“This Is Why” by Paramore, Sunday, May 7, 2023
In 2018, Taylor Swift did the unthinkable. Country music stars had been expected to be either right-leaning or a-political. Although Swift wasn't a country music star in 2018, she was still associated with the genre. But as a resident of Tennessee, Swift came out publicly in support of two Democratic candidates in a midterm race. It took a Trump presidency and the callousness towards women's and minority issues to make Miss Americana speak up.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. On the opening night of Taylor Swift's Era's tour in Scottsdale, Arizona, another band of somewhat reluctant activists opened the show, Paramore. Most of the opening acts on the Eras tour include indie rockers or singer-songwriters, mostly female, feminist, and LGBTQ+ or allies. As my readers already know, Paramore is a band fronted by Hayley Williams and consisting of a consistent and revolving door of male band members. Paramore's presence on the Eras tour coincides with their own headlining tour supporting their latest record This Is Why, which the band released in February. When Paramore dropped the self-titled lead single for the record and announced the album last year, fans were surprised given that the conflicts between the band members and former band members making a return seemed unlikely. Some fans thought of the final song on After Laughter, "Tell Me How" as a swan song for the band. This was especially apparent when the band announced a hiatus after touring After Laughter in 2018 with Williams releasing a solo record in 2020, Petals for Armor, and drummer Zac Farro releasing music with his side project HalfNoise.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. Little by little in Haley Williams' tenure with Paramore and as an artist, helped the singer to speak out about issues she cared about. While Paramore was never officially a Christian band, the circles the band started out with and band members, including Williams' particularly in the early days of the band, own profession for Christianity has caused the band to fall under scrutiny that the band's completely secular contemporaries never had to deal with. The rifts in Paramore's history have to do with religion, particularly a line on the band's third record Brand New Eyes, "The truth never set me free" on the track "Ignorance," and Williams' support for the LGBTQ+ community. Paramore went from a band that showed up for every Bible study on The Vans Warped Tour to the band that "gained the whole world and lost its soul," and Paramore was probably judged harsher because they were female-fronted. Today's song, "This Is Why" deals with scrutiny head on. It's an anthem for those who were told that "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." But since Paramore went on hiatus, the politics of the world have only gotten worse and everyone has to stand up for what they believe in before more rights are taken away. It's not comfortable to leave the house, especially when you've been there quarantining since early 2020. But it's time to get out there and fight for what's right.
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