“The News” by Paramore (updated repost), Saturday, May 25, 2024
After incredible success after releasing their comeback single last fall, "This Is Why" which was the title track to the album the band released in February last year, Paramore released their second single, "The News." Both singles prepared the listener for a Paramore album unlike anything that the band had recorded before. "This Is Why" featured the self-defeating lyrics fans have come to expect from lead singer Haley Williams and the song had a certain Paramore catchiness, but the funky bass and classic rock guitar explored musical territory the band had not yet shared with their listeners.
A WAR RIGHT BEHIND MY EYES. "The News," however, is a hard rock socially-conscious track, darker than most of the band's prior songs. The same day that Paramore released the single, they also released a video for the song. The video (see below) features Haley Williams hypnotized by a television, which becomes a catatonic state in the video. As the second single and the second track on This Is Why, "The News" works in tandem with the rest of the songs to answer the question posed by the album's title. While the line is "This is why I don't leave the house" critics and fans have interpreted the real question posed by This Is Why is the reason the band got back together. During the pandemic, fans wondered if Williams' solo work could fill the hole left in music without Paramore. After all, there does seem to be a lyrical progression from After Laughter to Petals for Armor, and This Is Why seems to be an update on Williams' mental health. But while Paramore’s front-woman is a very capable solo artist, the new Paramore tracks, full of passion, "spite and sweet revenge" seem to show that the three bandmates left in the messy band after two decades of in-fighting are happiest when they make music about their frustrations.
A WAR ON THE FAR SIDE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET. "The News" talks about the unhealthy relationship many of us have with the news. This Is Why is the most overt political statement Paramore has ever made in their music, but that political statement comes from Haley Williams refusing to silence her opinions. Of course, Williams' statements on faith on the band's third record Brand New Eyes, particularly "Ignorance," was notably the first fracture when Williams declared "The truth never set me free" contradicting the Bible verse John 8:32, which states "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (NIV). The backlash and support from this line emboldened Williams to speak out about other things, including supporting the band's LGBTQ+ fans in 2020. Williams has also supported Black Lives Matter and recently spoke out against the anti-drag laws proposed in her home state of Tennessee. But constantly dealing with the backlash of speaking out against what Christianity stands for in the 2020s gets exhausting. Since Paramore has been away, so much has happened. The Christian values the band was raised are on trial, and the Trump years and all that the news shows us is that those values may have caused the issues that we face today. It would be one thing if the gloom and doom of the pandemic finished and the villainous politicians went to jail and the world was a little less eventful. Instead, the news keeps flooding in and it's overwhelming. Why do I check the news when I take a break at work or even when I'm blogging? It's not like there's going to be something amazing that's going to give me energy to get back to work. But is cutting it out completely healthy? "Turn on turn off the news!"
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