Paramore - Ignorance

May 18, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Paramore is probably my favourite band of all time. They have had a number of hits, and I can only see them getting better and better. When this song was released, the band consisted of Hayley Williams, Josh Farro, Zac Farro, Taylor York and Jeremy Davis. Recently the Farro brothers have left as they didn't like the direction the band was going. But I'm sure it's going to be their biggest mistake ever, as Paramore will be in the public eye for ever and ever.

This song was written by Hayley Willams and Josh Farro. The song was written during Paramore's worst time. They were close to splitting up, and they each took time away to collect their thoughts. The song is about growing up, and the emotional tolls it takes. But also the fact that they weren't connecting with each other during the height of their fame. It gives this band an edge, and they are pretty brave to sing songs that are so personal to them, and I think this is the main reason why I like them so much. However the fact that I saw them back in 2008 with Tink09 and Hollagram Star, may actually be the real reason.

This music video is a big performance piece, and it's very theatrical and personal, that you know that they believe every single word they are singing. It's stripped back, with no narrative, and this can work perfectly or go completely wrong. However this has that special spark that most performance-based music videos seem to be missing.

I love the "shoulder shrug" that Hayley Williams does. It's definitely my favourite part, and no matter how many times I attempt to copy it, I can never pull it off. I like how they are performing on a stage, you can feel the vibes of their performances and you feel like you're at one of their gigs, which is one of the biggest things performance-based music videos need to get across.

Now the light bulb, how can I miss commenting on that. It's clever, and the shadows and the darkness has been used effortlessly. It reminds me of ignorance, and that Hayley is confronting that ignorance. My favourite bit is right at the end, when she lets go of the light bulb and everything goes black.

Overall a great song that reached number 14 on the UK chart, which is Paramore's highest UK charting position to date. The music video is perfect, the only problem I have with it is the bit about half-way through, where Hayley is styled Japanese and is in a blue chamber. I don't see the point of it, and it's the one thing that doesn't feel right in this music video. However regardless of that I cannot help but feel this is worthy of this rating, and I hope you all agree.