Paramore Grows Up -- Review of 'Brand New Eyes'

Brand New Eyes (2009)
Paramore expands their sound, but is it at the expense of... their sound?

It is sometimes said that when a band gets signed, they pretty much have enough material for two albums already. So the distinction between a good band and a great band can fall on whether they're able to outdo themselves when they're faced with the foreign territory of that third record, having to write from scratch again. If that is indeed the case, Paramore is a great band.

As it happens, I bought Brand New Eyes right at the same time that I found out Josh Farro (the band's guitarist who writes the instrumentations) and his brother Zac (the band's incredible drummer) had quit the band due to interpersonal difficulties. Listening to the album, I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner! Hayley apparently utilizes nearly every track on the record to viciously and succinctly tear Josh (her former boyfriend) to tiny little pieces (perhaps with good reason, I don't know). And it's thrice as vindictive as Fleetwood Mac's well known pop kiss-off via the Rumors LP, because here Hayley is the only one who gets to have her say, while Josh has to just sit back and play.

I never thought Brand New Eyes would be able to match the incredible Riot! album. But all in all I would say they're about neck and neck. Riot! possesses the best hooks, while Brand New Eyes presents much more articulate and mature lyrics. They each present a solid selection of good songs and a handful of ultimate standouts for the band.

Primarily what Brand New Eyes does is update Paramore's classic power-pop style with a slightly slicker and more mature aesthetic. The ultimate hookage of 'Ignorance' and 'Brick By Boring Brick' would have felt right at home on Riot!, while the more chugging pulse of 'Careful' and the ecstatic balladry of 'All I Wanted' could have sat alongside tracks on Paramore's debut All We Know Is Falling. That being said, Brand New Eyes easily scorches past Paramore's debut and sits next to Riot! as one of their greatest efforts.

The hooks are slightly more subdued but still packing heat. The lyrics are both thoughtful and uplifting, as Hayley effortlessly trounces the spiritual assaults she receives and vindicates herself with forceful abandon. Perhaps the most interesting track (although the hookiest is definitely 'Ignorance'), is the bombastic, catchy, and bittersweet 'Brick By Boring Brick,' where Hayley invites the protagonist to dismantle her fantasy world piece by piece. The song also lends the album its cover-art, as the protagonist's coming-of-age disillusionment manifests itself in the act of "tearing wings off of butterflies."

I originally put off getting Brand New Eyes for a while, because the track 'The Only Exception,' which is Paramore's most successful single, is also the single worst track the band has ever committed to record. When I first heard it, I was certain that Hayley must have released a solo album. Because other than her distinctive voice, the song sounds nothing like Paramore.

The lyrics are decent but the song is doomed to banality by a molasses pace, uninspired instrumentation and perhaps the most boring chorus known to mankind. Furthermore the premise falls thin as Hayley sings of "vow[ing] to never sing of love" while 90% of her recorded discography does exclusively that. If I heard it done by GG Allin, Pink Floyd, Alice In Chains, or any band that doesn't predominantly write love songs, then I may have been impressed.

But luckily the rest of the record shines bright enough to easily obscure its one faulty moment. And the band's other forays into foreign territory fare much better, namely the tender and folky 'Misguided Ghosts' which possesses an almost Petty-esque sense of world-weariness, and a CSNY-worthy command of folk guitar. All in all: With more than one truly great album, Paramore may be on their way into my personal pantheon.

My Life in Music: 2010

Disclaimer: this post concerns music I listened to and discovered in 2010, not new releases in 2010. That being said, there are like 5 or 6 new releases represented here.

2010 was one of the most incredible years for music listening that I have ever had. It viciously dwarfs all my musical advancements in '09 and '08, and quite possibly gives classic formative years like 2002, 2005, and 2007 a run for their money. The unprecedented quantity, quality and variety, as well as the gusto with which I was fortunate enough to greet them, truly staggers me. And so I figured a full-blown assessment of this year's haul was in order. First, the awards.

THE ZENNIES

2010 MVP: Neil Young

If you had asked me in November 2009, whether Neil Young would ever rank as one of my favorite artists again, I would have told you "probably not." That was before my shopaholism landed me a copy of the Everybody Knows This is Nowhere remaster, which set into motion a vast chain reaction which has resulted in a new and greater reign of influence for Neil. In fact, the extent to which I liked Neil in the past is a mere footstep compared to the heights he has attained in 2010. With his chameloen powers, he was able to shadow me all along the way, with grim sobriety in winter, alterna-rock fury in my 90s phase, and sentimental pop mentalities in the latter quarters. Since Neil was my favorite artist in 2003... does that make him, like, my double favorite artist in 2010? How can you be better than the best?

2010 Most Promising New Addition: Paramore

I had to make a really tough decision here... Paramore versus Miranda Cosgrove. Make no mistake, in 2010 I unquestionably enjoyed Miranda Cosgrove more. Furthermore, she means a lot more to me, and represents a brand new style (electronic pop) unique to my discography. It's truly up in the air whether Miranda or Paramore will fare better in the coming years. But "most promising" means, to me, future longevity. And so I had to look at my history. Who are the artists who stay strong over years, and who are the ones who fade away? Well, there's no hiding it. Rock music tends to reign supreme. So I had to guess that Paramore would go further. But, frankly, I'm rooting for Miranda Cosgrove. That's not to sell Paramore short, though, their power-pop glory is infectiously empowering to the extent that I can only listen to them in incraments... otherwise I would die of heat exhaustion from rocking out too hard. True story.

2010 Most Important Record: Immaculate Pop Volume One

I never could have predicted the snowball effect this humble little disc would have. I just started to have a nostalgic or bittersweet reaction to some of the things I was being forced to listen to at work, and decided to burn a compilation. What resulted was a truly idyllic little period in the dead of winter where I would alternate between my grim black metal collection and this bubblegum compilation. For a long time, I figured this would be the only pop music I ever listened to seriously. It'd be half a year later until I started getting into pop music as a whole, but Immaculate Pop unquestionably helped transform my perception of pop music to the point where I was able to fully appreciate it.

Now onto the real content. It would be crazy to detail the vast number of amazing bands, amazing albums, and amazing songs I was pleased to enjoy this year. So what I did was compose a terse boxed set which compiles both the individual tracks which really moved my soul, as well as tracks to represent the unbelievable multitude of whole bands and albums that blew my mind this year. Mind you this doesn't represent everything... just the biggest, most major events of this year.

A second effect of this compilation is that it details my life over the course of 2010 down to near-perfection. I started out the year with somber, sober precision, gleaming joy from the tranquility of blizzards and using my sober boredom as an excuse to become one-and-the-same with dense, intricate, powerful music. Then my life became lysergic for a time, and I submerged myself wholly in bittersweet fantasy, living halfway between the real world and some 1990s dream. Following that, stone cold precision became my forte once again, and natural mania overtook all my endeavors. My taste veered to the bombastic and the upfront; to simplicity and pop hooks of impenetrable force.

My Life in 2010 (Boxed Set)

Disc 1
Stone Cold: Winter of Sobering Gloom

1. Jesu Dod -- Burzum
2. My Journey to the Stars -- Burzum
3. Southern Man (Remastered) -- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4. Sverddans -- Burzum
5. Hand In My Pocket -- Alanis Morissette
6. What's Been Going On -- Amos Lee
7. Love Story -- Taylor Swift
8. What's Up -- 4 Non Blondes
9. Son of Hades -- Aura Noir
10. Il etait une foret... -- Gris

Disc 2
Wistful Revery: Lucid 90s Adult Kitsch

1. Prime of Life -- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2. Loose Change -- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3. Pocahontas [YotH] -- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4. Love And Only Love [Weld] -- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5. Questioning My Sanity -- L7
6. Rockets -- Cat Power
7. Supernatural Radio -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8. Good Enough -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
9. London Song -- The Breeders
10. Fate to Fatal -- The Breeders
11. Bukarest -- HotChaCha

Disc 3
Manic Euphoria: For The Love of Pop

1. Walls (Circus) -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2. My Favorite Mistake -- Sheryl Crow
3. Because The Night -- Patti Smith
4. That's What You Get -- Paramore
5. Headphones On -- Miranda Cosgrove
6. Hide & Seek -- Ani DiFranco
7. Misery Business -- Paramore
8. Bam -- Miranda Cosgrove
9. Better Than Revenge -- Taylor Swift
10. Party Girl -- Miranda Cosgrove
11. Let the Flames Begin (The Final Riot!) -- Paramore
12. Thrasher -- Juniper Tar

Zenlike Immaturity: Playlist Edition

The latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine actually did something I found interesting. They called it the "Playlist Edition" and had a bunch of artists pick their top 10 songs from various entities; a particular artist or scene. Mick Jagger picked his favorite blues, Tom Morello picked his favorite protest songs, Tom Petty picked the best of the British Invasion, Rick Rubin picked his favorite Led Zeppelin songs, stuff like that.

You all know how I love to make lists, so I figured I'd pick "playlist" top 10s for the artist I unquestionably know best, and my latest fling.

Tenzwift's Top Neil Young

Neil's the best, it's as simple as that. Condensing his catalog down to 10 tracks is like choosing one organ out of your body and discarding all the rest. But this list covers the basics very well. It's only problem is that it leans a smidgen too heavily towards the acoustic material. His electric stuff is better in general, but what that means is that the great acoustic songs actually stand out moreso among their lesser brethren, and are therefore easier to pick out. If I could pick a runner up, I'd have gone with Fuckin' Up.

1. Cowgirl in the Sand
-- Crazy Horse debuted a new kind of sound. One that was fierce but plodding, like lightning shown in slow motion.

2. Cortez the Killer
-- Immaculate from the first note to the last, Cortez is a sonic trip, the one that proved the new Crazy Horse was a formidable beast.

3. Out on the Weekend
-- There isn't anything good about Harvest that isn't better in this track than on any other.

4. Tell Me Why
-- Perhaps the most gorgeous folk-pop song Neil ever penned, perfection describes it well.

5. Mellow My Mind
-- When his voice cracks -- that's it. That's the moment when shit gets real. The desperation of yearning for a simpler world overcomes him at that moment.

6. Prime of Life
-- This song comes from another world. It's like 3am personified, it oozes with the mysteries of darkness.

7. Will To Love
-- Chilling, haunting, inspired strains of grim wanderlust. A genuine lo-fi track.

8. Ambulance Blues
-- The existential nihilism of the ditch trilogy gets so bittersweet on this track that it makes me ache.

9. Thrasher
-- The most beautifully poetic and enchanting "diss track" ever crafted, where Neils spins a quiet dissertation on exactly why his pals C, S, & N are soulless corporate blowhards.

10. Slip Away
-- Broken Arrow is Neil's most underrated record, and that's saying something. Slip Away does justice to its name with ether-transversing, shimmering escapades of electric waywardness.


Pop Music

My pop fixation, though newly burgeoned, has been very long in the making. I've come to realize that much of the rock music I love harbors a very pop-like mentality (Petty, Stones, Dylan, even Neil), and that a lot of pop music cultures a very rock-like aesthetic (see below). Nothing could ever replace rock music in the very center of my heart, but occasionally I've got to admit that the pure form of the stuff -- pop, that is -- is sometimes better at wielding those pop music attributes that are present in all forms of music. Even a lot of noise music has hooks!

I once considered pop an unkempt and unseemly perversion, delegated to the outskirts of music. Now I realize that it's the epicenter of music. Not the pinnacle, but an essential influence. Without pop forms, we'd all be listening to pure white noise. Pop is good at certain things and bad at others, just like each genre has its individual attributes. And just like with any style of music, I find the select few artists that move me, and all the rest can go to hell.

1. Hand In My Pocket -- Alanis Morissette
-- This song is the embodiment of youth. It covers the dichotomous turmoil of young life like no other song can.

2. Love Story -- Taylor Swift
-- This song convinced me that pop music was onto some serious shit, some formidable glory. When she goes "oh oh" before that one chorus, that's when I knew Taylor knew what she was doing.

3. Misery Business -- Paramore
-- Paramore has so many good tracks to choose from, but Misery Business is just gorging itself on personality, and it's catchier than the fucking bubonic plague.

4. BAM -- Miranda Cosgrove
-- The crunchy keyboard riff and stark force of the vocals empower me, and make Miranda sound like a much older woman (in a good way, believe it or not...)

5. Torn -- Natalie Imbruglia
-- I like to take the line "You're a little late, and I'm already torn" to imply that she's so vibrantly emotional that all the beautiful angst of the song is caused by her man being like 3 minutes late to get home from work.

6. What's Been Going On -- Amos Lee
-- Few songs mean more to me than this. It tells the story of my private life in 2008/2009, and how once-friends become total strangers.

7. What's Up? -- 4 Non Blondes
-- Oh god this song is just so powerful. The chasm between being an adult and still feeling like a child, epitomized in under 5 minutes.

8. Build Me Up, Buttercup -- The Foundations
-- Ingenious Motown impersonation of epic wonderfulness. The way he holds back the "you" is how I knew this was true art and not just paint-by-numbers.

9. Soak Up the Sun -- Sheryl Crow
-- The quaint, girlish, subdued melody here takes what's good about chorus-driven indie rock and does it better.

10. Because The Night -- Patti Smith
-- A more beautiful song about sex is likely never to exist.