NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Thirty Seconds to Mars ’ third album,  This Is War,   is about overcoming conflict. The band had been “at war” with their record label,  EMI , claiming that the contract they signed was not binding in their home state of California due to the contract’s duration. The band eventually made a documentary titled   Artifact   about the lawsuit and took aim at the exploitative role of labels, allowing fans, not just of the band but all artists, to see the seedy side of the music business. Before releasing  Artifact,  the lawsuit was settled, and Thirty Seconds to Mars signed a new deal with EMI, renegotiating their terms. Both parties were able to come to favorable terms to create a contract that worked better in the changing music business of the coming decade of the 2010s.  FATHER HAS SPOKEN.  For an album about conflict in the music industry,  This Is War  is a very hopeful album. This is probably due to the production by two legendary...

  The Cure 's " Lovesong " peaked at number 2 on  Billboard 's Hot 100  in October of 1989.  Hit Parade 's 2019 episode " Lost and Lonely Edition ,"  detailing the British Post-Punk movement, views this unlikely pop hit as a kind of peak of the movement that continued into the early '90s.  Of course, The Cure's commercial success came after years of songs that didn't chart and even the invention of a music chart for Alternative Rock bands, at the time called  Billboard 's Modern Rock Chart.  HOWEVER FAR AWAY, I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU.  When  Billboard  launched the Modern Rock chart in 1988, "left of the dial" college radio stations began reporting the songs that they were playing. Some of the bands included on the predecessor to today's Alternative Airplay chart were established on other charts-- U2 ,  Elvis Costello , and  Tears for Fears  had mainstream rock and pop hits prior to charting on the Modern Rock...

  I thought I'd share a repost today, a dusty memory about New Order , more specifically a keyboard from the '90s that listening to New Order today makes me think about. Buried under twenty years of dust in my parents' garage lies an old Yamaha keyboard. It was my dad's Christmas present to my mom in the mid-90s. This model came with 100 recorded instruments, 100 styles of drum beats, everything from foxtrot to metal, and 25 or so recorded songs. It was a pretty typical family keyboard, but it kept me entertained for years . Although I started playing guitar at the age of 12, I had spent a long time messing around on that keyboard trying to make music. I loved playing the keyboard but hated how fake the instruments sounded. Strings, brass, woodwinds--all sounded like the vegetarian version served at camp meetings. Still, that keyboard played such a crucial role in music in my life.    WHEN I WAS A VERY SMALL BOY.  I got my first taste of synthesizers from my key...

The ‘90s in rock music started quietly. Hair metal was still around, but vibey New Wave tracks had gained traction in the late ‘80s. It was an eclectic time without a clear direction for a musical style. Of course that all changed in the fall of 1991 when  Nirvana  burst onto the scene and Alternative and mainstream rock listeners determined that grunge would be the collective musical trend. Just as disco didn't die in 1979, the New Romantics sound of the late ‘80s carried over into the early ‘90s. In fact, in the early ‘90s,  New Order ,  The Smiths ’  Morrisey , and  Depeche Mode  enjoyed their peak success. For Depeche Mode, that success came from a dark pop song, which crossed the Alternative Rock band over to the pop charts with the single from their seventh album  Violator , “ Enjoy the Silence .” ALL I EVER WANTED, ALL I EVER NEEDED IS HERE IN MY ARMS.  Produced by the now legendary Mark Ellis, better known as  Flood ,  Viola...

The ‘90s in rock music started quietly. Hair metal was still around, but vibey New Wave tracks had gained traction in the late ‘80s. It was an eclectic time without a clear direction for a musical style. Of course that all changed in the fall of 1991 when Nirvana burst onto the scene and Alternative and mainstream rock listeners determined that grunge would be the collective musical trend. Just as disco didn't die in 1979, the New Romantics sound of the late ‘80s carried over into the early ‘90s. In fact, in the early ‘90s, New Order , The Smiths ’ Morrisey , and Depeche Mode enjoyed their peak success. For Depeche Mode, that success came from a dark pop song, which crossed the Alternative Rock band over to the pop charts with the single from their seventh album Violator , “ Enjoy the Silence .” ALL I EVER WANTED, ALL I EVER NEEDED IS HERE IN MY ARMS. Produced by the now legendary Mark Ellis, better known as Flood , Violator was years of dark electronica in the making. Flood’s fi...