NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Last year was the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads ’ concert film Stop Making Sense . The concert film was selected as part of the United States National Film Registry in 2021. The media company A24 obtained the rights to the film, remastered it and sent the concert back to theaters globally. After Talking Heads formed in the New York punk scene in 1975, they became pioneers in New Wave and eventually predecessors of Alternative Rock artists. Their musical influence on future generations stemmed from their use of polyrhythms, diverse musical genres such as reggae, traditional African music, and contemporary composers experimenting with avant-garde and minimalism. The band amassed a strong following and rock and minor pop hits. The 1982 concert film Stop Making Sense highlights the band’s greatest hits. After the film, the band released three more albums before officially breaking up in 1991. I CAN’T SEEM TO FACE UP TO THE FACTS. On January 10th, Paramore uploaded a video to their s

While Troye Sivan was clubbing in his home of Perth, Australia, between COVID lockdowns, the soundtrack may have included songs by fellow Aussie Kylie Minogue , an iconic pop star for a certain demographic for decades. But it’s not just the gay clubs where Kylie is famous. In fact, she is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time. She is often called the “Princess of Pop” in Europe because of her sense of style and hit-making. In America, mainstream pop audiences probably know Minogue for her 2001 hit “ Can’t Get You Out of My Head ,” the singer’s most streamed song.  SOME MOMENTS ARE MAGIC. But pop music is much more than the Weekly Top 40, and the songs popular in Australia and Europe don’t always catch on in America. Kylie Minogue made several hits and even reached her Hot 100 peak before 2002 in the ‘80s with the number 3 hit “ The Loco-Motion ” in 1988 from her eponymous debut album. The song was a cover of a 1962 pop song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King

Tropical House is a subgenre of electronic dance music (EDM) that is characterized by its laid-back, feel-good vibes and tropical-inspired melodies. It often incorporates elements of house music, deep house, and chillwave, and is typically characterized by a tempo of around 100-120 beats per minute. Instruments often played or sampled in the genre included steel drums, marimbas, ukuleles, other tropical instruments, synths, and drum machines. The lyrics are often about love, relationships, and the beach. The genre can be traced back to the ‘00s but became extremely popular in the ‘10s. Ed Sheeran ’s “ Shape of You ” has been called the biggest song in the genre.    Avicii and Martin Garrix were early popularizers of the subgenre. SPARKS WILL FLY, THEY WILL IGNITE OUR BONES. Norwegian DJ Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll , or Kygo , was influenced by Avicci’s music and started emulating the late DJ’s sound in his created music. Kygo both wrote new music and remixed existing tracks, many of which we

As promised, here is my Top 10 list for albums of the year. It’s a bit late and I’m sure that in time, the importance of this list will change and that albums I hadn’t listened to would chart. I decided to give preference to the albums I blogged about most but I also slipped in a few that I thought would be culturally significant. There were a few cuts that I thought hurt a little, Olivia Rodrigo ’s GUTS , the Barbie: The Album soundtrack, and boygenius ’s The Record .   I wanted to include some albums that didn’t make the critics’ picks lists to give light to some underrated artists. I hope you enjoy these albums as much as I did—and am doing now. 10. The Show by Niall Horan . It’s funny how the other One Direction members have been totally eclipsed by Harry Styles . While Styles is certainly talented, and his production team has incorporated some of the most interesting elements into mainstream pop, former bandmate Niall Horan has been sadly overlooked. The Show is an album by an