Now Millennium series revisited Pt.II

The Now Millennium series continues advancing from the original 1999 volume issued in 2000 and in most respects this series continues on from that and on March 1st the next volume was issued following on from 2002/3.

As with all of this series each volume covers two years with one year per two discs and in the book form version I bought you get some background notes on each song and act included not that in the passing years I've forgotten Crazy Frog!

CD1 is the first of two taht cover 2004 and begins with George Michael's top-5 smash ‘Amazing’, before Pop queens Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue feature with the sensational ‘Toxic’ and ‘I Believe In You’. As well as co-writing the Kylie smash, Jake Shears along with his band The Scissor Sisters had a fantastic year in 2004 with their self-titled album, showcased on this release with their massive hit ‘Laura’. Robbie Williams continued to enjoy massive success, Duran Duran returned and further cemented their legacy with ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, plus Anastacia and Natasha Beddingfield both enjoyed huge hits with ‘Left Outside Alone’ and ‘These Words’. Will Young’s phenomenal achievements in 2003 spilled over into 2004 with the release of ‘Your Game’ and Maroon 5’s ‘This Love’ ended up at number 3 after their 2002 sleeper-hit album ‘Songs About Jane’ was re-released. Dancefloor favourites come in the form of legendary Hip-Hop / Pop from Outkast and Kelis, plus the Pop-Dance of The Shapeshifters, ‘Call On Me’ from Eric Prydz, and the fusion of LMC and U2. The disc cools down with the #1 from Eamon and the soulful vocals of Lemar.

CD2 kicks off with the undisputed classic ‘Mr. Brightside’ from The Killers before featuring other fantastic bands; Keane, Snow Patrol, R.E.M. and The Streets - all here. 2004 was a stellar year for Pop singles, and included here - Sugababes, Girls Aloud, band rivals Busted and McFly, plus Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne all experienced Chart success.

CD3 begins by highlighting amazing song writing, including ‘Speed Of Sound’ from Coldplay, James Blunt’s ‘You're Beautiful’, ‘Bad Day’ from Daniel Powter and the electrifying ‘Dakota’ from Stereophonics. New singles from New Order and Eurythmics come before Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams all make their second appearance. KT Tunstall’s massive ‘Suddenly I See’ leads to Chart favourites from Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Webbe. The huge ‘Caught Up’ from Usher and ‘1 Thing’ from Amerie come before the heavy beat of The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Don't Phunk With My Heart’, and the disc closes with Akon’s flagship  number one smash ‘Lonely’.

CD4 leads with the irresistible ‘I Predict A Riot’ from the Kaiser Chiefs, followed by more great bands – The Bravery, Doves, Oasis and Bon Jovi all released unforgettable tracks in 2005. It was also the year that Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’ dominated the Charts, as did the R&B / Hip-Hop / Pop hits of ‘Don't Cha’ from The Pussycat Dolls and ‘Candy Shop’ from 50 Cent and Olivia. Mario and John Legend proved that romance wasn’t dead, and Elton John and Westlife released uplifting songs ‘Electricity’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’. ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ from Tony Christie charted in 2005 as the years Comic Relief track and the album ends with an early viral sensation – the undeniably catchy ‘Axel F’ from Crazy Frog.

This era was one i bought albums by artists I liked so a general resume of this period is really helpful in putting titles to songs heard on the radio or being played in HMV when buying Oasis albums.

Getting set to nip out edition

It's Sunday as I'm typing this after much rain that woke me up twice as it landed on the window so I'm a bit low on spoons today so will deal with that with emergency rations before setting off to the park where it was warm enough yesterday not to bother with any coat.

We're a bench or two short  and one situated to the side of area for football and netball so if it is in use you're likely to have the ball come near you and our juniors can kick a ball quite high!

I'd love to set up a candid camera thing and see just how people would react to seeing a life sized dressed teddy on a bench.

Would they engage with it, talking and playing with it, would they leave it alone, that's what interests me.

I had to redress the bunny at the top of the stairs where the Grump seems to have caught it, knocked it over flat and somehow pulled its skirt down!

Easter isn't far off which with me is something I'd associate with school Easter Bonnet making, egg decorating and yes a certain type of bunny who brings gifts.

Well he managed it last year all right!

At rest edition

It's a week after the birthday, a cooler weekend as I type this out sat waiting for a few things to arrive before venturing out to the park after just dealing with the washing.

First off, I'd like to thank everyone at FA, GT and EBS for their birthday wishes and friends elsewhere for theirs including my BFF's Moonpig unicorn card which was very much appreciated.

Arrangements for Easter and Summer are underway with discussions being finalized and talk around next year too with all that may bring.

Unfortunately I hadn't been too good with a really bad bout of migraine that's still hanging over the left side of my brain, affecting things like remembering day to day details even the other day looking for switch on a kettle near the base forgetting ours is like many a cordless one.

Thus to a large extent I've be mainly resting this week, somewhat dazed, just keeping things tidy and sorting through anything arriving although one immediate family member hasn't realized that there was a birthday hence no card and the other despite calling round never knocked and even wished me a happy birthday in person!

Families,eh?

Birthday edition

Officially we're slightly ahead of time but what's worse, being behind it and maybe you have an idea of what it will be like given that's so relevant.

There will be cards as much as cards got crowded out last year with the events of just under three weeks before everything was on pause so the small number cards wee just in a bit of a corner rather than a central position.

That one fills the girl of the family slot doesn't surprise most given the craziness of our family, doing stuff and trying to smooth things over.

While I don't know about any other presents and they can always be added as an update I do the know the Super Audio cd of Genesis's Selling England By The Pound by Analogue Productions as part of the Atlantic 75 years anniversary delayed from last November is here.

Given the record version was acclaimed, I'm looking forward to spinning this disc.

There will be a fuller write up around the 2004-2005 installment of Now Millennium but this gathering of notable tracks from those two years will help bringing back the sounds of that era coupled with a book about the artists and times.

I'm sure there will be some money to put towards a few other purchases looking towards Easter and Summer get together and unlike last year we'll have a small meal together at a local pub, something we always did when Mom was alive and something that didn't happen last time as that's been booked.