I remember flicking through the channels and coming across 'Pressure' and just staring. At the time, I was into The Pussycat Dolls, Kelly Clarkson and Natasha Bedingfield. I did like Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park but this was different and just so enticing.
Hayley Williams, the lead singer/front women, is exactly what you want in any band. A good singer, interesting and pretty, somewhat like Gwen Stefani. With the added help of the Farro brothers, Josh and Zac, and Jeremy Davis in the group, Paramore were a force to be reckoned with. And after seeing their first video, I was hooked.
But they seem to go under the radar after this video, there were some releases, such as Emergency and All We Know is Falling. At this time Jeremy had left the group.
But then Misery Business from their second album, Riot!, came out in 2007 and that changed everything.
It was like the band was screaming for attention, especially Hayley with her bright orange hair, her hair later beginning her trademark. I personally love this track, I remember being 18 and going to Propaganda at Carling Academy (now called O2 Academy) and screaming along to the words with a friend. I had coloured jeans, bleached a part of my hair, covered one eye, incorporated black hoodies in my wardrobe and I realise now that Hayley had a major influence on me. As I'm sure many others too.
After Misery Business came Hallelujah, Crushcrushcrush and That's What You Get from the same album.
Hayley changing her look for each video. The Riot! album reminds me so much of my time at college, I have alot of memories attached to the album so that kinda makes sense.
Then came Decode and Caught Myself in 2008 from the Twilight soundtrack.
These tracks were eerie but went so well with the movie, I would even go far as saying they were better then the movie. I like these two tracks so much, I have them in the acoustic version on my iPod. GEEK!
Then in 2009, came the Brand New Eyes album. The album was different. I remember buying it the day it came out and listening to it, as soon as I got home. I was a little disappointed because it just wasn't what I expected and thought it was kind of Christian Rock. It grew on me and I do love some of the tracks now but I still like Riot! alot more.
The first single off the album, Ignorance, was released in 2009 and was a sure fire hit. The video was their trademark of performing but it had a little story attached to it and saw a slight atmosphere. Like No Doubt's Don't Speak, you could sense the tension in the video.
After Ignorance came Brick by Boring Brick, The Only Exception, Careful and Playing God.
The Only Exception being the standout track and Playing God's lyrics being so relatable as I am the same age as Hayley. This album brings back memories of Bristol and uni for me, I feel like Paramore pretty much hold my life in their albums.
In 2009, I went to see Paramore live for the first time and as I am a die-hard fan, it was a dream come true. They were really good and they were supported by You Me at Six, so it was emo heaven.
After the Brand New Eyes album, they tried their hand at a soundtrack again and this time, it was for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I'm not a huge fan of the track and had lost interest in them at this point in 2011.
Then the Farro brothers left and blamed Hayley for everything. Especially Josh, who had a relationship with her. Hayley didn't respond and instead put it all in their present album, Paramore. You can definitely see a shift in their music, its a little more grown. There's a Nashville influence and it feels they were given free reign on it.
The stand out tracks for me are Grow Up, Fast in My Car and (One of Those) Crazy Girls.
And just couple weeks ago, on the 23rd September, a group of fans, including myself, descended upon LG Arena to see Paramore. And to see those tracks live plus a few old favourites.
As you can see from my pictures and video, it was pretty friggin' awesome. They seem to have grown as performers, Hayley's voice has become stronger and even though the brothers are no longer part of the band, they are very strong as a band. Every song sounded so much better live and I was listening to only them until around a week ago. I feel I have become obsessed again.
Overall, I am a Parawhore
Thats all
xx
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