Paramore - After Laughter (May 12th, 2017) Album • Page 164

Ahahaha I am constantly surprised at how close in age I am to them both :’)

I turned 26 in September and it’s crazy to me that I’ve been listening to Paramore since I was 14. I feel like I grew up with Hayley and I’m constantly grateful that this is the band I chose to follow at that age. I feel like having her as a role model set me up to feel like I could achieve anything.

 

Hayley Williams’ birthday: casually thrusting me into an existential crisis every year since like 2005

 

I feel the same way! I am only 25 days older than Hayley and have been with Paramore since I was 16, so I have always felt like I've grown up with this band and as Hayley went through things and parsed them through music, I felt the same trajectory in my life. When she said "22 is like the worst idea that I have ever had..." I was 22....when she wrote 26 I was 26. I try to imagine my life without Paramore in it, without how instrumental they have been, how close I have felt to them growing alongside them (so to speak) all of these years, and I just can't do it. My life would be decidedly different in so many ways I can't even articulate. The fact that they are still a band is something I am thankful for every single day. No exaggeration. (I am also very very very thankful Zac is back).

 

Okay so I’m halfway thru BNE on my revisit of their whole catalogue and I have a few thoughts:

1) Hayley’s vocals on AWKIF are miles beyond what you’d expect from someone as young as she was at that time. The band also sounds really tight for being that young too.

2) The improvement in production and lyrical content from AWKIF to Riot! is insane.

3) “We Are Broken” has always been my least favorite from the band, and I’m bummed it still hasn’t grown on me but oh well. That being said, this album is absolutely stacked with bangers.

4) BNE is still very much tied with After Laughter as my favorite album from the band. The song writing/structure is phenomenal; much more mature than the first two albums while still retaining all the pop sensibilities that made Riot so good. “Where the Lines Overlap” is criminally underrated, and this might be Hayley’s best vocal performance imo.

Will report back once I’ve gotten thru S/T and After Laughter...

 

We Are Broken from The Final Riot is the definitive version of that song. Arrangement, performance, everything about it is superior

 

To be honest all the songs on Riot are better live than on the album. The studio recordings are too polished and don't have the life that they do when they play them live. I mean, compare Let The Flames Begin live to the album version...

 

Oh I totally agree (most Paramore songs are better live in my opinion, but Riot tracks definitely have the biggest difference). We Are Broken is just the one that sticks out the most to me. Might be the new arrangement, but even tracks like Let The Flames Begin or Born For This (which are much better live than on Riot) didn't improve as much as We Are Broken

 

I’ll have to revisit that version of We Are Broken. It’s been forever since I’ve heard it.

Update: I’m almost finished S/T annnnd....
1) Holy fuck the bass tone/mixing on this record is amazing. Jeremy killed here and shout out to JMJ on the production as a whole.
2) This album is basically their very best songs mixed in with filler or just bad songs (i.e. Interludes 2 & 3, Crazy Girls and Fast in My Car)
3) Replace “Crazy Girls” with “Native Tongue”, FIMC with Escape Route and take out Interludes 2 & 3 altogether, and you’ve got a perfect album.
4) That instrumental break towards the end of Part II is god-level.

 

I will fight anyone that talks shit on “Fast in My Car”!

 

I’m not saying it’s a “bad” song. That title goes to Crazy Girls haha but IMO it’s their weakest album opener.

 

I do find it strange that the first two songs off Self Titled (Fast In My Car and Now) became quite ignored as far as live shows go. Definitely one of the weakest 1-2 combos from any of their albums.

 

ILL FIGHT YOU ALL.

 

I remember Fast In My Car being a little divisive when the record came out, but it took me right away. So danceable! Love that bridge.

 

I remember people feeling that way about “Now” but I loved it right off the bat. I just thought it was so different from anything they had ever done but in a really cool way.

Also, despite my criticisms earlier, i’d be remiss if I didn’t give Hayley, Taylor and Jeremy props for putting out such a big, ambitious record with their best songs on it after splitting with the Farros and the criticism towards Hayley that came along with it. They could’ve easily quit or phoned it in, but instead they gave us songs like “Grow up” “Daydreaming” “Ain’t It Fun” “Part II” “Last Hope” and “Future” and I think that’s just a beautiful thing haha

 

Now is soooo bad I'm sorry

 

Fast In My Car is fun but it's pretty easily their weakest opener after AWKIF

 

Fast In My Car is my favorite opener that isn’t Hard Times

 

Hard Times is my favorite opener that isn’t Careful.

 

For a Pessimist is still their best opener

 

Conspiracy is their best opener if you ignore the seven songs before it.

 

It's worse than all of their openers though.

 

How does one ignore that stretch from Pressure to Here We Go Again though?

 

Also, this performance of Future though...there’s this scream Hayley does in the middle that gives me chills every time I hear it because you can feel she’d been holding it in for a while. So good.

 

I was joking.

 

Oh haha I was gonna say that is one of the hottest takes I’ve heard in a while