NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

No, that riff is not "(Don't You) Forget About Me" by Simple Minds in some alternate, extended drumming version. Today, we're listening to a San Diego-based Worship band's rendition of the classic Christmas hymn, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Formed with former members of indie/Christian Rock bands Reeve Oliver, Something Like Silas, and Future of Forestry  and named after a pub near Oxford University where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis met to discuss their writing and their ideas, The Eagle and Child have released several albums and EPs on Tooth & Nail's worship music imprint, Gospel Songs. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" comes from their first Christmas EP, O Christmas. BORN TO GIVE THEM SECOND BIRTH. Christmas covers have to be excellent in order to take my attention from a traditional arrangement. While I listened to several Christmas songs today, the moody saxophone and the drums on this version stuck out, even after listening to

Following up the band's 2003 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2 released their 2009 album, No Line on the Horizon. Critics liked U2's 2009 effort, and it holds a 72% rating on Meta-critic. The band's next record, 2011's Songs of Innocence would make the band one of the most hated musical acts after they gave the record away for free in iTunes libraries. For a band that has been around for over forty years, in a world of constant changing musical landscapes, U2 has had hits and misses, yet somehow their anthemic sounds force their way into relevance, whether it's because they are catchy or frontman Bono's rock star activism. EVERY FACE WE CANNOT KNOW. No Line for the Horizon was a U2 album I passed on. I hadn't like the track listing of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, but at least I liked some of the songs to get me to listen to the album. The lead single from Line was " Get on Your Boots " and it sounded like U2 was trying too hard to reli

A little over a month after their self-titled album was released, Deas Vail released a Christmas EP, titled For Shepherds & Kings.  The EP contains four Christmas classic hymns, performed in a way that is true to Deas Vail's sound. Of the four Christmas songs included, I was least familiar with "Coventry Carol." I had heard it by other artists and it was on some of the Christmas CDs I grew up with, but it wasn't immediately identifiable. It wasn't in the Seventh-day Adventist hymnal like "O Come O Come Immanuel" or "What Child Is This?" and it hadn't been recorded by enough artists to make it recognizable. HEROD, THE KING IS RAGING. "Coventry Carol" wasn't a standard Christmas Carol until 1940. From November 14 to 15, the Germans reigned terror upon city, and during the blitz Coventry cathedral was destroyed (pictured to the left). But on Christmas day, the BBC broadcasted a message from Coventry. Ending the broadcast, si

It's important during the creative process to get feedback and look at your work from every possible angle. Jim Adkins reportedly hates his band name, Jimmy Eat World , especially because of the band's acronym, J-E- you get the point. Today's song was released in 1950 and was inspired by the sound of the Salvation Army Santa Clauses ringing their tinkling bells. But when songwriter Ray Evans brought his work home, his wife said, "Are you out of your mind? Do you know what the word tinkle is?" And just like that, the song changed to " Silver Bells " and it wasn't the first Christmas song about pee. We'd have to wait for that, apparently. Google if you dare. CITY SIDEWALKS, BUSY SIDEWALKS. First recorded by William Frawley and popularized in the film The Lemon Drop Kid   sung by Bob Hope and Marylin Maxwell, "Silver Bells," like most Christmas standards has so many recordings, it's hard to choose a favorite. The song was recorded by

In 2010 Rolling Stone named Darlene Love's 1963 song "(Christmas) Baby, Please Come Home" as the number 1 Christmas rock song ever recorded. Born Darlene Wright in 1941, and renamed Darlene Love by producer Phil Spector, Darlene began her musical career as the lead vocalist for the girl group the Blossoms. Besides her career with the Blossoms and her solo career, Love sang lead on two Crystals songs and back up for many notable artists including Sam Cooke, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Sonny and Cher, and Tom Jones. Love also acted on Broadway and appeared in the  Lethal Weapon films.  Love performed "(Christmas) Baby, Please Come Home" every episode before Christmas on David Letterman from 1986-2014, except for 2007 during the writers' strike.  PRETTY LIGHTS ON THE TREE. "Baby, Please Come Home" has been covered by many artists including Mariah Carey, Michael Bublè , Death Cab for Cutie, Jars of Clay, among others. One of the most famous covers

"I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I. Don't want a lot for Christmas." *struggles to change the radio dial amid gridlocked holiday traffic* "There's just one thing I need" *hurry up with my damn latte! I think I'm going to die. Why the hell is Starbucks playing Christmas music mid-October?* "I don't care about the presents" *internal Elaine monologue 'I think I'm going to die in this department store. Ma'am, why must you spray the perfume so close to my face. I can't breath! What the earth begins to shake and we're stuck in here forever underneath mannequins and holiday shoppers and that damn Mariah Carey song stuck on repeat?'* "Underneath the Christmas tree" "No" *raising a strict finger to students who should be studying in the back* "Not before Thanksgiving." "I just want you for my own/ More than you could ever know." Every year Christmas music get earlier and earlier. "Make my dr