NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

After incredible success after releasing their comeback single last fall, " This Is Why " which would be the title track to the album the band released in February, 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, was 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 s

  Paramore 's 2017 album  After Laughter   not only took the band in a new direction musically, the lyrics of the band's latest album started a conversation about mental health.  Lead singer Haley Williams transcends the emo genre in this mature discussion about the depression that followed her divorce, band mate controversies, and media scrutiny.  The album's opening track and first single, " Hard Times ," sets the tone for the album along with calling on the motif of weather, all the while disguising itself as an upbeat, positive track musically. It's not, though.  YOU HIT ME WITH LIGHTNING.  I just realized the other day that March is Women's History month, so today, I decided to make a playlist titled  Women Rock: A Playlist Celebrating Women in Music Pt. I.  This is a compilation of songs from my blog featuring female artists who have made a difference in the genre that they play. Enjoy!

Next Friday, we'll see the return of Paramore after a five-year hiatus. Following the release of 2017's After Laughter and the promotional tours, the band decided to take an indefinite break. Next week the band will release This Is Why , which seems like a return to form for the band that got their start in pop-punk and emo. In the the six years between After Laughter and This Is Why, pop-punk made a comeback; Paramore's former guitarist Josh Farro and lead singer received writing credits on Olivia Rodrigo ’s mega-hit “ good 4 u ” in 2021 for a controversial interpolation.  I'M OFF CAFFEINE ON DOCTOR'S ORDERS. On   Paramore's 2017 After Laughter  lead singer Haley Williams begins to process her divorce from New Found Glory 's guitarist Chad Gilbert . After touring and promoting After Laughter, Paramore took an indefinite hiatus. Williams started writing music which eventually became 2020's Petals for Armor , an album in which she analyzes her divorc

  2017's  After Laughter   is arguably the best  Paramore  record both lyrically and musically. Musically, it's a pop album borrowing synths from the '80s, interesting drum arrangement, and some pensive guitars here and there. And although most songs are in major keys, lead singer and lyricist  Haley Williams  masterfully disguises some of the band's darkest lyrics with smiles and summertime vibes.  The name of the album itself is telling. Haley Williams explains that the meaning is the expression the faces of a room full of people stop laughing. Smiles start to fade, maybe some tears are wiped away. While you may debate whether this band fits into their emo punk rock sound, the lyrics are an unadulterated emotional roller coaster. I CAN'T CALL YOU A STRANGER, BUT I CAN'T CALL YOU.   Winter days are the time for last tracks of the album. Cold days indoors with instrumentals make you reflect on life and relationships. As a piano ballad, " Tell Me How "

  I was wrong about twenty one pilots , and the reason I'm willing to admit that is after I spent time with their album released last year, Scaled and Icy , I realized that this duo was much more than who I thought they were.   Mostly gone--but not entirely--are the emo rapping and trap beats that turned me off of the group when they debuted. The lyrics on Scaled and Icy, though, are emotional, and singer Tyler Joseph masterfully weaves clichés, esoteric messages for fans, current lingo, and new turns of phrase all to a funky piano/guitar groove. Scaled and Icy is in the vein of Paramore 's After Laughter , on the surface it's fun and light-hearted, but when you spend a little time with the lyrics, you're bound to discover a surprising depth. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS. I was thinking about albums of the year and how last year I didn't seem to have one. In 2019 I was obsessed with Mike Mains & the Branches ' When We Were in Love . And although I di

Paramore 's 2017 album After Laughter not only took the band in a new direction musically, the lyrics of the band's latest album started a conversation about mental health.  Lead singer Haley Williams transcends the emo genre in this mature discussion about the depression that followed her divorce, band mate controversies, and media scrutiny.  The album's opening track and first single, " Hard Times ," sets the tone for the album along with calling on the motif of weather, all the while disguising itself as an upbeat, positive track musically. It's not, though.  YOU HIT ME WITH LIGHTNING. I just realized the other day that March is Women's History month, so today, I decided to make a playlist titled  Women Rock: A Playlist Celebrating Women in Music Pt. I. This is a compilation of songs from my blog featuring female artists who have made a difference in the genre that they play. Enjoy! Tracklist: 1. "Hard Times" by Paramore. The

Paramore 's second album Riot! made the pop-punk emo band of late millennial famous with the summer Alternative Rock and pop radio hit " Misery Business ," which is still arguably the band's signature hit. Usually, though, a band's signature hit is either their highest charting song or their located within the era of the band's commercial peak. However, seven years after the summer of "Misery Business," Paramore charted the highest with their 2014 final single from their eponymous record, " Ain't It Fun ." This shift from emo to more conventional pop was in line with fellow bands Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco did as well. Just as the scene kids were growing up as every generation of rebellious rock 'n' roll had, "Ain't It Fun" is a song about growing up and realizing that the world isn't as easy as you once thought it was. It may not be punk-rock, but it's certainly still got some emo sentimentali

Shura 's 2016 debut, Nothing's Real made a splash in the U.K. and Europe, but the electro-pop singer-songwriter didn't make a huge impact on the American charts, which is a shame. Hits like " What's It Gonna Be? " and " What Happened to Us? " were perfect hits for the mid-summer of the album's release, and I find that I come back to to it every spring to early fall. But while her contemporaries like Ellie Goulding and Carly Rae Jepsen keep songs pretty light and upbeat, there's a sadness and introversion that hides the lyrics beneath even the most dance-floor worthy tracks. SMALL CHANGE IN THE UNIVERSE . The daughter of a British documentary filmmaker, Shura uses a documentary style motif throughout  Nothing's Real,  featuring audio of the Shura as a child speaking and singing. Also in the vein of a documentary, Shura sings about her break up in third person "Make It Up." Other songs, like "Indecision" and "Kidz