bloc party
wait why am i just listing bands
i know that paramore sounds like other bands sometimes
but every band sounds like every other band sometimes
not that big of a deal
and after those 2 songs, things settle down
a little bit more post-punk-y than usual
that's more or less a good thing
at this business, no misery need apply
What are you feeling while you listen to it?When I listen to
This Is Why, I think about how it's always nice to connect with something easily. That's not always the case in Record Club. I try every week, but it doesn't always happen. Sometimes it happens but it takes a lot of effort. Paramore was effortless. This is my shit. Doesn't necessarily make for the easiest time writing a review, but when we shine a light on the most important aspect of RC—listening to new music—my reaction to this is: whew, thank god. I didn't need any additional challenges this week.
Is there something about the music that is making you feel this way?I noted in the
Bad Bunny review that "normal" is a terrible way to describe music, because my "normal" could be different from your "normal." The idea of "normal" is a personal construct, which is tough to fashion into an argument for or against an album that your are reviewing on a blog. But if Lester Bangs was holding a gun to my head and threatening to pull the trigger if I didn't admit it, then sure, I'd admit it: this is
normal for me. Driving rhythms, shades of other rock bands that I adore, passionate and pliable vocals, empathetic lyrics. There is nothing I don't like here. All sugar, no medicine.
Is there something about your life right now that is making you feel this way?Definitely one of those weeks where music needs to be a balm for me. Lots of school shit. Lots of personal shit. Paramore had a way of calming me, and that was a good thing. There were also some really good times. Pam's birthday festivities, the
King Tuff concert (I assume... I'm writing this before I go to the King Tuff concert), also nice to have lean and muscular rock music to pump those events up even further than they could in silence (the metaphor doesn't really work because I assume the King Tuff concert isn't going to be "silent," but just bear with me).
Is there something about who you are a person that makes you feel this way?Sure, why not. Let's put it this way: I pretend that challenges give some meaning, emotionally, because, like, it's better than feeling nothing at all, right? But maybe sometimes that façade falls down and I just want to close my eyes during another nauseating bus ride and escape into some music that requires nothing of me. So who am I as a person? Lazy and/or comfortable in my own skin. I don't know, man... depends on the day. Paramore fit well, though.
Is there something that might be different for different people in terms of feelings for this album?Maybe you're not the type of person who needs the art they consume to reflect or refract who they are as a person. If you're not, then maybe Paramore can just be some fucking band for you. If that's easier, then that's fucking awesome. You do you.
Think about how you're going to organize these thoughts (or don't—leave 'em in bullet point form if you want, who gives a fuck?).Well, apparently, I'm organizing it by answering prompts one by one. This actually works out well, because in this fashion I can write the review in small chunks instead of doing what I usually do and sitting down for a two-to-three-hour chunk to bang it out. I can't imagine when there would be a two-to-three-hour chunk this week.
Some might suggest having an introduction, a discussion, and a conclusion.[
Introduction] Six whole years after releasing their last album, which was the only other album I've ever actually listened to from this band, Paramore returns with
This Is Why, and the world is itching to learn how the band has grown and changed in that time. [
Discussion] Some may find the subtle shifts jarring, especially if you've known this band since you were a teenager, and were comfortable with the third-wave-emo-adjacent dark-eyeliner stylings of
Riot!, but I'm a late bloomer, and I don't give a shit about labels, so I'm pretty cool with hearing these allegedly "new" sounds, because to me they sound like "old" sounds from other bands that I really life. [
Conclusion] Should Paramore continue to follow their muse, and continue to not really worry about "what Paramore is
supposed to sound like," then I'll be happy to listen to them and enjoy wherever they end up, because growth is positive, even if it means shedding your old self, or maybe even
killing your old self, to be born anew (and then so what is releasing a new Paramore album in 2023 if not enjoying
the chance to play?).
It might be cool if the introduction presented a theme, the discussion digs into the meat of the album, and the conclusion connects that discussion and reiterates the original introduction.That
would be cool, wouldn't it.
Or you could just go nuts and skip all of that. Do stream-of-consciousness.eyes closed i will type for the next thirty seconds as fast as i can and i am listening to crave and it seems to be the most positive take on nostalgia i've ever heard, it's like grappling with your past, being glad it happened, without the sadness, without the longing, just appreciating where you've been and where you're going, and i really like that, and find it regreshing, and find that overall williams is speaking my lnaguage all ove rthis thing
Write a song-by-song description as you are listening.Half-copied from the notes I took on the 19 bus on my phone's memo app:
"This Is Why" — response to constant trollish criticism, understandable rx to the idea of "these days" being "bad" or "dystopian" or whatever
"The News" — gives context to "This Is Why," how do we go through these terrible global events and come out worse towards each other
"Running out of Time" — I definitely identify with the sentiment: am i a selfish prick? Time vs caring, time as an excuse
"C'est Comme Ça" — it is what it is, post-punk speak singing, get "unaddicted to survival narrative", vocals are kneecapped by speak-sing, it's caring less vs caring more, finding balance?
"Big Man, Little Dignity" — flute!, slight chorus but obviously from a raw place, note how her voice cracks at beginning of first chorus, people engage with things that cause anger, just like me, but also just like this song, written from an angry perspective!, need to have songs about "men who are not held accountable for their actions"
"You First" — more bloc party, living well is just a privilege, choosing good or evil within yourself, there's both, e.g.
last week's review, "everyone is a bad guy" is a good chorus in williams' hands
"Figure 8" — cool synth loop at beginning, about bending over backward for some who takes advantage, big soaring chorus contrasts nicely with paranoid verses, elliott smith
reference?
"Liar" — slow song, about loving bandmate, weak track, though relatable sentiments from back in the day, plus generally not shitting where you eat, plus knowing Paramore has had shaky lineups, appreciate the vulnerability here, especially because of pressure she just fell to be strong fem icon
"Crave" — "I can't wait to memorize this day," song about nostalgia, making peace with your journey, even the crying, because it was simple and you were alive, musically running out of steam a bit, definitely feels like a "last song" b/c themes of "repeating"
"Thick Skull" — self blame, same lessons over and over, described as "shoegazy" which williams said she liked, music swells as it goes along, including big drum roll toward back
Write about something completely different than the album (a TV show, a movie, a dumb thing your friend did) and then loosely connect it to the album as best you can.I've been rewatching
BoJack Horseman. I'm up to the sixth and final season. I decided around Season 3 that this was my favorite TV show of all time. Anyway, there is a scene at the end of Season 5 where Diane's old boss wants her to be the "face" of their website's pivot to video content, and Diane's like, "Why me? I'm a huge selfish bitch and a terrible person," and they have a discussion about Diane holding herself to an impossible standard, which is pretty toxic in terms of her own self-worth. This definitely tracked with my understanding of Paramore's "You First" as well, how Hayley Williams is singing about the dichotomy of good vs. evil in all of us, how we're both, how those two concepts coexist within us, how it's not one or the other but a mixture of the two, but how we have the ability to choose. The important part is to not expect perfection, just try your best, and, like, also acknowledge the privilege that comes with that... look, all I'm saying is that Hayley Williams probably watches
BoJack Horseman.
Try talking out loud, or try having someone ask you a question about the album—your answers that you are saying out loud would also work written down!"I really like this album" —Joe, 3/21/23
Maybe even use a voice translator?Nah. I need to replace the batteries on mine.
A good way to expound upon your thoughts is to ask yourself the question "How?" If you make a statement, for example, "This album reminds me of childhood," then the follow-up question "How?" should help you to think about what exactly it is about this album that reminds you of that. And that becomes the thing you can write about instead of just leaving us guessing.Regarding "Big Man, Little Dignity," the above description included the following statement: "people engage with things that cause anger, just like me..." So the question in this blurb is: "How?" How do I engage with things that cause anger? Probably the same way that Williams is singing about in "The News." You feel shitty about what's going on in the world, but you get addicted to that feeling, and so there's the push and pull of "should I engage in this if it's making me ill?" and "isn't it my responsibility to engage in it anyway?" and etc. I'll enter the comment section on a crime post on the Philadelphia subreddit, even though I know 70% of the comments are going to enrage me. Anger causes chemicals to be released in the body, and you feel excitement and energy in that moment. You can get addicted to those chemicals. There are maybe healthy and unhealthy ways to deal with that. Maybe listening to a punk album is the safe space needed to experience that anger and the ensuing chemical reaction, I don't know.
There are no limits in either direction for length, by the way. Setting a personal minimum number of words might be a helpful motivation to write "enough" according to your own standards. In general, 100 words is probably the absolute bare minimum, but there have been successful reviews with less.Probably gonna hit my personal mandate of 1000 words today, even if you don't include the bolded prompts.
You could write about what you know about the artist. What is their deal?It's the band that wrote "Misery Business" and hit the big time (relatively, as the ceiling for a pop-punk band is a bit lower than your straight up pop act) during the craziest summer of my life (2007). And they are still sticking around, making music that does not sound like a rehash of "Misery Business," which I appreciate.
Did you like them before?Definitely not in 2007. Not that 2007 Joe had good taste or anything (as we've gone over
countless times in these reviews), but I definitely held it at arm's length. I did recently try out
Riot! in full for the first time, and I did not like it. But in 2007, it... seemed kinda lame too. I just remember Kev having a huge crush on Hayley Williams, or at least there being a running joke that Kev had a crush on Hayley Williams, I forget which. So maybe that had something to do with it?! "Misery Business" holds up, though.
Have you listened to them before?I actually only got into Paramore with
After Laughter, when the general consensus seemed to be "they are trying something new" and I thought maybe that new thing would be more my speed. It was.
After Laughter is fucking great. I still listen to that album all the time. Definitely seemed like the band was having a really good time, and that fun was infectious.
Had you heard of them before, or is this completely new?Nah, c'mon, you gotta be living under a rock if you haven't
heard of Paramore. I actually remember hearing an
After Laughter cut at a bar in Ireland in 2017, probably "Hard Times." I don't think I realized that this was a globally known band until that moment.
What were your expectations for this album based on what you knew?It's tough to ignore the reviews and assessments in the weeks leading up to Record Club's coverage of a new album. So yeah, I had some expectations. The big headline was "this sounds like they are doing Bloc Party," which makes sense for a few songs (especially "The News"), but perhaps the description is a bit overblown. I definitely hear post-punk in general though, which I usually consider tougher and leaner than new wave (though maybe take any genre talk from me with a grain of salt). I like it. It's a good fit for this band.
Were those expectations met?Not that the expectations were sky high, but I did expect to like this album and to appreciate the hooks and to have it go down easy, and all of those expectations were met. I appreciate how each song has its own flavor, which means that Paramore is pushing their own limits, but that also all of the songs are definitively Paramore, which means that the band knows who they are and excel in that range (alternatively: Hayley Williams is one of the premiere frontwomen of the modern age).
You could also write about specific experiences you've had listening to this artist in the past.Whoops, already did that. One thing I appreciated, though, is that the band itself seems to be in conversation with its past work on some of these tunes (at least according to Genius). Like, how "Crave" and its acceptance of growing older is a direct rebuke of
After Laughter's "Caught in the Middle," which was about the discomfort of leaving your younger years behind (which was itself referring to the music that Paramore literally released in their younger years). There's a through line in this discography if you go looking for it.
Maybe write about another album of theirs that you like or dislike.Anyone recommending I check out the 2013 self-titled? Where exactly did Paramore stop being a teen-emo-angst concern and start maturing into the band I know and love today?
Maybe you only know of this artist because they were featured on a movie's soundtrack, or a mixtape your ex made you, or they are some fucking band your dad always talks about and you hate.No, but it was funny to learn that Paramore was on the
Twilight soundtrack. Even noted
Twilight fanatic Pam was confused about that one.
Or maybe this happens to be one of your favorite artists ever. Why? Why not?Certainly not, but who knows? They keep doing what they've been doing in the past few years, and I'm open to the possibility.
What is the theme of that work, in your opinion? How do you interpret the album and what the artist is trying to say?I hate to say it, but there are shades of this being a "pandemic album." But maybe the theme is "mental health and wellness" and my mind just automatically connects the two (since that middle part of 2020 really did a number on our emotional health, no?). There's also a lot of self-reflection, which can be tangential to the mental health piece. Like, there are questions of "Who am I?" or "Who are we (as a band)?" And then there questions of how we can fit into this world, how we can be our best selves, grappling with the idea of imperfection, grappling with past mistakes and living with them, that kind of thing.
Why are you interpreting it that way? Maybe I need to know that someone like Hayley Williams, who is 26 days younger than me but infinitely more famous and important, is going through some of the same shit that I am. Or, the same emotions at least. Questioning your self-worth, how hard it is to make conscious decisions to be a better person. I interpret it that way because it gives depth to the album. This isn't just an album that sounds nice. It
means something. I could mean something to you. I definitely means something to me.
What does that say about you as a listener?It's an ego thing, probably. I'm always looking for good music in the mirror. It can't just be something that Williams believes, it has to be something that
I can relate to. There's a lack of humility there, I think, that it has to be all about me. But that's how I am able to connect to music. I don't know if there is any other way, honestly.
Ten thousand people can listen to an album and come up with ten thousand different "themes," so why yours?Well, like I said, it's just where I'm at in my life right now. Readjusting how one thinks about oneself. Clearly Paramore is asking these questions about itself. So too am I, during this period of transition, about to graduate school, and other shit that I'm probably not ready to type about yet.
What about the music and the lyrics informs that theme?I feel like I've already gone over this. Sorry that some of these are repeating. Here's an example we haven't talked about yet though. "Figure 8" is a good song. There's a line that resonated with me that goes "I was only being kind / but you mistook me for weak." It's like, you can try your hardest to be the best person you can be, and yet there's always going to be that risk of being misinterpreted, and how sometimes we feel pressured to be "strong" but sometimes that turns into being "mean," and how the fact that these emotions are so closely tied together can really fuck you up, the more you think about it. The balance just seems so fucking impossible to find sometimes.
Absent of a theme, what does this album make you feel? In other words, what was the theme of your week of listening to this album?There was a lot of homework, so Paramore felt like a respite from that. Which is good, because sometimes Record Club feels like homework too.
Another thing that is cool to do is the opposite—you looked at the album as a whole, but now look at it like a collection of songs. What are your favorite songs, and why?Lots of good stuff on this album, and lots of depths to plumb when needed, but on a surface level, "This Is Why" is going to be the song that survives years of paring down the playlists. The chorus is just so fucking infectious. I heard it for the first time this week, and it's been stuck in my head since literally that first listen. An instant sing-along.
What are your least favorite songs, and why?"Liar" is probably the worst song, if I had to pick. Sonically, you always fear that the album is going to start losing theme, and "Liar"'s lower BPM speaks to that fear. But also, I don't know, singing a song about being in love with your bandmate seems like a risky endeavor. Don't shit where you eat, Hayley Williams!
Why do you like the song, while understanding that others might not like it as much as you?We've been over this before—tempo sets the expectations, and so the slower songs have a bigger hurdle to clear. One of my many flaws.
What is it about you yourself that makes you drawn (or repelled) by this particular song or songs?And let's remember that catchiness is important. Not the end all be all, but definitely important. This album is packed with catchy songs.
Are all the songs equally enjoyable?Definitely a stupid question to ask me at this point. I will not repeat myself.
Do you typically find that some songs are better than others whenever you listen to an album?Well yeah, that's kind of how it works. I know I talk a big game about albums being complete works of art—and if we are talking about
This Is Why, then I'll confirm that I consider it to all hang together cohesively—but there are always going to be certain songs that stick with you longer than others. "This Is Why" in this case being the definitive answer to the question of "best song." You'll see that one on a year's end list on this blog, guaranteed.
Is there one that stands out as great, so great that the rising tide lifts all boats?I could see an argument in which "This Is Why" is lifting all boats. Only because it's at the beginning of the album though. It sets the tone immediately. The other songs are trying to stay at that level, and some even succeed.
Is there one that is so bad that it kinda ruins the album for you?Nah, nothing really bad here. I only said "Liar" was the worst song because I had to name a "worst song." It's a good song. No sub-minute bullshit tracks or actively annoying sounds on this thing. I appreciate it.
Would you have preferred the songs to be in a different order? A.k.a. is the sequencing correct, in your opinion?I get the argument that "Thick Skull" was the right song for the concluding track slot—it was the first song they wrote for the album, it has a nice swelling of bombast in the middle and then gently fades away—but every time I hear "Crave," I think that maybe that would've been the better choice. There are themes of repeating oneself! Might that not translate into the listener want to repeat the album itself when it ends? "Crave" at the end would make this album a song cycle.
Is there enough variety? Does the lack of variety hold the general theme tightly together? Does the variety create a sense of confusion as to what exactly the artist is trying to do?I definitely already answered this question, and now I'm starting to regret just blindly copying and pasting all these prompts. Sorry for yet another bad album review from Joe K***!
Finally, you can give a sort of "final impressions" or "conclusions" on the matter.Good album.
Some people give a numerical score to sum up their overall opinion on the album...GRADE: 4 pukes out of 5
...but a concluding paragraph that says something like "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" would do the trick too.Hmm, if I had written a regular review, the concluding paragraph would've probably looked something like: "While Paramore does very little to surprise, maybe they have found the ideal balance between stretching personal limits and keeping true to their own spirit. That spirit burns bright, and I'm looking forward to whatever kind of personal revelations that Paramore wants to set to tight and punchy post-punk music in the future." Something like that, I don't know. I'm not good at ending blog posts, clearly.
Developing my voice:red leather yellow leather red leather yellow leather
"Voice" sometimes translates to "this is something that they always do or talk about in their reviews." Different people have different quirks in their writing. That's not something you should shy away from. It's okay to have "your thing."I checked most of the boxes today. There was a reference to music I did or did not listen to as a teen. There were some vague emo statements. I bitched about homework. I set up a stupid framework for the review that I ended up regretting. What else is there? I guess I should've mentioned something about my kids? Willow and Martha didn't really listen to
This Is Why this week. They were too busy learning the Polish version of "Happy Birthday."
You can eventually mix things up by writing "against voice" and purposefully doing things in a different way than usual.What's "against voice" for me? Maybe just getting ChatGPT to write my review?
Contrast with "established music critic voice":Oh yeah, I definitely would have used the phrase "angular guitars" if I didn't know that this was a lame nonsensical thing that music critics think sounds cool. It's true in this case! Paramore's guitars really do sound angular here!
Get creative! Maybe you are doing the stream of consciousness thing.Already did that above.
Maybe you get drunk and see what words pop out.No.
Maybe you aren't using words at all.👍
You can get meta too if you want. If you're purposefully not following directions, you could lampshade it by literally writing "I'm not following directions."I am writing a review for
This Is Why and I am annoyed that this review is still going. The directions are "end the review" and I don't know how to do that.
Insert yourself into the review. Write about how hard it is to write. Write about how it's easier to write about how hard it is to write.It's hard to write about how it's easier to just write about how hard it is to write now that you've indicated that it's easier to write about how hard it is to write.
Don't make any sense. Apologize for not making sense.A lot of this review doesn't make sense. Sorry.
Say how much you hate Record Club in your Record Club review—we can't kick you out!No way, Record Club is awesome.
KEEP WRITING!That's enough for today.
