Day 85 takes us to Now! #85, which was released on 22nd July 2013.
I believe this was a good year for summer hits. Let’s see if I’m remembering correctly.
Track 1: Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers – Get Lucky
Great feelgood funk track – love this tune.
Track 2: Robin Thicke, TI and Pharrell Williams – Blurred Lines
Repeated artist alert! We’ve only just had Pharrell Williams on track 1.
This track…urgh. Infamously and rightly banned by the University of Edinburgh student union, among various other music-playing organisations, because the lyrics are really rapey and gross. The sad thing is that it would be a really great track if it weren’t for the lyrics, ’cause the tune is great and it’s really danceable.
Track 3: Passenger – Let Her Go
Gorgeous, introspective tune – really like this one.
Track 4: Justin Timberlake – Mirrors
Nice epic atmosphere, great track.
Track 5: Naughty Boy and Sam Smith – La La La
The theme is slightly irritating, but overall it’s an interesting song, which is unusual for an era where most things are really samey.
Track 6: Icona Pop and Charli XCX – I Love It
Great chant-along track – I’ve always really liked this one!
Track 7: John Newman – Love Me Again
Another song that I really like. The instrumentals are great.
Track 8: Jason Derulo – The Other Side
Forgettable tune, but the chorus is nice and epic.
Track 9: Pink and Lily Allen – True Love
I find this one a bit cheesy and annoying.
Track 10: Taylor Swift – 22
Good solid pop track – very danceable.
Track 11: The Wanted – Walks Like Rihanna
Every time I run the Great North Run, I find that because it’s the biggest race in the UK and the biggest half marathon in the world – nearly 60,000 runners these days – there’s no shortage of characters to keep me entertained (and believe me, you need that when running along miles and miles of identical-looking motorway). One guy runs the race with a portable karaoke machine, and last year, when I encountered him, he was doing this song – except he’d changed the lyrics to ‘I can’t sing, I can’t dance, but who cares, I run like Mo Farah‘. It’s possible you had to be there, but I found it hilarious, and it really got me through the rest of the race. Thanks for that, portable karaoke guy!
Anyway, it’s another solid pop song.
Track 12: Bruno Mars – Treasure
Bruno Mars still doing his 1980 pastiches – today he’s aping Michael Jackson. Good stuff.
Track 13: Olly Murs – Dear Darlin’
This one’s a bit of a dull ballad, so I’m not keen.
Track 14: Demi Lovato – Heart Attack
Great song with an awesome epic chorus. Love it.
Track 15: Selena Gomez – Come And Get It
Great tune – love the rhythm on this one.
Track 16: PJ & Duncan – Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble
’90s classic, back in the charts to raise money for Childline. It actually got to number one this time round, probably because Ant & Dec had promised to perform it on Saturday Night Takeaway. It’s still as enjoyably daft as it was in 1994.
Track 17: Iggy Azalea – Bounce
Good beat, but there’s not enough melody for me.
Track 18: Fuse ODG – Antenna
Love the rhythm on this one – very danceable.
Track 19: Nelly – Hey Porsche
The theme really irritates me, and the tune’s very uninspired.
Track 20: Paramore – Still Into You
Great tune, though the theme is a bit cheesy.
Track 21: Imagine Dragons – Radioactive
I was talking about this one yesterday when reviewing the identically-titled Rita Ora song. On the whole it’s a bit dull, but it’s got a great chorus.
Track 22: Gabz – Lighters (The One)
Cringeworthy kiddie vocals, appallingly cheesy theme. Just awful.
Track 23: Rudimental and Ella Eyre – Waiting All Night
Great beat, okay tune, but it’s pretty repetitive.
Track 24: Jessie J, Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal – Wild
Bland tune on the verses, but the chorus is okay.
Track 25: Duke Dumont and A*M*E – Need U (100%)
I find the vocals really irritating on this one.
Track 26: will.i.am and Justin Bieber – #thatPOWER
Very generic electro lines, boring tune.
Track 27: David Guetta, Ne-Yo and Akon – Play Hard
Great rhythm, great bassline, great Better Off Alone sample. Annoying video, but you can’t have everything.
Track 28: Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love
I’ve always found the tune on this one very irritating.
Track 29: Pitbull and Christina Aguilera – Feel This Moment
Annoying, repetitive track, but the Take On Me interpolation is quite fun.
Track 30: Sebastian Ingrosso, Tommy Trash and John Martin – Reload
Boring dance track, very forgettable tune.
Track 31: Armin van Buuren and Trevor Guthrie – This Is What It Feels Like
Fairly bland dance song with an annoying chorus.
Track 32: Chase & Status and Louis Mattrs – Lost And Not Found
Nice atmosphere, but the vocals are really dull.
Track 33: Chris Malinchak – So Good To Me
Another boring tune, one of those ‘summer chillout’ tracks that were all the rage at the time.
Track 34: Disclosure and Eliza Doolittle – You And Me
Dull and forgettable.
Track 35: Breach – Jack
Very little melody in this – just drum machine, spoken word and fairly tuneless bassline – but at least it’s something different.
Track 36: Wiley, Angel and Tinchy Stryder – Lights On
Bland tune, but at least this one’s actually got a tune. Very forgettable though.
Track 37: Dizzee Rascal and Robbie Williams – Goin’ Crazy
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Dizzee Rascal on track 24.
Interesting rhythm, but again the tune’s very uninspired.
Track 38: Psy – Gentleman
Follow-up to Gangnam Style that obviously wasn’t anywhere near as memorable as the original.
Track 39: The 1975 – Chocolate
Love this tune – great instrumentals, great lyrics.
Track 40: Union J – Carry You
Saccharine and bland.
Track 41: The Saturdays – Gentleman
A slightly more standard song about a ‘gentleman‘ than Psy’s attempt above. It’s actually quite edgy for the Saturdays, and I like the retro references in the lyrics. Good stuff.
Track 42: Charlie Brown – On My Way
Slow ballad, not my thing.
Track 43: Tom Odell – Another Love
Lovely piano at the start, and it’s got a nice atmosphere – quite like this tune.
Track 44: Michael Bublé – It’s A Beautiful Day
Nice and upbeat, but the song’s a bit too cheesy for me.
