NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

If you make a list of the most iconic singer-songwriters, the list would include all of  Ed Sheeran 's influences. In fact, many would have had no problem putting Ed Sheeran on that list, if it weren't for his huge mainstream pop hit " Shape of You ." If it weren't for the 2017 song, Ed Sheeran would still have been a driving force in the music industry, penning verses for pop artists and singing semi-acoustic ballads and rapping a few bars here and there. Some listeners are still scarred from the repetitive chorus with its contrived masculine rhyme, so much so that they would prefer not to hear the song's follow up. It's unfortunate enough that I couldn't take songs like " Perfect " or " Castle on the Hill " seriously. And when Ed Sheeran announced that he was back in June of last year, I was less than thrilled. But in September, thanks to musical algorithms, AppleMusic played " Shivers " when playing similar songs to  Ja

Damn you Covid-19! Sir Elton John simply wanted to tour the world and retire. The 75-year-old legend has been making music and touring since 1962. After saying goodbye to touring, he planned to settle down with his husband David Furnish and their two children and lead a quiet, un- Elton John life—out of the spotlight. But instead of stadiums full of fans across generations singing along to John's most famous hits from the '70s to '90s, we got an album of collaborations called The Lockdown Sessions , seventeen tracks featuring a few fellow legacy acts like Stevie Wonder , Stevie Nicks, and Eddie Vader . But mostly the album contained tracks with newer artists--pop, rock, hip-hop, and country acts. IT'S A HUMAN SIGN. In some ways, I feel that this month's playlist is an April Fool's joke on my younger self. I've included mostly catchy pop songs, and my younger self would have refused to see the talent of the pop artists like Joe Jonas , Olivia Rodrigo , or E

The second single from the 2006 album Eyes Open  after the album opener and rocker, " You're All I Have ," "Chasing Cars" is the most recognized song by  Snow Patrol . The band's frontman and songwriter Gary Lightbody said that he wrote the song after sobering up after a white wine binge in the garden of producer Jacknife Lee 's cottage. Lightbody told Rolling Stone  that "Chasing Cars" is "the purest love song I've ever written. There's no knife-in-the-back twist." He stated that "all the other songs I've written have a dark edge." While the song and video for "Chasing Cars" don't have a dark side, the connotation the song has with dramas like Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill  certainly wields the knife so carefully left out by the songwriter.  LET'S WASTE TIME CHASING CARS. As tempting as it is to make a Bad Romance playlist or Sad Romance playlist, I've decided to make my Spotify al

  If you make a list of the most iconic singer-songwriters, the list would include all of Ed Sheeran 's influences. In fact, many would have had no problem putting Ed Sheeran on that list, if it weren't for his huge mainstream pop hit " Shape of You ." If it weren't for the 2017 song, Ed Sheeran would still have been a driving force in the music industry, penning verses for pop artists and singing semi-acoustic ballads and rapping a few bars here and there. Some listeners are still scarred from the repetitive chorus with its contrived masculine rhyme, so much so that they would prefer not to hear the song's follow up. It's unfortunate enough that I couldn't take songs like " Perfect " or " Castle on the Hill " seriously. And when Ed Sheeran announced that he was back on June 25th, I was less than thrilled. But last week thanks to musical algorithms, AppleMusic played " Shivers " when playing similar songs to Jax Jones ft.

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. The singer

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.  I DRE