Friday, August 27, 2010

Paramore, "The Only Exception"

    This week i have chose to write about the band Paramore and their song called "The Only Exception." The band members include Hayley Williams who sings lead vocals and plays the keyboard, Jeremy Davis who plays bass guitar, Josh Farro who plays lead guitar and sings back-up vocals, Zac Farro who plays drums, and Taylor York who plays rhythm guitar. The name of the band was chosen because it is the maiden name of one of the previous bass player's mother. The band was started when Hayley moved from Mississippi to Tennessee. When she was living in Tennessee, she met the two Farro brothers, who are now in the band. That's how it all got started. This band has made four major record albums that include, 'All We Know Is Falling', 'RIOT!', 'The Final RIOT!', and 'Brand New Eyes'. They also have written a few songs for the hit movie "Twilight" that came out in 2008.

    I didn't really start getting into Paramore until there 2007 album 'RIOT!' came out. I enjoyed the songs, 'Thats What You Get', 'Misery Business', and 'Crushcrushcrush'. This album sold over two million copies worldwide. It went gold in Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.K. The band went to the top five on the radio charts in countries like, the U.K., Australia, Mexico, Brazil, France, Germany, and Southeast Asia. This album was the first disc to feature the new guitarist, Taylor York. A year later, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best New Artist' but lost the award to Amy Winehouse.

    I picked this song to write about because i think it shows a different side of Paramore. When i think of Paramore, i think of songs that are upbeat and you would rock out to. This song is different from a lot of their other tracks. This song is slower, but it still has that Paramore edge to it. I think the lyrics tell a story. Hayley starts singing at the beginning about her parents being done with love. How it broke both of her parent's hearts. She promise to never make love a big deal unless true love really does exist. But, she continued to believe in love even though she knew that love doesnt always last. She saw what her parents went through and saw how bad it was so she didn't think she would ever find love or a reason to love. I can relate to her situation about her parents not being together, as other people in this world can too. She talks about how she has to find a way to feel okay to be alone or to 'keep a straight face'. She has always lived that way. Trying to keep a distance from love and trying to feel comfortable with the face of being alone. Until she grew up, she told herself that she's fine with loneliness. She said that because none of the opportunities were worth the risk of getting her heart broken. It took her a long time to grip onto reality that heart break will and is going to happen sometime in her life. But now she has discovered that true love does exist. She says, "I know your leaving in the morning when you wake up, leave me some proof it's not a dream." So in other words, she is still shocked that her situation didn't turn out like her parents. She is realizing there is an exception to love, and she has found 'the only execption' type of guy.