NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

" Free Fallin' " is certainly synonymous with Tom Petty , but t oday, we'll look at a few versions of the song, but due to the Christian Rock theme of the last few days, ultimately I chose  The Almost 's  version  to be the official version for my blog. As pointed out in an excellent video by  12Tone  (see below), there is a lot of meaning packed in the musical theory of the song, ultimately illustrating that there are pros and cons to being  free.  ALL THE VAMPIRES  WALKIN' DOWN THE VALLEY MOVE WEST DOWN VENTURA BOULEVARD.   Tom Petty  released his first solo record  Full Moon Fever   in 1989. The first song recorded for the record and first track on the record is "Free Fallin'." The song is one of Petty's biggest and most recognizable tracks. It was also his last top 10 hit on the  Billboard Hot 100 . The simple ballad is partly a breakup song and partly a love song for his then home of Los Angelos. The Gainesville, Florida, native always k

In 2018, I met a young man who claimed to like “Indie music. You know, like Coldplay and Imagine Dragons ?” I hope I didn’t roll my eyes in the middle of the conversation because it was extremely hard to bite my tongue when he had just named two of the biggest bands in the world. The kid in his early twenties talking to me in my early thirties at the time did, however, remember a time when calling Coldplay indie was more accurate. My first exposure to Coldplay came in 2001 when they released their third single “ Trouble ” in America. Specifically, I remember watching the music video with my dad on MTV or MTV2. While “ Yellow ” may be the more remembered single from Coldplay’s early days, I only have recollection of hearing the song a while after hearing “Trouble.”   THEY SPUN A WEB FOR ME. Coldplay formed in 1997 when the members attended University College London . After releasing two EPs and signing to Parlophone Records , the band released their debut album Parachutes in 2000 an

Nineteen years ago, Hoobastank killed rock music when they released their only ballad, " The Reason ." The song rose to number 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and is the only song remembered by the band, despite the group having several Alternative radio hits. The band formed in 1994 and played local gigs with Incubus and Linkin Park before those bands were popular. Like Incubus and Linkin Park, Hoobastank were known for an eclectic hard rock sound--something listeners of their 2004 hit probably wouldn't get if all they knew was their biggest song. And no, it wasn't the band that ruined rock music, but it was certainly an indicator of the changing of times when music A&R pressured rock bands to follow the Hoobastank model. IT'S SOMETHING I MUST LIVE WITH EVERY DAY. Howard Benson produced Hoobastank's sophomore record, The Reason . We've talked about Benson as a rock producer of bands like P.O.D. , Mae , and The Starting Line . While Hoobastank's

It's pretty easy to think of only the frontman or front woman when thinking about bands like  Coldplay .  Chris Martin  is featured prominently in the band's music videos. He is certainly the most charismatic during the band's live performances. He's kept himself in good shape and is arguably the best looking band dude in Coldplay. However, this didn't give the band's fearless leader complete creative reign for their seventh studio album,  A Head Full of Dreams .  When Martin presented the idea for a late-night club hit "Drinks on Me," influenced by  Flo Rida , the rest of the band shot Martin down. LIFE IS A DRINK AND LOVE'S A DRUG.  Every February or March, the first full-moon day of spring according to the Hindu lunar calendar, cities and towns in India shutdown for a very colorful celebration that lasts two days. This festival is called Holi, or The Festival of Colors and this year it was celebrated on March 8 and 9. During this festival, every

When Eisley began their career, they were the indie band that had the opportunity to open for Coldplay on the North American leg of A Rush of Blood to the Head tour. Soon, the band "became too big" for RadioU and Christian rock radio. The only problem is that Eisley came up in a time when every major label was trying to suck up indie talent, but the indie talent rarely made it to radio. Hence these bands actually didn't keep their major label deals. YOU WON'T TAKE THE BREATH FROM THROAT. I'm sure there's a backstory to Eisley's second record, 2007's  Combinations, especially regarding lead singer Sherri DuPree-Bemis . My intention today is to tread respectfully with the dating dynamics that the Christian-adjacent indie scene, particularly as it relates to two up-and-coming bands in 2007: Eisley and Paramore  and how they are related. Both female-fronted bands had gained acclaim both in and out of the Christian circle. In 2007, Paramore had just rele

Today is a perfect day to revisit Kodaline 's In a Perfect World . The cover of the album reminds me of a summer day at the lake. The music soundtracks the drive to that lake outing as well as the lazy afternoon you spend in a coffee shop with a friend to beat the heat. However this summer is finding you; indoors or outdoors, rain or shine; I hope that listening to Kodaline's first album is the perfect accompaniment to these hot days! 1. " One Day ." The album starts with a radio-ready track. We're immediately drawn into Steve Garrigan 's unique vocals. Sometimes his Irish accent comes through, particularly on "through the eyes of someone else." The song builds from a simple guitar to more climactic backing vocals on the final chorus. The band re-recorded the song in 2014 , a year after the album's release, short-cutting the build, making the backing vocals even bigger. Both versions of the song are worth a listen, but the original fits better wi

We haven't heard a rock song from English Alternative-turned-pop act Coldplay since...ever, come to think of it. Even when the band was considered cool in the early '00s, they weren't exactly known for distorted guitars or thundering bass. And years of refining their sound in a time when rock music's cultural impact retracted into the underground solidified Coldplay as the 21st century's definition of pop-rock. But in 2019, the band decided to break with their established sound and put out something a little more experimental, a two-disc record titled Everyday Life .  The album was released with only three sparsely promoted singles and no planned tour to support the record, which didn't really matter since all tour plans would be canceled early the next year, anyway. THERE'S A MAN WHO SWEARS HE'S GOD.  Coldplay's most recent album, Music of the Spheres , doesn't hold to a set genre. Lead singer Chris Martin has called the invention of genre as

A few years ago, I remember (shamefully) having a conversation with my students as to why K-pop would never fully make it in America and my argument had to do with how American radio stations rarely played music in a foreign language. But K-pop proved me wrong, albeit, it didn’t hurt that BTS sang some of their major hits in English. But just as BTS was ascending to international fame, a legal barrier threatened the band.  AN UNENDING HISTORY. Last October, BTS announced that they were taking a break from releasing new music together, which promptly caused Hybe Corporation 's stock, the band's record label, to plummet. Each member of BTS would release solo records, and they would reconvene in 2025 to assess future projects as a group; however, Hybe Corporation's chairman Bang Si-hyuk (방시혁) expressed some doubts about the timeline as a renegotiated contract hadn't been discussed. The reason for this musical break had to do with South Korean law. All able-bodied males m

I've written a bit about how I'm a  Coldplay  apologist. I believe that the London-based band is very good at what they do. Though so many artists accomplish their sound, both musically and lyrically, better, there's something uplifting about a new Coldplay album. Two years ago, I talked about the band's first single from their ninth studio record,   Music of the Spheres , " Higher Power ." The album was released on October 15, 2021 . Before the release of the record and after releasing "Higher Power," the band released the promotional single, the 10:17 track " Coloratura ," which was praised by critics for its composition and production. Then they released the second radio single " My Universe ," featuring the South Korean boy band,  BTS . The song shot straight to number 1 on the  Billboard Hot 100 , becoming the second Coldplay single to top the Hot 100, the first being " Viva la Vida ." I JUST WANT TO PUT YOU FIRST .

I was first introduced to Tove Lo when the Swedish singer appeared on Coldplay 's colorful, ebullient record, A Headful of Dreams . The track five duet "Fun" is one of the more subdued tracks on the record. Given that my mom and even my grand-mother love A Headful of Dreams,   I assumed that Tove Lo was also a "safe for mom" artist. It turns out that Tove Lo is a pretty sexual artist, known for flashing her breasts in concert, which to be fair, isn't as big of a deal for her European audiences. WILL MY OBSESSION PLEASE DIE.  Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, better known as Tove Lo, released her fifth record,  Dirt Femme ,   last year. Unlike her previous records, Lo released Dirt Femme  independently on her own label, Pretty Swede Records. The album deals with the singer's growth over the years and her marriage to Charlie Twaddle. But the liberated singer lays down some ground rules for her marriage in the second track, " Suburbia ," in which she Lo sa