’70s-tinged lines though.

Track 26: Sigala – Easy Love

Another song that’s too high-pitched – it’s quite painful to listen to.

Track 27: Martin Solveig and GTA – Intoxicated

I really like the rhythm on this one – very danceable.

Track 28: MNEK and Zara Larsson – Never Forget You

The vocals annoy me on this one.

Track 29: Diplo and Sleepy Tom – Be Right There

Not sure what I think about the interpolation of Jade’s 1992 hit Don’t Walk Away.  I hadn’t even thought about the original track in years.  It’s certainly the most interesting thing about this track, which is very generic otherwise.

Track 30: Felix Jaehn and Jasmine Thompson – Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better)

Interestingly tinkly cover of the Chaka Khan classic.  Obviously nothing can touch the original, but this version’s not horrible.

Track 31: Pia Mia, Chris Brown and Tyga – Do It Again

The beat’s okay, but it’s a pretty generic track.

Track 32: Rudimental and Ed Sheeran – Lay It All On Me

Repeated artist alert!  We’ve already had Ed Sheeran on track 20.

I quite like this tune, and it’s got a good rhythm.

Track 33: Sigma and Ella Henderson – Glitterball

Repetitive tune, not enough beat.  Quite like the ’90s tinge though.

Track 34: Disclosure and Sam Smith – Omen

Repeated artist alert!  We’ve already had Sam Smith on track 1.

This one’s another dull tune – there’s just nothing interesting about it at all.

Track 35: Fetty Wap – Trap Queen

Interesting track with great rhythm, even if the tune is a bit repetitive.

Track 36: Format:B – Chunky

Irritating, messy dance track with painfully blaring vocals.

Track 37: WSTRN – In2

Starts off with some boring, random chords.  The vocals have got quite a good rhythm, though.

Track 38: Ariana Grande – Focus

Great beat, good solid pop tune.  Quite like this one.

Track 39: Silentó – Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)

I like the videogame-esque beeping on the backing track, but the vocals are daft in an annoying way.

Track 40: Joe Stone and Montell Jordan – The Party (This Is How We Do It)

Remix of Montell Jordan’s 1995 classic (see Now! #31 for review of the original version).  It’s got a good beat, but I was never a huge fan of the original anyway, and the remix has a lot of jarring lines going on.

Track 41: Nick Brewer and Bibi Bourelly – Talk To Me

Messy and uninspired, and the rap is just irritating.

Track 42: KSI and JME – Keep Up

Inspired theme!  Good atmosphere, too.

Track 43: Wretch 32, Anne-Marie and PRGRSHN – Alright With Me

Good rhythm – happily nodding along here.

Track 44: Philip George and Anton Powers – Alone No More

Cover of the 1998 song by Another Level.  Very repetitive, and it’s another bland tune.

Track 45: Kygo and Ella Henderson – Here For You

Repeated artist alert!  We’ve already had Ella Henderson on track 33.

The tinkly instrumentals are nice, but the track is slow, and I don’t like slow.

Track 46: Ben Haenow and Kelly Clarkson – Second Hand Heart

Great atmosphere, but the song’s too saccharine for my liking.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #47

Day 47 takes us to Now! #47, which was released on 20th November 2000.

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.

Now! That's What I Call Music #47
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.

Track 16: NSYNC – It’s Gonna Be Me

Timely, as the meme related to this this track actually went viral again about a month ago when NSYNC received their Hollywood Walk Of Fame star.  The track is a great solid pop tune with an awesome atmosphere – good stuff.

Track 17: Anastacia – I’m Outta Love

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.

Track 31: Storm – Time To Burn

Highly irritating squawky/scratchy instrumentals, uninspired vocal sample, generic electro hook.  Not keen.

Track 32: Darude – Feel The Beat

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.