NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Michael Shepard was in a band called Kerith Ravine , which dissolved in 2001. Shepherd explains the name of his next band when he gave up music to attend film school. He found that he couldn't give up on music, and his love of it "dragged him back," hence, his new band was called Lovedrug . The band signed with The Militia Group , and their first album, Pretend You're Alive , brought the band in talks with Columbia Records alongside with fellow Militia Group band Copeland . However, Columbia underwent restructuring after signing Lovedrug and Copeland. The label shifted from the indie-wave of the early '00s to more sure-thing artists of the late '00s. Somewhat defeated, Lovedrug revisited their contract with The Militia Group and released their second LP, Everything Starts Where It Ends , which spun a college-radio single, " Happy Poison Apple ." But by the time it was time to promote their third album, The Sucker-Punch Show , The Militia Group had ...

Solid State Records released Dead Poetic's debut album, Four Wall Blackmail with producers Barry Poynter and Jason Magnussen. The songs on FWB were rough. Poynter worked with Zao, Living Sacrifice, Embodyment, and Haste the Day to make some seriously heavy music. And with fresh, young signees with a hardcore name based on the 1989 Robin Williams classic, grungy screaming with intermittent singing worked in a certain scene of Christian Rock at that time. The problem was that none of the melodies were particularly catchy. The band turned to Aaron Sprinkle to produce their sophomore record, New Medicines. Sprinkle's production transformed the band into one that listeners could sing along to. Rather than singing with intermittent screaming, New Medicines was the opposite. New Medicines was supposed to be the start of another Tooth & Nail success story. Yet, today, the band's three studio records are hardly remembered because of lead singer Brandon Rike's decision to wal...

Watching Alan Walker's performance at the Parookaville Festival in Germany makes me wonder if you have to be there in order to enjoy a DJ set. Unlike watching a band or a solo artist who performs with a band, a DJ set is all about hype. When I watch a band, I see chords and leads. When I watch a DJ perform, I have no clue what I'm watching. There's a lot I don't get about "kids these days and their music," but when I found out that in 2016 "Faded" was one of the most searched songs on Shazam, I realized that I was probably in that number at the gym listening to melodic EDM songs over and over again until I started to like them. An Alan Walker concert seems to consist of dancing 20-somethings, lots of smoke and screen production, flawless sounds of what could be a studio version, and a not-particularly charismatic hype-man in a black hoodie and a mask covering half his face, before it was cool. ETERNAL SILENCE OF THE SEA. I remember a couple of years ...

A few Saturday afternoons circa 2015-17, I went down a rabbit-hole, looking for the best Paper Route , Anberlin , and Copeland covers on YouTube. This was long after finding artists like Tyler Ward who covered pop music. I wondered if anyone had recorded high quality covers of my favorite bands. It turns out that there were a few . These artists weren't on the level of popularity of Kurt Hugo Schneider or Boyce Avenue . I had hoped to created a cover playlist of a Copeland album, but there weren't enough high-quality covers on YouTube at the time. Charles Angell's YouTube account has 7 videos, 77 subscribers, and the singer hasn't posted anything in 3 years. From a quick Facebook search, it turns out that Angell is still active as a musician, with a new haircut and some designer rims, now under the moniker of Snarly  (link to his social media presence).  YOU'RE STILL A BREEZE UPON MY SKIN.  Of the Copeland covers, Charles Angell's version of " Erase ...

Chris Ayer has been playing guitar since he was 18 years old. A graduate of Stanford where he studied music and philosophy, Ayer also was a part of an all-male a capella group during his time in college. Moving to Brooklyn after graduating, he hosted a series of podcasts in which shared experiences during his time at Stanford that ended up in his songs. Ayer recorded his first full-length album in Nashville in 2006. His song "Evaporate" won the John Lennon Songwriting Folk category that year as well. In 2013, he released his second album, The Noise , which is his earliest recording available on AppleMusic. "The Infinite Abyss of Space" is the final track on The Noise. From a cursory look into Ayer's music, it seems that the final track on The Noise  fits into the space that Ayer grew into; whereas most tracks on The Noise sound a bit coffee shop, folk singer-songwriter, rather than a polished pop singer-songwriter.  I'LL FILL UP THE SPACE WITH SOMETHING. I w...

  Flyleaf was one of the most diversely connected bands from their debut album cycle. The band started by opening for bands like Breaking Benjamin , Three Days Grace , and Seether as well as Christian Active Rock bands like P.O.D. and Skillet. Songs like "I'm So Sick" and "Fully Alive" were played frequently on the radio, and the band even had a Top 40 pop hit with "All Around Me." But if you happened to catch a Flyleaf show, headlining, or opening for a band like Korn, you'd hear lead singer Lacy Mosley (later Sturm after marrying Joshua Sturm in 2008)  preach charismatically. She'd throw her hands into the air, nervously talking about her relationship with Jesus, gaining confidence as she spoke. Lacy turned the darkest concert venue into a church service for the high and intoxicated who, in any other context, would go nowhere near a church. LET ME LIVE WITHOUT THIS. I first saw Flyleaf in September of '06 or '07 in Spartanburg's ...

When Neon Horse appeared on Tooth & Nail 's roster in 2007, the label gave no information about the band. The concept of the band was like The Gorillaz: a studio band that had no intention of touring. Also like The Gorillaz, Neon Horse's aesthetic was cartoon drawings. However, keen listeners quickly recognized the vocal talents of Mark Salomon, who had been the vocalist for metal group The Crucified in '80s and of the Active Rock band Stavesacre in the '90s. Salomon shot a video for the band's first single, "Cuckoo!" and it was also confirmed that Jason Martin, vocalist and guitarist of Starflyer 59 and Steven Dail bassist of Project 86 were involved. There have also been rumors that Martin's brother Ronnie of Joy Electric played the keys and synths on the record. Neon Horse had two eerie albums, and today's song was the lead single from the band's sophomore album, Haunted Horse: Songs of Love, Defiance, and Delusion. PLAYING IN THE MIDDL...

We usually like it when people and institutions keep their promises. But in 2014 when Anberlin vowed never to tour or record new music again, fans were hoping that the crossed fingers on the Lowborn album cover was an indication of an artistic fib. Four years after the breakup, though, the band played a one-off show, supporting their friends in Underoath who followed a similar career trajectory: burn out with the music industry, internal quarrels, a reunion, and a new album. After that final night of Underoath's Erase Me tour, Anberlin started playing more and more shows throughout 2019 and were set to hit the road in 2020. When COVID canceled the tour, the band decided to start playing their albums live, selling tickets to their livestreams. During one of the livestreams, the band announced that they were quietly working on new songs, and by the final livestream, the event ended with the band premiering "Two Graves." NO DOWN FROM ZERO. "Two Graves" is a heavil...

This is our third entry from The Starting Line's Direction. I've talked about how this album was my summer of '09 album , and I learned a little about the album's producer . This morning, I awoke at "7 am" actually 7:30 rested, not wasted, to the blaring guitars of this song as my iPad alarm clock song. Lyrics like "21" and "Something Left to Give" make the 23 year old at the time singer/lyricist Kenny Vasoli sound much older. In "Something Left to Give," the young singer thinks about leaving a legacy for his children and grand children--something many in their late twenties today don't think about. In "21," Vasoli worries that the rock star lifestyle is making him "already hazy." WHEN THE MEDICINE THAT KEEPS ME WELL IS SETTLING. The Starting Line were signed when Vasoli was only 17 years old, and the band's debut album was released a year later. The Pennsylvania band were a part of the Warped Tour scen...

  Ah! The weekend: a time when many of us can breathe that collective sigh of relief, leaving our forty hours at the office, forgetting about the boss, and maybe making some time for Number 1. Before I read into The Weeknd ’s 2015 hit, the upbeat track reminded me of catching a fresh cup of Guatemalan iced coffee before catching a bus to meet friends for a weekend in another city. One weekend, I was in a cafe in Hongdae that was playing covers of hit songs and I heard a female version of " Can't Feel My Face " playing. I can't be sure if it was Andie Case 's version . However, after adding Case's version of The Weeknd's #1 hit, I think it gives an interesting, mellow take on the normally, upbeat song. It's the alternate perspectives that makes YouTube cover artists and interesting addition to your music library. SHE TOLD ME 'DON'T WORRY. ' The Weeknd is known for his melancholy, self-destructive tunes. Earlier this month, I covered his new...

When The Killers released their debut 2004 Hot Fuss , it ushered in a new era of New Wave music. According to Alan Cross of the Ongoing History Podcast , New Wave was the commercially viable offspring of Punk Rock, which had been successful in the UK but had failed to translate to the American market. New Wave was a British-inspired sound that touched on themes universal to the late-boomer generation. In the early years of the '00s, Rock had so many popular iterations, it was hard to keep up with. Nu Metal, post hardcore, pop punk, (scr)e(a)mo, garage rock were just a few styles that gained popularity. However, with a massive record like Hot Fuss, there were sure to be copy-cats--bands that would leech onto The Killers' model of UK success followed by American success. The Bravery were such a band. The Killers' frontman, Brandon Flowers , called the band out on the copying their playbook, starting the third-wave of New Wave's crowning feud, in a similar way to the big...

October or November in the northern hemisphere are the coldest times of the year. At least they feel that way. Sure, January or February might have the lowest temperature, but you've been training through December for how to dress for those cold months. But these days, the cold and warm shifts are getting more dramatic. That's what happened last Friday. It was summer weather--sweating at work, wearing shorts in the evening. Then suddenly sweater weather with frigid mornings and chilly evenings after the early sunset. I love this time of year. I love not being covered in sweat. While "In the Cold" is not about those cozy, autumn feelings, the sad look back at failed relationships in this song isn't depressing to me. The guitar tones add hope to melancholy lyrics, making this song almost empowering.  THE WORDS, THEY TAKE THEIR MEANING . While " In the Cold " is a mid-album track that had very little potential to become a single, I feel that this song best ...

Born in Oregon in 1907, Claudia Louise Lewis was a school teacher and children's author. However, if you try to find information about her online, you'll be flooded with information about M83's 2011 song from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, an album I talked about a few months ago when I picked their masterpiece, " Midnight City ." Anthony Gonzalez, M83's only official member, says he came across a couple of Lewis's space poems, which he said were "pretty bad" but "super moving." He guessed that she was "super young[,] like 12 or 14." Gonzalez is off by about 90 years, as I was preparing a class about Lewis' poem "Blue," I thought about what it must have been like to experience the rapid technological breakthroughs of the twentieth century first-hand. If M83 is all about nostalgia, let's go all the way back and imagine seeing the world through Claudia Lewis' eyes. ALONE 20 MILLION YEARS FROM MY PLACE. Claud...

  The moment the talent scout comes to see your _____ and says, "You could be a star" is the moment many of us dreamed of when we were kids. If you believe everyone gets their 15 minutes, you also should realize that there are degrees of fame. The recognizability of a household name like Tom Cruise or Barak Obama compared to an indie rocker demonstrates this. But now, with adult eyes, look at that talent scout. Whether he's a football coach or Simon Cowell, he's certainly not got the best of intentions for your teenage self. And depending on what you're signing up for, there's something that the scout won't tell you. If you put in the work, you may change the world. But it comes at a cost. Your personal life is no longer yours. Your personality, image, and relationships will be a commodity that the press will fight and even pay people for. If you're successful enough, you'll be swimming in non-disclosure agreements, hiding you and your loved ones ...

MUNA is an alternative pop group composed of three friends who studied together at the University of Southern California . The trio self-produced their debut EP and uploaded it to Bandcamp and SoundCloud . The band's success with their debut EP led to the group signing with RCA records and releasing their 2017 debut record, About U. In May 2021, the band announced that they had signed to Phoebe Bridgers ' Saddest Factory record label. The group recently released the single " Silk Chiffon " which features Bridgers singing a verse. The song is one of the group's few singles to chart on Billboard , peaking at #35 on the US Alternative chart.  KEEPIN' IT LIGHT LIKE SILK CHIFFON. I think I first heard MUNA in the awkward teen comedy Alex Strangelove , a story about a high school senior who is struggling to understand his sexuality. All the members of MUNA identify as queer, though, as a lyricist lead singer Katie Gavin often avoided pronouns in the group...