NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Tyler Glenn , lead vocalist and songwriter for Neon Trees came out as gay in a Rolling Stone   issue on April 10, 2014. This may not have been shocking as the flamboyant singer echoed the styles of Elton John or queer New Wave bands, but he could not reconcile his sexuality with the religion of his upbringing, Mormonism. Prior to coming out to his friends, family, and later the public, Glenn considered suicide. Coming out for Glenn allowed him to be his true self, and songs on their third album, Pop Psychology, talk about love, identity, and faith in the 2010s. However, in the following years, Mormonism has doubled down on its rejection of same sex marriage, prompting Glenn to no longer identify as Mormon, even releasing a solo album, Excommunication  in 2016. TV'S TELLING ME TO BE MYSELF. When I was student teaching, I began watching the first season of Glee , which was a little too campy to admit to. I stopped and started the show many times, but I started watching it again when

  Adam Dutch is a DJ from Ocean City, Maryland, who specializes in blending pop, rock, hip-hop, and EDM. In 2018, he took two very sad songs, the current hit at that time by Bastille and Marshmello , " Happier ," and set it to Anberlin 's 2005 fan favorite, " Paperthin Hymn. " What the track gains is a harder, more passionate vocal line from Bastille's lyrics, along with Stephen Christian 's occasional line, adding "I thought you said forever over and over." Anberlin's lyrics, though, are mostly buried in the musical layers, making the song about a breakup and not about death. But, by choosing this mashup, I believe I have disqualified myself from writing about "Paperthin Hymn" on another "Sunday morning" or on an "August evening," so I will bring the original songs into the conversation as well. I THOUGHT YOU SAID FOREVER OVER AND OVER... Anberlin's "Paperthin Hymn" is an excellent example of

  Like Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers , Matthew Perryman Jones was part of 2012's 25 Love Songs: A Special Gift from NoiseTrade. I had downloaded the album to hear the new Paper Route single as the band was taking an incredibly long time to release their sophomore The Peace of Wild Things . What I discovered was a bunch of indie folk artists like Kellogg, Jones, Leagues , Cary Brothers, and so many others. Matthew Perryman Jones has contributed music to television soundtracks for shows like Kyle XY  and Love, Death & Robots . He gave away much of his music for free on NoiseTrade. I remember downloading the Jars of Clay Spring Tour 2012 sampler, on which featured two songs from Jones who also supported the band on tour. Jones' "Land of the Living" was covered by progressive Christian band Gungor on their album One Wild Life: Soul. I'VE BEEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY THAT LEADS TO MY HOMETOWN. In "Echoes of Eden," the singer uses religious language to co

  Every year my school’s first grade curriculum reads an article about life in Iceland. This scenic, yet lonely Northern European island boasts some of the hardest working Europeans and some of the most expensive goods, as so much is imported. As for exports, Iceland sends fish and aluminum to other EU countries and the United States; however, before the pandemic tourism made up to 10% of Iceland’s GDP. As for cultural exports, we get the word geyser from Icelandic. The country harnesses its geysers and volcanos to power the country with what they call geothermic power. Aside from some beautiful scenes in movies like 2014’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty much of Iceland isn’t common knowledge to most Americans. Some music fans will remember avant-garde singer-songwriter Björk from the ‘90s or post-rock band Sigur Rós . In 2011, Of Monsters and Men did it for Iceland and became the nation’s highest charting hit with the song “ Little Talks .” YOU'VE BECOME A TEMPO THAT MY HEART

Listening to Paper Route makes me wonder, what if Coldplay , after recording X & Y   had continued making electronic music and honed in on their lyrics.  Paper Route has a solid a pop-rock band, on par with any of their contemporaries (i.e. OneRepublic , Coldplay), but their somewhat eccentric fidelity to their craft, recording their albums themselves in old Tennessee mansions to let the natural acoustics reverberate on the record, had cemented them as an indie rock band. " Balconies " was kind of Paper Route's first and last hit. The band's music had been featured in movies and television shows, but "Balconies" got them a late night performance slot on Seth Meyers . As one of the most obvious hits from their third album, Real Emotion,  the song was released to radio, but didn't do too well on the charts. After touring to support the album, the band went on "an indefinite hiatus." However, as the band has had long gaps between albums, I wo

  I went through a Jack Kerouac/Beat phase around 2015-2016 back when I was trying to as many authors that I hadn't read. I read a few of his books and they're kind of a blur now, but I remember reading On the Road, Big Sur, and The Dharma Bums. At the time of reading these books, there was something about the nomadic lifestyle, free of anchoring possessions that resonated with my college-debt, experience seeking soul. Of course, On the Road is Kerouac's most accessible and popular novel, which introduces us to the themes Kerouac explores in his work--a migratory life, sexual fluidity, and Americana, but The Dharma Bums especially highlights another theme: seeking enlightenment. This 1958 novel brought Buddhism into the living rooms of post-World War II Americans. I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE IF I CAN'T KEEP THE KEYS. Today is Buddha's birthday as celebrated in South Korea. Buddhism, like every major world religion, takes on various forms and denominations, so talking

Until June was a promising young emo-pop band by the time they released their debut album. The American band had a number one hit in Greece, and their songs were included on many television shows. Their melodic, often airy guitar and piano sounds blended nicely with lead singer Josh Ballard's falsetto vocals. While there were several artists that did falsetto on the radio during that time (i.e. Maroon 5 and James Blunt), Until June's music was more closely akin to fellow Indie Christian rockers like Deas Vail or Copeland and wasn't exactly mainstream for American pop at the time. Still, 2007's self-titled debut album was a like a glass of iced tea on an early summer evening. The band had potential. Their 2012 delayed follow up Young & Foolish was also a fine album, and I apologize that song isn't on Apple Music (I'll substitute for another song from their first album). Their Wikipedia page lacks citations and there is very little information about them aro