8 posts tagged “paramore”

So, I don't know what makes me angrier -- that I totally forgot to get up this morning to buy tickets for the Paramore/Jack's Mannequin pre-sale, or that the show's in a seated AMPHITHEATRE.  At this point the only seats I can get are in rows T or U in the "Orchestra" section which is still the third tier away from the stage.  After doing about twenty different ticket re-searches, I decided I would just settle for seats in row T off to the side, but my credit card didn't go through, so I just took it as an omen to not buy the tickets.  I'll most likely try again when general sale starts, but to be honest, all of this is just so upsetting.  And yeah, ok, I know -- it sounds so selfish and immature of me to not want to buy these tickets just because they're seated, but I just want to clarify that I used to pay fifteen dollars to watch paramore play dingy venues that were definitely in violation of fire safety regulations.  To possibly think that I would ever have to drop 95 dollars on two SEATED tickets to see this band, completely blows my mind.  Paramore, I love you, and will always love you, but I just -- I just don't even know anymore. I'm not saying this is the end, but maybe we should just spend some time apart for both our sakes (or maybe just mine, but who's counting?). 

Biggest let down:
Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight

Honorable mentions:
The Almost – Southern Weather
Will Stratton – What The Night Said
Architecture in Helsinki – Places Like This

The List:

10. The Rocket Summer – Do You Feel

Bryce's music is catchier, bubblier, and more emotion-filled than ever.   

9. Klaxons – Myths of The Near Future

Not much to say here except this is the greatest dance album of 2007 with some damn impressive bass work and vocal harmonization

8. My American Heart – Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather

These guys don't get enough credit from critics.  Despite what some may call a weak and unoriginal sophomore album, Hiding Under the Horrible Weather is actually a great step-up from The Meaning in Makeup, and it was perpetually in my car's CD player this summer.  Awesome drum patterns, strong lead guitars, and, well the vocals have always been amazing.  Plus, it's nice to have a young talented band reppin' Southern California

7. Shout out Louds – Our Ill Wills

Every, single, song, on this album is amazing.  I feel like the producers could have done some more work with track arrangement, but other than that it's an amazing sophomore album.  "Impossible" sounds like the Shout out Louds got in a fight with Architecture in Helsinki, and won... and I love it!

6. Against Me! – New Wave

Probably the most out rightly politically driven album I've heard in a while.  Brash, honest, and loud.  Just an all around solid "Punk/Rock" album. 

5. Blonde Redhead – 23

If I were to ever do acid or any sort of hallucinogen, this will be the album I'd do it to.  I challenge anyone to listen to this with some big headphones in a dark room; if you don’t feel like you’re getting transported into some different dimension, let me know.  And, that, just about sums this album up for me.

4. Anberlin - Cities

Wow, I totally don't know how I forgot about this album when I made the list.  Suffice to say, when I remembered, it bumped AiH off the list, and everyone below 5, down the list.  Anyway, I'm not sure what else to say; this album just means a lot to me.

3. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

After the success of Funeral, I wasn’t sure what Arcade Fire had left up their sleeves…but, they really just took it up a notch.  I don't know how they did it, but it seems like Arcade Fire were able to fit about another twenty instruments into the mix of things.  Plus, I was a changed person after I saw them completely get a crowd of 25,000 kids to sing the melodies of "Rebellion" long after the lights went out.  Granted, Rebellion was off of Funeral, but this is my list so suck it.

2. Paramore – RIOT!

This album just reached Gold status two weeks ago.  It's also the reason the band received recognition from Dave Grohl, and the reason Hayley received and accepted the invitation to sing vocals with Jimmy Eat World, her favorite band growing up, at KROQ's Acoustic Christmas.  It's also the reason John Mayer is completely now totally infatuated with Hay--the band.  It's also the reason Paramore's nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy.  RIOT! has probably led to all the things the band has ever hoped for, and more.  Above all, RIOT! is just a damn solid piece of work that makes me so proud to have seen these small town Tennessee kids when they were still setting up their own equipment and re-wearing the same jeans and dirty baseball t-shirts.

1. Tegan and Sara – The Con

Five justifications:

5. The title track is one of my top 10 songs of all time; I was Married and Nineteen follow in the top 50, which is saying a lot
4. Chris Walla did a ridiculously amazing job producing the album -- making sure each song was mixed to perfection and that the whole album played out like a good book from start to finish.  To seal the deal, Jason McGerr laid down some amazing drum work
3. The whole album is a giant leap of lyrical and musical progression from So Jealous
2. Each track seamlessly coalesces with the next, even though the tracks were written separately and individually of one another
1. The album literally bleeds emotion

A list of nominees in major categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, presented Feb. 10 in Los Angeles:

Guess who we have under best new artist?

New artist
Feist; Ledisi; Paramore; Taylor Swift; Amy Winehouse.

Pretty damn amazing, I'd say.

But let's be honest, Feist is some stiff competition, and as much as I love Paramore to death, Feist just might deserve this honor a little more.  Then again, my opinion's a little biased because I'm very staunch on my beliefs regarding seniority, quality of artists worked with, and scope of live performance locations--which I guess some could say have nothing really to do with being the "Best" "New" artist, but realistically speaking... Feist and Paramore aren't really "new" bands anyway. They're just new to the mainstream. Either way, congrats to Paramore! (and Feist!) (And FBR and Arts&Crafts, respectively)

Long overdue + one recent review(s).  Not as comprehensive as I'd like them to be, but I don't really have the time or patience to do that right now.  So here's a list of pros and cons for all three shows. Enjoy.

Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Blonde Redhead @ Randall's Island
(+)
- Randall's Island felt like someone had pulled up-rooted the Indio Field for Coachella and plopped it down on a far off island next to Manhattan
- Blonde Redhead was amazing...in my opinion, showing up LCD Soundsystem (who were playing a homecoming show)
- LCD Soundsystem - Trials & Tribulations
- All of the Arcade Fire - the lights, the set, the special effects, the glowsticks, the instruments
- Drummer from Arcade Fire climbing at least a good one to two stories up on the side of the stage while drumming to Rebellion (and I'm pretty sure he wasn't wearing a harness)

(-)
- getting to and back from Randall's Island
- asian lady who threw a hissy fit at me and gave me the dirtiest look ever and said "uh, can you please stop pushing me" to which I, still cross-armed and very stiffly-stanced replied, "um, sorry but i'm actually not. there are 25,000 other people here who are all trying to get to the front of the stage" to which she replied "sorry, i'm a stupid whore; please forgive me" (last quote may be fabricated, but she did shut her mouth and avoid me the rest of the night)
- like Coachella, dust clouds everywhere

Stars, New Buffalo
(+)
- Mr. Campbell and his jacket
- " and his clear disregard for other peoples' personal space
- "The Big Fight" which almost brought me to tears (and let's be honest, that has only happened to me twice: transatlanticism at the wiltern round 1, and then paramore playing 'franklin' in south hackensack)
- Stars' set decorations - old paintings and both paper and fresh flowers (which they threw into the crowd); looked like a scene straight out of an old french novel (like I know what that even means)

(-)
- The girl from New Buffalo is very talented, but if she wants her career to take off she needs a real drummer and some energy on stage; she failed to announce her name until either the second to last, or last song. Also, I swear "New Buffalo" and maybe one more sentence were the only words she muttered throughout her whole thirty minute set

The Academy is, Armor for Sleep, The Rocket Summer
(+) 
- New Rocket summer stuff sounds amazing live
- Bryce never ceases to have an incredible stage presence; he could have put on the crappiest set, but I would have enjoyed every second of it if he still played with his intensity
- Even though the Rocket Summer is essentially Bryce's band, his band mates, especially lead guitar, all play with as much passion as he does.  Its like they really are a family, and not just musicians for hire
- TAI played a good amount of old songs, which was great because I really only like about maybe half of what's on Santi
- Beckett actually talked a lot to the crowd, something I've never seen him do in the past four or five times I've seen them play

(-)
- Armor for Sleep crowd not as great as I thought it would be; I guess the 14 year olds just weren't having any of it
- 16 year old girls who had evidently gotten some dude-bro to buy them some cans of budweiser before TAI's set
- same girls trying to push their way to the front to get in William Beckett's pants; one even yelled "I just want to touch him"
- same girls talking very loudly about how "all the girls in the front are ugly fat bitches" and don't deserve to be up by the barricade
- me not getting the huevos to punch both girls in the face

Alrite, that just about briefly sums those three shows up. Peace and love.

Perhaps some in-depth reviews of Paramore and Tegan & Sara to come in November. Hollerrrr

 

So one of the strangest (well not quite strangest, but you get what I mean) things happened to me today as I was driving back from Beverly Hills.  Because my IPOD's broken and severely needs to be retired, and because I was driving my mom's car, I was forced to listen to the radio the whole drive there and back.  Trying to stay away from KROQ because I heard through the grapevine that Paramore got added to the rotation, I was forced to listen to incoherent and fuzzy 103.1 or "buy you a drank" or "big girls don't cry" over, and over, and over, again on Power106/KIIS.  Finally I decided to give in to KROQ, and literally the second I turned to KROQ, foo fighters best of me ended, and the INTRO GUITAR RIFFS TO MISERY BUSINESS CAME ON. I know, right?  Like what are the chances that the instance I turn to KROQ, is the same second they decide to play Paramore?  Haha, well anyway, my jaw basically stayed dropped for like 10 blocks as I listened to the first half of the song.  Because my jaw was starting to hurt I had to close it, but the whole time I just kept thinking to myself "Holy, Balls."  As much as I'm super stoked for them to be on the radio (because they definitely deserve the recognition) and really proud to see them FLOODING mtv (even though i'm starting to get sick of hearing the opening licks to misery business and pressure for EVERY newport harbor or hills ad), I still find it odd that they got added to the bill for LA (formerly Inland) invasion, only because they JUST got added to KROQ's rotation not more than three weeks ago.  Anyway, I hope a shit ton of hxc Paramore fans go to LA to support em', because I sure as hell would drop money just to see em' play that big of a venue (even if they are on a side stage)--too bad I'll be in NY.  Anyway, to all of Paramore, hat's (every single one I own) off to you.  

So, today was the OFFICIAL release date of Paramore's long awaited (at least on my behalf) sophomore album. Though I've had access to the album for at least the past week (thanks to FBR+) I did make my way to best buy today to get one copy and purchased another on ITunes.  I have yet to get the copy from hot topic, but I'll get on that asap. 

Anyway, it's basically one of the most mind blowing albums I've heard in a long time. Hayley's voice has matured a lot more (despite what some people have said about her not really belting out notes like she did on their first album, All We Know Is Falling); it's stronger, fuller, more consistent, and more captivating.  While she may not be "showing her full potential" on all tracks, it makes songs such as Hallelujah (which by the way is tweaked a little bit from the first version, and now A LOT more powerful with the louder drums in the beginning), Let The Flames Begin, Miracle, and We Are Broken that much more amazing. The saying says that it's not optimal to have too much of a good thing, and Hayley's versatile vocals on this album just adhere perfectly to that statement.  As for Josh, his guitar-ing has definitely progressed a lot and we are hearing a lot more than just the same power chords that characterized the tracks on AWKIF.  The riffs and chords on Riot are both more complicated and catchy and add a new dimension to Paramore's music.  As for Jeremy, I read in an interview that he's using a pick now for his bass, and while I'm no expert on bass but he's definitely ripping it SICK(er) on Riot.  And Zac's drumming... well songs like Let The Flames Begin, Fences, and Misery Business say it all; his drumming has improved ten fold, and the album wouldn't be as awesome as it is without the ridiculously amazing beats providing a backbone to each song.  To tie all four members together, the gang vocals which are featured on many tracks (my favorite being on That's What You Get), really just add that nice final touch to each song--that extra spark.

Most importantly, Riot's lyrics have seriously shown how much Hayley and Josh have grown as musicians.  AWKIF was honest, but Riot's brutally honest; the tracks touch deeper, more mature subjects, and each song is more than just a series of catchy choruses strung together.  My favorite tracks thus far (I have yet to really listen to any of the bonuses in depth) are Miracle, crushcrushcrush, That's What You Get, and When It Rains (which gets better every time I listen to it).  There's something about When It Rains that tightens up my chest, puts knots in my stomach, and makes my heart beat a little faster.  Suffice to say, this album just really hits home with me, and I feel like just how AWKIF provided a soundtrack to my senior year, this album will and does provide a soundtrack applicable to my life...things from the past, in the present, and undoubtedly for the future.  Life's just one giant story and I love having Paramore along for the ride.  Anyway, I'm just so proud of these guys and Riot is definitely going to give them that extra lift to turn more heads and get the attention they've deserved since AWKIF.

If you haven't heard of Paramore before, buy the album.  If you still need a little more reason to buy it (though I'm not sure why you would), try listening to songs "Born For This" or "crushcrushcrush" for just a taste of who they are.

If you have heard of Paramore, and still don't have Riot, I don't even know why you're still reading this post--You should either be on Itunes or at your local record store getting a copy (or two, or three, or four).

This video almost ties the one below.  Paramore > BSB x 10! <333 them with just tshirts and jeans (not to be confused with me not liking them in their spiffier "emergency" outfits), Josh's singing and screaming, & "Here We Go Again" live breakdowns...all of them--this one, perhaps the most.

If I knew that the show at the Hall of Fame was going to be Josh and Hayley busting' it acoustic, I would have amputated my left leg and sold the rights to my soul to go.  Actually, that's somewhat of an exaggeration (i'd probably only amputate my right pinky toe), but at least the video (which is by far my favorite live recording of any band ever) is enough to keep me minimally happy for the time being, while they're still recording.