NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

I was in a coffee shop in Sinsa, a neighborhood near Gangnam in Seoul, when I first heard  Kodaline . The Irish band's debut album,  In a Perfect World ,  and the EPs containing different versions of songs from around that time were perfect for a cup of coffee. Subsequent albums have made the band sound like they were striving to be another  Coldplay , but they got it right the first time on their debut.  I'm recommending the acoustic version of " Brand New Day ," featuring  Nina Nesbitt . I WANNA TRAVEL THE WORLD, BUT I JUST CAN'T DO IT ALONE.  The  lyrics   of "Brand New Day"  talk about "outgrowing your hometown" and wanting to "travel the world" with someone. As someone who could be said to be (still) on that journey, I remember the feelings of travel thirst. I got to the end of my bachelor's degree and thought about the constraints of going back home to North Carolina. I thought about how it would be a few years of struggle i

  Waking Ashland was a band signed first to Tooth & Nail Records then Immortal Records . The band release two records, Composure in 2005 and The Well in 2007 before disbanding. Lead singer Jonathan Jones went on to form the band We Shot the Moon with two members from Sherwood , Dan Koch and Joe Greenetz , who also played in Waking Ashland. As for Waking Ashland, Composure was a sleeper hit on Tooth & Nail Records similar to Watashi Wa 's music. The two bands both relied on calmer, often organic sounds that failed to garner the audience to compete with the harder bands the label steered toward in the mid-'00s.  TO PROVE WE'RE SOMETHING, BUT WE'RE STARVING. Another comparison between Waking Ashland and Watashi Wa is that both bands went on to form other bands, moving from Tooth & Nail Records to the now defunct, often calmer emo label The Militia Group . In Watashi Wa's case, the band formed first Eager Seas and then Lakes . Interestingly Tooth &am

  It's difficult to pick a single track from You Are My Sunshine to represent a specific feeling. Although Copeland released the record in the fall of 2008, my first year off at college, it was really the dead of winter of 2009 that has burned this record into my memory. The winter of 2009 was particularly cold, even for East Tennessee. There were lots of gray days which had nothing particularly special but Easy Mac and fresh laundry. Saturday nights or Sundays some friends would drive into Chattanooga for dinner and then we’d just go back to the dorm to do our homework. Rather mundane stuff. This album was a soundtrack to those gray days. Songs like " Should You Return " was a song of hope that spring would finally come. " The Grey Man " was a song about wallowing in the uncertainty of things ever looking up. " Chin Up " was a melancholic song about the futility of trying too hard--though the song never actually makes you want to give up.  I'M A

  Following up their 2013 album  Big TV , West-London-based post-punk band  White Lies  released their fourth album  Friends   in 2016. The album continues on the band's homage to the '80s, though the synths are not always as prominent as their first and third albums. Lyrical themes deal with friendship deterioration, alienation, and loneliness, yet the ebullience of the music often disguises the sadness in the lyrics. NO, I'M NOT GOING TO BREAK YOUR HEART.  White Lies started their career on a high note in the UK, but never really crossed over to the American market. The band formed in 2007 after ending an indie rock band called  Fear of Flying  the three member members of White Lies played in high school. In high school, the boys enjoyed listening to groups like  Talking Heads  and  Franz Ferdinand , but with the inception of White Lies, the band claimed musical influence from  Joy Division , Echo & the Bunnymen , and The Killers . The band decided to take a gap year

When your first American hit is the second biggest song of the year, how do you follow that up? When your signature song has been called bubblegum and immature, how do you change your image to show that you're an adult with adult relationships, without getting X-rated? These were two questions  Carly Rae Jepsen  answered in her follow up to  Kiss   in  E-MO-TION .  If those two questions were on the interview, Jespsen would have the job on the merits of her 2015 effort. And as I enter the fifth year of my playlists and the third year of the blog, there are certain perennial favorites that show up maybe too often for some. I chose “ Run Away with Me ” at the beginning of the year for four of those years because of the fresh renewal this song gives me as my winter vacation begins. YOU’RE STUCK IN MY HEAD, STUCK IN MY HEART, STUCK IN MY BODY.  Sure, if your introduction to  E-MO-TION  was the first single " I Really Like You " turned you off as another " Call Me Maybe &

It’s a new year, time for NewJeans . Girl groups are killing it in South Korea right now, and NewJeans, formed by former visual director for SM Entertainment   Min Heejin (민희진). the visual director of some of SHINEE ’s biggest albums including Lucifer   and View  and most notably f(x)’s Pink Tape. NewJeans, Min’s latest effort are everywhere in Korea and making a splash outside of Korea as well. Maybe we’ll get into their story another day. Instead, I want to introduce my 2023+ playlist. This year, I’ll be including songs both from my blog and some bonus tracks not featured in my blog. Those bonus tracks will be new tracks by artists whom I cover an older track. Again, I will be focusing on tracks released or popular within the years of 2021-2023.  Let’s enjoy some new music! Listen to 2023+ on Spotify  

  Coming off the heels of  Years & Years ' second album,  Palo Santo , the group collaborated with British House DJ and producer  Jax Jones  for his debut album  Snacks . The song " Play " was released as a single in November of 2018 and would find a place on deluxe editions of  Palo Santo  like " Up in Flames ." The two songs don't fit into the story of the futuristic queer/ religious concept album. Instead, "Play" follows Jones's concept. A colorful music video with  nostalgic goodies, the sweets and toys of a millennial's childhood, along with the single's artwork, clearly inspired by Play-Doh, remind listeners of playtime and all of the goodness of a childhood full of sugary cereal, matchbox cars, and action figures. The disco beat and  Olly Alexander 's vocals take that childhood playtime nostalgia to a late-night dance hall. MY PHILOSOPHY DON'T LET NOBODY COME TOO CLOSE . The status quo of the song is defensiveness. Th