NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

For the third year, The Weeknd 's " Blinding Lights " makes my playlist, although last year the song was represented by Sam Tsui with production by Kurt Hugo Schneider . I find the cultural discussions around the song fascinating: how a song from 2019 predicted the loneliness and isolation of the world, the greater concept in the record After Hours  complete with thematic story-telling music videos and conceptual live performances leading up to and during the release of the record. "Blinding Lights" was the omni-present hit in 2020 that worked whether you were a drug or sex addict, a celebrity dealing with the dark side of the industry, or none of those things. A lot has been said about this synth pop track a lot better than I can prepare in an evening, so I'll leave you with a podcast that talks about it pretty well. And for the rest of the post today, I'm going to leave you with a Spotify Edition of my Pseudo '80s Hits from last year. Kids make

  Harry's House ,  the third full length record from   Harry Styles , was one of the most anticipated records of the year, and it dropped late last month. In an   interview   with   Zane Lowe , Styles talked about how the writing process for his third record was a continuation from his writing process for   Fine Line.   Styles' former record had been a surprising take on psychedelic pop akin to the '60s and '70s, and listeners and critics wondered what he would offer on his third record. It turns out that, so far,   Harry's House  holds a high  Meta-critic rating   than either his   self-titled debut   or   Fine Line   with a score of 83%. LEAVE AMERICA, TWO KIDS FOLLOW HER.  The similarity between  Fine Line  and  Harry's House ,  though, can't be pointed out from the lead single, " As It Was ," alone, though. Many critics have pointed out the similarity between "As It Was" and  A-Ha 's " Take On Me "; often with the argume

In early 2012 when  Anberlin  announced that they would be returning with an album produced by  Aaron Sprinkle , longtime fans knew that they were in for a good record. While their prior major label releases had stretched the band and had proven how versatile their sound was, the band had not produced an album that matched the lyrical and musical depth of their fan- favorite,   Cities . 2012's   Vital   took Anberlin to both familiar territory and reinvented their sound.   I CAN FINALLY FORGET A PAST YOU SAY YOU NEVER KNEW.  Vital  is a heavier album than their previous two. But, up to that point, the band did very little with electronic music.   Vital,  however, opened to the electro-heavy " Self-Starter ," complete with an autotune chorus, somewhat reminiscent of   Avenged Sevenfold 's " Lost ." In fact, many of the the tracks incorporated electronic elements. The band admits to consuming a lot of   M83   at that time.  Critics and fans both loved  Vital .

  I conked out at 10:30 last night. I didn't sleep well on Friday night, and without New Year's plans--boyfriend in another city with his family, friends abroad, and not wanting to brave the cold with strangers--I decided to let 2022 end with a whimper rather than a bang. Rested up, I decided to make a playlist of some songs for a theoretical New Year's party. This playlist is some of the songs I listened to today, some of the hits of last year, and song songs about growth and renewal. Happy 2023!

  This year, The Juliana Theory released an EP presumably the first half of an album that will probably come out next year. The EP was released in May, which is a long time to wait for its second half; however, it seems that Brett Dettar and crew never rush the band's music. Long-term  fans of The Juliana Theory have suggested that the band's post-2005 Deadbeat Sweet-heartbeat  music doesn't fit with the band's direction, and while many fans like Still the Same Kids, Pt. 1 , they suggest that The Juliana Theory isn't still the same band. But that argument could be made for any band that stuck together consistently, updating their sound into the '20s music landscape. SHIT, I GET NOSTALGIC. I've heard that the Germans consider nostalgia as a kind of illness. If that's the case, the film, television, music, and fashion industries are sick. The pandemic reunited lots of bands to play reunion shows. Extra time at home had us revisiting the music of our past

  Today, I listened to Good Christian Fun 's latest episode, a Second Service repost because the Kevin and Caroline were probably enjoying the holidays too much to record a new episode. In the episode, the hosts and their guests picked their favorite Christmas songs like a sports draft. One of the songs Kevin chose " River " by Joni Mitchell , a pick that was mocked by the others. However, since I heard the words, "It's comin' on Christmas," I haven't been able to get the song out of my head. I WISH I HAD A RIVER I COULD SKATE AWAY ON. Joni Mitchell is one of the great singer-songwriters of the '70s. "River" comes from her Blue album. Most of her catalog was pulled from Spotify, along with fellow Canadian Neil Young, in response to Seth Rogan's Covid misinformation. "River" is a Christmas moment on an album of many moods. It may be awkward to include a future Christmas standard on a general album--think of the future ev

  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