Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 11/02/2004
The week prior to the release of
Now 17, the Top 20 of the
Billboard Hot 100 chart was 75 percent
rap and
R&B.
Now 17 is just over half
rap and
R&B, which goes to show that it might not be the fairest indication of what dominated the mainstream during part of 2004. To make matters worse, there were much better selections to be made within
rap and
R&B. Inferior follow-up singles from
J-Kwon,
Lil' Flip, and
Nelly -- all of which happen to be their compromising, "Yes, I can go soft and make other concessions for crossover appeal" hits -- could've been replaced by any number of smarter picks. This volume continues to show how mainstream
rock was a wasteland in 2004, exemplified by
Switchfoot's
"Dare You to Move" and
Crossfade's
"Cold" -- a pair of explosively lukewarm anthems. And then there's
Bowling for Soup's charming/irritating
"1985," a
punk-pop novelty song that attempts to catch the spirit of that year but name checks a band that broke up in 1982. Poor
Gretchen Wilson (
"Here for the Party"), who represents
country with
Keith Urban (
"Days Go By"), gets tacked on near the end for a second consecutive volume of the series.
Jadakiss'
"Why," Black Eyed Peas'
"Let's Get It Started," Terror Squad's
"Lean Back," Akon's
"Locked Up," and
Houston's
"I Like That" were ubiquitous in one way or another -- sporting events, video programs,
urban radio -- during 2004 and help rescue the disc from being woefully misrepresentative of the period.
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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