NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Labeled fans are still waiting for the Jonezetta story. Several parts have been teased in previous episodes, about how they were one of two general-market bands signed to Tooth & Nail (The Classic Crime being the other). The band's sound drastically changed between their first and second record, Cruel to Be Young . But today rather than digging into Jonezetta's story, we're going to explore the career of Cruel 's producer, Aaron Sprinkle , as Cruel to Be Young has become a cult classic and an essential piece in the legendary producer's catalogue. Using just tracks that I've written about over the year+ I've been blogging, I made a playlist celebrating Aaron Sprinkle's career. IT'S NOTHING PERSONAL . I'm going to post the Spotify playlist here and talk briefly about each track and why it is quintessential Sprinkle. This is an unofficial list. I may be missing some from my blog, and there are certainly other artists such as MxPx , Poor Old

Twelve years ago, Katy Perry tied with Michael Jackson for the most #1 Hot 100 songs from a single album, 5 in total. The album's sixth single, " The One That Got Away ," peaked at #3 on the Hot 100, but topped other Billboard charts, including the Top 40 pop radio-play chart.  Today, we're hearing from another perspective, a cover by Boyce Avenue . Katy Perry's music video depicts an unrequited teenage romance that ends in a fiery car crash to the tune of Johnny Cash singing " You Are My Sunshine ," Perry as an old woman visiting the spot where it happened. But the true story of this song probably didn't end so dramatically. IN ANOTHER LIFE, YOU WOULD BE MY GIRL.  Wikipedia   doesn't have a "personal life" section of Katy Perry  chronicling her dating life. At the time of this single, the singer's marriage with polarizing actor Russell Brand was about to end. Currently, Perry is engaged to actor Orlando Bloom . But sometime bac

In December of 2017, Lovedrug released their seventh album Relive . At this point in the band's career, they maintained some loyal fans, but it seemed that their chances at success were behind them. The next year, lead singer Michael Shepard announced that the band would be ending after releasing their final project, a reworking of their first three albums. The band, however, did release another album in 2020 of original songs,  Turning into Something You Were Never Meant to Be , so die-hard fans may have even more music to look forward to in the future if the band continues to break their promise to be broken up. MY HAUNTED WATERS ARE HARDLY CALM.   While   Lovedrug may or may not be broken up, the second track on Relive is an interesting love song. The narrative is ominous, starting with talking about how the future is open full of possibilities, but "her waves are cold [and] our chances thin." The speaker respects the force of the ocean, realizing "a generation

When your first American hit is the second biggest song of the year, how do you follow that up? When your signature song has been called bubblegum and immature, how do you change your image to show that you're an adult with adult relationships, without getting X-rated? These were two questions Carly Rae Jepsen answered in her follow up to Kiss in E-MO-TION . If those two questions were on the interview, Jespsen would have the job on the merits of her 2015 effort.  YOU’RE STUCK IN MY HEAD, STUCK IN MY HEART, STUCK IN MY BODY.  Sure, if your introduction to E-MO-TION was the first single " I Really Like You " turned you off as another " Call Me Maybe " so you never clicked "Add to Library" on the rest of the album, that's an understandable mistake. The meme-able first single arguably is less dynamic in the wake of its massive hit predecessor "Call Me Maybe." But while critics were divided on "I Really Like You,"  E-MO-TION  as a

Formed at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Hippo Campus consists of bandmates who studied Jazz, while lead vocalist Jake Luppen studied opera. Guitarist Nathan Stocker  suggested the name Hippo Campus, after taking a psychology class, but separating the word hippocampus into two words because it sounded sexual. After working as an independent band and touring with acts like Modest Mouse and appearing at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo , the band recorded their first album landmark with BJ Burton who has worked with Bon Iver . GRAB A GUITAR AND JUST MOAN AND SHIT.     The second single from landmark,  “ way it goes ,” is a self-aware hipster anthem about “kids these days.” The setting of the song is Cumberland, Wisconsin in the early spring. The music video visualizes the setting—a party in a cabin of twenty-somethings hanging out, drinking beer, and playing music. There's also some suspicious Fruit-Loop looking cereal passed around and so

My musical history started with hymns and classical music playing in the house, and sometimes classic and alternative rock in the garage. After going back to church, my mom stopped listening to secular music, well contemporary secular music,  and tried to convince me that rock music was evil when I started liking the sound of it. Little by little, she started listening to modern music--first CCM, especially Michael W. Smith 's This Is Your Time album because of the bagpipes. Then she started listening to music she grew up with, the soundtrack to her teenage rebellion. This was the smooth pop songs of Hall & Oats and Elton John and some rock bands like Boston and Journey . MY MISSIONARIES IN A FOREIGN FIELD. All of these song’s artists could be heard on local light rock radio stations along with contemporary hits by Kelly Clarkson , Train , and of course Coldplay . When my mom heard " Viva la Vida ," she loved it and bought the album. Soon, on long trips, the CD ro

Fifteen years ago today on a two-hour break between classes in community college, I went to Walmart on the rare chance that a Tooth & Nail CD would be in stock. Not only was it in stock, but both the standard and deluxe edition of Cities were placed in the main aisle of CDs: the  a section of the Pop/Rock/R&B aisle. I eagerly shelled out the $15.99 for the deluxe edition, which had a darker cover, three bonus tracks, and a 30-minute making of the album DVD . I popped in the CD into my 1991 Toyota Corolla to hear "( Debut )" and by the time I made it out of the parking lot, the album's second track " Godspeed " had me speeding back to school. DIDN'T WANT ANY PROMISES. The truth was, though, that I had already listened to the album, except for the final track, " (*Fin) ," on MySpace a week before the album hit stores. The band had released singles before the album preview. " A Whisper & a Clamor " was played on Christian Roc