Paramore has been a part of my life since I discovered the albums, “All We Know Is Falling,” “RIOT!” and “brand new eyes” at age 13. I was listening to Paramore as I entered my emo stage, back in the days when I had bright pink, green and blue clip-in hair extensions and wore purple eyeliner.
The loud, then-pop-punk band accompanied me through the years as I questioned myself. Paramore sat next to me as I discovered who I was and introduced me to the music that makes me nostalgic and the sounds I will love for the rest of my life.
Shortly after I found the beauty that is Paramore, I found bands like Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Pierce The Veil, My Chemical Romance, Mayday Parade, Panic! At The Disco and more pop-punk bands that were able to make their way through my headphones and into my everyday life.
Its 2005 debut album, “All We Know Is Falling,” contained hits, such as “Emergency,” “Brighter” and “Whoa,” but it was their 2007 sophomore album “RIOT!” that earned the band a spot in the nominees for the Best New Artist at the 2008 Grammy Awards, according to Rolling Stone.
Songs such as “Misery Business,” “That’s What You Get” and “crushcrushcrush” from "RIOT!" made their way onto my secret MySpace page and accompanied the then-14-year-old me who was learning how to code because of the popular social media site.
While I may regret wearing thick purple eyeliner and cheap, colored hair extensions, I will never regret finding the music that shaped me into who I am today.
This band was a prevalent thing in my teenage years, so you can only imagine my overwhelming joy when, after four years, Paramore finally released “After Laughter” in May 2017, which is its most pop-sounding album to date.
Paramore has mostly dropped the punk from pop-punk with its last two albums. The transition isn't only heard in their music, but it can also be seen in its album artwork for “After Laughter.” The bright colors and cartoon feel let the listener know what they’re in for, and it’s something good.
“After Laughter” is a mostly upbeat album, containing a plethora of great songs for dancing around with your friends, such as “Rose-Colored Boy,” “Hard Times” and “Caught In The Middle” and, arguably, only one slow song, “26.”
The album is so fantastic that it landed the band the No. 25 spot in the Rolling Stone “50 Best Albums of 2017,” and the hoppy opening song, “Hard Times,” currently sits at its most popular song played on Spotify.
While I wouldn’t venture to say this is my favorite Paramore album – that spot will forever be claimed by 2009's “brand new eyes” – I will say it is definitely worth the listen. The band has strayed from their pop-punk roots into just pop, and I respect it. I think that no matter how much the band changes, it’ll always have a spot in my little, emo heart.
This week I just made a playlist titled “who I am: a former emo kid” of my favorite Paramore songs from all their albums, accompanied by an album cover of the only remotely emo photo I have of myself – me with purple hair and no eyebrows at age 16.
