NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Anberlin headlined a night at Cornerstone in 2007 and 2008, though 2007 was thanks to a bus fire for the boys of Relient K. Their set was a celebration of the band’s fan favorite Cities . By the summer of 2008, though, the band had already recorded and was set to release their major label follow up, New Surrender , on September 30th. The band played two songs from the upcoming album: “Breaking” and their re-recorded classic “Feel Good Drag.” They sold pre-orders at their summer shows, a brown usb bracelet with a special code that, when entered, the album could be downloaded on September 30th along with  four electronic mixes of songs from Cities and New Surrender on the usb to tie fans over until then. Anberlin’s major label debut sold well, but some fans thought the band had gone too soft. Others criticized how much of a rollercoaster the track listing was. New Surrender was certainly a different Anberlin album. After three records working with Aaron Sprinkle, the band worked with

Coldplay's nine-track, piano-driven 2014 album Ghost Stories, ends with a meditative track called "O." Following his divorce to actress Gwyneth Paltrow, vocalist Chris Martin processes the end of his relationship on Ghost Stories. In a video I referenced last month when writing about "Higher Power,"  critic Frank Furtado claims that Ghost Stories is a lyrical failure on the behalf of Chris Martin, who disguises his pain behind universal lyrical themes. Furtado goes on to claim that Martin "trades being personal for commercial viability." He goes on to state that Ghost Stories " is so sparse instrumentally that the lyrics have no where to hide." These lyrics he claims are silly at times and empty at others. And yet the sparse lyrics and instrumentation from this blue album, garnished with angel wings and dotted with stars, can be just the amount of quiet a grey day needs. FLOCK OF BIRDS...This morning I started listening to the latest episode

Fleetwood Mac 's best known record is Rumors , their 1977 album featuring the vocals of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks . However, these members had been recent additions. Formed in 1967 in the UK with drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John "Mac" McVie, the band went through numerous iterations before arriving on the pop charts with their most well-known line up. The subject matter of the hit album is the relationship drama behind the scenes with the band. It's truly a fascinating story of change and rock 'n' roll development that saw the band change from a '60s blues rock band to a late '70s hitmaker, with a guitarist who left due to schizophrenia, another guitarist abandoning the group while on tour to join a California sex-evangelism cult, a turbulent marriage between the keyboardist and bass player, and then there's Stevie Nicks. WE CAN CALL IT ANOTHER LONELY DAY. I don't have much memory of this song when I was growing up. Released

In 1935, George and Ira Gershwin 's opera Porgy & Bess premiered with a classically trained African American cast. The opera was one of the last innovation of composer George Gershwin, whose short life's work was to marry classical and jazz, the popular music of the day. Classical music had always made room for popular and folk styles, whether it was Brahms playing piano at a local tavern or Chopin playing mazurkas, a traditional Polish dance. Gershwin was that composer sneaking into the speak-easy listening to improvised bars of the big bands. This inspired his jazzy classical orchestral pieces like " Rhapsody in Blue " and " An American in Paris ." However, George wasn't just confined to the orchestral hall. Together with his brother, Ira, the two produced hit after hit of songs that would be sung for nearly a hundred years. One of their biggest hits comes from the beginning of this opera. OH, YOUR DADDY, HE'S RICH AND YOUR MA, SHE'S GOOD

Composed as one of his ensemble works, Nico Muhly collaborated with three musicians to produce his 2017 work, Planetarium. The work atmospheric electronica rather than an orchestra, but the powerful songs might remind classical music listeners of Gustav Holst's 1917 work which packed as much if not more creative punch, The Planets, which innovated classical music and introduced techniques to modern music like the fade out and 5/4 timing . Muhly calls on the work of drummer James McAlister, The National's guitarist Bryce Dessner, and the vocals of Sufjan Stevens. The National being an artistic (and pretentious to some) band with Dessner collaborating with everyone from Taylor Swift to Phillip Glass, and Sufjan Stevens coming off of his folk record Carrie & Lowell, Planetarium is a quite musical experience, a soundtrack for gazing into the summer night sky.  I'LL CONSUME THE CHILD THAT TRAILS ME. For the songs that have lyrics, Stevens pulls inspiration from a number of

Born south of the Erie Canal in Canton, Ohio, Matt Thiessen , wrote a tribute to his home state on Relient K 's 8th studio album, Air for Free . Relient K started in Ohio, with three friends--Thiessen, guitarist Matt Hoopes , and bassist Brian Pittman . Relient K has seen many phases and had many member change ups; however, the glue of the band has been Thiessen and Hoopes, who are the only remaining members of the band and who are pictured on the cover of Air for Free. Released six years ago, Air for Free  explores existential themes from an aging former teenage band. Then in his mid-thirties, Thiessen touches on themes of love, growing up, and faith. While the songs on Air for Free are mostly light-hearted (a notable exception is " Man ") and sometimes silly, the songs are certainly more mature than anything the band has done before. And while it might not be the rock out anthems of youth group church vans, it's lyrically nostalgic of those days at times while pushi

In 2007, Falling Up released their third studio record, Captiva , returning to the production of Aaron Sprinkle . Unlike their debut album Crashings , also recorded with Sprinkle, on Captiva, Sprinkle plays the role as songwriter alongside lead singer Jessy Ribordy . Captiva also marked the end of four years of a daunting release schedule. Their debut album and follow-up Dawn Escapes were released within just 20 months of each other. They then released their remix album, Exit Lights a year later. Captiva attempted to keep hype in the Christian Rock and pop market, releasing four singles, the first of which is today's song, " Hotel Aquarium ." ALL THE LONELINESS IS FILLED BY YOU INSIDE . In April, I wrote about the band's first hit, "Broken Heart."  By the band's third album, musicians started shuffling to other, more successful, more overtly Christian bands. Falling Up's lyrics started mentioning Greek gods and space. Frankly, Ribordy's lyrics