NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

  Working with family can be difficult. Starting a band is like starting a business. You need to have the right people to work with to do the best at their jobs. Chemistry, mastery of an instrument, and stage presence is also important for band members. Family members as bandmates makes sense for young bands. Tim and Jonathan Foreman in Switchfoot are an example of a brotherhood creating a lasting band. There are other bands like Kings of Leon and NEEDTOBREATHE in which family is a source of strife. There are many examples of when family members don’t work out in the band, sometimes it’s clear from the early days like when the Hype ’s second guitarist Dik Evans —brother of David “The Edge” Evans —was dropped by the group that became U2 and the bass player of The Fray , Caleb “Cable Car” Slade —brother of former lead singer Isaac Slade —was kicked out of the band. I NEVER KNEW THAT EVERYTHING WAS FALLING THROUGH. The Fray’s debut single, “ Over My Head ” (Cable Car) gained r...

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’ve started to prioritize love songs. And since I’ve been reposting so many songs, I thought I should take the opportunity to update the playlists. My YouTube playlists always get the least amount of love. Today, I decided to create my Sexy Singles playlist for YouTube based on today’s song, “ Sex on Fire ” by Kings of Leon . The music video isn’t the sexiest on the playlist, but I thought that the lyrics are suggestive enough. I also included     Anberlin ’s “ Feel Good Drag ,” just because  it’s a song about feeling guilty about an affair. The video isn’t at all sexy, but I decided to include it when I got this message you can see to the left.  None of the other videos I tried to play were censored including the scene from Pink Floyd ’s The Wall , “Young Lust” which features female nudity. Censorship is hilariously frustrating. Some of the videos on this list are graphic, so please use discretion when watching.  Check out the vi...

There isn't much of a reason that I chose this song today. It's creepy, and Florence + the Machine is kind of witchy. In fact, Lungs, and today's song "Blinding" has a feeling that deals with the otherworldly, primitive pre-Christian Celtic world. It feels more like a spring song, though, celebrating the sun. However, as we are going into the dark part of the year, it's nice to remember that no matter what happens in the winter, spring will be back to reawaken us. The following story, though has to do with the spring. Happy Halloween. Stay safe and try not to succumb to the winter depression. A TOURIST IN THE WAKING WORLD, NEVER QUITE AWAKE .  I will definitely come back to the shift in the alternative sound as the year goes by, but I'd like to tell a rather embarrassing story about how Florence + the Machine and a bunch of other Indie Rock/new Alternative acts came into my music collection. It was the spring of 2011, and I was finishing up my senior year...

I’ve written about the parallels between Christian Rock band NEEDTOBREATHE and Alternative Rock band Kings of Leon . But despite the bands’ similar origin stories, members growing up to ministers in very conservative backgrounds, Kings of Leon left their Christian upbringing and NEEDTOBREATHE embraced it. While NEEDTOBREATHE has had general market success, their fan base is mostly from Christian Hit Radio, to which the band does their duty to push the limits on songs like "Let's Stay Home Tonight" and "Clear" but ultimately keep the fires of sexiness under control. TRADIG PUNCHES WITH THE HEART OF DARKNESS. “ Hard Love ” is a sequel to the band’s hit “ Brother .” The song “Brother” was birthed out of a family conflict between founding members, brothers Bear and Bo Reinhart . The sibling rivalry came to a head during the recording of NEEDTOBREATHE’s record Rivers in the Wasteland . Like the Rolling Stone interview with Kings of Leon, the conflict between the ...

There was something about the music scene in the early '00s when a rock band had to first make it the UK before making it in the US. Some music fans were confused when The Killers gained popularity in America after first breaking in the UK. But after releasing three successful records in the UK, no one would mistake Kings of Leon as a British group. The band's lead singer, Caleb Followill and his southern drawl placed the band solidly in a lineage of southern rock. It's not the particular type of music normally associated with British Rock, but that didn't stop " Sex on Fire " from becoming the second most downloaded single ever in the UK.   I KNOW THEY'RE WATCHIN'. The song that brought Kings of Leon to the top of the American Rock charts was "Sex on Fire" from the band's fourth record, Only By the Night . As the song blew up, a lot of interest formed around the band. "Sex on Fire" was at home in naughties rock, a time when ro...

When Red 's producer Rob Graves posted on Twitter a picture of a note on Red's guitars tuned to "A#, A, and G," some fans thought that the band's third album would be even heavier. In February of 2011, Red released Until We Have Faces , taking its name from the 1956 C.S. Lewis novel . The band delivered a more cohesive, harder rock sound than previous efforts with songs like  " Faceless ," the album's opener " Feed the Machine ," and " Lie to Me " (Denial). Today's song is a song about disappointment in someone's honesty. I recommend this song, not because I had someone hurt my feels because of a lie, but rather I'm hearing so many lies these days, it's hard to distinguish the truth. WILL YOUR HOPE DIE ALONE?    Okay, that's a little dramatic. Let me explain. I'm in the process of shopping for a new apartment, and it's very difficult to find an honest salesman. The whole thing has me more disheartened ...

When I was reading   about   NEEDTOBREATHE for the first time , I couldn't help drawing parallels between another band with a raspy-voiced lead singer, Kings of Leon . Both bands have Southern, faith-based roots. Both frontmen were raised by pastors who were involved heavily in ministry. Like the Killers, the record label of both bands tried to break them in the UK before taking on the American charts. Both bands were composed of at least two family members. In Kings of Leon, the band is composed of three brothers and their cousin. For NEEDTOBREATHE, the band's line up originally consisted of brothers Bear and Bo and their friends. But before they could release their 2015 record,  Rivers in the Wasteland,  a sibling rivalry nearly ended the band. LIKE A BULL CHASING THE MATADOR.  NEEDTOBREATHE's breakthrough hit "Brother" topped Billboard's Christian Songs and was the band's first entry on the Hot 100, peaking at #98. It also rose to #8 on Billboard's...

When I was reading about NEEDTOBREATHE last month, I couldn't help drawing parallels between another band with a raspy-voiced lead singer, Kings of Leon. Both bands have Southern, faith-based roots. Both frontmen were raised by pastors who were involved heavily in ministry. Like the Killers, the record label of both bands tried to break them in the UK before taking on the American charts. Both bands were composed of at least two family members. In Kings of Leon, the band is composed of three brothers and their cousin. For NEEDTOBREATHE, the band's line up originally consisted of brothers Bear and Bo and their friends. But before they could release their 2015 record, Rivers in the Wasteland, a sibling rivalry nearly ended the band. LIKE A BULL CHASING THE MATADOR. NEEDTOBREATHE's breakthrough hit "Brother" topped Billboard's Christian Songs and was the band's first entry on the Hot 100, peaking at #98. It also rose to #8 on Billboard's Rock/Alternativ...

The follow-up to their multi-platinum album Only by the Night , Come Around Sundown , may not be remembered like their previous album. However, the album scored a higher ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 due to their growth in fans from the last album. Last month, I chronicled the rise and fall of Kings of Leon and their reemergence to a very different rock scene. In that context, Come Around Sundown was the album cycle that lead singer Caleb Followill burned out and succumbed to the "Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle," throwing up on stage and cancelling the tour. Lyrically, Come Around Sundown  continues to explore the ghosts of the band's religious past with a dose of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll rebellion, all sung with moody bluesy guitars and a southern drawl. HE SWEAR'S HE'S GONNA GIVE IT UP, IT'S NEVER GONNA BE ENOUGH.  "Son, if you graduate from high school, you can do whatever you want. You can leave the farm, you can go to south. But do...

In 2008, rock music still could be played on pop radio. Kings of Leon was one of the biggest bands when their fourth album, Only By the Night spawned three singles. “ Sex on Fire ” and “ Use Somebody ” were unavoidable back then. The southern US band first saw success in the UK, but after Only by the Night , the band were internationally known rock stars, complete with the money, alcohol, drugs, and of course, fiery sex. But before the rock star hedonism, lies a story of three preachers’ sons and their cousin, all grandkids of Leon. According to a Rolling Stone article , the band’s early collaborator, songwriter Angelo Petraglia , suggested the religious band name "Kings of Zion" for the band; however, lead singer Caleb Followil l thought Kings of Leon suited the band better. While the mother of brothers Caleb, Nathan , and Jared remains religious, Kings of Leon is far from a Christian Rock band. But the ghosts of their religious past haunts the band’s albums. I CAN’T ESCA...

In 2008 a gothic emo band appeared on Tooth & Nail Records called The Becoming . Their album produced a few singles and halfway through their short album cycle the DJ on RadioU informed the listeners that the band was now called "We Are the Becoming" for legal reasons. Later the band's video "I Cry" premiered on TVU . My sister said, "These guys look ridiculous." Pretty much. Their music kind of sounded like Hinder and they tried to look like Mötley Crüe . After the confusing name change, the band faded into Tooth & Nail record obscurity. The story of the strange band may have come to an end, but lead singer Caleb " Bones" Owens , has just begun.  I'M A CIGARETTE ROLLING DOWN A EMPTY ROAD IN THE NIGH LIKE A SHOOTING STAR. I heard this story and checked out this record thanks to Ethan Luck . If his name doesn't ring a bell, it's not surprising. Luck is a working musician who plays mostly in the studio these days. He has ...