NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

The music, the legend, the meme. Today we take on  A-ha ’s 1985 summer classic, “ Take on Me .”A-ha is a Norwegian band. Their dream was to get famous in the UK before sweeping the world. To do this, like other European bands and musicians, the band decided to record all of their songs in English. However, getting a massive hit like “Take on Me” took persistent marketing. The song went to #3 in Norway before the band re-recorded it and released the single internationally. But the band’s iconic music video is the reason the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and went to #1 in 12 other countries. TODAY’S ANOTHER DAY TO FIND YOU.  The guitar riff on “ Everybody Wants to Rule the World ” is perhaps a close second to the synth and drum opening of “Take on Me” for emerging the listener in the ‘80s. What I didn’t realize today when I was enjoying this song was how young the band was. I often think of bands that existed before my time as being forever old. And with today’s song’s heyday two yea

Netflix's  Song Exploder   tells the story of the first single from The Killers ' second album,  Sam's Town .  Toward the end of touring for their debut record,  Hot Fuss ,  The Killers started work on their second record .  The band changed their musical direction slightly for  Sam's Town , incorporating influences of Americana into their New Wave sound. Taking musical and lyrical influence from the Asbury Park superstar,  Bruce Springsteen , The Killers set out to tell the stories about the West and Las Vegas, a town they call home. From the opening guitar riff, inspired by the feeling of driving in the desert, to the spiritual conations in the lyrics, " When You Were Young " is an early track that shows the themes of the band in more recent years. WAITING ON SOME BEAUTIFUL BOY TO SAVE YOU FROM YOUR OLD WAYS.  I mostly skipped over The Killers' sophomore release,  Sam's Town . Critics and fans, too, were mixed on the album. The band who had named the

In 2021  The War on Drugs  returned after four years with their critically-acclaimed album,  I Don't Live Here Anymore .  The title track and lead single features indie pop group  Lucius  as backing vocals on the chorus.  Like their previous works, such as  A Deeper Understanding    (2017) and    Lost in the Dream   (2014),  The War on Drugs is able to play two chords back to back for six minutes and create a song that you never want to end. Those two chords create a warm cadence that's like a bonfire on a cold fall night. And that's reason enough to curl up with a blanket and enjoy The War on Drugs all day long. A CREATURE VOID OF FORM. In addition to producing their own music, The War on Drugs has also produced two seasons of a podcast titled Super High Quality Podcast . The second season is a four-part documentary about how the band wrote and recorded their fifth record. In addition to the band "talking shop" and sharing their demos and jam sessions, listeners

After The Fray 's eponymous second record, they recorded their third album, Scars & Stories with legendary producer Brenden O'Brien . Lead singer Isaac Slade stated that he admired O'Brien's work with Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen , and hoped to create a record that was closer to their live show experience. The album was released in February of 2012, receiving mixed reviews. Critics praised O'Brian's production, but they were getting tired of The Fray and mid-tempo pop-rock bands.  I SEE THE EMPIRE FALLING TO HER KNEES. Scars & Stories had a promising first week, selling 87,000 copies and debuting at #4 on Billboard's 200 Album charts. The band promoted two singles: " Heartbeat " and " Run for Your Life ." The former barely missed the Top 40, charting only at #42, and the later only charted in Australia and on the Adult Pop Songs chart in America. While The Fray's songs may come across as unoriginal, Scars & Stories

The music, the legend, the meme. Today we take on A-ha ’s 1985 summer classic, “ Take on Me .”A-ha is a Norwegian band. Their dream was to get famous in the UK before sweeping the world. To do this, like other European bands and musicians, the band decided to record all of their songs in English. However, getting a massive hit like “Take on Me” took persistent marketing. The song went to #3 in Norway before the band re-recorded it and released the single internationally. But the band’s iconic music video is the reason the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and went to #1 in 12 other countries. TODAY’S ANOTHER DAY TO FIND YOU. The guitar riff on “ Everybody Wants to Rule the World ” is perhaps a close second to the synth and drum opening of “Take on Me” for emerging the listener in the ‘80s. What I didn’t realize today when I was enjoying this song is how young the band was. I often think of bands that existed before my time as being forever old. And with today’s song’s heyday two years

  I listened to an episode of The New York Times' Popcast reviewing the critics' top singles of the year 2015 when looking for new perspectives on Carly Rae Jepsen 's masterclass in pop music E-MO-TION this evening. For that particular episode, the critics tried to pick singles that either were released without an album or the song far outshined the album. However, they came up with the "Carly conundrum." The critics felt that Carly Rae Jepsen's 2015 album contained many good songs, but it wasn't a great album. They compared it to a box of candy, and they said you wouldn't want to eat the whole box in one sitting. 'CAUSE I WANT WHAT I WANT. DO YOU THINK I WANT TOO MUCH?  I think that there's certainly more substance to this album than a pixie stick. I've talked about this album being a calculated, smart indie pop record. Jepsen moves to more mature themes, assuming adult relationships. She's not going to win the Rebecca St. James award

Hearing IU always reminds me that spring is on the way. Commonly called South "Korea's Sweetheart," the 30-year-old singer-songwriter and former teen singer, born Lee Ji-eun (이지은), explains the meaning of her stage name as "You and I become one through music." Today's song comes from her 2014 EP of covers of folk/rock ballads made popular in the '80s and '90s, A Flower Bookmark . The song was written by Kim Chang Wan and originally recorded with his punk-rock band Sanulrim (산울림, meaning Mountain Echo ), which was a hit in 1984. Kim also is featured on the IU cover version. Although the IU version was not released as a single, it was featured in an SK Telecom commercial and was often played in cafes, grocery stores, and everywhere in Korea in 2014 and still today. The original version was used in the zeitgeist drama Reply 1988 (음담하러 1988)   SADNESS BLOOMS AS COSMO FLOWERS AT THE TRAIN STATION. Today I'll present my final Romantic Mix  version

Netflix's  Song Exploder tells the story about the first single from The Killer's second album, Sam's Town .  Toward the end of touring for their debut record, Hot Fuss , The Killers started work on their second record . The band changed their musical direction slightly for Sam's Town , incorporating influences of Americana into their New-Wave sound. Taking musical and lyrical influence from Bruce Springsteen, The Killers set out to tell the stories about the West and Las Vegas, a town they call home. From the opening guitar riff, inspired by the feeling of driving in the desert, to the spiritual conations in the lyrics, " When You Were Young" is an early track that shows the themes of the band in more recent years. WAITING ON SOME BEAUTIFUL BOY TO SAVE YOU FROM YOUR OLD WAYS.  I mostly skipped over The Killers' sophomore release,  Sam's Town . Critics and fans, too, were mixed on the album. The band who had named themselves after a fictional band fro

  2019 had its share of dark moments. I struggled with the questions about what to do with my life. I wondered if I was wasting my time collecting just enough money for a job that I would one day grow out of. I was in love with someone who was struggling to achieve a very hard to reach goal. The future looked so uncertain. I really started to deconstruct my faith at this time, too, giving myself permission to think through dogmatic statements I had always held to be true, mostly because I was afraid of the consequences of if they weren’t true. Mike Mains & the Branches ' When We Were in Love   was an album I listened to on long walks when I was trying to clear my head. WITH HEAVEN’S MANSION OUT OF REACH. I saw Mike Mains and the Branches perform at the second to last Cornerstone. Around that time they played the video for “Stereo” on TVU (new RadioU TV ). The son g   had some interesting lyrics, but the message was pretty orthodox. But in 2019, the band released their third