NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

If  x  then happiness. Find  x.  Simple algebra. What is the one thing you want for life or for the moment? How do you get it? That's the problem. I can think about some times in my life when I thought everything was coming together only for it all to fall apart. There was this awesome housing situation in college until my roommate called to say that he wasn't coming back next year. Or establishing the "dream team" at two of my schools. Spoiler alert: it never lasts, and new drama comes up to make the dream team more of a nightmare. If only I had that promotion. If only I bought X.  If only that person was available. X-Y= happiness. But what happens when it  doesn't happen ? What happens when the exact opposite happens. You don't get the promotion. Maybe you get fired. They get married rather than breaking up. The relationship turns abusive or maybe hidden infidelity. What happens next? That's what this synth-pop single by  Years & Years   deals with. 

Today, I’m going to share the songs that I have listened to the most on Apple Music. I can't actually share the playlist because of Apple Music settings, but I found it surprising what made my most played. I think a lot of the plays come from playlist placements, particularly my Coffee playlist that I listened to at work until this year. I have blogged about most of the songs on this list, but today's song is the most-played track I haven't blogged about yet.   I’VE GOT FAITH IN NOTHING. I’ve blogged about 17 of the 25 songs listed. The number is approximate because there’s several technicalities that I’ll address as I write link to each blog post. Then at the bottom, I’ll post a shareable Apple Music playlist.   1. “ Far ” by Canopy Climbers . I’ve posted this track twice, first in January 2021. Many of the songs on my list are kind of background music that don’t intrude with my thoughts.  2. “ How to Love ” by Cash Cash ft. Sofia Reyes . I haven’t written about today’s

Last month, The Japanese House released their long-anticipated follow-up album to 2019's Good at Falling . The solo project of Amber Mary Bain , The Japanese House collaborated with a number of musicians from Bon Iver 's Justin Vernon and The 1975 's Maty Healy and George Daniel to MUNA and Charli XCX on their latest project, In the End, It Always Does . The English singer-songwriter Amber Bain offers a hybrid between the acoustic and highly processed, like if Bon Iver recorded and produced Joni Mitchell. It's simple. It's zen. It's nice music for a rainy or slow humid summer day. I'M STILL LOOKING OUT FOR ME. Before releasing In the End, It Always Does, The Japanese House released the lead single, " Boyhood ." The instrumental direction of In the End, It Always Does feels less processed than The Japanese House's earlier work. Singer Amber Bain had talked about using The Japanese House to mask the person behind the music. I've written

  Years & Years may not be much in America, but the once Olly Alexander -fronted electronic pop band charted very well in their homeland of the UK. The singles from the band's first album, Communion , built up the band's momentum. The band's fourth single, " King ," reached number 1 on the U.K.'s singles chart , and their fifth, today's song, " Shine ," reached number 2. And while the band, now just Alexander's solo act, may not be matching their debut record's success, Years & Years seems to tell something about the difference in The U.K. and U.S. music markets, particularly regarding openly queer artists. I'M FOLLOWING LIGHTNING.   I'm not going to accuse U.S. pop charts of being Puritanical when it comes to queer artists, far from it.  But in 2015 when Years & Years debuted, U.S. charts were still very much in a “don’t say gay” era, in which openly queer artists faced a disadvantage in sales and radio play. It wasn

  Coming off the heels of  Years & Years ' second album,  Palo Santo , the group collaborated with British House DJ and producer  Jax Jones  for his debut album  Snacks . The song " Play " was released as a single in November of 2018 and would find a place on deluxe editions of  Palo Santo  like " Up in Flames ." The two songs don't fit into the story of the futuristic queer/ religious concept album. Instead, "Play" follows Jones's concept. A colorful music video with  nostalgic goodies, the sweets and toys of a millennial's childhood, along with the single's artwork, clearly inspired by Play-Doh, remind listeners of playtime and all of the goodness of a childhood full of sugary cereal, matchbox cars, and action figures. The disco beat and  Olly Alexander 's vocals take that childhood playtime nostalgia to a late-night dance hall. MY PHILOSOPHY DON'T LET NOBODY COME TOO CLOSE . The status quo of the song is defensiveness. Th

  It's officially spooky season, so I decided to make a playlist celebrating the spookier songs I've blogged about or artists that had a spooky song. The 31 tracks that I included perhaps won't make you writhe in horror, but they have a loose connection to Halloween. Maybe there's a lyrics or a creepy video, or maybe it was just a song that I listened to a lot in October. I will post the Spotify playlist below and links to the posts and the tracks so that you can read the spooky stories behind the tracks.  1.       " Ghost " by Yellow Ostrich 2. " Closer " by Kings of Leon 3. " Unholy " by Sam Smith ft. Kim Petras 4. " I'm Pretty Sure I'm Out of Luck and Have No Friends " by Underoath 5. " Two Graves " by Anberlin 6. " Moonlit " by Falling Up 7. " Panic Switch " by Silversun Pickups 8. " Killer " by Chvrches   9. " Midnight City " by M83 10 " Edge of Seventeen "

  Olly Alexander grew up next to a church, and as a boy he was fascinated by the what he heard and saw from his home. His parents were not religious, but his impressions of the rituals that took place, during particular liturgical holidays sparked his interest in organized religion. However, as Alexander grew up in his sexuality, he came to realize that the church next door was not a place for him. He was still captivated by the symbolism of ritual. He sought community in gay clubs, which became like a church to him. If you listen to Years & Years  albums, the themes of religion may almost trick you that you are listing to a Christian album. I DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE FINE. The opening track to their debut album,  Communion ,  Years & Years start their brand of Pet-Shop-Shop-Boys inspired electronica with an atmospheric, lyrically minimal track. However, it doesn't take a lot of words to convey the complex emotions in this song. And if you take the track with the highl