NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Following the singles " Hallucinations " and " Death of Me " from the band's EP Hallucinations ,  Pvris   released the single " Dead Weight " from the third album  Use Me . The band has talked extensively about their new sound, moving from a conventional female-fronted rock band to, well, how would you classify Pvris? Each song on Use Me could fit into the genre of Alternative, one of the loosest genre descriptions today. Whether it's the programed drums, the pop hooks, the noisy guitars, or the throbbing bass, Pvris is now a rock-inspired dark pop band, or duo as of now. TAKING WINGS OFF A GODDESS. Of course music doesn't need to be neatly classified. I spend a lot of time thinking about what gets classified as Alternative, though, and it makes me think that my definition that I coined back in the early '00s was correct. At that time, I began to see rock bands that incorporating instruments and electronic programing that had not been in ro...

Signed to Columbia/CBS Records   in 1984 under the "tacky" and "tongue-in-cheek" moniker The Baseball Boys, the London-based band quickly changed their name to The Outfield . The band's chief lyricist and guitarist John Spinks got the idea for a baseball-themed band when watched the movie The Warriors . The band's American manager convinced the band to change their name. Spinks was a fan of both American sports, particularly baseball and football because those sports were "far more business, far more spectacle, than British sports." The "American-sounding band" found their earliest success in America, not the U.K., starting with 1985's hit " Your Love ." NO SECOND CHANCE, NO GIVING UP. The Outfield has a string of hits after "Your Love" between 1985 and 1990, but their popularity faded with the rest of the New Wavers. Most of their album titles are named after baseball references, starting with their debut Play De...

After The Fray 's eponymous second record, they recorded their third album, Scars & Stories with legendary producer Brenden O'Brien . Lead singer Isaac Slade stated that he admired O'Brien's work with Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen , and hoped to create a record that was closer to their live show experience. The album was released in February of 2012, receiving mixed reviews. Critics praised O'Brian's production, but they were getting tired of The Fray and mid-tempo pop-rock bands.  I SEE THE EMPIRE FALLING TO HER KNEES. Scars & Stories had a promising first week, selling 87,000 copies and debuting at #4 on Billboard's 200 Album charts. The band promoted two singles: " Heartbeat " and " Run for Your Life ." The former barely missed the Top 40, charting only at #42, and the later only charted in Australia and on the Adult Pop Songs chart in America. While The Fray's songs may come across as unoriginal, Scars & Stories ...

When you’re the lead singer to one of the biggest Christian Rock acts of all time and you want to start a new, completely different musical project, what do you do? In 2009 Dan Haseltine came up with a new electronic pop concept. Unlike the beginning of their career, Haseltine’s other band Jars of Clay was becoming more and more boxed into the Contemporary Christian scene. The band played churches and had  a guaranteed income from fans. However, when Haseltine gathered together two of his friends, Nashville CCM/ Country producer and multi-instrumentalist Jeremey Bose and former Jars of Clay guitarist Matt Bronleewe forming the group The Hawk in Paris , Haseltine was free to go in whatever lyrical direction he wanted to.  IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW, YOU’LL LEAVE ME BETTER THAN I WAS BEFORE. Taking their name from a 1957 album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins , The Hawk in Paris is Dan Haseltine’s experimentation with pop music. According to Halestine when he talked with Frank Jenks...

Last summer, Taeyeon released her first single from the album she released on Valentine’s Day this year, INVU . The disco-infused lead single, “ Weekend ,” wasn’t completely indicative of the album's style. With a variety of ballads, house, and dance songs, INVU is a solid third record from the now legendary former Girls’ Generation vocalist. Today’s song, “ Siren ,” is a power ballad located as track 6 of a 13-song album. It’s a song about an unhealthy relationship that beckons the speaker to stay in it. Ultimately does she dive in or get out of the water?     An ancient painting of sirens in  The Odyssey. Source . CRUEL FANTASY. Today’s song, “Siren,” uses the image of a mythical creature from ancient Greek and Roman legends. Creatures with a beautiful song that lure sailors to perilous shallow, rocky waters appear in Homer’s The Odyssey . In book 12, Circe advises Odysseus not to listen to their “honey-sweet tones” that “bewitch everybody who approaches them.” B...

Fun, pretentious, novelty, inauthentic. Call it what you want, but Fearless Records ' Punk Goes... series has been around for a while. Punk purists will point out that the compilations are made up of mid-tier Emo, Pop-Punk, and Post-Hardcore bands, rather than real punk bands. While music people may debate what is really punk, Fearless Records helped to solidify a punk-rock-inspired scene starting with their first release Punk Goes Metal in 2000. Punk Goes Pop followed in 2002. After releasing several other compilations, Punk Goes Pop 2 was released in 2009.  BOYS CALL YOU SEXY. Today's song comes from the Los Angeles burlesque-turned-mainstream pop act   The Pussycat Dolls . Founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, and performing at The Viper Room on Thursday nights in the '90s, the group's lineup fluctuated before Antin decided to take her group to the radio. Former Dolls included Christina Applegate , Christina Aguilera , and Carmen Electra . The original co...

Released as a single in May of 2020, the second track on Harry Styles ' Fine Line , " Watermelon Sugar " was bound to be a hit. The song was saved as the fourth single from Fine Line after the more wintery singles, " Lights Up ," " Adore You ," and " Falling ." Fine Line was already massive before "Watermelon Sugar." It currently holds the record for the biggest sales week of a solo male British singer. And while Styles'  rock-influenced eponymous first solo record also topped Billboard 's album sales , Fine Line  packs a more memorable punch. And it's that sugary, sweet sound that landed the album in  Rolling Stone' s " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ." TASTES LIKE STRAWBERRIES. If the world had been normal in 2020, "Watermelon Sugar" would have simply been a tasty treat. The pop charts would still have its TikTokers and Doja Cats . He'd still contend with Olivia Rodrigo , and maybe Sam Smi...