NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

If you listen to Third Eye Blind 's A Collection, the band's greatest hits compilation, half of the songs on the compilation come from the band's first self-titled record. The San-Francisco-formed rock band scored their biggest hits in the late '90s, taking alternative rock stations by storm with their edgy lyrics and pop-rock that sometimes flirts with hip hop influences. The final single, " Jumper ," from an album full of songs about sex and drugs is the story about a friend of the band's manager who committed suicide when he was in high school. In an interview with Songfacts lead singer Stephan Jenkins talks about how the song transformed from a lament to a song of empowerment. ICING OVER A SECRET PAIN.   In the Songfacts  interview, Jenkins talks about how "Jumper" was originally "a noir about a guy who jumped off a bridge and killed himself because he was gay." But the song doesn't sound like a dark tune. Like most of the son

At this point, you probably know a little about the story of how a song from 1985 became a number 1 hit in 2022 thanks to being featured in a key scene in the Netflix series Stranger Things . When one of the biggest shows on Netflix returned in May after nearly a three-year hiatus, a key scene featured the opening track to Kate Bush 's fifth record Hounds of Love , " Running Up That Hill" (A Deal with God) . The song never topped the charts during its original promotion, peaking at number 3 in the UK in 1985, and was even banned in some European countries for mentioning God in the song. Today, you'll hear countless covers of the song and hear it in TikTok and Instagram videos constantly. UNAWARE I'M TEARING YOU ASUNDER. Kate Bush is a name I should have been more aware of given how influential the singer-songwriter is on modern electronic dance music and modern pop. I think I first came across her name as influence when reading the music section of Attitude se

Today we dive back into the Korean Indie wave with another song of From the Airport 's. After releasing several singles and promoting themselves in the Hongdae club scene, the duo released several singles before their first EP, Chemical Love in 2014. The duo mixes rock and electronic sounds on this EP, mostly sticking to a formula of uplifting and sometimes inspiring melodies and lyrics. However, like on their prior singles " Everyone's All Right " and its B-side " Raining " (which is also included on Chemical Love ) and " Timelines " (also on Chemical Love ), the cover art and some of the songs on Chemical Love evoke a dark side to the otherwise ebullient electro-pop rock duo.   FLOCKS OF BUTTERFLIES TRAVEL TO LOOK FOR ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS. Many of the tracks that finally made it onto the band's debut record, You Could Imagine were the singles and the tracks from the band's EP. Today's song, "Chemical Love" is a discussion

  After her major breakthrough hit, " Lights " in 2010, Ellie Goulding became an international star. The UK singer has had a slew of hits following "Lights." In her two singles with Calvin Harris , " I Need Your Love " and " Outside ," Goulding shows her radiance, singing bright EDM. While "Lights" remains her biggest Hot 100 hit, Goulding's second biggest song was released prior to her third record Delirium . While that song appears as track 9 on the eclectic record, it was the film Fifty Shades of Grey that " Love Me Like You Do " is associated with, not Delirium.  WAIT, I COULD HAVE REALLY LIKED YOU.  In 2015, I thought Delirium was a great record, on par with Carly Rae Jepsen 's Emotion . But   in the years since its release, I certainly haven't revisited Delirium as much as Emotion. Both records are long, but Emotion seems more cohesive and in retrospect. Delirium feels long listening to it in 2022. From th

  Put on George Ezra 's Wanted on Voyage , and you hear a modern folk-rock record with some pop appeal. Ezra immediately draws listeners in with " Blame It on Me ." Throughout the record we hear sparse rock 'n'roll electric guitars and rhythmic acoustics, but Ezra isn't afraid to add keys or synthesizers for effect here and there. But while the instrumentation is good on the record, what stands out most is Ezra's deep voice. Coming from a time in the '00s when a high voice was everything for pop and rock music, George Ezra's bass-baritone range reminds listeners of old-time music, sung by old-time singers who are either elderly or who have died long ago.  A statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington Station, London. From Flickr. Photo by Martin Pettitt . IN EVERY SONG YOUR FATHER SUNG. But then watch the music videos or catch a live performance from George Ezra's first album cycle, Wanted on Voyage, and you see the source of that distinct, sexy, o

The Cinema released two albums: 2011's My Blood Is Full of Airplanes  and 2014's Talking In Your Sleep . The band formed when Indie rock group Lydia took a hiatus after their keyboardist and co-vocalist Mindy White decided to leave the band and form another project with Copeland 's Bryan and Stephen Laurenson under the appellation States . Lydia's lead vocalist, Leighton Antelman formed The Cinema with Lydia's producer, Matt Malpass .    I WON'T TELL IF YOU DON'T ASK. On The Cinema's second record, Talking In Your Sleep, the band features former Lydia bandmate Mindy White on the song " Punchline " and Copeland's vocalist Aaron Marsh on the second track " Turn It On ." The Aaron Marsh feature is how I found this band when I was going through AppleMusic a few years ago looking for songs that featured Marsh or bands that were produced by him. On the audio commentary for Talking In Your Sleep, Matt Malpass explains that " T

The Beautiful Letdown was the peak of Switchfoot 's career. When lead singer Jon Foreman was reflecting on his career on The Load Out Music Podcast last year, he said that the band decided to follow up their most successful pop record with one that critiques the American Dream, a somewhat controversial topic with Christian listeners. The opening track, " Lonely Nation ," warns listeners about consumerism and how it just creates social fragmentation and a desire for more. "Lonely Nation" is the representative song for my Independence Day mix called American Dreams: Hope for a Better Future. This playlist is far from perfect. Certainly it needs more diversity in style and artists' voices. But I hope that the songs on this playlist offer an alternative to blind patriotism. After all, patriotism shouldn't be blind nationalism, but rather a peaceful discourse between conflicting ideals. In a world where everything seems to be falling apart, it's so mu