NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

There had been hints and tendencies listeners could pick up on from earlier Falling Up records. There was the occasional strange word choice on Crashings . There was esoteric storytelling on Dawn Escapes . There were the made up words on Exit Lights , the remix record. And for the band’s third studio record on BEC Recordings , Captiva ,  Falling Up delved into Greek mythology and science fiction.  But for the band’s fourth record,  Fangs!   Falling Up presented a full concept record, this time without Bible verses in the album notes.  This time fully indulging in world-building. SOME OF US HAVE SEEN GOLDEN ARROWS POISED.  Working with frontman Casey Crescenzo of cult-status progressive indie band The Dear Hunter , the sound on Fangs! steers the band away from the electronic and Nu Metal influence Falling Up had previously embraced. Before releasing the record, lead singer Jessy Ribordy shared the story behind the concept record. Ribordy explained that story is a prologue to the alb

It's no surprise that Andrew McMahon lists Billy Joel as one of his biggest influences. Though separated by nearly decade from when Joel released his final record of original songs in 1993 and when McMahon's piano-based pop punk band Something Corporate debuted in 1998. But McMahon's Billy Joel influences seem to come alive on McMahon's second act, Jack's Mannequin , and their third record  People and Things .  AMELIA JEAN, YOU WENT AND MARRIED A SOLIDER. Jack's Mannequin's People and Things is full of storytelling. According to an interview with  Meet the Musician , People and Things is the record on which McMahon processes his survival from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Although his previous record, The Glass Passenger , deals with survival, particularly on songs like " Swim ," People and Things deals with the aftermath--the thoughts on the road trips McMahon took across America. However, McMahon wrote several of the songs that ended up on Peo

Composed of former child actors  Jenny Lewis  and  Blake Sennett ,  Rilo Kiley  was an indie rock band from Los Angelos but signed to  Warner Brothers   for their final album,  Under the Blacklight .  The band's song " Pictures of Success " was featured on the mixtape  I wrote about last year.  Jenny Lewis often serves as the band's lead singer; however, on this track, Blake Sennett takes the lead vocals.   Under the Blacklight  is the band's final album with the exception of a  rarities compilation . After the release of  Under the Blacklight  and their subsequent tour to support the album, the band went on hiatus, which later turned into a break-up.  YOU'RE THE GIRL WHO WANTED MORE.  One of singer Jenny Lewis's most remembered roles on TV as a child actress was an  episode from a season 3 episode of  The Golden Girls , in which she plays the role of a Sunshine Cadet, a kind of Girl Scout, who volunteers to help the women with some house work. Blanche acc

Stephen Christian talked about each Anchor & Braille record on the Taco Boys podcast  when he was promoting his most recent project, Tension . He said that each record was made with different musicians, and his debut side project record Felt was made with local musicians in mind from around his hometown in Central Florida. Christian looked to friend and Copeland frontman Aaron Marsh to record the record, Copeland's drummer at the time  Johnathan Bucklew and Gasoline Heart 's Louis DiFabrizio on bass. When Christian debuted his LP, it seemed he had every intention of maintaining this small town sound. But then he moved to Nashville and started associating with other musicians. TEAR OFF YOUR SKIN. The   bonus DVD  release with the   Cities special edition shows the portrait of Stephen Christian as a lyricist, jotting down lines in notebooks as he sips coffee in Seattle. Then, in the studio, he'd drink herbal tea and at night inhale vapor for his falsetto notes on

Opening OneRepublic 's second record, Waking Up ,  is the experimental track " Made for You ." Release two years after their debut record Dreaming Out Loud , OneRepublic was busy releasing singles even between records. During this two year period, lead singer and chief songwriter for the band, Ryan Tedder , started writing for some of the biggest pop stars, including Beyoncé's "Halo" and Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," which controversially sounded like OneRepublic's "Secrets" later released on Waking Up. The second album from OneRepublic would answer whether the band was just a passing fad, a liner note in chart history, or mega stars.  PUT PEN TO PAPER, EVERYTHING WAS SINKING. "Made for You" opens the record. It's a lyrically sparse track full of mood and ambiance. OneRepublic quickly steps up their sound, a band of some classically-trained musicians and a penchant for hip-hop beats. Whereas, Dreaming Out Loud wa

Today we enjoy another track from Shura 's debut record, Nothing's Real . While Shura is an out and proud lesbian, she decided to release her first record mostly with ambiguous second person pronouns which can be interpreted by listeners however they wanted to interpret the song. Several songs on Nothing's Real refer to the same break up, and today's song " What Happened  to Us? " refers to the drifting apart in that break up. I WAS NEVER READY FOR YOUR LOVE. The Madonna for millennials as one magazine article called her, Shura's vibey first record captures the wonderment of growing up, even if there's a little pain involved. I've talked quite a bit about Nothing's Real and even did a track-by-track analysis in April. Today, I'm going to look at this one track and how it captures an unhealthy nostalgia about our past. At the core of the song, Shura talks about falling in love with someone who is a "fiction / someone [she] made up.&

Anberlin 's Blueprints for the Black Market was a strong debut for the band. The circumstances, the tours and the connections from those tours, though transcended the first record's success. First Anberlin headlined the Tooth & Nail Tour when Further Seems Forever  dropped off due to lead singer Jason Gleason leaving the band; this was Anberlin’s first major tour and they were upgraded to headliner. The band toured a lot on their first record and gained a considerable fan base. But touring came with the price of not being there for the band’s families. Touring paid off,  despite the hiccup of one band member getting too involved with the drugs and partying to fulfill his duties in the band.  WHEN YOUR ONLY FRIENDS ARE HOTEL ROOMS.  Never Take Friendship Personal turned Anberlin from a ‘90s-rock leaning band to an Emo band. The title of the opening track and the record come from the band’s decision to kick out guitarist Joey Bruce . Besides the opening track, all the ly