NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

In 2011, San Antonio-based Christian Rock band Abandon released their third record, Control . This was the band's second release on ForeFront Records , a label that had been forefront in the Christian music scene in the '90s, releasing albums by dc talk , Audio Adrenaline , and Rebecca St. James . But after the label's success with Stacie Orrico , it seemed that the success of other Christian labels like Tooth & Nail Records  was eclipsing the once legendary record label. I'M LIKE EVERYONE LIVING IN A QUICK-FIX NATION. Before   ForeFront Records was absorbed completely by its parent label, Capitol Christian Music Group , the label had a few last-ditch efforts to produce rock in the '00s. The early '00s gave them the "two-album wonder" The Benjamin Gate and a few head-scratching hip-hop projects. In 2007, the label released the debut record from This Beautiful Republic , a band that seemed to be the label's answer to Anberlin and the success

Sometimes when I write about music I like, I hear the whiny voice of a younger millennial or Gen Z-er saying the band's name and, "Are they even relevant anymore?" That's what I thought about when I wrote about The Fray and other pop rock bands from when I was in high school. When I wrote about OneRepublic in early 2021, the band hadn't released an album since 2016, and momentum for the band seemed to be waning. But then in August, they released their record Human .   THEY GOT SUN IN L.A. AND SOME STARS SHININ'.  In 2017, OneRepublic's lead singer Ryan Tedder decided to forego the typical album cycle the band had followed. The band started releasing singles that year. Two years later, the band started releasing singles for the album they would release in 2021.  But shortly after  Human came out, OneRepublic seemed to be almost over the album cycle. The band had released five singles from the record before its arrival starting in 2019, which is a much lo

Listening to  Paper Route  makes me wonder, what if  Coldplay , after recording  X & Y   had continued making electronic music and honed in on their lyrics.  Paper Route has a solid pop-rock band, on par with any of their contemporaries (i.e.  OneRepublic , Coldplay), but their somewhat eccentric fidelity to their craft, recording their albums themselves in old Tennessee mansions to let the natural acoustics reverberate on the record, had cemented them as an indie rock band. " Balconies " was kind of Paper Route's first and last hit. The band's music had been featured in movies and television shows, but "Balconies" got them a late-night performance slot on  Seth Meyers . As one of the most obvious hits from their third album,  Real Emotion ,  the song was released to radio but didn't do too well on the charts. After touring to support the album, the band went on "an indefinite hiatus." However, as the band has had long gaps between albums,

Opening OneRepublic 's second record, Waking Up ,  is the experimental track " Made for You ." Release two years after their debut record Dreaming Out Loud , OneRepublic was busy releasing singles even between records. During this two year period, lead singer and chief songwriter for the band, Ryan Tedder , started writing for some of the biggest pop stars, including Beyoncé's "Halo" and Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," which controversially sounded like OneRepublic's "Secrets" later released on Waking Up. The second album from OneRepublic would answer whether the band was just a passing fad, a liner note in chart history, or mega stars.  PUT PEN TO PAPER, EVERYTHING WAS SINKING. "Made for You" opens the record. It's a lyrically sparse track full of mood and ambiance. OneRepublic quickly steps up their sound, a band of some classically-trained musicians and a penchant for hip-hop beats. Whereas, Dreaming Out Loud wa

In 1946 George Orwell wrote in an essay titled " Politics and the English Language ": "In our age, there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia.” In my lifetime,  there seemed to be a time when we could be ambivalent toward the democratic process. We could sit in our homes on election day in good faith that the majority want the right thing or even stew in our own cynicism that the two candidates were different faces to the same policy. But look at how choice has been effaced.  A BEAUTIFUL WAITRESS WHO JUST COULDN'T MAKE IT. The third record by Irish pop-rock band Kodaline titled  Politics of Living  isn't an overt political statement, but more of a casual jab at 2018 zeitgeist. Cynical reviewers panned the record as Kodaline's attempt to enter the U.S. market. The album's production and song structures do suffer a bit from t

Three and a half years after releasing Waking Up , OneRepublic returned with their third album, Native . The opening track, today's song, " Counting Stars " picks up where Waking Up left off--rhythmic pop-rock--but adds more elements of gospel otherwise absent on the first two OneRepublic records. The album quickly veers into electronic and anthemic '10s pop, but continues to make some interesting twists and turns along its course to the end, on a bonus track even recording with Aaron Sprinkle . Native may not be the most interesting album of 2013, and may sound like the equivalent of white toast in the morning, but there's a reason why we sometimes like to have white toast, and dare I say, Iced Americano. TAKE THAT MONEY, WATCH IT BURN. It's interesting to watch Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic navigate the world of pop music for several reasons. The band is talented, mixing genres, albeit in a very subtle/commercially viable way. Tedder is a go-to songwriting a

" Take Cover " is the opening track to Acceptance 's debut and almost final album, Phantoms . It starts with a piano loop and adds momentum with the drums. Jason Vena 's smooth vocals hit a high register which puts the band on good emo footing for the time, as a singer who could whine a few lines was essential for a band that makes it. Listening to Phantoms again today--as I've talked about this album at least three times before--I thought about one of the fatal flaws of the record: the track order. Even though, I think that this album is a perfect artifact of my last two years in high school, I can kind of see why this band wasn't huge, and it has to do with track listing of this album. SHE MAKES THE CITY SEEM LIKE HOME. Today, I'm going to do a track-by-track analysis of this album, and I'll probably add to this analysis as I choose more songs to be song of the day. I may not have a lot to say about the tracks individually as I've already talked

Listening to Paper Route makes me wonder, what if Coldplay , after recording X & Y   had continued making electronic music and honed in on their lyrics.  Paper Route has a solid a pop-rock band, on par with any of their contemporaries (i.e. OneRepublic , Coldplay), but their somewhat eccentric fidelity to their craft, recording their albums themselves in old Tennessee mansions to let the natural acoustics reverberate on the record, had cemented them as an indie rock band. " Balconies " was kind of Paper Route's first and last hit. The band's music had been featured in movies and television shows, but "Balconies" got them a late night performance slot on Seth Meyers . As one of the most obvious hits from their third album, Real Emotion,  the song was released to radio, but didn't do too well on the charts. After touring to support the album, the band went on "an indefinite hiatus." However, as the band has had long gaps between albums, I wo

  Before The Fray and OneRepublic , Lifehouse was the pop-rock band that appeared with their song " Hanging by a Moment " and then crossed over to the Christian market. Their debut album, No Name Face  garnered a lot of love both in the Christian and pop markets. Songs like "Hanging By a Moment" and " Breathing " were huge Top 40 hits, while the song "Sick Cycle Carousel" was a hit on the Christian radio stations. The band signed a deal with Sparrow Records for their second album, Stanley Climbfall, and solidified their hold in the Christian market and lessened their hold on mainstream radio. However, their third and self-titled album produced their biggest pop hit "You and Me" and their fourth album Who We Are, lessened their grip on the Christian market. And by their fifth through seventh albums the band's pop appeal had diminished as their post-grunge sound fell out of favor with pop radio.  HOW COULD ANYTHING BE BETTER THAN T