NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

I’ve written about the parallels between Christian Rock band NEEDTOBREATHE and Alternative Rock band Kings of Leon . But despite the bands’ similar origin stories, members growing up to ministers in very conservative backgrounds, Kings of Leon left their Christian upbringing and NEEDTOBREATHE embraced it. While NEEDTOBREATHE has had general market success, their fan base is mostly from Christian Hit Radio, to which the band does their duty to push the limits on songs like "Let's Stay Home Tonight" and "Clear" but ultimately keep the fires of sexiness under control. TRADIG PUNCHES WITH THE HEART OF DARKNESS. “ Hard Love ” is a sequel to the band’s hit “ Brother .” The song “Brother” was birthed out of a family conflict between founding members, brothers Bear and Bo Reinhart . The sibling rivalry came to a head during the recording of NEEDTOBREATHE’s record Rivers in the Wasteland . Like the Rolling Stone interview with Kings of Leon, the conflict between the

There was something about the music scene in the early '00s when a rock band had to first make it the UK before making it in the US. Some music fans were confused when The Killers gained popularity in America after first breaking in the UK. But after releasing three successful records in the UK, no one would mistake Kings of Leon as a British group. The band's lead singer, Caleb Followill and his southern drawl placed the band solidly in a lineage of southern rock. It's not the particular type of music normally associated with British Rock, but that didn't stop " Sex on Fire " from becoming the second most downloaded single ever in the UK.   I KNOW THEY'RE WATCHIN'. The song that brought Kings of Leon to the top of the American Rock charts was "Sex on Fire" from the band's fourth record, Only By the Night . As the song blew up, a lot of interest formed around the band. "Sex on Fire" was at home in naughties rock, a time when ro

I've written a bit last year about how I'm a Coldplay apologist. I believe that the London-based band is very good at what they do. Though so many artists accomplish their sound, both musically and lyrically, better, there's something uplifting about a new Coldplay album. Early last year, I talked about the band's first single from their ninth studio record,   Music of the Spheres , " Higher Power ." The album was released on October 15 last year. Before the release of the record and after releasing "Higher Power," the band released the promotional single, the 10:17 track " Coloratura ," which was praised by critics for its composition and production. Then they released the second radio single " My Universe ," featuring the South Korean boy band, BTS . The song shot straight to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 , becoming the second Coldplay single to top the Hot 100, the first being " Viva la Vida ." I JUST WANT TO PUT

  Cruel to Be Young   was one of my college albums. I wrote a bit about the two  Jonezetta  albums  back in January.   Rather than being an '80s/ Killers  sounding album, the band went '70s/laid back, hippy sounding music.  According to Randy Torres episode of Labeled,  the inspiration behind this album was  The Shins , which was another college favorite of mine. While  Aaron Sprinkle  and  Randy Torres  may have had a great time making this record, it may have been the demise of Jonezetta as fans were expecting something catchy and dancy. Interestingly my college friends liked this album, but not their debut, but my hometown friends, loved  Popularity   and couldn't get into  Cruel to Be Young.  Jonezetta's follow up album reminds me of my youth--being 21 years old at its release, and how cruel it was to be a young Seventh-day Adventist. ALL THE DIFFERENT REASONS WHY YOU SLEEP ALONE . I’ve railed on purity culture so much without giving any person anecdotes. I speak fr

An understated track on Carly Rae Jepsen 's seminal record E-MO-TION , " Let's Get Lost " comes to life in Jepsen's concerts. While most solo artists work with a revolving set of musicians, Jepsen's core band has stayed fairly consistent, with guitarist and fellow songwriter Tavish Crowe , drummer Nik Pesut , and keyboardist Jarod Manierka remaining in her band since 2010 and bassist Adam Siska staying in the band for ten years until 2020.  I WAS NEVER ONE TO PUT MY TRUST IN SOMEONE ELSE COMPLETELY. In June when I was writing about Carly Rae Jepsen as the foundation of my Pride playlist , I listened to the B-Side Chicks podcast that described one of her concerts. Before going to the concert, he wondered who would be attending a Carly Rae Jepsen concert. Would it be tweens? The mostly clean bubblegum lyrics of the " Call Me Maybe " singer could warrant a younger audience. Instead, the podcaster discovers a venue filled with incredibly "hot d

In 2016, Jake Miller released a style-changing EP titled Overnight . The south- Florida-based singer started his musical career while he was a student at the University of Miami , posting videos of his music online. Miller cut his teeth in Hip-Hop, opening for Snoop Dogg and releasing several Hip-Hop EPs and a full length record in 2013. Miller’s music always featured a tropical house melodic elements, but in 2016, Miller shifted more to singing, releasing Overnight without any rapping. The seven-track EP of feel-good electronic vibes, are brimming with youth, vitality, and sexuality.  YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO NOWHERE BABY.  With only two minor pop radio hits, 2014’s “ First Flight Home ” and 2019’s “ Wait for You ,”  Jake Miller certainly isn’t a household name.  But the late summer sounds of  Overnight  were refreshing in a year of turmoil. In an interview with Zach Sang , Miller discusses his change in sound and his new life in Los Angeles. While explaining his change in style, Miller

  Copeland ’s “ I Can Make You Feel Young Again ” seems like a straight-forward love song. The beautiful lyrics describe love, growing old together, and death in an original, poetic way. The pre-chorus makes the listener feel small in the vastness of time, contrasting the light from stars billions of light years away and the ancient ground, which will “drag us under.” But to Aaron Marsh , this isn’t a straight forward love song. WHEN I FEEL LIKE I’M DEAD, YOU’RE REVIVING ME. The music video (see below) makes Marsh’s vision for “I Can Make You Feel Young Again” clear. Marsh confirms the meaning of the song on an episode of Labeled podcast . The idea of the song is a man is promised youth by a siren, but the siren drowns him. Of course reading the lyrics over and over you won’t be able to get that story from the text alone. But if we place this extra-textual interpretation onto the song, it makes sense that its the song of the siren, promising the fisherman that she can make feel young a