NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

  It's not too late to listen to Christmas music, especially as I wrote the other day that my Christmas feels unfinished. American light rock radio stations start playing Christmas music before Halloween, so by December 26, we're ready to stuff the tree back into the closet. Of course those same light rock stations keep playing Christmas music until early January. Liturgically, we're still in the Christmas season. You should be receiving five golden rings on from your true love today.  HAPPINESS AND CHEER. I certainly won't be blogging much more about Christmas music, even though my family has delayed Christmas for my homecoming a month after the holiday. However, I thought that an inclusion of Rosie Thomas 's " Christmastime Is Here " is a worthy entry to my playlist. Like many households, Vince Guaraldi Trio 's A Charlie Brown Christmas was one of our holiday standards when I was growing up. It is the only Christmas album my dad likes, and " C

  " Wonderful Christmastime " was rated as the worst Christmas song by   Ultimate Classic Rock . Recorded when 37-year-old rock legend   Paul McCartney   was recording his polarizing second solo record, just before the disbanding of his second band,   Wings ,   McCartney II  was a synth-pop, new wave record in a time when former   Beatles   fans were yelling, "stick to the classics." Recently, critics have come to understand and even praise   McCartney II  for its pioneering in electronic music. The intentionally simple lyrics help to draw attention to the synths and the overall Christmasy atmosphere of the song. THE CHILDREN'S CHOIR SINGS A SONG.  "Wonderful Christmastime" has been covered by many artists, including Diana Ross , Demi Lovato , Hillary Duff , Jump5 , Chicago and Dolly Parton , Pentatonix ,  Family Force 5 ,  Jars of Clay , Eleventyseven , and so many other artists. In 2000, the Christian Rock band Earthsuit recorded the track for Tooth

When Neon Horse appeared on Tooth & Nail's roster in 2007, the label gave no information about the band. The concept of the band was like The Gorillaz: a studio band that had no intention of touring. Also like The Gorillaz, Neon Horse's aesthetic was cartoon drawings. However, keen listeners quickly recognized the vocal talents of Mark Salomon, who had been the vocalist for metal group The Crucified in '80s and of the Active Rock band Stavesacre in the '90s. Salomon shot a video for the band's first single, "Cuckoo!" and it was also confirmed that Jason Martin, vocalist and guitarist of Starflyer 59 and Steven Dail bassist of Project 86 were involved. There have also been rumors that Martin's brother Ronnie of Joy Electric played the keys and synths on the record. Neon Horse had two eerie albums, and today's song was the lead single from the band's sophomore album, Haunted Horse: Songs of Love, Defiance, and Delusion. PLAYING IN THE MIDDLE

Yesterday was Children's Day in South Korea, so I had a nice day off of work. Today, it was back to work, but a song I listened to this morning took me back to a few earlier points in my life--not quite back to childhood. I wrote about "All These Things I've Done," back in February, talking about the conflict in Brandon Flowers' lyrics--the desire to keep the straight and narrow path of his faith and the temptations of the real world. And unlike the bands on Tooth & Nail who seem to have everything sorted out (granted, there is a spectrum of Christianity rather than one rather rigid denomination--Mormonism), The Killers' music is never resolved. "When You Were Young" examines the contrast between what you fantasize love would be when you were young with the reality of it. The person you fall in love with may not be the man who looks "like Jesus." He may not share the faith and ritual you grew up with. "But he talks like a gentlema