Kylie Minogue – Page 2 – Spirit of Dee

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #58

8 June 20188 June 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 58, and Now! #58, which was released on 26th July 2004.

Let’s see what would have been blaring out on the promenade.

Now! That's What I Call Music #58
Track 1: Rachel Stevens – Some Girls

Good atmosphere, good head-nodder. Quite like this one.

Track 2: The Shapeshifters – Lola’s Theme

Quite like the ’70s retro tinge and the way the instrumentals work together, but it’s a bit repetitive.

Track 3: Anastacia – Left Outside Alone

Good track – really like the power vocals and the lyrics in this one.

Track 4: Kelis – Trick Me

Oh, it’s this one! Great beat, very danceable.

Track 5: Jamelia – See It In A Boy’s Eyes

Some interesting instrumentals, but the tune’s very generic.

Track 6: Eamon – F**k It (I Don’t Want You Back)

Repetitive, bitter breakup song that was everywhere in the early part of the year…

Track 7: Frankee – FURB (F U Right Back)

…and then this answer song was released with exactly the same tune. It was later revealed that she wasn’t actually his ex-girlfriend and the whole thing had been made up to sell more records. Anyway, both tracks are awful.

Track 8: Christina Milian – Dip It Low

Irritating vocals, boring tune.

Track 9: Outkast – Hey Ya!

Great, classic singalong track! Still love this one.

Track 10: The Black Eyed Peas – Hey Mama

Great atmosphere, good beat. Quite like this track.

Track 11: Scissor Sisters – Laura

Great tune, probably the best song Scissor Sisters ever did. That recurring instrumental is stunning.

Track 12: George Michael and The Ones – Flawless (Go To The City)

Semi-cover of the 2001 track Flawless (see Now! #50 for review of the original) with George Michael singing over the top. This version is better, to be honest.

Track 13: Narcotic Thrust – I Like It

Quite like the tune on this dance track.

Track 14: Beverley Knight – Come As You Are

Nice classic retro tinge on the bassline, but the vocal line’s not really doing anything for me.

Track 15: Joss Stone – Super Duper Love

Cover of a ’70s song by Sugar Billy, though this version is a lot more well-known. It’s a nice feelgood song and a nice tune.

Track 16: Keane – Everybody’s Changing

Cheesy soft rock, a bit cringeworthy. The tune’s okay, I suppose.

Track 17: Franz Ferdinand – The Dark Of The Matinée

I always quite liked this one – good stompy ’00s festival rock. Super bonus points for the bit in the lyrics about Terry Wogan (RIP).

Track 18: Razorlight – Golden Touch

Another great festival track – love the tune and the atmosphere on this.

Track 19: The Rasmus – In The Shadows

A song long detested by alternative music fans because it’s kind of fake and cheesy, but I have to admit I have a bit of a nostalgic fondness for it.

Track 20: Gladiator and Izzy – Now We Are Free

Like the operatic vocals, but the trance is very uninspired.

Track 21: Britney Spears – Everytime

‘Every time’, Britney. ‘Every time’. There’s no such word as ‘everytime’!

The track is a boring slow ballad, and it’s probably pretty clear by now that I’m not keen on those.

Track 22: Kylie Minogue – Chocolate

This one’s a bit slow for me, and there’s not really anything interesting going on.

Track 23: Girls Aloud – The Show

Great electro backing track, very danceable – really solid piece of pop.

Track 24: McFly – 5 Colours In Her Hair

A really cringeworthy bit of trying-to-be-alternative pop-pop-punk. You just know that the ‘five colours in her hair’ were from hair mascara (anyone else remember that awful late ’90s/early ’00s trend? I only just chucked out all of mine earlier this year!).

Track 25: Sugababes – In The Middle

The vocals are a little irritating on this one, and the tune’s a bit repetitive.

Track 26: Busted – Air Hostess

Bad clangy guitars, cheesy vocals, uninspired tune. Not a fan of this one.

Track 27: O-Zone – Dragostea Din Tea

This daft Eurodance track was everywhere in summer 2004 and later became the subject of a meme. I’ve always really liked the tune!

Track 28: Blue – Bubblin’

Good beat, but the tune is really dull.

Track 29: V – Blood Sweat And Tears

Highly generic, bland song. Utterly forgettable.

Track 30: 2 Play, Raghav and Naila Boss – It Can’t Be Right

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Quite like the tune, and it’s nice and upbeat.

Track 31: Nina Sky and Jabba – Move Ya Body

Good head-nodder, happily chair-dancing here.

Track 32: Fatman Scoop and The Crooklyn Clan – It Takes Scoop

Cover of the 1988 song It Takes Two, which is possibly one of the most covered/sampled tracks of all time (and was already a mishmash of samples itself). I’m not familiar enough with the 1988 song to ascertain the differences, but this version’s a bit messy for me, though it’s got a good beat.

Track 33: Kanye West – Through The Wire

I like the retro tinge on the sung vocals in the background, but the main rap is not really my thing.

Track 34: NERD – Maybe

There are some interesting lines going on here, but the beat’s a bit jarring and the tune’s not doing it for me.

Track 35: Estelle – 1980

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

This song would be a lot better if it actually sounded like it was made in 1980. Still, it’s an okay track.

Track 36: Jay Sean and Rishi Rich Project – Eyes On You

Really like the piano instrumentals, and the tune’s quite nice too.

Track 37: VS – Call U Sexy

Love the sample of Imagination’s Body Talk, but the rest of the track is pretty boring.

Track 38: Joe – Ride Wit U

Not enough melody for my liking, and the backing track’s really one-note and dull.

Track 39: Gabrielle – Stay The Same

Too slow and too bland for me.

Track 40: Ronan Keating and LeAnn Rimes – Last Thing On My Mind

Boring ballad, which, to be honest, I kind of expected from these two.

Track 41: Kristian Leontiou – Story Of My Life

Nice atmosphere, nice tune, but again it’s too slow for me.

Track 42: Atomic Kitten – Someone Like Me

Really like the piano on this. The tune’s quite nice too.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #57

7 June 20187 June 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 57 brings us to Now! #57, which came out on 5th April 2004.

We’re really getting into the mid-’00s now. Bring on the pop-punk and anthemic festival rock!

Now! That's What I Call Music #57
Track 1: Britney Spears – Toxic

Great danceable song – really good piece of pop.

Track 2: Kelis – Milkshake

Good atmosphere, good beat. I’ve always really liked this one.

Track 3: Jamelia – Thank You

The tune’s a bit generic and forgettable for me.

Track 4: Kylie Minogue – Red Blooded Woman

Good atmosphere, love the instrumentals on this. Great tune too.

Track 5: Justin Timberlake – I’m Lovin’ It

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Irritating hooks, messy lines, jarring beat. Not keen on this one.

Track 6: Enrique Iglesias and Kelis – Not In Love

Repeated artist alert! We already had Kelis, only four tracks ago.

The track’s got a good beat, and I like the Spanish-tinged guitar and the way the vocals blend together. Nice tune, although the chorus does slightly rip off Night Games by Graham Bonnet.

Track 7: The Black Eyed Peas – Shut Up

I love this one – probably my all-time favourite Black Eyed Peas track (and there’s some stiff competition from their 2009-2010 era). In my second year at uni, there was someone in the flat next door who played this on a loop for several weeks, and I still never got sick of it. Just a gorgeous piece of music.

Track 8: 2 Play and Raghav – So Confused

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Quite like this tune, and the Latin-tinged instrumentals are nice.

Track 9: Beenie Man and Ms Thing – Dude

I shouldn’t like it, ’cause it’s really repetitive, but there’s something I find quite feelgood and endearing about it.

Track 10: Peter Andre and Bubbler Ranx – Mysterious Girl

We’ve already had this one, on Now! #34! This must have been around the time Peter Andre got famous again by going on I’m A Celebrity. It’s still no excuse!

As ever, see the link for my review.

Track 11: DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide

Slow to get going, not enough melody. It’s basically spoken dance instructions with some repetitive instrumentals in the background.

Track 12: Girls Aloud – Jump

Utterly pointless cover of the Pointer Sisters classic. There’s nothing new here at all.

Track 13: Boogie Pimps – Somebody To Love

Electro cover of the Jefferson Airplane song. It’s quite nice and atmospheric.

Track 14: Atomic Kitten and Kool & The Gang – Ladies’ Night

Semi-cover of the 1979 classic. Apparently Kool & The Gang asked Atomic Kitten to ‘update’ the song, but this is a pretty pointless cover, as it doesn’t do anything different.

Track 15: Emma Bunton – I’ll Be There

Pretty ballad – quite like this tune.

Track 16: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – I Won’t Change You

Irritating theme, bland tune. Not a fan of this.

Track 17: Scissor Sisters – Comfortably Numb

Danceable cover of the Pink Floyd track. Quite like this one.

Track 18: Deepest Blue – Give It Away

Dull tune, dull beat. It’s so boring I can’t even concentrate on it.

Track 19: LMC and U2 – Take Me To The Clouds Above

Dance cover of Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know? that also samples With Or Without You, hence the U2 involvement. Proof that no matter how many classic songs you bastardise in your terrible ’00s dance track, it will still be terrible.

Track 20: Special D – Come With Me

Dance track with a pleasant bleepy tune and interesting vocals. Very danceable.

Track 21: Ultrabeat – Feelin’ Fine

It’s a bit saccharine, but there’s something slightly retro about the vocals that I quite like.

Track 22: Motorcycle – As The Rush Comes

Great beat, great atmosphere. The vocals are a bit lacking, but it’s otherwise a good track.

Track 23: Ferry Corsten – Rock Your Body Rock

Not sure about the vocoder on the vocals, but I quite like the backing track – it sounds a bit like video game music.

Track 24: Will Young – Leave Right Now

I’ve always found the tune on this one really irritating.

Track 25: Katie Melua – The Closest Thing To Crazy

Actively disliked it at the time, still actively dislike it now. Annoying and depressing.

Track 26: Norah Jones – Sunrise

Nice tune, but it’s a bit slow and acoustic-y for me.

Track 27: Blue – Breathe Easy

It’s got a nice epic feeling about it, though the tune’s a bit boring.

Track 28: Ozzy Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne – Changes

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Appallingly cheesy semi-cover of the ’70s Black Sabbath song, with the lyrics altered to reflect the Osbournes’ father-daughter relationship. I still laugh every time I remember this song coming on in big Bennets*, Edinburgh, and the consequent furious pub ranting of a mate of a mate who was a Black Sabbath fan.

*Not to be confused with wee Bennets, Edinburgh. Big Bennets is in Tollcross, wee Bennets is in Morningside.

Track 29: Blink-182 – I Miss You

It’s the lead track off the infamous album where Blink-182 grew up and went serious. This one’s okay, but my favourite track from that album is All Of This, a duet with the Cure’s Robert Smith. Worth checking out.

Track 30: Busted – Who’s David

Generic tune, offputting jealousy theme in the lyrics. Not keen.

Track 31: Fountains Of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom

I adore this hilarious track. It’s not even a guilty pleasure, I just love it. Brilliant stuff.

Track 32: Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out

Great, classic piece of ’00s rock. Love the intro, love the way the main song kicks in.

Track 33: Alistair Griffin – Bring It On

Bland, uninspired tune, boring acoustic-y instrumentals. Not my thing at all.

Track 34: Sugababes – Too Lost In You

Gorgeous track. It’s one of those ones that’s been turned into a Christmas song in recent years – it was on the Love Actually soundtrack and the film features heavily in the video, hence the music channels always adding it to their Christmas playlists – but the song’s lovely to listen to any time of year.

Track 35: VS – Love You Like Mad

Twee instrumentals, annoying vocals. Not for me.

Track 36: Joss Stone – Fell In Love With A Boy

Quite like this soul track – it’s a bit different to what was generally going on in the charts at the time.

Track 37: FYA and Smujji – Must Be Love

Quite like the atmosphere on the intro, but I’m not keen on the rap, and the sung sections are very generic-sounding.

Track 38: NERD – She Wants To Move

Good head-nodder – I’ve always quite liked this one.

Track 39: Jamie Cullum – Frontin’ [Live]

I’m not hugely keen on most of Jamie Cullum’s laid-back lounge-y jazz stuff – it’s not exciting enough for me. I don’t like live versions either.

Track 40: Keane – Somewhere Only We Know

Overplayed, irritatingly twee tune. I actually prefer the Lily Allen cover that was done for the John Lewis Christmas advert a few years back.

Track 41: Snow Patrol – Run

Classic lighters-in-the-air anthem – gorgeous tune.

Track 42: Alex Parks – Maybe That’s What It Takes

Boring, slow ballad. Not my kind of thing.

Track 43: Ronan Keating – She Believes (In Me)

An even slower ballad, with ‘bonus’ saccharine lyrics. The tune’s awful too.

Track 44: Michelle McManus – All This Time

Nice tune, but it’s another one that’s too slow for my liking.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #56

6 June 20186 June 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 56 equals Now! #56, which was released on 17th November 2003.

Let’s see what would have been played at the club I went out to later that night (spoiler: none of the following, ’cause I’m pretty sure I went to Opium rock club, which didn’t play a lot of chart music).

Now! That's What I Call Music #56
Track 1: The Black Eyed Peas – Where Is The Love?

I quite like the Black Eyed Peas, but I’ve always found the chorus on this one a bit irritating.

Track 2: Rachel Stevens – Sweet Dreams My LA Ex

Good head-nodder, good atmosphere. Quite like this track.

Track 3: Kylie Minogue – Slow

Great synth instrumentals, good atmosphere, though the tune’s a little repetitive.

Track 4: Blue – Guilty

Slow, cheesy, boring ballad. Not my thing.

Track 5: Fatman Scoop and The Crooklyn Clan – Be Faithful

Good bit of chant-along hip-hop. Could do without the generic sung vocals though.

Track 6: Beyoncé and Jay-Z – Crazy In Love

This one was everywhere in 2003, especially on holiday in Zante that summer. I still quite like the tune, but that’s probably more nostalgia than anything else.

Track 7: Sugababes – Hole In The Head

Great pop tune – really like this one.

Track 8: Liberty X – Jumpin’

Good beat, but the vocals are annoying.

Track 9: Jamelia – Superstar

It did get a bit overplayed at the time, but it’s a good tune.

Track 10: Lumidee – Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)

Irritating vocals, irritating tune, irritating drum beat in the background. Not a fan of this.

Track 11: Stacie Orrico – Stuck

Nice guitar in the background, but the vocals give me a headache.

Track 12: Lemar – Dance (With U)

Like the retro tinge, and it’s got a nice beat.

Track 13: Javine – Surrender (Your Love)

Great instrumentals – love that trumpet – but the tune’s pretty boring.

Track 14: Emma Bunton – Maybe

Good uptempo song, interesting vocals – good track.

Track 15: S Club 8 – Sundown

If you ignore the kiddie vocals, it’s quite a good danceable tune.

Track 16: Ultrabeat – Pretty Green Eyes

Love the backing track on this dance hit, but the vocals are a bit cheesy (even if they do have good taste in eye colour!).

Track 17: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World

Great danceable beat, but it’s a bit messy in general, and the tune’s pretty generic.

Track 18: Phixx – Hold On Me

Quite like the electro lines, but the vocals are pretty cheesy.

Track 19: D-Side – Invisible

Bland tune, saccharine vocals and really creepy lyrics. Not keen.

Track 20: Louise – Pandora’s Kiss

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Repetitive tune, irritating backing track. When the guitar kicks in on the chorus, though, it gets a bit better.

Track 21: Girls Aloud – Life Got Cold

Some more nice guitar – lovely tune.

Track 22: Atomic Kitten – If You Come To Me

Not keen on the vocals, and the tune’s pretty bland.

Track 23: Elton John – Are You Ready For Love

’70s classic back in the charts due to a re-release and TV advert. Not complaining – it’s a welcome break from all the poor quality early ’00s pop!

Track 24: Justin Timberlake – Rock Your Body

It’s fairly standard Justin Timberlake, with a danceable beat and irritating falsetto all over the place. It’s okay, sort of.

Track 25: Robbie Williams – Something Beautiful

Like the backing instrumentals, but the tune’s not interesting enough for me.

Track 26: Nickelback – Someday

There are only two Nickelback tracks that are in any way listenable, and both of those are due to reasons outwith the song. This is not one of these two.

Track 27: Busted – Sleeping With The Light On

Irritating and cheesy – not keen on this one.

Track 28: Mark Owen – Four Minute Warning

Mark Owen coming back out of nowhere about eight years after Take That split up. This is a great track and I wish he’d done more solo stuff.

Track 29: Amy Studt – Under The Thumb

Irritating vocals, bland tune. At least it’s got some good guitar in the background though.

Track 30: Texas and Kardinal Offishall – Carnival Girl

Quite like the carnival-music-themed intro, but then it just launches into boring soft rock with misplaced rapping over the top.

Track 31: 50 Cent and Nate Dogg – 21 Questions

Don’t really like the way the lines mix together on this one, and it’s a bit repetitive.

Track 32: Ashanti – Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)

Boring, generic song, very forgettable.

Track 33: Joe Budden – Pump It Up

Quite like the backing track, and it’s got a good beat. This one’s okay.

Track 34: Jaimeson – Complete

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Very bland tune, nothing interesting going on here at all.

Track 35: Lisa Scott-Lee – Too Far Gone

Annoying messy lines, dull vocals. Highly generic.

Track 36: Angel City and Lara McAllen – Love Me Right (Oh Sheila)

Extremely ’90s dance sounding cover of the ’80s song. It’s not bad, actually.

Track 37: Richard X and Kelis – Finest Dreams

Good atmosphere, good beat – happily nodding along.

Track 38: Rishi Rich Project, Jay Sean and Juggy D – Dance With You

Some interesting lines, but the main vocal is very dull.

Track 39: UB40 and The United Colours Of Sound – Swing Low

You know it’s a Rugby World Cup year when somebody does a dodgy cover of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. At least UB40’s reggae stylings sort of suit the song.

Track 40: Starsailor – Silence Is Easy

Boring, forgettable soft rock. Not a fan.

Track 41: Stereophonics – Maybe Tomorrow

Interesting instrumentals, but the vocals are as drone-y and boring as ever.

Track 42: Daniel Bedingfield – Never Gonna Leave Your Side

Super saccharine, slow and bland. Not my kind of thing.

Track 43: Michael Andrews and Gary Jules – Mad World

Slow, melancholy cover of the Tears For Fears classic, and the Christmas number one for 2003 (BUT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE DARKNESS AND I’M STILL ANGRY ABOUT THAT ahem). It’s beautiful, because the Tears For Fears original is also beautiful. I’ll always prefer the original version, but this one is lovely too.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #53

3 June 20183 June 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 53 brings us to Now! #53, released on 18th November 2002.

Let’s see what was played at all the Christmas parties that year.

Now! That's What I Call Music #53
Track 1: DJ Sammy, Yanou and Do – Heaven

Trance cover of the Bryan Adams classic that was everywhere at the time. Give me the original any day.

Track 2: Las Ketchup – Aserejé

Daft novelty song with accompanying dance. It was fun to dance to in the Cav after a few VK Apples, but the less said about that the better.

Track 3: Enrique Iglesias – Love To See You Cry

Enrique Iglesias’ song themes are just getting creepier and creepier *shudder*

The Spanish guitar is nice, but I can’t get past the creep factor.

Track 4: Sugababes – Round Round

Great solid pop song, really like this one.

Track 5: Atomic Kitten – The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)

Pointless cover of the Blondie classic with a sort of extra bad song tacked onto the end of it. Should have left well alone.

Track 6: Blue – One Love

Irritating chorus, pretty bland otherwise.

Track 7: Darius – Colourblind

Another irritating, saccharine song. Not my thing at all.

Track 8: Busted – What I Go To School For

Busted are a good example of what I call ‘pop-pop-punk’ – very obviously fake ‘alternative’ aesthetic, present themselves as playing their own instruments, but they’re far too manufactured to be in any way actually alternative. This track is a bit of a guilty pleasure though.

Track 9: Liberty X – Got To Have Your Love

The instrumentals on the intro are okay, but then the generic vocals kick in and make everything very dull.

Track 10: Romeo and Christina Milian – It’s All Gravy

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Uninspired rap track with boring sung vocal interjections. Nothing exciting about this.

Track 11: Samantha Mumba – I’m Right Here

It’s better than a lot of the Samantha Mumba tracks featured recently, but it’s still pretty bland.

Track 12: Abs Breen – What You Got

Instrumentals a bit more interesting than most of these tracks, but the vocals are very generic.

Track 13: Britney Spears – I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll

Really awkward pointless cover of the Joan Jett classic. There’s just no edge to this at all.

Track 14: S Club Juniors – Automatic High

More irritating kiddie warbling. Let’s move on.

Track 15: Kylie Minogue – Come Into My World

Nice tune, but it’s a bit repetitive.

Track 16: Jakatta and Seal – My Vision

Fairly dull dance chillout track, though the vocals are good.

Track 17: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Music Gets The Best Of Me

Highly annoying chorus – not keen on this one.

Track 18: Kelly Llorenna – Heart Of Gold

More irritating vocals and a highly generic dance hook.

Track 19: Milk Inc – Walk On Water

Yet more annoying, generic vocals. The tune’s pretty awful too.

Track 20: Jan Wayne – Because The Night

Starts off as a fairly pointless cover of the Patti Smith classic, then it turns into an uninspired dance track. The tune’s good, ’cause it’s a good song originally, but I get very irritated by covers like this.

Track 21: Lasgo – Pray

Utterly grating vocals, generic tune.

Track 22: Scooter – Posse

The shouty vocals are a bit daft, but the tune is good.

Track 23: Coldplay – In My Place

It’s Coldplay-by-numbers – dull and depressing.

Track 24: Oasis – Little By Little

Good atmosphere, but it’s too slow for me, and the chorus annoys me.

Track 25: U2 – Electrical Storm

Nice instrumentals, but I find the rest of the track too repetitive.

Track 26: Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott – Hero

I’ve always found the tune to this Spiderman tie-in track really annoying. Not a fan.

Track 27: Richard Ashcroft – Check The Meaning

The tune’s okay, but it’s pretty forgettable.

Track 28: Eva Cassidy – Imagine

Slow acoustic cover of the John Lennon classic. As ever with Eva Cassidy, the vocals are gorgeous, but the style is too slow for me.

Track 29: Vanessa Carlton – A Thousand Miles

Really like this tune! Great track.

Track 30: Badly Drawn Boy – You Were Right

Good, interesting tune – quite like this one.

Track 31: Ronan Keating – I Love It When We Do

Irritating chorus, boring tune. Not keen.

Track 32: Appleton – Fantasy

Follow-up band comprising half the members of All Saints. It’s got a slightly rockier edge than the All Saints stuff, but the tune’s not much to write home about.

Track 33: Ms Dynamite – Dy-Na-Mi-Tee

The tune’s a bit repetitive, but the chorus is quite fun.

Track 34: Beenie Man and Janet Jackson – Feel It Boy

Messy track, boring tune. Nothing interesting here.

Track 35: Daniel Bedingfield – James Dean (I Wanna Know)

Another dull, repetitive tune, though the hook on the chorus is okay.

Track 36: Eminem – Without Me

Classic and hilarious. Love this one, especially the fact that MTV still to this day mute out the ‘they wanna shut me down on MTV‘ line.

Track 37: Puddle Of Mudd – She Hates Me

Found the theme stupid at the time, still do now. The tune’s okay though.

Track 38: Bowling For Soup – Girl All The Bad Guys Want

Great track! Loved it then, love it now. Classic piece of pop-punk.

Track 39: Supergrass – Grace

Nice feelgood tune, quite like this one.

Track 40: Status Quo – Jam Side Down

Amazed that enough people were still buying new Status Quo singles in 2002 that this actually charted!

This track’s quite refreshing for a 2002 playlist – it’s the same kind of classic rock that Quo have always done.

Track 41: Raven Maize – Fascinated

Repetitive, boring dance track.

Track 42: Who Da Funk and Jessica Eve – Shiny Disco Balls

Dull dance track with daft, irritating vocals.

Track 43: Paul Oakenfold – Starry Eyed Surprise

Another uninspired dance track with ‘bonus’ generic rap over the top. A poor end to a poor Now! compilation.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #52

2 June 20182 June 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 52 equals Now! #52, which came out on 22nd July 2002.

Let’s see what dodgy trance and other chart hits we would have been dancing to in the clubs of Kardamena.

Now! That's What I Call Music #52
Track 1: Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes

Super saccharine, irritating ballad. Not my kind of thing.

Track 2: Liberty X – Just A Little

I always quite liked this one. I’m not sure why, ’cause it’s not the kind of style I’d normally be into at all.

Track 3: George Michael – Freeek!

The song’s great, but the video‘s even better!

Track 4: Sugababes – Freak Like Me

Wonderful use of the Are Friends Electric? sample. Great track.

Track 5: Kylie Minogue – Love At First Sight

Good danceable tune, nodding along quite happily here.

Track 6: Enrique Iglesias – Escape

It’s a great tune, but the theme is super creepy!

Track 7: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Get Over You

Great pop tune, quite like this one.

Track 8: S Club Juniors – One Step Closer

Urgh, it’s S Club Juniors. Even more irritating than their adult counterparts. Two of them would grow up to be Rochelle Humes and Frankie Bridge from the Saturdays, fact fans.

The track is as cheesy and irritating as you might expect from eight singing twelve-year-olds.

Track 9: Nigel & Marvin – Follow Da Leader

Daft chant-along song. I actually quite like it.

Track 10: Scooter – The Logical Song

Hilariously random dance cover of the Supertramp classic. Always had a soft spot for this.

Track 11: Dee Dee – Forever

Uninspired, irritating dance track with super annoying vocals.

Incidentally, my friend Sarah calls me Dee Dee, but I’d rather not be associated with this lot (who are a Belgian group of dance producers, apparently).

Track 12: Flip & Fill – Shooting Star

More irritating vocals, and the tune’s very grating too. Not keen on this one.

Track 13: Paffendorf – Be Cool

The hook’s okay, but it’s pretty repetitive.

Track 14: Kelly Llorenna – Tell It To My Heart

Super irritating chorus – not a fan of this one.

Track 15: Shy FX, T-Power and Di – Shake Ur Body

Good upbeat track with interesting instrumentals – quite like it.

Track 16: Tim Deluxe and Sam Obernik – It Just Won’t Do

Highly irritating vocals, repetitive tune. Not my thing.

Track 17: Shakedown – At Night

Oh, it’s this one. Annoying tune, dull beat.

Track 18: Moony – Dove (I’ll Be Loving You)

Another boring tune.

Track 19: Intenso Project – Luv Da Sunshine

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Repetitive and dull. This is becoming a bit of a theme.

Track 20: 4 Strings – (Take Me Away) Into The Night

Can I have an interesting tune soon, please? And preferably not a dance track as well. The bassline’s okay, though.

Track 21: Mad’house – Like A Prayer

Pointless Madonna tribute act doing a pointless cover of Like A Prayer. I have no idea why bands like this were actually in the charts in the early ’00s. Why not just listen to the original?

Track 22: S Club 7 – You

Another awful cheesy track from S Club 7. Nothing redeeming about this at all.

Track 23: Atomic Kitten – It’s OK!

The vocal is at least interesting, but it’s still very cheesy and annoying.

Track 24: Britney Spears – I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman

Awful cheesy song released to tie in with Spears’ awful movie, Crossroads.

Track 25: Ashanti – Foolish

Some interesting lines on the backing track, but it’s otherwise pretty dull.

Track 26: Mary J Blige – No More Drama

The tune’s quite nice, but the atmosphere’s a little depressing.

Track 27: NSYNC – Girlfriend

I’ve always quite liked this tune – it’s got a good atmosphere too.

Track 28: Christina Milian – When You Look At Me

Another good tune – things are picking up!

Track 29: Nelly – Hot In Herre

Stupid theme, but the tune’s a classic! It was played at pretty much every nightclub in 2002.

Track 30: Ms Dynamite – It Takes More

Great tune, great atmosphere. Really good track.

Track 31: Omero Mumba – Lil’ Big Man

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 3: Can’t Find It Anywhere!

It looks like the Now! compilers have finally exhausted the stock of poorer-quality Samantha Mumba tunes, ’cause they’ve resorted to including this appalling offering from her little brother. This song is so awful that neither Spotify, YouTube or DailyMotion have it available for listening, so we’ll have to move on!

Track 32: Aaliyah – Rock The Boat

Boring tune, not keen on this one.

Track 33: The Reelists – Freak Mode

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Nice tune, but I don’t like the vocals.

Track 34: Robbie Williams and Maxi Jazz – My Culture

Great track, really like this one – there’s some awesome chant-along bits.

Track 35: Amy Studt – Just A Little Girl

Highly irritating vocals from the off. Everything about this track is horrifically grating.

Track 36: Sheryl Crow – Soak Up The Sun

Nice guitar line, but it’s a bit boring otherwise.

Track 37: Doves – Pounding

Good head-nodder if you ignore the drone-y vocals.

Track 38: Space Cowboy – I Would Die For You

It’s quite an interesting track, if a bit messy.

Track 39: Idlewild – American English

Nice tune from my fellow Edinburghers here. Good singalong chorus.

Track 40: Puddle Of Mudd – Blurry

The tune’s pretty uninspired, but it’s nice to hear some rock among a world of bad dance tracks.

Track 41: Moby – We Are All Made Of Stars

Good beat, interesting guitar line – it’s just the vocals that are a bit dull.

Track 42: Oasis – Stop Crying Your Heart Out

I know there was at least one track off Oasis’ Heathen Chemistry album that I actually liked, but this was not it. Dull and drone-y track, not keen.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #51

1 June 20181 June 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 51 brings us to Now! #51, which was released on 25th March 2002.

Let’s see what was in the charts as I was finishing high school.

Now! That's What I Call Music #51
Track 1: Enrique Iglesias – Hero

Nice tune, but the vocals are far too saccharine for me.

Track 2: Blue – Fly By II

I can’t really remember how this differs from the original Fly By, but never mind. It’s a nice enough tune, with a good singalong chorus.

Track 3: Ali G and Shaggy – Me Julie

A novelty song by a comedy character shouldn’t have this good an atmosphere. Shaggy’s contribution helps as well.

Track 4: Daniel Bedingfield – Gotta Get Thru This

When I was in my final year of high school, pretty much every first year had this as their ringtone (this was the era when MIDI ringtones were a thing). They would all sit on the bus showing off their ringtones on their Nokias, which is probably why I mostly walked to school that year. (My MIDI ringtone on my Nokia 3310 was the Bergerac theme tune. I never claimed to be a normal teenager.)

Um, the track’s okay, actually, when it’s not being MIDI-beeped at you from several different phones at once.

Track 5: Aaliyah – More Than A Woman

Great instrumentals, great atmosphere. Not so keen on the vocals, but it’s an okay track in general.

Track 6: Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman – Somethin’ Stupid

Fairly pointless cover of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra classic. Considered a Christmas song nowadays, as it was the Christmas number one for 2001.

Track 7: R Kelly – The World’s Greatest

Dull, cheesy, repetitive. Not my thing.

Track 8: S Club 7 – Have You Ever

Saccharine ballad, irritating tune. Next, please.

Track 9: Britney Spears – Overprotected

Annoying theme, but I quite like the tune.

Track 10: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Murder On The Dancefloor

I always quite liked this track, although it became a bit overplayed when Sophie Ellis-Bextor did Strictly many years later.

Track 11: Kylie Minogue – In Your Eyes

Great atmosphere, great pop tune. Really like this one.

Track 12: DB Boulevard – Point Of View

Quite a nice tune, until the annoying vocals kick in.

Track 13: Lasgo – Something

Great atmosphere, but the vocals are really generic.

Track 14: PPK – Resurection

Yes, they did spell ‘resurrection’ with a missing ‘r’, and yes, it is killing me to have to type it out like that.

It’s a dance track with a nice hook – quite like the tune.

Track 15: DJ Aligator Project – The Whistle Song

Yes, they did spell ‘alligator’ with a missing ‘l’. Musicians must have had it in for proofreaders in 2002.

Irritating, repetitive track with a lot of whistle blowing, as you might expect.

Track 16: Flip & Fill and Kelly Llorenna – True Love Never Dies

Lovely tune on the vocals – really quite like this one.

Track 17: Hear’Say – Everybody

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Nauseatingly cheesy theme, irritating tune. Just awful.

Track 18: Allstars – The Land Of Make Believe

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Very bad cover of the Bucks Fizz classic. Poor quality vocals, muddy backing track, generally pointless cover.

Track 19: Victoria Beckham – A Mind Of Its Own

Messy, jarring track. Not keen on this at all.

Track 20: Steps – Words Are Not Enough

Cheesy, boring track. Steps had really gone downhill at this point.

Track 21: Geri Halliwell – Calling

Nice atmosphere, classic sound. Quite like this one.

Track 22: Rik Waller – I Will Always Love You

Uninspired cover of the Dolly Parton track in Whitney Houston style. Unless you’ve got a better voice than Whitney – and who does? – you should leave this song well enough alone.

Track 23: Stereophonics – Handbags And Gladrags

It’s a little less depressing than most Stereophonics tracks, but that’s not saying much.

Track 24: Nickelback – How You Remind Me

When I get annoyed by this song, I just remember a show on afternoon TV at the time where kids were encouraged to phone in and sing along to their favourite songs. This song is a lot better when the lyric about having ‘been down into the bottom of every bottle‘ is being creepily sung by seven-year-olds.

Track 25: Alien Ant Farm – Movies

Good pop-punk head-nodder – quite like this one.

Track 26: Sum 41 – In Too Deep

Another pleasant pop-punk tune – it reminds me of all the house parties I went to at the time.

Track 27: Puretone – Addicted To Bass

I always really liked this one – great vocals, great bassline (as you might expect).

Track 28: Christina Milian – AM To PM

Great tune, good singalong chorus. A favourite from that time.

Track 29: Ja Rule and Ashanti – Always On Time

Quite like the chorus on this one – I was really annoyed when it was covered by Raye and Mr Easi as Decline a few months ago.

Track 30: City High and Eve – Caramel

Irritating vocals, dull tune, not keen.

Track 31: Beverley Knight – Shoulda Woulda Coulda

Boring track, nothing interesting here at all.

Track 32: Samantha Mumba – Lately

Another bland tune, very forgettable.

Track 33: Backstreet Boys – Drowning

Dull, saccharine ballad – not keen.

Track 34: Mary J Blige – Dance For Me

It’s nice to have an upbeat track after some very dull ones, but the tune’s pretty uninspired.

Track 35: Afroman – Crazy Rap

The guitar’s nice, but the endless incoherent shouting at the start is really irritating. Once it gets into the track, it’s pretty dull and tuneless. Also, I’m listening to the explicit version, and I can’t imagine any of these lyrics would have been allowed on the radio or on a Now! compilation – maybe they just played an instrumental version or something.

Track 36: Princess Superstar and High & Mighty – Bad Babysitter

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Loved this one at the time! It was often played at Uluru, which was the pub that my mates and I frequented during my final year of high school.

Track 37: Platinum 45 and More Fire Crew – Oi!

Tuneless and repetitive. Not a fan of this at all.

Track 38: Goldtrix and Andrea Brown – It’s Love (Trippin’)

More repetitive beats, and the tune’s very forgettable.

Track 39: X-Press 2 and David Byrne – Lazy

I like the piano instrumentals, but I’ve always found the vocals really annoying.

Track 40: Jakatta – So Lonely

Fairly pointless cover/remix of the ’80s hit Ever So Lonely, using the original vocals.

Track 41: The Chemical Brothers – Star Guitar

Tuneless and messy. Not for me.

Track 42: Lange and Skye – Drifting Away

Beat-driven track that is so dull I can’t concentrate on it.

Track 43: Dreamcatcher – I Don’t Wanna Lose My Way

The tune’s nice, but it’s pretty generic and forgettable trance.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #50

31 May 201831 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 50 takes us to Now! #50, which came out on 19th November 2001.

50 Now! compilations down! We’re halfway through this marathon!

Now! That's What I Call Music #50
Track 1: Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head

Loved it at the time, love it now. Stunning piece of pop that gives me warm nostalgic feels for autumn 2001.

Track 2: Westlife – Uptown Girl

Pointless cover of the Billy Joel classic that was the Comic Relief single for 2001 (so it raised a lot of money, but it’s otherwise pointless as it doesn’t change anything from the original).

Track 3: DJ Ötzi – Hey Baby

Dance cover of the ’60s classic. This was played at pretty much every pub and nightclub I went to in late 2001, and then sung drunkenly by people on the bus on the way home. Why, no, that never became infuriating at all.

Track 4: Bob The Builder – Mambo No. 5

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Daft cover of the Lou Bega song where all the lyrics have been changed to be construction-themed. I’m sure the kids loved it.

Track 5: Steps – Chain Reaction

Utterly pointless cover of the Diana Ross classic. Seriously, it’s pretty much identical to the original.

Track 6: Five – Let’s Dance

Fairly standard pop fare from Five. It’s a good head-nodder, but not very inspiring.

Track 7: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Take Me Home

Nice tune, good chillout vibe.

Track 8: Wyclef Jean – Perfect Gentleman

Good upbeat tune on the backing track, but the theme is a bit hamfisted.

Track 9: City High – What Would You Do?

Good head-nodder, but the track is fairly messy and switches gears a lot.

Track 10: Blue – If You Come Back

Boring, saccharine ballad. Not my thing.

Track 11: Nelly Furtado – Turn Off The Light

Pretty, tinkly instrumentals on the intro, but I’m not keen on the vocals.

Track 12: OPM – Heaven Is A Halfpipe

Daft skater song that was everywhere at the time. I’ve always quite liked it.

Track 13: The Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You

Great, anthemic singalong rock track. Love that energetic chorus.

Track 14: Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal

Pop-punk cover of the Michael Jackson song. I loved it at the time and bought the single, but I far prefer the original these days.

Track 15: Sum 41 – Fat Lip

Another pop-punk anthem – love this one.

Track 16: Wheatus – A Little Respect

Dodgy guitar cover of the Erasure classic. I suppose it’s at least different.

Track 17: Travis – Sing

I was a huge Travis fan back in the day, and I still really like their stuff. This is a great track that builds beautifully to an epic chorus.

Track 18: Jennifer Lopez – Ain’t It Funny

Nice Latin tinge – love that dramatic flamenco bit at the start. Good stuff.

Track 19: Emma Bunton – Take My Breath Away

Fairly generic slow song, nothing interesting here.

Track 20: Gabrielle – Don’t Need The Sun To Shine (To Make Me Smile)

Boring tune, very forgettable.

Track 21: Lighthouse Family – (I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be) Free/One

Pretty song, but it’s a bit slow for me.

Track 22: Kate Winslet – What If

Pretty ballad released to tie in with the animated film of A Christmas Carol. This is most definitely a Christmas song nowadays, though it also reminds me of friends singing it at me at the time, ’cause it was a thing that they all thought I looked like Kate Winslet. Not sure about that!

Track 23: iiO – Rapture

Oh, it’s this one! Love the hook – good classic dance track.

Track 24: Supermen Lovers – Starlight

Great epic intro, good beat, nice retro tinge. Big fan of this.

Track 25: Jamiroquai – Little L

Like the funk instrumentals, but the tune’s not as memorable as other Jamiroquai tracks.

Track 26: Destiny’s Child – Bootylicious

Great danceable pop track – I’ve always really liked this one.

Track 27: D12 – Purple Hills

Quite like the backing track, and the chorus is quite good to nod along to, but the multi-rapper stuff doesn’t really do anything for me.

Track 28: Eve and Gwen Stefani – Let Me Blow Ya Mind

Another good danceable singalong track – big fan of this!

Track 29: Britney Spears – I’m A Slave 4 U

Good beat, but the chorus has always annoyed me.

Track 30: Mis-Teeq – One Night Stand

Good epic atmosphere, good singalong chorus. Quite like this one.

Track 31: Mary J Blige – Family Affair

Another atmospheric track – good stuff.

Track 32: Samantha Mumba – Baby Come On Over

Dull tune, irritating vocals. Not keen on this one.

Track 33: Liberty X – Thinking It Over

I always like a bit of Spanish guitar, but the rest of the track’s pretty dull and messy.

Track 34: Victoria Beckham – Not Such An Innocent Girl

I’ve always found this song very so-so, but the video‘s great.

Track 35: Louise – Stuck In The Middle With You

Fairly uninspired cover of the Stealers Wheel classic. It needs more edge.

Track 36: Geri Halliwell – Scream If You Wanna Go Faster

I’ve always found this track pretty irritating – the tune is dull and the lyrics are just random, jarring and awkward. Not a fan.

Track 37: Allstars – Things That Go Bump In The Night

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Good spooky atmosphere – I’ll be putting this on my Hallowe’en playlist.

Track 38: N-Trance – Set You Free

We’ve had this one already, on Now! #30! I thought the Now! compilers were getting better at not doing that.

See the link for my review.

Track 39: The Ones – Flawless

Oh, it’s this one. Good head-nodder, but the tune’s not exciting enough for me.

Track 40: Daft Punk – Digital Love

Nice feelgood tune, but it’s a bit repetitive.

Track 41: Groove Armada – Superstylin’

Irritating mishmash of sounds, very messy, and not enough melody for my liking.

Track 42: Jean-Jacques Smoothie – 2 People

Annoying noise on the intro, then it launches into a fairly generic dance tune. The vocals are quite nice though, and I appreciate the hint of saxophone later in the track.

Track 43: So Solid Crew – 21 Seconds

Interesting vocals, and it’s good to nod along to, but it does get pretty dull after a while.

Track 44: Afroman – Because I Got High

It’s quite a funny song, but because my stoner friend had it on constantly at the time, I got a bit sick of it.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #48

29 May 201829 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 48 means Now! #48, which was released on 9th April 2001.

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!

Now! That's What I Call Music #48
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 two versions 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.

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

28 May 201828 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

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

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.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #46

27 May 201827 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 46 means Now! #46, which takes us to 24th July 2000.

Let’s see what the hits were that summer.

Now! That's What I Call Music #46
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.