NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Today is a perfect day to revisit Kodaline 's In a Perfect World . The cover of the album reminds me of a summer day at the lake. The music soundtracks the drive to that lake outing as well as the lazy afternoon you spend in a coffee shop with a friend to beat the heat. However this summer is finding you; indoors or outdoors, rain or shine; I hope that listening to Kodaline's first album is the perfect accompaniment to these hot days! 1. " One Day ." The album starts with a radio-ready track. We're immediately drawn into Steve Garrigan 's unique vocals. Sometimes his Irish accent comes through, particularly on "through the eyes of someone else." The song builds from a simple guitar to more climactic backing vocals on the final chorus. The band re-recorded the song in 2014 , a year after the album's release, short-cutting the build, making the backing vocals even bigger. Both versions of the song are worth a listen, but the original fits better wi

  After 20 years, an album and a band can become legendary. However, in the case of The Postal Service , the legacy is attached to one album, Give Up , even centered on one single, " Such Great Heights ." The Postal Service was a side project of Death Cab for Cutie 's Ben Gibbard , producer Jimmy Tamborello , and backing vocals from Rilo Kiley 's guitarist and singer Jenny Lewis . But like older Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service and "Such Great Heights" is a bigger hit in the nostalgia of eventual fans, as Death Cab for Cutie's heyday with Plans in 2005 and being featured on television shows like The O.C. EVERYTHING LOOKS PERFECT FROM FAR AWAY. Ben Gibbard's venture into electronic music is a musical arc at least as old as The Beatles . But unlike The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Strawberry Fields Forever , Gibbard didn't take the electronics to Death Cab for Cutie in 2003. Instead the same year that Death C

In 2023, so many hit songs come from what we call "bedroom pop" artists. It's been that way for several years. Bedroom pop refers to artists who get famous from self-releasing music, recorded in a home studio using equipment and software that was once prohibitively expensive.  In 2009, Owl City released their breakthrough album Ocean Eyes , which contained their number one single " Fireflies ." Although the record was released on Universal Republic Records , the song came from singer-songwriter Adam Young , a 22-year-old composing melodies in his parents' basement while he battled insomnia when working at the local Coca Cola plant.  I'M FAR TOO TIRED TO FALL ASLEEP . Owl City, Adam Young's musical alias, posted his compositions and blogs on MySpace and started gathering a following. Young's following, according to a 2011 interview in  Hit Quarters  with manager Steve Bursky , was based on the singer-songwriter's engagement with fans. Bursky

In 1958, Connie Francis released the song " Stupid Cupid " written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka . The song-writers were part of the historic Brill Building in New York City, which churned out pop and rock standards for a post-Jazz age music scene. With a few charting hits before, 21-year-old Connie Francis delivers the upbeat song with a youthful rock 'n' roll energy. The rhyming of "stupid" and "cupid" makes listeners think back to schoolyard chants they sang back in elementary school. But the juxtaposition of the god of love and the quality of lacking intelligence are not exclusive to a 1958 song.  I GAVE A SECOND CHANCE TO CUPID. Earlier this year, a new K-pop group  FIFTY FIFTY (피프티 피프티) released their second single, " Cupid ." Like many K-pop groups, FIFTY FIFTY were trained for two years before their debut in 2022. The girl group consists of four members, signed to a small Korean label Attrackt . Being a startup with onl

Ariana Grande released her third studio record, Dangerous Woman , in May of 2016. Originally titled Moonlight, Grande spent a lot of time promoting the record before it was released. Songs like " Problem " and " Bang Bang " had solidified the singer's career in pop hit-making with a reputation for the sweet and sexual with varying layers of covertness.  The lead single of her 2016 project, " Focus ," however, while charting well, was actually removed from the standard edition of Dangerous Woman. The title track , though, became the new lead single and " Into You " was the second single from the album. Today, I'm making a playlist that perhaps follows up yesterday's songs about drinking at the bar. Today, it's a hot summer day, I'm presenting Sexy Singles , songs that have to do with sex. Again, enjoy responsibly!  

Ashley Cooke is an up-in-coming country pop singer. Yesterday she released her 24-song debut album shot in the dark . Cooke says the album was "inspired by true love, heartbreak, and the moments between." A duet with Colbie Caillat, "mean girl," deals with some honest advice for dealing with a man who doesn't really love the listener. The title track is a fun song about a hook up at a bar that turns into true love. This Friday in mid-summer, I'm releasing a playlist of songs about hitting the bar. I'm going to keep it mostly positive, focusing on those good times with good friends or meeting someone. Please, listen (and drink) responsibly. 

Bananarama  formed in 1980 when childhood friends  Sara Dallin  and  Keren Woodword  moved from Bristol to London and met  Siobhan Fahey . Dallin and Woodword lived in the WYCA and were out of money until  Sex Pistols ’ drummer  Paul Cook  offered them a place to live above the band's old rehearsal room. Bananarama took their name from the  Roxie Music  song " Pyjamarama ." The trio were fans of the punk rock and post-punk scene in London and ultimately became a New Wave hit making machine lasting from 1982 with their breakthrough hit as a featured artist on  Fun Boy Three 's " It Ain't What You Do" (It's How You Do It)  to the early '90s. IT’S TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT.  Bananarama   were on the pop side of New Wave along with some of their friends in the music industry  Wham!  and  Duran Duran . In 2020, the remaining members of Bananarama, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodword wrote a book about their experience throughout their almost fifty years of fri