Hayley Williams was always an individualist… until the self-titled album and the departure of the Farro brothers. Her hair may have changed a little, but her style changed so drastically to where she goes against her original anti-conformist ways. But why do music artists seem to do that in the first place? It's like taking the word "artist" and transforming it into "money". I feel like all that these stars eventually want is money. They become so entrapped in the perks and views of stardom. Eventually the moral and pleasuring value disappears and turns into the three F's: fame, fortune, and fans.
But why am I using Paramore as an example? There are plenty of other bands who are experiencing this phenomenon in my opinion as well: Muse, Linkin Park… who is now going to have Chester Bennington destroy Stone Temple Pilots, Cobra Starship, Sick Puppies… What on earth is happening? This regression in the music industry… and even society, wants people to fit in. Ultimately, those who try to fit in ultimately become unhappy, fall down the drain, and possibly even disband. Thankfully, Paramore is very resilient because when their band members left, they didn't quit and continued going. Perseverance is a highly respected quality in any respect.
The goal of music should be to have fun, entertain, and inspire people through the emotion and passion conveyed through the sounds… NOT to sell out and make money. Eventually, musicians will turn into drones and acquire an obsession for money. Unfortunately, in a capitalistic society, people believe that money will make them happy and successful. Ultimately, money does not display success. It only means people were willing to throw paper at you because you put a heavy price tag on yourself. That's not what music is all about and what it was truly meant to be. Art is conveyed through a genuine passion… and always should be!
One thing that bothers me about Paramore and other bands such as Maroon 5, is that the more they evolve, the more they push the "band" in the background and put all the spotlight on the vocalist. The vocals are generally presented with the most emphasis in a song and the vocalist generally stands in the front. Since they move around the most on stage and the spotlight follows them, the rest of the band is left in the shadows… literally. A band wouldn't be a band without all its pieces… Otherwise, it's just a person representing a broken entity. Hayley Williams is NOT Paramore. Her and the rest of the band members are Paramore… Though the singer may be the fronting the band, the singer should not receive all of the credit for the band.
Music is about everyone turning into stars and taking the music away from the heart and turning it into publicity and money. That's not what music is all about. Yes, every industry has competition and each artist wants to be the best in their category, otherwise known as genre. Artists usually start from the bottom and provide their own sense of authenticity and put it onto the table. The more they get noticed, the more they start being sucked into the vortex of fame. Fame mutates artists into conformists. Conformist songs have redundant lyrics, sound fake, fixed, and they even all sound very similar with minor differences to morph it into what society calls a song. And they're even dressed the way Hollywood wants you to look like too...
If the world wonders what the moral of the story is, it's that new music that lands on the billboard charts and that's overplayed on the radio is the type of music that turns into a sellout instead of something beautiful. The lyrics and tunes and redundant, the music doesn't sound authentic and instead sounds mass produced; most people who appreciate the band's older albums won't like the newer ones. Paramore has turned from a punk rock superstar into a broken band struggling to adjust to society's pop music interests. The music industry seems to be turning into pop and country act. What really made me the most upset was when on X-Factor, when the finals were down to a 13 year-old girl with an old soul of a voice vs a country singer who could potentially be my father who sounds like all the rest of the country singers, guess who won? The person who got more votes, not the one with the most talent. That's why later in life, those with the actual talent get the recognition they deserve, like Chris Daughtry! In my opinion, I think that the current meaning of music is tarnished. Music is turning into a conformity for bands to please the fans and not themselves. With an art, when not being genuine, those who appreciate art see that the talent diminishes and the music turns into an epic disaster... Music without quality is a devastation to everyone!
If you want some more inspiration or find out when I post my next poem or blog post, like me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebsMcduxler
No comments:
Post a Comment