Customer Reviews

Now That's What I Call Music! 17

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Whether you like it or not, THIS is what we are listening too and buying. Half of this album is rap/hip-hop, two country, and the rest is a mix of pop, alternative and "today's rock". Here's my take on the playlist:

1. Let's Get It Started: 5/5. I don't know why I like this, but it's HOT. I'm really sad it didn't do better on the Hot 100, peaking in the Top 20 and falling. It's got a catchy beat and lyrics. You can really tell the Peas had fun with this record.

2. Lean Back: 5/5. I bought the CD mainly for this song. I'm not a rapper or R&B fanatic, but I love this song. The drubbing bass line hooked me!

3. Goodies: 3/5. An overplayed and simple song. The lyrics are 3rd grade, but I do like the appearance of Petey Pablo.

4. I Like That: 4/5. A great hip-hop song. It has a great hook, bass line and makes you want to move.

5. Ch-Check It Out: 2/5. Why can't the Beastie Boys just give it up? They were good about 20 years ago.

6. My Place: 4/5. A mellow R&B knockout. So close to 5 stars.

7. Sunshine: 3/5. Another song like Goodies. Too simple and way overplayed.

8. You & Me: 1/5. I loved J-Kwon's Tipsy, but this one is dismal.

9. Why?: 1/5. I didn't like this at all. This sounds like they recorded a session of Romper Room and put music to it.

10. Locked Up: 3/5. Still trying to figure this one out. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

11. Baby It's You: 4/5. A nice follow up for JoJo. It's catchy, but the lyrics are only fair.

12. Angels: 1/5. Jessica assassinates this Robbie William's classic. If you want to hear what a '65 Chevy with a bad wheel bearing sounds like, listen to this song.

13. One Thing: 4/5. A nice slice of alternative music. Good lyrics and song structure. Nice melody too!

14. Dare You To Move: 4/5. Nice follow up to Meant To Live. This band has great potential.

15. Cold: 4/5. I liked this song! It's a heavy metal/alternative hit that has a place here.

16. Pieces of Me: 4/5. Ashlee's first hit. A bit old for this group, but none the less, a good song.

17. Take Me Out: 5/5. Could be the surprise sleeper on the CD. I LOVED it when I first heard it. It reminded me of days gone by :)

18. 1985: 5/5. I was born in 1970, so this song has a special meaning to me. Springsteen and Madonna were on the radio when I was a kid!!

19. Here For The Party: 3/5. Not a big country fan, but this song isn't terrible. It doesn't have the catch Redneck Woman did, but should do well.

20. Days Go By: 3/5. Take it or leave it.

Hope this was helpful to you! Eventhough this isn't a blockbuster release, it saved me a bunch of money by not having to buy individual CDs from every artist!

I bought a NOW CD about 4 years ago. That was the last one I bought. It was fairly good, too. Since then, I have began a renaissance in my musical tastes and no longer favor repetitive music without much diversity. One of the few songs I would actually enjoy on this CD are Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out." It's unusual, but definetly a song one can recognize ten years from now. Not many are going to remember Nelly, from Chingy to JZ. There was a time rap music was cool for me, but that was almost 10 years ago, since then only a few songs a year attract me, but after that I can't hear the difference between one rap song from another. It unfortunatly has become too mainstream and copy-cat.

I will also note Blacked Eyed Peas being a stand out on the CD. Clearly, the others would be considered filler for most other CD's. Kids ages 12-18 may think this is the best now, but just wait ten years from now (or maybe even 1 year!) and they'll hardly remember some of these artists.

Thank goodness I grew up in the mid to late 80's so I could be exposed to music that still was diverse in it's ways. Back in the early 90's I detested 80's music, now I can't seem to love it more. For me, 50's, 60's & 70's was my classic music, the "golden oldies". Today, 80's is classic to kids growing up. Thank goodness kids today can appreciate at least part of the cleverness the 80's music had to offer.

Well, anyway, kids.. I'm only 22, but boy, music has changed soooo much even since I've grown up. Please, don't buy this CD. This is stuff you can listen to on the radio over and over again. Please ask mom and pop what kind of music they listened to. Who knows, you may like it!

1. Black Eyed Peas:Let's Get it Started- Like it, don't love it, it's sort of overplayed. 4/5
2.Terror Squad feat. Fat Joe & Remy: Lean Back- I'm not a big fan of rap but I like when they say "Lean Back"2/5
3.Ciara feat. Petey Pablo:Goodies- I only like when Ciara sings 3/5
4. Houston feat. Chingy, Nate Dogg and 1-20:I Like That- I dunno why I like this song!?
5.Beastie Boys: Ch-Check It Out-I HATE this song!! 0/5
6. Nelly feat. Jaheim: My Place- CHEESY!!! 2/5
7. Lil' Flip Feat. Lea: My Place- Same as My Place
8. J-KWON: You&Me- Dumb 2/5
9.Jadakiss Feat. Anthony Hamilton:Why- Aaarrrrggggg!! So many ?'s 1/5
10.Akon feat. Styles P: Locked Up-OK 2/5
11. JoJo: Baby it's You- Average, I still like Leave(Get Out) better 2/5
12. Jessica Simpson: Angels-Could she get any more ditzier?? I hate when she screams!! 1/5
13. Finger Eleven:One Thing- Like it 3/5
14. Switchfoot: Dare You To Move- Good 3/5
15. Crossfade:Cold- It Grows on You
16. Ashlee Simpson:Pieces of Me- WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY OVERPLAYED!! 1/5
17. Franz Ferdinand: Take Me Out- GOD, I LOVE THIS SONG 5/5!!!!
18. Bowling for Soup: 1985-Love the lyrics 5/5!!!!
19. Gretchen Wilson: Here for the Party-Gretchen was there for the party but no one else was!!! [...] 0/5
20. Keith Urban: Days Go By- Well Duh Days go by, are you a friggin' retard??? Opps,you are!!!!! [...]FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 0/5

[...]

The instrumental arrangements on this album make the E Street Band look like a bunch of amateurs with pots, pans and a spoon.

The raw energy on the fast songs and soulful emotion on the slower ballads put anything Otis Redding ever released to shame.

The guitar work in the "rock" songs make Jimi Hendrix look like a complete fool.

The songwriting on this CD should be enough to force Columbia Records to discontinue every Bob Dylan album ever released, and relegate his lyrics to Seussian children's books.

The sheer power of the brilliant improvisational work by some of these artists will make your jaw drop. Watch out, Miles Davis!

You'll be in complete musical bliss after hearing these songs a thousand times on the radio and are finally able to deconstruct the expert craftsmanship of the producers. Eat your heart out, Brian Wilson.

Then I woke up, played this CD, furrowed my eyebrows, took the disc out of the player and broke it in half. How can anyone support this music?

The 17th 'Now!' disc presents a few problems...namely in the rap area, where three of the songs sound as if they have the same beat...those three songs being Lil' Flips 'Sunshine', J-Kwon's 'You & Me' and Jadakiss's 'Why?', Jada's taking the crown as the better of the three. Those few flops aside, this album does sport 'Lean Back' which is one of the coolest rap songs in a long time, and yes there is Beastie Boys returning to the game with 'Ch-Check it Out' and they do a pretty good job at that. Black Eyed Peas deliver their worst song ever (hate this crap, always have) while Nelly and Jahiem (hysi) deliver a nice smooth r&b/rap track that is sure to please many.

Simpson should be shot, JoJo does better this time around and Ashley, well, she's better then that crap they call her sister but she's still beneath the rest of the pack. Nice additions are the overplayed but still great 'Goodies' and Houston's underplayed 'I Like That' with Nate Dogg and Chingy. Great beat!

As far as the closing rock tracks, Finger Eleven is finally getting some love in the world, but they have put out far better tracks than 'One Thing' so I don't know why everyone went crazy for this song...I mean, it's good but they've done better ('First Time' is a classic example). I like 'Cold' but I hate Crossfade...go figure. I LOVE 'Dare you to Move'! Great song. '1985' is funny, Gretchen's 'Here for the Party' is decent if not a rip-off of her previous hit 'Redneck Woman' (kinda has the same vibe) while Keith Urban makes his first appearance and does okay, not great, just okay.

So that leaves us to the best song on the album, and it's a tie between Akon's 'Locked Up' which never gets old and Franz Ferdinand's 'Take me Out' which is so cool it's cold! This album is worth it for those two tracks alone.

Now, I've been studying the charts for the past months and I think I can predict what would be on NOW 18:

- CIARA f. MISSY ELLIOT - 1, 2 Step
- 50 CENT - Disco Inferno
- SNOOP DOGG f. PHARRELL - Drop It Like It's Hot
- JENNIFER LOPEZ - Get Right
- NELLY f. TIM MCGRAW - Over And Over
- THE GAME f. 50 CENT - How We Do
- LENNY KRAVITZ - Lady
- LUDACRIS - Get Back
- DESTINY'S CHILD - Soldier or Lose My Breath
- U2 - Vertigo
- THE KILLERS - Somebody Told Me or Mr. Brightside
- GWEN STEFANI - Rich Girl or What You Waiting For
- JOHN MAYER - Daughters
- EMINEM - Like Toy Soldiers or Just Lose It
- TWISTA f. FAITH EVANS - Hope
- MODEST MOUSE - Float On
- USHER - My Boo or Caught Up
- GOOD CHARLOTTE - I Just Wanna Live
- ASHANTI - Only U
- JA RULE f. R. KELLY & ASHANTI - Wonderful
- LLOYD BANKS f. AVANT - Karma
- JADAKISS f. MARIAH CAREY - U Make Me Wanna
- LINDSAY LOHAN - Over

There's WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much rap. Rap and R&B are the new teen pop.

Here's what should and probably will be on Now 18:

1. AVRIL LAVIGNE- My Happy Ending
2. GWEN STEFANI- What You Waiting For?
3. KELLY CLARKSON- Breakaway
4. DESTINY'S CHILD- Lose My Breath
5. ASHLEE SIMPSON- Shadow
6. BRITNEY SPEARS- My Prerogative
7. LINDSAY LOHAN- Rumors
8. USHER FEATURING ALICIA KEYS- My Boo
9. MAROON 5- She Will Be Loved
10. EMINEM- Just Lose It
11. MARIO- Let Me Love You
12. CHINGY- Balla Baby
13. SNOOP DOGG FEATURING PHARRELL- Drop It Like It's Hot
14. CIARA FEATURING MISSY ELLIOTT- 1, 2 Step
15. JA RULE FEATURING R. KELLY AND ASHANTI- Wonderful
16. FABOLOUS- Breathe
17. NELLY FEATURING TIM MCGRAW- Over And Over
18. TRICK DADDY FEATURING LIL' JON AND TWISTA- Let's Go
19. RYAN CABRERA- On The Way Down
20. VANESSA CARLTON- White Houses

For all the people that actually buy these crappy outdated mixes, go ahead and enjoy your crap music. I could care less! All you're doing is wasting about an hour of your life. But for everyone who has not payed the money yet, don't even think about it. Now 17 is chalk full of everything that you never want to hear again. The majority of the songs are overplayed, repetitive radio hits that some stupid people never get tired of.
One thing by Finger 11 is about 30 simple words that repeat constantly along with sub-par guitar that somehow forms a four minute song. At least the guy can sing. I can't say that about "1985", possibly the best example of what "no talent" means. The instementation is terrible, the guy can't sing and the songwriting is absolutely horrendous. "She hates time..." then why the heck won't she just put a gun to her head and pull the trigger? Some will for some reason be amazed at the fact that the song is about "1985", but it's just about as repetitive, annoying, and overplayed as they come. Let's just get rid of bands like this.

However, the true fact about the now series is that it speeds through about half a dozen different genre's and never settles on one. It goes from hip hop, to rap, to pop, to rock, to country in less than an hour. This gives you a sense that the CD was thrown together in fifteen minutes, and when it settles on a good genre, its over in less than ten minutes. Switchfoot's "Dare you to move" and Franz Ferdinand's "Take me out" are the only worthwhile songs on this release, and even those are now overplayed. Ashlee simpson sucks, and she doesn't sing the ong anyway. Her sister sucks wth her real voice (that's just what I suppose is the truth), and everything else is just bad, repetitive, or overplayed to the point of sucking. They were trying to make it appeal to more people, but the only succeeded in making this the worst Now compilation yet.

I love this CD! Love it, love it, love it! I will review each song individually:

1. Black Eyed Peas-Let's Get It Started: I like this song, but it's been way overplayed. Rating: B+

2. Terror Squad-Lean Back: I love this song. Great beat and the appearance of Fat Joe is a perfect selection. Rating: A

3. Ciara-Goodies: Petey Pablo was okay, but I don't like Ciara very much. Rating: B-(Without the Petey Pablo part: C-)

4. Houston-I Like That: Good beat and the guest appearances from Cingy and Nate Dogg were good. Rating: B

5. Beastie Boys-Ch-Check It Out: Not as good as their earlier work(what is?), this song is still good 'ol fashioned rap. I particularily enjoy the lyrics. Rating: B+

6. Nelly-My Place: I don't like this song very much. Check out his other single, "Over & Over". This is bad. Rating: B-

7. Lil Flip-Sunshine: Is this even a single? I don't think so. Even if it was, I still wouldn't like it. Rating: C

8. J-Kwon-You & Me: I love this song. You really can't compare this to his other hit, "Tipsy" because they are two very different songs. Anyways, I love this song. Rating: A

9. Jadakiss-Why: This song is bad. Skip over it. Rating: C

10. Akon-Locked Up: Finally, a rapper uses a piano in his song. Just for that(and because I like the song), I'll give it a B+.

11. JoJo-Baby It's You: "Leave(Get Out)" was okay, but this one is inferior. Rating: C-

12. Jessica Simpson-Angels: I admire Jessica's courage. Anyone who tries to make Robbie Williams' classic better must be courageous. Rating: C-

13. Finger Eleven-One Thing: Even though I've heard it a lot, I still like this song. I don't know why. Rating: A

14. Switchfoot-Dare You To Move: Not as good as "Meant To Live", but it's a good song. Rating: B

15. Crossfade-Cold: Finally, we find some genuine rock on this CD. It's kind of a relief from all the rap. Rating: B+

16. Ashlee Simpson-Pieces Of Me: I don't enjoy this song and why would the people at the music company put it in the "rock" category? Rating: C

17. Franz Ferdinand-Take Me Out: This song is really great. Catchy guitars, funk-fuelled beat, and a memorable chorus. Rating: A+

18. Bowling For Soup-1985: I wasn't around in 1985, but I still like this song for what it is: catchy rock/pop. Rating: B+

19. Gretchen Wilson-Here For The Party: I usually don't like country, but this is an OK song. Rating: B

20. Keith Urban-Days Go By: Ewwww. End the CD at Gretchen Wilson's song, do anything, just avoid this. Rating: D

Man, does it suck!! Too many songs that were too new, and some old! And there's no 1, 2 Step- Ciara?! WTF! A lot of unknown newcomers too (Frickin' A, Howie Day) Well, Howie Day is known, but he's not really mainstreem.

SBS analysis:

1. U2- Vertigo: Ehh, it was good when it came out, way too overplayed though. B

2. Gwen Stefani- What You Watin' For: A bit overplayed too, still awesome. Ignorant people NEED to quit bashing Love Angel Music Baby just because it doesn't have the "No Doubt sound." IT'S HER DOING HER OWN THING, NOT HER BAND MEMBERS AND HER. A-

3. Lindsay Lohan- Rumors: They could've replaced this with Ciara, this flopped too much. Lindsay sucks at singing, too, she's a lyp-syncher, dammit! At least she's hawt. C-

4. Snoop Dogg- Drop it Like It's Hot: Also really overplayed. I like the beat though, somethin' new for The Neptunes. Snoop is good as a lot too. Pharrel's line "Whiter than what's spillin' down ya throat" kinda ruins it though. B-

5. Destiny's Child ft. Lil Wayne/TI- Soldier: A WTF kinda song by DC. What happened them being from independent women to wanting a soldier or a homie? I hope it's a joke. TI & Lil Wayne don't help anything, either. D

6. Ashanti- Only U: Glad they finally added an Ashanti song off any of her albums on a Now. Catchy chorus with an awesome violin/air guitar intro by ???. A

7. Chingy- Balla Baby: Annoying as hell. Chingy's gotten real annoying over the past year. Nelly is a lot better! The video is funny though. He just shouldn't have left DTP. D+

8. John Legend- Used To Love U: I like John Legend, but this wasn't really big or good to be on here. I know it might've been a little early, but they could've used Ordinary People since it's blowing up now. Oh, and that "Olah, olah, olah!" thing on UTLU always drived me crazy. C+

9. Nelly ft. Tim McGraw- Over & Over: I loved this song dearly at first, but why the hell did pretty much EVERY station have to totally kill it?! Idiots! B

10. Frankie J ft. Baby Bash- Obsession (Es No Amor): A little too new for here too, but it's blowin steam on the chats. So I guess that can't be bad. B+

11. Omarion- O: Pitiful. Omarion tryin' to cuss like he's cool makes the song worse. I've never been a fan of B2K that much, so I don't think any other single he releases will be too good either. D+

12. Howie Day- Collide: Haven't heard it yet. Will come back when I have. N/A

13. Hoobastank- Disappear: Another minor hit for Hoob, sadly, but at least it tried to get to the top 15. Much better than the horribly overkilled The Reason. Not as good as Out of Control or Same Direction or any single from S/T though. Still awesoeme. A-

14. Chevelle- Vitiman R: I also loved this a lot at first, too bad most rock radio really overplayed/overkilled it. Not as much as they overkilled Over & Over though. B+

15. Three Days Grace- Home: It was alright at first, but it slowly turned into a fad for me. Three Days Grace is just another angsty fad group. Breaking Benjamin should be Now staples instead of 3DG. C+

16. Lenny Kravitz- Lady: Glad Lenny had at least 1 more hit from Baptizim. This one is pretty catchy, but has pretty childish lyrics about girls. Try to make a better one like this next time, Lenny! B

17. Good Charlotte- I Just Wanna Live: Also pretty annoying with them trying to do another Lifestyles. The high-pitched voiced chorus makes it unlistenable. The video is stupidly funny, again, though. D+

18. Frickin' A - Jessie's Girl: See Howie Day. N/A

19. Skye Sweetnam- Tangeled Up in Me: A little old, Now 17 material. Could've used 3 Doors Down- Let Me Go instead. This little girl's vocals are annoying too, trying to imitate Avril & Fefe, since she's also canadian. B-

20. Keith Urban- You're My Better Half: Also catchy, but dumb. Keith Urban is one of the only good country artists out today. B+

The Good: Ashanti, U2, Gwen Stefani, Hoobastank, Chevelle, Frankie J, Nelly
The Bad: Lindsay Lohan, Omarion, Chingy, GC, Destiny's Child, 3DG
The Missing: Ciara, 3 Doors Down, Ja Rule, Green Day, Blink, Usher, J. Lo

Overall: The worst NOW yet, don't buy it. Just D/L the good songs.