NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Taylor Swift went from America's sweetheart to a polarizing figure in her twenties. Feuds with Kanye West and then wife Kim Kardashian, Katie Perry , and others; a dating reputation ; and self-deprecating and aggrandizing songs made Taylor's star not for everyone. But in 2019, Swift was starting to change the narrative, patching up things with Perry in the video for " You Need to Calm Down ," reducing her reliance on hip-hop beats, and reducing lyrical narcissism.  SAID I LOOKED LIKE AN AMERICAN SINGER. Swift didn't gain universal acclaim for Lover , though it did bode better with critics than Reputation .  Swift shows her most mature efforts on 2020's folklore and evermore . I've spoken at length about folklore this year, writing about the tracks " exile ," " august ," and " cardigan ." And my thesis about all of these songs is about how unlike Taylor Swift they are. I've argued that if you have bad blood with the pop

The Beautiful Letdown was the peak of Switchfoot 's career. When lead singer Jon Foreman was reflecting on his career on The Load Out Music Podcast last year, he said that the band decided to follow up their most successful pop record with one that critiques the American Dream, a somewhat controversial topic with Christian listeners. The opening track, " Lonely Nation ," warns listeners about consumerism and how it just creates social fragmentation and a desire for more. "Lonely Nation" is the representative song for my Independence Day mix called American Dreams: Hope for a Better Future. This playlist is far from perfect. Certainly it needs more diversity in style and artists' voices. But I hope that the songs on this playlist offer an alternative to blind patriotism. After all, patriotism shouldn't be blind nationalism, but rather a peaceful discourse between conflicting ideals. In a world where everything seems to be falling apart, it's so mu