How Paramore Inspired And Influenced A Whole Generation Of Millenials

Even before I realized that I wanted to make a career out of it, music had always been my safe haven.
The love of writing, on the other hand, was a consequence of my total inability to get on stage and pick up an instrument. During my adolescence, these two components were my personal Linus blanket. In a time of uncertainty and confusion, when we were constantly trying to find our place in the world and gain clarity about ourselves, my Walkman and my CD collection were undoubtedly my beacon of light, the shoulder to cry on, the parallel dimension in which I could always fantasize and build another identity. 
I was looking for someone to cling to, a role model to mirror myself in. A positive figure who would reflect my ideas and desires, who would speak to my fears, who would help me discover my true hidden potential and enable me to overcome my hesitations. Like any teenager, there were undoubtedly many. My search was successful in the pages of the music magazines that circulated on Italian newsstands. The first rebellious artists who stole my heart and made me buy their records, including Paramore, were to be found in these sometimes rather racy pages.

My first encounter with the American band was in 2007, the year of "Riot!", an album that was in many ways a precursor and that allowed the group to make a name on the European market after their debut with "All We Know Is Falling".
Paramore was a breath of fresh air at a time when the record market was beginning to take on the contours of a rather standardized reality, while music was turning at a frightening pace into a mere canned and ready-made popular product.
With their unfiltered, scratchy, and disruptive punk-pop, the US-based band tackled unexplored social issues. They became a mirror and reference point for so many millennials around the world. They brought something unique to the scene, positioning themselves as spokespeople for the misfits, the outcasts, and those who had something to say but had not yet found the most appropriate way to say it in an era where taboos were the order of the day.

As Freddie, an early British fan of the group, tells me: "It was one of the first genres, in general, to incorporate themes of mental health into the songwriting of most bands. Being isolated, feeling sad, depressed, or even suicidal, and wanting to escape the town they grew up in, all resonated with me at a time when I hated school and was bullied pretty horribly for most of my secondary school years. At a time when these issues were ridiculed, mental health education didn't exist and bullying was a much bigger problem, having that commonality and escapism through music and bands like Paramore was as much a survival mechanism as it was a pleasure. Paramore was just one of many bands that encapsulated these issues while making excellent pop-punk music.”

A frontwoman who could represent a new generation of mid-00s teenagers had yet to be seen.
Hayley Williams seemed like a redheaded pixie ready to revolutionize an even more macho industry entrenched in its views, prejudices, and the idea that only a certain type of woman and artist could cover glossy magazines. She found herself in the midst of fame as a young woman in a male-dominated, misogynistic scene and, as she once told Vulture, anger had become her primary means of communication throughout her formative years. "The scene has also seen its fair share of misogyny and abuse”, he adds. “A lot of bands have been called out for some pretty horrible behavior towards women over the years. Most of this has come since the rise of the MeToo movement, so I admire Paramore and Hayley Williams even more as I'm sure it can't have been easy being one of the few, if not the only, band with a female lead singer in the scene for so many years." Another big fan, Jo, seems to agree: "I think Hayley has influenced a lot of women to express themselves in the pop-punk rock scene. From changing their hair color to having a side part and colored jeans, studded belts, etc. Her look was something a lot of people wanted to recreate as teenagers. She also musically inspired women to go into different genres and even start their own bands”. For some of them, she was the spark that made them fall madly in love with music in the first place.

Think of Against The Current’s Chrissy Costanza or Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan. The former never hid her unconditional love for the Meridian-born artist, writing her a heartfelt letter, later posted on her Twitter account, in which she explained: "I had no idea how to be a front woman. How to command a room. I didn't know how to empower myself. I wasn't strong, I wasn't powerful, I wasn't a leader. Hayley changed all that. She showed me that it's OK for girls to be angry. It's okay for girls to be powerful, to lead, to command, to conquer. It's OK to break down that door and step on that implied 'no girls allowed' sign. It's OK to fight for something. It's OK to stand up for yourself when everyone wants to tell you how you should be, how a girl should be. The years have changed, the hair colors have changed, the music has changed, but the spirit of emancipation has never changed. It inspired me seven years ago, the day I first heard 'Riot!' and she has inspired me every day since”. The latter recounts that she saw Paramore live on the “Riot! Tour” at the age of 8 and cited the experience as a "big moment" that inspired her to eventually form her very own band. Paramore has also been instrumental in the artistic journey of pop-punk voices such as Chloe Moriondo and PVRIS’s Lynn Gunn. While Moriondo has dedicated a song to her favorite groups - including the American trailblazing band - in the tribute song “Favorite Band”, Gunn saw them open for Jimmy Eat World, only to realize that this is exactly what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Since then, she has never stopped working, learning, and perfecting herself.

Now the group is back, six years after their “After Laugher” 80s-inspired era and a much-needed break to find a new identity. The product of this long search is their latest effort: "This Is Why", a rougher, more mature, self-aware, and almost shouting album at the world around them. A critique of contemporary society through ten catchy, direct, and focused songs.

Recorded in Los Angeles with long-time collaborator Carlos de la Garza, it perfectly encapsulates the plethora of conflicting emotions and basically sums up the rollercoaster ride of being alive in 2022, having survived the last three years through a pandemic, several wars, and another economic crisis. The energy that has always characterized the Nashville band is not lost, but their origins are forgotten. There are plenty of pop moments in songs like “The News” and the ironic “C'est Comme Ca”. There is also room for more melodic moments such as "Big Man, Little Dignity" and the tender "Liar". The Paramore gene is fully expressed on the eponymous title track and "Running Out of Time", where the band skillfully floats towards their more alt-rock dimension amidst guitars and reflections on our present. The good old days remain a fond memory, but I wonder if they still resonate with their fanbase after almost 20 years in the music business.

Alessia, an Italian fan who's been listening to Paramore ever since she was a tiny teenager, recalls: "I feel like my relationship with their music has changed and matured a lot, as it resonates with me even more now that I'm in my twenties. I have started to appreciate their new sound a lot, as well as relate to their lyrics more than in my formative years ".
“I think when they first started out they created music that was ahead of time and since then they have evolved and adapted into what is the genre of the moment, of that year or decade. It's been a while since I've seen Paramore live, but I'd been keen to see them again as the last time was at Leeds Festival several years ago. I think Hayley has always been vocally talented”, states Jo. “I prefer Paramore’s old-school rock tracks, but their modern sound is great to listen to when you're working from home or want something more chilled to listen to as well.”

"I am 28 now and their music still resonates with me today," Freddie confirms. "It's nice to be able to go back to their early albums and remember how they helped me when I was going through a difficult period in my mental health, so I can give myself credit for how I feel now and how far I've come. I can’t say I looked up to Hayley back then, but I definitely admire her now for the reasons I stated previously regarding misogyny in the pop-punk scene and because of the impact her voice and the band had on so many other new bands that came after it who had female lead singers. I think the likes of Tonight Alive, Yours Truly, Stand Atlantic, Meet Me @ The Altar, Hey Monday, and even a band like Pale Waves, who started off being more influenced by The 1975, would credit Hayley Williams and Paramore as vital for their success as bands.”

Paramore returned to the stage last weekend to open for Taylor Swift's two dates on “The Eras Tour” in Glendale, Arizona, after a brief stint touring the States prior to the release of “This Is Why”. On the occasion, the American singer-songwriter took the opportunity to say a few words about Hayley, Taylor York, and Zac Farro. "You just got to see one of the most, in my opinion, influential, incredible live acts that we have out there in the world! You got to see Paramore. Like, there is not a stage that Hayley Williams has ever stepped on that she did not devour.”

The evidence is impossible to deny. The Franklin-born band's success was probably down to their ability to speak to a generation straddling analog and digital. They shed light on exceedingly important issues such as self-reflection, severe anxiety, depression, and mental health. They reminded us of the importance of being unapologetically ourselves, of fighting against all forms of prejudice and stereotypes, of never letting a man tell a woman what she can do, how she should look or behave. Although time passes inexorably and it is impossible to counter its advance, the Italian philosopher Gianbattista Vico argued that history is cyclical and always repeats itself, albeit in different ways. Looking back at Paramore's history and their latest effort, we can attest that they have once again shown us that there will always be a dash of teenage angst in every fiber of our bodies and that is perfectly fine. We have to embrace it. I have to embrace it. And when I look at my deep, unconditional love for music, I realize that - like so many other millennials - I have not changed that much.

Words: Alessia Bisini

Photo Credits: Press

Disclaimer: The original version of this feature appeared on the American publication The Punk Head on Feb. 23rd 2023.