NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Trying to unclutter today as it was Korean presidential elections, which is a holiday, I listened to folklore again as I played with my adult Legos, assembling two wardrobes and a desk. This was sparked by hearing " exile ," when I watched music cynic Todd in the Shadows ' only positive list of the year, his " Top Ten Best Songs of 2020 ." Even the most cynical of critics--Todd in the Shadows being one of the most cynical along with A Dose of Buckley --praised folklore .  YOU NEVER GAVE A WARNING SIGN. Taylor Swift 's 2019 album Lover helped the 29-year-old singer shake off her reputation from both self-indulgent lyrics and overly processed EDM tracks. Lover was the logical follow-up to her critically acclaimed 1989 , but something about the Taylor Swift formula was getting stale. Lover ended the feud between Swift and Katy Perry and Swift began tackling controversial subjects from LGBTQ+ rights to sexism. Lover, however, was in classic Swift fashion song

Formed at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Hippo Campus consists of bandmates who studied Jazz, while lead vocalist Jake Luppen studied opera. Guitarist Nathan Stocker  suggested the name Hippo Campus, after taking a psychology class, but separating the word hippocampus into two words because it sounded sexual. After working as an independent band and touring with acts like Modest Mouse and appearing at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo , the band recorded their first album landmark with BJ Burton who has worked with Bon Iver . GRAB A GUITAR AND JUST MOAN AND SHIT.     The second single from landmark,  “ way it goes ,” is a self-aware hipster anthem about “kids these days.” The setting of the song is Cumberland, Wisconsin in the early spring. The music video visualizes the setting—a party in a cabin of twenty-somethings hanging out, drinking beer, and playing music. There's also some suspicious Fruit-Loop looking cereal passed around and so

In 2020, Stephen Christian released his fourth Anchor & Braille album, Tension .  When he released his third A&B project, Songs for the Late Night Drive Home in 2016, many of his fans were still mourning the disbandment of Anberlin . But starting in 2018, Anberlin had started to play one-off shows and even started touring the next year. In 2020, the band was supposed to announce a tour with Memphis May Fire and perform at several festivals. But in lieu of the pandemic, the band started a livestream concert series. While Anberlin was active, Christian released Tension, an album of the most straight-forward pop songs Christian has released to date.  TRY TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO A STONE WALL. Last year, I wrote about 13 love songs leading up to Valentine's Day. This year, I'm not sticking to that format, but as Valentine's Day approaches, I thought I'd make a few playlists compiling the love songs I've written about.  1. " Madness " by Anchor &a

On a cold winter's day, in the middle of the stress of house-hunting, I thought I'd make a playlist for those bad days that aren't quite depressing and not quite angry. Today's featured song is " Beth/Rest " by Bon Iver. I resisted putting this song on my Pseudo '80s Playlist  because, despite the soft-rock keys and saxophone, the vocal distortion sounds more of a product of its time than a retro track. Some of the songs on today's list will be a little sad, but something about them gives me strength rather than pushes me further into a despair. As always, I'll put the links for each song. I'm going to stick to tracks I've written about and add to this list as I feel the song is appropriate. First, I'll share my Spotify playlist: 1. "Beth/Rest" by Bon Iver is the representative song of the day.  2. "Tell Me How" by Paramore is a sad song, but the resolve at the end leaves the power in Haley Williams' hands. 3.

Following up their critically acclaimed breakthrough record, For Emma, Forever Ago ,   Bon Iver recorded their sophomore eponymous album in a converted veterinarian clinic in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. While the band's first album earned two points higher of a score on Meta Critic (88%) than the self-titled record's 86%, the self-titled record won the 2012 Grammy for Best Alternative Album. The self-titled record was named by both Paste and Pitchfork as the album of the year for 2011. The heavily-filtered vocals of Justin Vernon's baritone-to-falsetto range along with the variety of heavily-produced instrumentals make this album both pleasant to listen to and helped to redefine what the genre of Alternative actually meant. AND THE RAIN LET IN. Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon majored in Religious Studies and minored in Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before becoming the indie rock god to college kids coming of age with Bon Iver's esoteric lyric