NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Taking long breaks between albums in order to self-record in old mansions around Nashville, Paper Route has only produced three full-length albums in their fifteen years active. Whenever they announce a new album, it's met with delays. Their sophomore album, The Peace of Wild Things , is no exception. After the departure of guitarist/co-vocalist Andy Smith , the band didn't have a permanent lead guitarist, and wouldn't until Nick Aranda joined the band before recording Real Emotion .   The Peace of Wild Things is a more pop-friendly album than their etherial debut, Absence . Peace builds the band up lyrically and contains some memorable choruses. But songs like " Sugar ," " Rabbit Holes ," " Tamed ," " Calm My Soul ," and today's song, " Glass Heart Hymn ," the otherwise straight-forward pop album down an artistic journey. MY FEET HAVE LED ME STRAIGHT INTO MY GRAVE. Named after a poem by farmer and environmentalist We

Kim Jong-won, singer of the South Korean soft-rock band Nell makes a third entry for the month. The writer of Taeyeon's " Time Lapse " and Kim Sung-Kyu's " Shine ," knows how to write an autumny, nostalgic track. Nell became known for their bleak music in the early 2000s. Their release of 2008's Separation Anxiety is no exception. "Time Spent Walking Through Memories" would become one of Nell's most recognizable songs. However, conscription would force the band on to go on hiatus before making their comeback in 2012, changing their sad tune to the uplifting, anthemic "Ocean of Light." "Time Spent Walking" sees singer Kim Jong-won wax poetic, describing the loss of love, in similar manner to "Time Lapse" and "Shine." "Time Spent Walking," however, has a calmer, lullaby quality to the soft piano and the ending "La La"s.  FROM THE VISION OF A STRANGER PASSING BY. You probably still r

Many fans may have been introduced to Tegan and Sara when Meredith Grey and Christina Yang danced to their early acoustic, angry girl music on Grey's Anatomy ' s earlier seasons. The musical duo of Calgary-born identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin started on the acoustic guitar at home and eventually lead to being signed on Neil Young 's label, Vapor Records . The band gained traction in the indie scene. The White Stripes covered one of their songs, co-writing with Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie also helped them gain indie cred in their early career. But in 2013, the duo changed directions. The result was the big-production, synth pop-driven Heartthrob . HERE COMES THE RUSH BEFORE WE TOUCH. “ Closer ,” Heartthrob ’s opening track and lead single, sees the sisters explore new lyrical territory in addition to their musical change up. Tegan sings lead vocals, but Sara encouraged her to sing a straight-up love song, without the dark and dreary lyrical content the group

Sensational Feeling 9, better known by the acronym SF9 , debuted in 2016. Before their debut, the group performed in Japan with 11 members, but ultimately only 9 members would make the final cut when they released their Feeling Sensation single. The group enjoyed modest success in Korea and toured Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S. In January 2020, they released their first full-length studio album, titled First Collection . This record has been the band's most successful release, shattering their previous record sales and chart placements. The group also garnered award nominations. "Am I the Only One," is the second track on First Collection. The song wasn't a single, but its accessible smooth harmonies, minor key, and edgy rap parts, give the song an early '00s feel, making the song hard to place with its 2020 release. Whether released in 2002 or 2020, the theme of pining over a lost love will be relevant forever. THE DAY IS QUITE LONG. EVEN WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES, IT

  In 2013, vocalist Hyolin from the K-pop girl group Sistar released her debut solo record. Sistar had debuted just three years earlier and only lasted until 2017. Songs like "Push, Push," " Touch My Body ," and " Shake It " made them some of the sexiest K-pop songs of the time. On 2013's Love & Hate , Hyolyn worked with Korean Hip-hop producers and featured several Korean Hip-hop acts. Listeners can draw comparisons between Hyolyn and Ariana Grande . Both singers are light lyric sopranos with a whistle range. But singers introduce a light femininity to a hip-hop backdrop. Both singers' performances are permeated with an overt, proud sexuality. YOU'RE A SELFISH GUY WHO ONLY THINKS ABOUT HIMSELF. "One Way Love" talks about a rather toxic relationship, that sadly, often turns into a toxic marriage. While, the intro, confusingly and in English, is spoken by the male perspective, the rest of the song is the female perspective. Hyol

Everyday Sunday was a Christian Rock band from Ohio that grew in popularity thanks to RadioU and TVU , which aired their played their independent music alongside other major Christian rock acts. The band signed to Flicker Records in 2002 before the label folded and then signed to Peter Furler 's Inpop Records before going independent in 2013. The band was mostly forgotten with the countless Christian Rock bands of the early '00s, until lead singer Trey Pearson made headlines in May 2016. Pearson had recently divorced his wife of seven and half years. The couple had two children and the divorce was amicable, but Pearson came out to his wife and his family as gay. In May 2016, he came out publicly--career suicide for almost everyone hoping to stay in the Christian music industry. But with a changing music climate in which independent artists have a larger platform and with a broader LGBTQ community and allies both in and out of the church and in and out of the ex-vengelical

  Australian singer-songwriter Jessica Anne Newham , better known by her stage name, Betty Who , released her debut album Take Me When You Go in 2014. In her three albums, Who has yet to have a mainstream pop hit, though she has three #1 singles on the US dance chart. She has toured with Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Kiesza, Panic at the Disco, and Kesha w ho graduated from Berklee College of Music and was a classmate of Charlie Puth. In 2014, she was featured on Troye Sivan's debut album Blue Neighborhoods on the track "Heaven." Who is a staple in the LGBTQ+ music scene; she herself came out as "queer and bisexual." Her song "Glory Days" talks about young adulthood, mentioning names of people she knows, and remembering fondly a boyfriend who has a bit of a bad reputation. From the big '80s synth intro to the provocative lyrics, "Glory Days" is a nostalgic summer night jam. BREAKING BACK INTO THE HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAYS. "It's really

Spoken is one of the hardest-working Christian rock bands that has yet to have much recognition. In 1996, the band released three albums on CCM singer's now-defunct label, Metro 1 Music. Their early, roughly produced records sounded like Rage Against the Machine , and their lyrics sounded like what Rage might sound like if they were militant conservative Christians. In 2003, the band released their first of three albums on Tooth & Nail Records, A Moment of Imperfect Clarity . Produced by Garth "GGGarth" Richardson , who had produced Rage, Kittie , Mudvayne , Chevelle , Trapt , and fellow T&N bands The O.C. Supertones , Project 86 , and Beloved , Clarity  made the group into a post-grunge group. The gloomy sound of Clarity was certainly a step up for the band. Their follow-up album,  Last Chance to Breath , sounded similar to Clarity and the band looked like they would be joining the ranks of the biggest names in Christian Rock at that time. But their next album, t

Capitalizing on the pop-punk sound of the time Tooth & Nail signed Search the City , and they released their first album A Fire So Big the Heavens Can See It in 2008.   The band played at Tooth & Nail Day at Cornerstone that year and produced several radio singles from the radio-friendly album. Tongue-in-cheek lyrics in songs like " Son of a Gun " and " Ambulance Chaser " lyrically could connect this Detroit-based band with the likes of a clean-lyriced Blink-182 , Angels or Airwaves , or Relient K . Five years after Fire , the band reformed with a new drummer, bassist, and vocalist, 21-year-old Travis Bobier , who was much younger than the other band members. The 2012 album Flight  was very similar to Fire, with   Bobier's vocal performance on the album of high-register, energetic emo sound like original singer Josh Frost .  YOU HAVE A PLACE TO CALL YOUR OWN THAT NO ONE CAN EVERY TAKE FROM YOU. The opening track of Flight , " My Secrets Have Secr

Last month, I wrote about " Getaway ," a song located in the center of Turn Off the Stars' only LP . I keep coming back to this obscure album, despite its simple, sometimes generic songs. "Brightside" is the last track on the 2006 eponymous release. The album takes listeners on a range of emotions from desperation to wonder to love to loss to dealing with the monotony of life, and finally to looking on the bright side. The optimism of the ending track perfectly embodies the Christian cliche of writing in a minor key but ending in on a major chord. However, I always wish listeners had an opportunity to hear what kind of music the band would have developed into. So, as we end another month's playlist, let's go out on a high note. Next month will certainly bring a range of emotions as the summer ends and school starts again in the endless cycle of children growing up and teachers aging toward retirement. Take a moment on Saturday, July 31st to enjoy some su

D.O. is a member of one of the biggest acts in K-Pop, EXO, a group that debuted in 2012. The Korean pop group has members from China and South Korea, and from the start of their career, recorded in their hits both in Mandarin and Korean. The group originally consisted of eleven members, but several of three members have left the group. In the span of their nine-year career, members have gone on hiatus to perform compulsory military service for South Korea, while some of the Chinese members have had legal disputes with the group's record label. In South Korean pop music, male groups often are more successful than solo male singers. Still, male artists often diversify their careers with acting in dramas or films and solo careers. This can be essential for artists who are waiting for group members to finish military service. In these solo careers, the pop start is often able to create music much different from their main gig. I MIGHT NOT HAVE A FANCY CAR, BUT I FANCY YOU. Doh Kyeong-s

Hitting #1 on the Alternative Rock charts this week in 1997, and peaking at #4 on the pop charts in August 1997, " Semi-Charmed Life " was Third Eye Blind 's first single, but singer Stephan Jenkins was worried that the explicit lyrics of the track would cause radio stations not play the song. Third Eye Blind's eponymous debut LP spun three top 10 Hot 100 hits and five top 20 hits, but "Semi-Charmed Life" is the band's most memorable and highest-charting song. Third Eye Blind is an example of a band that peaked early in their career and then faded into obscurity. The band churned out hits from their second and third records, but their fourth album only had one hit. Gaps between albums, line-up changes, and failure to evolve to the changing music scene made Third Eye Blind at best a relic of '90s rock nostalgia. But to truly appreciate this band, think of the days before pop radio talked explicitly about sex and drugs. Back when the word ass was ble

  In January, I talked about Leauges's song " Lost It All," from their debut album You Belong Here. The deluxe edition of the album contains today's song, which, like many "Part of It" and "Sky May Fall" are also not on Apple Music. It is, however, on Spotify. The band's live performance for Paste (in YouTube playlist) features the band as a four-piece, former Audio Adrenaline backup singer and guitarist, Tyler Burkum , playing minimally at the beginning but building into a wall of sound by the end of the track. This song feels at home on  You Belong Here and is one of the band's best tracks. "She Kissed Me" sounds like an old-timey rock 'n' roll or R&B song. Built around the drums and bass and adding guitar feedback and sparse chords, for this song Thad Cockrall sings in a lower register and backup singer Tyler Burkum adds the falsetto. And while the melody is completely original to Leagues, the song is a well-disgui

In April, I introduced Lana Del Rey to my playlists and talked about my experience with her debut album, Born to Die.   My first introduction to Del Rey was The Great Gatsby soundtrack original song " Young and Beautiful " which was the planned single to bring Del Rey to Top 40 radio. Earlier singles like " Video Games " and " Born to Die " were successful in the indie world and overseas, but Del Rey was still relatively unknown in the States. However, when a remix of "Summertime Sadness" by Cedric Gervais appeared and started taking the charts by storm, Del Rey's record label pulled support from "Young and Beautiful." "Summertime Sadness" would become Lan Del Rey's first number one hit, and the remix would earn Gervais a grammy for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.  OH, MY GOD, I FEEL IT IN THE AIR. When school let out for the summer, church was held in the smaller chapel, giving a more intimate feeling compar