NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

In October of last year, The War on Drugs returned after four years with their critically-acclaimed album, I Don't Live Here Anymore . The title track and lead single features indie pop group Lucius as backing vocals on the chorus.  Like their previous works, such as  A Deeper Understanding  (2017) and    Lost in the Dream   (2014),  The War on Drugs is able to play two chords back to back for six minutes and create a song that you never want to end. Those two chords create a warm cadence that's like a bonfire on a cold fall night. And that's reason enough to curl up with a blanket and enjoy The War on Drugs all day long. I NEED A CHANCE TO BE REBORN.  However, unlike their previous works, today's song " I Don't Live Here Anymore ," to me, sounds like an anachronistic '80s or early '90s hit. It's kind of like what Mic the Snare said about " Blinding Lights ": "It's just like that one song. Uh? Which one?" Is it "

In 2017, Seattle-born Korean rapper Jay Park started his own label, H1ghr, signing several up-in-coming acts in Korean Hip Hop. In the past, Korean rappers either released music independently or signed to the mostly K-pop idol labels, receiving considerably less promotion than the top-selling acts. However, in recent years, Korean Hip Hop has exploded because of reality shows like Show Me the Money and High School Rapper. In 2015, a young Kwon Min-suk, better known as Sik-K, participated in the fourth season of Show Me the Money , under the guidance of Jay Park. The next year, in 2016, Sik-K released his debut record Flip  on H1ghr. WE DO PARENTHESIS WITH WEIRD EXCUSES.   Late '10s Korean hip hop is really well produced, and it tends to follow American hip hop trends. I'm not particularly knowledgable about Hip Hop, but I've found it fascinating ever since the advent of melodic rapping, thanks partially to autotune. Slate's Hit Parade episode about Destiny's Child&

Written by Bob Dylan , yet often remembered as The Jimi Hendrix Experience's biggest radio hit, "All Along the Watchtower" is one of the biggest songs in rock music. Dylan's songwriting earned the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature. The cryptic lyrics of today's representative song, taking inspiration from Isaiah 21:5-9 , have been speculated to be about everything from a conversation between Dylan and Elvis Presley to an allegory for the Vietnam war or the apocalypse. Maybe it's because of Forest Gump    but the guitar solo on Hendrix's version of  "All Along the Watchtower" feels like a zeitgeist soundtrack to the chaotic '60s--a time of war, drugs, assassinations, and Civil Rights.  "THERE MUST BE SOME WAY OUT OF THIS." "All Along the Watched Tower" deserves its own post, and may get a lengthened post next year; however, today, I'm sharing a playlist in honor of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There are 17+

Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is the disco of the day. These days, pop charts are filled with DJs and features; however, in the age of disco, the featured singers often went uncredited. Today, though, in the age of powerful pop singers, a feature for a DJ can be mutually beneficial. It can either boost an up-and-coming DJ or boost and up-and-coming singer. Today's song is not one of the most popular DJs or features. The song hit number 20 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in 2019. It was featured on the second  To All the Boys   Netflix film. ILLENIUM and Bahari are not household names, but there is something intoxicating about this smooth, repetitive pop jam, problematic lyrics and all. IT'S LIKE CHAMPAGNE/ FEEL IT POURING IN MY VEINS.  When I came to Korea, I found a very conservative environment with the other missionary teachers. Just like when I chose "the most conservative (accredited) Adventist university," I had taken a leap of faith in coming to Korea. It

Netflix's  Song Exploder tells the story about the first single from The Killer's second album, Sam's Town .  Toward the end of touring for their debut record, Hot Fuss , The Killers started work on their second record . The band changed their musical direction slightly for Sam's Town , incorporating influences of Americana into their New-Wave sound. Taking musical and lyrical influence from Bruce Springsteen, The Killers set out to tell the stories about the West and Las Vegas, a town they call home. From the opening guitar riff, inspired by the feeling of driving in the desert, to the spiritual conations in the lyrics, " When You Were Young" is an early track that shows the themes of the band in more recent years. WAITING ON SOME BEAUTIFUL BOY TO SAVE YOU FROM YOUR OLD WAYS.  I mostly skipped over The Killers' sophomore release,  Sam's Town . Critics and fans, too, were mixed on the album. The band who had named themselves after a fictional band fro

It's only a month until Valentine's Day, which was the most miserable holiday for a teenager trapped in the closet in a Christian school. I was quite bitter towards a day that couples showed off their affection. I grew more and more cynical towards the day with every passing year. Fourteen-year-old me would be surprised that in 20 years, I would be thinking about the holiday a month before. But somewhere on the way from teenage-angsty emo music to a Christian pre-ordained incel-hood, like the blinding light to Paul on the road to Damascus, NoiseTrade 's 25 Love Songs rescued me from cynicism towards candy hearts. This album certainly wasn't the entirety of my love salvation, but it did start me on the path to thinking that love is possible and not total bullshit. I'LL ALWAYS PROTECT YOU. Ahead of their delayed The Peace of Wild Things , Paper Route released a second track from the album. " Better Life " had helped me through a very dark time in my life, s

In an interview with Brandon for Your Favorite Band Podcast in 2016, Mike Mains said that he was heading into the studio, hopefully releasing singles by “February, March, [or] April”of the next year. The project was delayed with the first singles, today’s song, “Breathing Underwater” and “ Endless Summer ,” being released in 2018, and the album When We Were in Love being released five years after their 2014 sophomore record, Calm Down, Everything Is Fine , in 2019. Mains told Brandon that his new record was going to be "lyrically darker." With the 2018 Mains' singles, the band was announced to signed to Tooth & Nail Records. Their third record deals with themes of marital struggles, depression, suicide, and redemptive love. The two-year delay is probably best explained by Mike and his wife/bandmate Shannon’s marriage counseling and Mike’s struggle with depression, which are alluded to throughout the record. IN THE MORNING OVER COFFEE. “ Breathing Underwater ” foll