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Showing posts with the label Paramore

"Ain't It Fun" by Paramore, Tuesday, December 17, 2024 (repost)

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  Paramore 's second album  Riot!   made the pop-punk emo band of late millennials 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 they’re 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 , which also did. 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 certainly still has some emo senti...

“Make It Up” by Shura, Friday, November 22, 2024 (repost)

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  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 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 Shura as a child speaking and singing. Also in the vein of a documentary, Shura sings about her breakup in the third person " Make It Up ." Other songs, like " Indecision " and ...

"Spiders" by Lovedrug, Thursday, November 21, 2024 (repost)

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  First appearing in 2001,   Lovedrug   released their   eponymous EP   in 2002 and their    Rocknroll   EP in 2004 before releasing their debut record,   Pretend You're Alive ,  in June 2004. Selling over 20,000 records soon after the record was released, the band was signed to   Columbia Records ,   and their song " Spiders " was intended to be marketed as a radio hit. But rock star grandeur was never really in Lovedrug's reach, as the label dropped the band in the middle of restructuring. Lovedrug was a hard-working band, touring with acts such as   The Killers ,   Robert Plant ,   Sam Phillips ,   Switchfoot , and   Copeland . They would enjoy some success with their follow-up record,   Everything Starts Where It Ends ,  but would continue making music until 2020, although they are probably best remembered for their first two records.   SEARCHING ON A WIRE FOR A WIRE .  The ...

“Spotlight” by MUTEMATH, Thursday, October 31, 2024

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In 2007, it seemed like Mutemath would become a big Alternative Rock band with their breakthrough single “ Typical .” With former members of the Christian Rock band Earthsuit , Mutemath had taken technical, jazz-influenced electronic music to late-night TV, on tour with The Fray and Matchbox Twenty , and to Alternative radio. The band’s self-titled album didn’t spawn any other charting singles, but their next move seemed like it would make them bigger. In 2008, Mutemath released “ Spotlight ” on the Twilight soundtrack . The song was even featured in the film in the scene when Edward Cullen ( Robert Pattinson ) and Bella Swan ( Kristen Stewart ) are first seen together as a couple. The soundtrack boasted a strong collection of Alternative Rock songs by Muse , Linkin Park , and Paramore --overshadowing Mutemath’s contribution. Furthermore, inclusion in the soundtrack wasn’t particularly helpful as the vampire novel series and its film adaptations were polarizing with some young vie...

“You First” (Re: Remi Wolf) by Paramore, Saturday, October 12, 2024

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  In September last year, Paramore released Re: This Is Why , a remix album of the original featuring big-name collaborations like Julien Baker , Wet Leg , The Linda Lindas , and others. Paramore tweeted about the album: “ Re: This Is Why is almost a remix album. Some of the songs have been remixed sort of classically, while others were reworked or rewritten. It’s incredible to hear all our worlds colliding.” The album is mostly for fans of the band’s sixth studio album, This Is Why . Some of the reworked songs are more interesting than the originals, but the original versions of the songs on This Is Why make a consistent record and one of Paramore’s best efforts.  All the songs from the original album are represented on the remix album with “ Running Out of Time ” receiving two remixes. The remix album also included an extra song, “ Sanity ,” a demo of a song the band had written during sessions for After Laughter .   EVERYONE IS BAD, SO WHY ARE YOU A PACIFIST? So...

“Karma” (Remix) by Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice, Wednesday, September 11, 2024 (updated repost)

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  I would argue that since   reputation ,  Taylor Swift   has made a career based on revenge. The singer-songwriter is extremely intentional and calculated when releasing new singles and albums. Last year, Swift released yet another deluxe edition of   Midnights ,  this time calling it   The Til Dawn Edition ,  featuring a new song and two remixes. When she first released   Midnights    in October of 2022, many listeners were wondering what was different about the album. It felt like   reputation  but the singer was in a steady relationship with English actor   Joe Alwyn , and everything was going great, right?   right? KARMA IS A CAT PURRING ON MY LAP.  When tabloids started reporting that Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn had split in early April this year, the pointed lyrics of  Midnights  started to make a little more sense. Was Swift reacting to the expectations--from others or even Alwyn-- that thei...

“Running Out of Time” by Paramore, Thursday, September 5, 2024

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Last year, when promoting Re: This Is Why , the remix album of Paramore ’s sixth studio album This Is Why , lead singer Hayley Williams talked to Jimmy Fallon about her teenage friendship with Taylor Swift . Williams describes the friendship as coming from a time when Swift and she were pursuing music while growing up in Nashville. According to Williams, Taylor Swift’s mother was looking for a friend for Taylor, particularly someone else in music. At this point, neither Taylor nor Paramore were household names, but even as teenagers both Williams and Swift were focused on their goals, which allowed for little time for normal teenage things, especially socializing. The singers’ friendships and careers have intersected several times before Paramore’s opening slot on the Eras Tour. On their latest album, Swift inspired a lyric from an impression she left on Williams. THERE WAS A FIRE (METAPHORICALLY). After releasing three pre-release singles for This Is Why, Paramore released the album...