NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

" My my, hey hey/ Rock 'n' Roll is here to stay" declares Neil Young in his 1978 song.  Rock music has had lasting presence in pop culture since the age of Chuck Berry and Little Richard . Some points in the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and '00s the genre took the primary spots on radio charts outside of the genre. However, around the end of the '00s, Hip Hop decimated the genre. The rock bands left standing, mostly traded their axes for acoustic guitar, keyboards, EDM beats, or Trap rhythms. Much of the rock music was indistinguishable from other genres, and that trend continues into the 2020s. However, just as rock bands cross over to the pop charts, the late 2010s to 2021 is seeing pop singers experiment with rock music. From Miley Cyrus performing with Metallica to rappers like Post Malone and Machine Gun Kelly flirting with emo, some may argue that Rock is seeing a mainstream resurgence. Enter Olivia Rodrigo 's " good 4 u ," t...

On The Labeled Podcast 's  first season , Aaron Marsh talked about the history of their first album, Beneath Medicine Tree. The Copeland singer claimed that there were no Christian Copeland songs; however, songs on Copeland albums that sound like they speak about faith are inspired by his grandmother. This month we return to Copeland's second record, In Motion , an album that is perhaps Copeland's most Christian-sounding record. "You Have My Attention" is a very spiritual song. It uses Christian terminology to build the central metaphor. Whether the relationship is with God, Marsh's grandmother, or an idea who "has [his] attention like a shout through an empty sanctuary" yet "speak[s] but a whisper," "You Have My Attention" is a powerful song about a muse or a force that blesses the speaker. A holy spirit or the Holy Spirit carries this tune, grabbing the listener's attention when the hectic afternoon lets up for just a momen...

In the early 2010's Rock music began to fall out of favor. The artists who took up the call to keep the music alive and vital were often criticized as being too poppy. When writing Linkin Park's The Hunting Party, the band pivoted from the calmer electronic elements they had slowly been incorporating into their music and returned to their influences, '90s hard rock. Personally, I feel that The Hunting Party is the least listenable Linkin Park albums followed by their sloppy pop attempt on their follow up record, One More Light . The Hunting Party sounds like under-produced, early P.O.D.--all intensity, with nothing really interesting drawing the listener in. Laced with features from hard rock, metal, and hip hop, the album, in theory should be awesome. Hybrid Theory was an intense album, both lyrically and musically, but electronics and production made the band stand out among the Korns and Limp Bizkits of the day. However, The Hunting Party does contain one throw-back soun...

009 Sound System has been called the "National Anthem of YouTube." Released under the moniker 009 Sound System, composer Alexander Perls has lent most of the group's work to the Creative Commons. Songs like "Born to Be Wasted" have appeared in numerous YouTube videos because music from the Creative Commons is free for YouTube creators to use. The band, 009 Sound System appears close to the top of the list. Furthermore, YouTube introduced a program in 2007 called AudioSwap to replace copyrighted material with material in the Creative Commons, hence, songs like "Born to Be Wasted" appeared in many YouTube videos. I discovered this song when clicking on an AFI song that had been removed for copyright violation. I loved the feel to "Born to Be Wasted," so I discovered who the band really was through Shazam.  THE CAR'S GOIN' FAST, GONNA SPEED IT UP.  "Born to Be Wasted" isn't a deep song, by any means. But before knocking the...

Many fans may have been introduced to Tegan and Sara when Meredith Grey and Christina Yang danced to their early acoustic, angry girl music on Grey's Anatomy ' s earlier seasons. The musical duo of Calgary-born identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin started on the acoustic guitar at home and eventually lead to being signed on Neil Young 's label, Vapor Records . The band gained traction in the indie scene. The White Stripes covered one of their songs, co-writing with Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie also helped them gain indie cred in their early career. But in 2013, the duo changed directions. The result was the big-production, synth pop-driven Heartthrob . HERE COMES THE RUSH BEFORE WE TOUCH. “ Closer ,” Heartthrob ’s opening track and lead single, sees the sisters explore new lyrical territory in addition to their musical change up. Tegan sings lead vocals, but Sara encouraged her to sing a straight-up love song, without the dark and dreary lyrical content the group ...

John Mayer released his first studio album,  Room for Squares,  20 years ago, in June 2001 on an indie label and rereleased it on September 18, 2001 on Columbia Records, though his first single, "No Such Thing" didn't hit the radio until February 2002. Room sold over 4 million copies and was Mayer's most commercially successful album. Mayer's success comes after dropping out of college--Berklee College of Music, a college in Boston where many contemporary musicians attended--and moving to Atlanta to begin writing and producing music with fellow musician Clay Cook. After the success of his first album, Mayer became a collaborator with other singer-songwriters, both his contemporaries and his influences. The songs on Room for Squares  are often autobiographical. Mayer set out to be the '70s singer songwriter for the new millennium. Born in 1977, the 24 year old sings about going back to his home when he was six years old in "83." He uses some effective...

Shawn Mendes's first four albums all debuted at number one on Billboard's Hot 200 Album Chart. Born in 1998, he holds the records of being the youngest artist ever to achieve a number one record, the youngest artist ever to achieve two number one records, then three number one records, then four number one records. Like Troye Sivan, Charlie Puth, and Justin Bieber, Mendes gained popularity through posting his songs--first covers, then originals--on YouTube. Handwritten, Mendes's debut album was released in 2015 when the singer was sixteen years old. Filled with acoustic guitar ballads, like the UK number 1 hit, "Stitches," audiences found that the Canadian self-taught guitar-playing singer's music was  refreshing voice in pop music.  "Imagination" was released on  Handwritten (Deluxe Edition)   and is a straight-forward pop song about teenage infatuation.  MAYBE THIS WILL BE THE NIGHT. Erasmus said in his magnum opus The Praise of Folly , "Every...