Customer Reviews

Now That's What I Call Music! 13

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body: This is my favorite song by him. It was good to dance too in the clubs. A

Jennifer Lopez - I'm Glad: This was a good hit by J Lo and her music video is the bomb. One of the best I have seen by her. A+

B2K - Girlfriend: This was an average song by B2K. Nothing to really say about it. C

Jay-Z - Excuse Me Miss: Another average song but I liked it better than B2K. B-

Ginuwine feat. Baby - Hell Yeah: This song was good. It had a good beat to it. B

Joe Budden - Pump It Up: This song was average. Got old after a while. C+

Nas - I Can: This is the one song other than the J Lo remix that I liked from this band. It has a good meaning and good music. A

Frankie J - Don't Wanna Try: This was a good song by him and the music was good. A

Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One: I know you aren't the one. This is the only song on this cd that I can't listen too and it always gets skipped. F

Counting Crows feat. Vanessa Carlton - Big Yellow Taxi: This was a good song even though it was seriously overplayed. A-

Robbie Williams - Feel: It depends on my mood. Sometimes I can listen to it and other times it repulses me. C

Stacie Orrico - Stuck: This was a great song. I liked the meaning, the music, and the beat. A+

Lisa Marie Presley - Lights Out: This was an average song by Lisa Marie it could have been better. C+

Bowling For Soup - Girls All The Bad Guys Want: This song is great it is no wonder they got nominated for a Grammy from this song. A+

The Ataris - In This Diary: This was an average song no complaints. C-

Sum 41 - The Hell Song: Sometimes I feel like I am in hell after hearing this song. D

Chevelle - Send The Pain Below: This was a good song I liked it whereas most people didn't. I can relate to this song. A-

3 Doors Down - The Road I'm On: Another great song by this band. The music is great and the point of the song is relatable. A

Godsmack - Serenity: Not a real fan of this band or this song. D+

Coldplay - Clocks: This is a great song by Coldplay and a great way to end this cd. A

to see if these are really the hits, i compiled a list of the songs and the peak positions on the billboard hot 100 chart.

. Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake-- #5
2. I'm Glad - Jennifer Lopez--#32
3. Girlfriend - B2K--#30
4. Excuse Me Miss - Jay-Z--#8
5. Hell Yeah - Ginuwine featuring Baby --#19
6. Pump It Up - Joe Budden- #30
7. I Can - Nas--#12
8. Don't Wanna Try - Frankie J--#18 (still climbing)
9. If You're Not The One - Daniel Bedingfield--#15
10. Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows with VanessaCarlton-#42
11. Feel - Robbie Williams-DID NOT CHART
12. Stuck - Stacie Orrico--#52
13. Lights Out - Lisa Marie Presley--DID NOT CHART
14. Girl All The Bad Guys Want - Bowling For Soup-DID NOT CHART
15. In This Diary - The Ataris--DID NOT CHART
16. The Hell Song - Sum 41--DID NOT CHART
17. Send The Pain Below - Chevelle--#70
18. The Road I'm On - 3 Doors Down-NOT CHARTED (yet)
19. Serenity - Godsmack- DID NOT CHART
20. Clocks - Coldplay--#30

Thirteen volumes in, the American version of the Now That's What I Call Music series has become quite stratified in terms of its selections and organization. Begun in the fall of 1998 at the height of a teen-pop trend, the series retains an affection for the remaining vestiges of that style, and standard-bearers Justin Timberlake of NSync and Jennifer Lopez lead off this volume. After that, there is the familiar segueing to rap/hip-hop, adult contemporary, pop/rock, and mainstream rock over the course of the 20 selections. Released roughly every four months, the albums do not present the 20 biggest hits of the period by any means. Rather, the choices represent both a sampling of different styles and a combination of tracks that are actually popular with ones the major record labels are trying to push. (How else explain the presence of Lisa Marie Presley?) Picking more for musical style than quality, and more for a balance of allowed tracks from the participating labels than sales, the collection is not a success as a hits compilation, and it is only a qualified success as a time capsule of the popular music of its time. The trend toward snotty adolescent punk-lite is glimpsed in the inclusion of Bowling for Soup's "Girl All the Bad Guys Want," the Ataris' "In This Diary," and Sum 41's "The Hell Song," for example, but the wave of artists exposed by the reality TV shows is ignored. Anyone judging the state of popular music circa mid-2003 on the basis of these 20 selections would have to conclude that it was uninspired and derivative. When a revival of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" sounds like the most interesting song out there, things are not going well. No wonder record sales continued to decline.

Recommended: Yes

This is one of the best compilations out of the whole series, with barely any "filler" tracks. The whole CD is full of hits!!!

Here's my review of each song, *****(5 stars) being excellent, *(1 star) being terrible:

1.Justin Timberlake- Rock Your Body **** 1/2
2.Jennifer Lopez- I'm Glad **** 1/2
3.B2K- Girlfriend *** 1/2
4.Jay-Z- Excuse Me Miss ***
5.Ginuwine f/ Baby- Hell Yeah ****
6.Joe Budden- Pump It Up ****
7.Nas- I Can *** 1/2
8.Frankie J- Don't Wanna Try ** 1/2
9.Daniel Bedingfield- If You're Not The One ***** (BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM)
10.Counting Crows f/ Vanessa Carlton- Big Yellow Taxi *****
11.Robbie Williams- Feel ***
12.Stacie Orrico- Stuck ****
13.Lisa Marie Presley- Lights Out ****
14.Bowling For Soup- Girl All The Bad Guys Want *** 1/2
15.The Ataris- In This Diary *** 1/2
16.Sum 41- The Hell Song ****
17.Chevelle- Send The Pain Below *** 1/2
18.3 Doors Down- The Road I'm On ***
19.Godsmack- Serenity **
20.Coldplay- Clocks *****

Here is my ratings for NOW 13.

1. Rock Your Body- OK Song
2. I'm Glad- Boring Song
3. Girlfriend- Good Song
4. Excuse Me Miss- Awesome Song!
5. Heck Yeah- Good Song
6. Pump It Up- Awesome Song!
7. I Can- Kids in a rap song!? Horrible!
8. Don't Wanna Try- Boring Song
9. If Your Not The One- OK Song
10. Big Yellow Taxi- Remakes are cool! Awesome Song
11. Feel- Boring Song
12. Stuck On You- (There's gotta be) more better songs! Boring!
13. Lights Out- The daughter of the king of rock rocks!
14. Girl The Bad Guys Want- Good Song
15.In This Diary- OK Song
16. The Heck Song- Boring Song
17. Send The Pain Below- Boring Song
18. The Road I'm On- 3 Doors Down Rocks! Awesome Song!
19. I Need Serenity- Too Much African Music. OK Song
20. Clocks- Cool Piano Music! Awesome Song!

NOW 13:

1. Justin Timberlake, Rock Your Body: Good if you're in the mood for it, otherwise just okay. B-

2. Jennifer Lopez, I'm Glad: Much too old for NOW 13, and it's not much of a song either. D+

3. B2K, Girlfriend: Average stuff. C+

4. Jay-Z, Excuse Me Miss: Catchy, enjoyable rap. A strong B+

5. Ginuwine, Hell Yeah: I just find this annoying. D+

6. Joe Budden, Pump It Up: Meh. D+

7. NAS, I Can: While it really doesn't sound like NAS, it's a decent rap song for the kiddies. A strong B+

8. Frankie J, Don't Wanna Try: I don't want to try either. Next... D+

9. Daniel Bedingfield, If You're Not The One: The improved soulmate to Frankie's song. B-

10. Counting Crows feat. Vanessa Carlton, Big Yellow Taxi: Good soft-rock but a tad too sweet. B+

11. Robbie Williams, Feel: While this song takes melodramatic to inane heights, there's just something irrisistible about it. Robbie's a great singer, too. A strong B+

12. Stacie Orrico, Stuck: Pop-pap it may be, but it's not too shabby. B

13. Lisa Marie Presley, Lights Out: Blech. Blech. Blech. Just... Move on, please. D-

14. Bowling For Soup, Girl All The Bad Guys Want: I like the guitar riff at the beginning. Otherwise, pretty standard. B-

15. The Ataris, In This Diary: Nice song, but I've heard it a bit too much. A strong B+

16. Sum 41, The Hell Song: Pretty good stuff. While this won't sell critically, it's a good hardening of Sum's sound. A strong B+

17. Chevelle, Send The Pain Below: Despite being one of the most repetitive songs I've ever heard, I've taken a liking to it. B+

18. Three Doors Down, The Road I'm On: Best Three Doors Down song ever, easily. Love the melody. A-

19. GodSmack, Serenity: Reminds me of Tool. Very good. A-

20. Coldplay, Clocks: While the charm's worn off after so many plays, it's still a wonderful song. Love the piano. A

Overall: If Lisa Marie Presley goes away fast, I'll be content. Rock-heavy as well as full of non-hits, but I like the rock, so I'll just shut up.

Now 13?!!! Man, this series has been running in the UK since the early 80's, and we are on NOW 57 over here, would you believe?!
Our versions are all double CD's, and as collections of recent chart-hits, they were peerless at one point - if the market is flooded with similar discs right now, it is only because of the fact that the NOW guys started the trend. Guess you will either love 'em or hate 'em...but 57 editions later, SOMEONE must be buying them!!!

Too much rap! I'm sick of it. This cd doesn't even deserve stars.

A-HA! I finally bought it! It's soo nice. Here goes:

1. Justin Timberlake- Rock Your Body (5/5) Justin's 1st #1 on the Chr Pop charts, and, I love it! Soo catchy.
2. Jennifer Lopez- I'm Glad (3/5) Ok... A minor hit from J.Lo, and, about how much she loves her now ex Ben Affleck. Please.......
3. B2K- Girlfriend (3/5) I hated this jam from B2K at 1st, but, I heard it again after so long, and, it kinda grew on me. Still, its B2Ks worst song in my opinion.
4. Jay-Z- Excuse Me Ms. (5/5) Definatly one of Jay-Z's best songs, and, very different from his main style. Totally lovable and catchy!
5. Ginuwine featuring Baby- Hell Yeah (4/5) Awsome tune from Ginuwine, but, it got pretty overplayed. And, Baby has 2 short parts.
6. Joe Budden- Pump It Up (4/5) I loved this one at 1st, then, it got a lil boring, but, I still like it alot tho.
7. Nas- I Can (5/5) Love it! Obviously one of Nas's best. Good kids in it.
8. Frankie J- Don't Wanna Try (5/5) Beautiful song, even tho its soo sad. Its great, tho.
9. Daniel Beddingfield- If You're Not The One (5/5) Very sad, too, but, I love it soo much. Betetr than Gotta Get Thru This, and, a million times better than that horrible song James Dean (I Wanna Know).
10. Counting Crows featuring Vanessa Carlton- Big Yellow Taxi (5/5) Awsome remake, even tho ive never heard Joni Mitchel's orignal. It was pretty hot. Too bad Vanessa dosnt sing much on it, tho.
11. Robbie Williams- Feel (4/5) Ok... Ive never heard this till I got Now 13, but, I like Robbie Williams. Millenium & Rock DJ were good, too. But, whyd they out Feel on here, tho? It only appeared on Hot Adult Top 40, and, didnt even get to the top 20. Still a pretty good song, tho.
12. Stacie Orrico- Stuck (4/5) Ahh, one of a few bubblegum hits of 2003! Its cool, but, it got pretty overplayed.
13. Lisa Marie Presley- Lights Out (4/5) Even tho she dosnt have that much or that good of a voice, this is a very good song.
14. Bowling For Soup- Girl All The Bad Guys Want (5/5) Love this... Very funny punk pop tune, and, these guys are basically one hit wonders with this.
15. Ataris- In This Diary (4/5) Nice song, but, not as good as their Boys Of Summer remake. This wasnt much of a hit on the Alternitive charts, but, it did ok.
16. Sum 41- The Hell Song (3/5) Maybe Sum 41's worst, and, this was their previous single... Good video, tho. OK song. Fat Lip is 10 times better.
17. Cheville- Send The Pain Below (4/5) This was a good song from them, but, the lyrics are pretty innapropriate for a good sounding song. And, the chorus gets annoying.
18. 3 Doors Down- The Road I'm On (4/5) This was an ok song from these guys, but, it was a very minor hit on the rock charts, and, it didnt even hit pop radio. The other 3 singles from the album are tons betta. This is upbeat, and, the other 3 are ballads.
19. Godsmack- Serenity (4/5) This was a good song from Godsmack. That's all I can say. Wait, its pretty egypitain, too.
20. Coldplay- Clocks (5/5) How can anyone not love this song?! Its soo good! Possibly Coldplays best.

PEACE

There was my boring review of Now 13.

The Now series has definately hit a high point with this new addition of NOW13. It is a great combination of the best songs of the year, and I was so excited to see most of my favorite artists as well like Justin, JLO and SUM 41. I would definately reccommend this CD because there is something on it for anyone for listen to, and great songs that everyone will like. I bought it back in July, but its still in rotation in the CD player of my car. Really great for the road and defenitely a must have!