NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

You might know Filous if you get the bonus tracks of pop singers. He's an Austrian producer, musician, and remixer, and he's remixed Selena Gomez , Troye Sivan , Kodeline , and others. For " Feel Good Inc ." Filous teams up with electoro-pop singer-songwriter LissA to bring a new interpretation to Gorillaz ' 2005 hit, " Feel Good Inc. " The song has been covered by multiple artists, and while the original is the best, Filous's cover highlights the melancholy of the song by stripping the song of its bass-line, and leaning into it's minor chord melody. Filous's "FGI" is laidback. It's a perfect coffee shop cover of the track because coffee shop tracks often don't have rapping or words like "ass crack." While today's song of the day is by Filous, it's the artistry of the musicians behind Gorrilaz that make this song interesting. DON'T STOP. GET IT, GET IT! In 2001 Blur frontman Damon Albarn and animat

George (in Hangeul pronunciation   Gyu-jee ) debuted in 2017 as a solo R&B singer in South Korea. Before his solo career, he was a featured singer on several Korean hip-hop tracks. My first introduction to George was a track he sang on an Adoy record. Like many indie singers in George's particular K-pop sub-genre, George sings many of his songs in English, a topic I discussed with my students a few weeks ago. Whether it is a strategic plan to crossover in other countries or simply an artistic choice, these days non-Korean speakers can more easily delve into the indie music scene in Korea. Last year George teamed up with producer Cosmic Boy to release the EP Love in Summer . The title track evokes the nostalgia for summer days when love is really the only thing that matters, and this was the kind of song we needed to take our mind off of the pandemic. I GOT A DUMB THING TO SAY . There's this fairy tale we're told in Christian school. You're going to grow up one day a

The follow-up to their multi-platinum album Only by the Night , Come Around Sundown , may not be remembered like their previous album. However, the album scored a higher ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 due to their growth in fans from the last album. Last month, I chronicled the rise and fall of Kings of Leon and their reemergence to a very different rock scene. In that context, Come Around Sundown was the album cycle that lead singer Caleb Followill burned out and succumbed to the "Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle," throwing up on stage and cancelling the tour. Lyrically, Come Around Sundown  continues to explore the ghosts of the band's religious past with a dose of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll rebellion, all sung with moody bluesy guitars and a southern drawl. HE SWEAR'S HE'S GONNA GIVE IT UP, IT'S NEVER GONNA BE ENOUGH.  "Son, if you graduate from high school, you can do whatever you want. You can leave the farm, you can go to south. But do

  When I heard "Wake Me Up" on a NoiseTrade Holiday sampler when I was driving home from Tennessee through Atlanta to avoid an ice storm in the mountains, I couldn't help but wonder, "Is this Jars of Clay's Dan Haseltine?" Haseltine's soft voice has always kept Jars of Clay on the softer side of rock, despite their '90s grunge-era hit, "Flood." Though taking the name from a 1957 jazz album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, Haseltine's project with former Jars of Clay guitarist Matt Bronleewe and composer/producer Jeremy Bose was actually based on their love for 80s/90s electronic music. In 2013 the trio released their full-length album Freaks , which was mostly an overlooked release. The band hasn't done much since then, and Freaks might just be a one-off passion project for the trio. I'VE BEEN SCREAMING WITHOUT KNOWING. Haseltine's bread and butter, of course, is Contemporary Christian band, Jars of Clay. Coming onto the scen

Sylvan Esso is an electronic duet composed of vocalist Amelia Meath and electronic programmer/producer Nick Sanborn formed in Durham, North Carolina. The group had some success on the radio and album charts and even garnered a Grammy nomination, but their genre-bending sound of pop, rock, dance, and adult alternative has mostly gone under-appreciated. Like Oh Wonder, Meath and Sanborn are a couple, and they married in 2016. "Die Young" comes from the band's sophomore album. The standout feature of the track is Meath's vocals, sometimes sounding old fashioned, but the synths remind the listener that this is a modern sound. It's a modern romance between two characters who met by chance and gave meaning to each other's life.  I HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT BEFORE YOU MET ME. On Genius, listeners debate if Meath is talking about suicide or living recklessly. Some may argue that living recklessly with various substances was equal to suicide. However, took me back to a cl

  Formed in 2001 in Sincheon-dong, Seoul, South Korea, Nell is one of K-pop's few successful alternative rock bands. Taking their name from a 1994 Jodie Foster film by the same name, Nell is a sort of art-rock band whose lyrics in the original Korean have a literary quality more like the old-timey Korean ballads and less like modern K-pop. Taking influence from Brit rockers like Radiohead and Muse, Nell became known for their melancholy sound, especially prominent on the records Separation Anxiety and The Healing Process.  However, after a hiatus allowing all members of Nell to do their compulsory military service, the band came back with more optimistic music. The lead single, "Ocean of Light" speaks of forgetting past hangups and focusing on a brighter future. ARE YOU AFRAID EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVED IN WILL BECOME NOTHING? I found Nell back in 2013 when I was trying to find Korean Rock music. There were a few Korean bands back then. Busker Busker was an extremely popula

Starting in 1997, Eisley originally consisted of three sisters: Sherri, Chantaulle, and Stacy DuPree. Later they added their younger brother, Weston, and their cousin Garron. Forming in Tyler, Texas and performing at their parents' Christian coffee shop got the DuPree family band early exposure to the Christian music scene. But Eisley set their sights higher. While Eisley may not be a well-known band, they certainly have racked up indie cred over the years. Starting with opening for Coldplay to touring to playing SXSW, playing Conan, touring with the likes of Switchfoot, MuteMath, New Found Glory, Lovedrug, and Taking Back Sunday. All but cousins Sherri and Garron DuPree remain in the band as one by one the siblings married and/or moved onto other music projects. FALL...LIKE A SPARROW. When you hear a DuPree sister singing, you instantly know it's a DuPree sister. However, you probably can't figure out who is who. The sisters have contributed to quite a few pop-punk and Chr