NOSTALGIA CYCLES
The New Yorker|February 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Why contemporary artists love the teen-age angst of early Paramore.
CARRIE BATTAN
NOSTALGIA CYCLES

The tides of influence in music history move in unexpected ways. There are very few towering rock legends or chart-dominating contemporary rappers, for instance, who've enjoyed the sprawling and intensifying authority of the pop-punk band Paramore. The band, which was formed in the mid-thousands by a group of Christian teen-agers from the outskirts of Nashville, rose to prominence as emo and pop punk were being commercialized for mainstream audiences. Paramorefronted by Hayley Williams, a vocal powerhouse with neon-marigold hair and a high degree of emotional athleticism was a small-town Myspace act that hit it big. By the band's third album, "Brand New Eyes," from 2009, it had been nominated for a Grammy and included on the "Twilight" soundtrack. The following year, departing bandmates condemned it for being a "manufactured product of a major label." No band had ever put the "pop" in "pop punk" more effectively than Paramore.

These days, the members of Paramore are in their early thirties, and are more interested in the eclectic sounds of art rock. But the emotional and stylistic influence of their earlier era still has a hold on a new generation of stars. A current wave of young, brooding rappers who incorporate emo and punk into their sounds frequently express reverence for Paramore. The theatrically excitable rap star Lil Uzi Vert asked Williams to feature on one of his songs. (She declined, telling him, "I don't want to be that famous.") In 2021, the Brooklyn rapper Bizzy Banks combined a Paramore hit from 2013 called "Still Into You" with a quintessentially brutal drill beat. In between rap verses detailing violent rivalries, he sang Williams's hook, "I'm iiiiiiinnnntttooo you." There are now YouTube explainers and think pieces dedicated to the topic of Paramore's Black fandom. "Liking Paramore is one of the Blackest things you can do right now," a vlogger named Madisyn Brown recently said.

Denne historien er fra February 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av The New Yorker.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av The New Yorker.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE NEW YORKERSe alt
The Football Bro - Pat McAfee brings a casual new style to ESPN.
The New Yorker

The Football Bro - Pat McAfee brings a casual new style to ESPN.

If, on a cool weekend morning in autumn, you happen to be watching “College GameDay,” on ESPN, don’t worry about figuring out which of the broadcasters behind the improbably long desk is Pat McAfee. He’s the one with the roast-pork tan, his hair cut high and tight, likely tieless among his more businesslike colleagues. The rest of the onair crew—Lee Corso, Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and, newly, the former University of Alabama coach Nick Saban—tend to look and dress and talk like participants in an old-school Republican-primary debate. McAfee, though, favors windowpane checks on his jackets and a slip of chest poking out from behind his two or three open buttons. If the others are politicians, he’s the cool-coded megachurch pastor who sometimes acts as their spiritual adviser.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 23, 2024
The Dark Time. - On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging.
The New Yorker

The Dark Time. - On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging.

On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging. The point of contact between NATO and Russia's nuclear stronghold is the small town of Kirkenes. For years, Russia has treated the area as a laboratory, testing intelligence and influence operations before replicating them across Europe.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 16, 2024
MIRROR IMAGES
The New Yorker

MIRROR IMAGES

‘A Different Man” and The Substance.”

time-read
6 mins  |
September 23, 2024
OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY
The New Yorker

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

Proximity to wealth proves perilous in Rumaan Alam’ novel Entitlement.”

time-read
9 mins  |
September 23, 2024
EYES WIDE SHUT
The New Yorker

EYES WIDE SHUT

How Monet shared a private world.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
WITH THE MOSTEST
The New Yorker

WITH THE MOSTEST

The very rich hours of Pamela Harriman.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
HUGO HAMILTON AUTOBAHN
The New Yorker

HUGO HAMILTON AUTOBAHN

On the Autobahn outside Frankfurt. November. The fields were covered in a thin sheet of snow.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
TRY IT ON
The New Yorker

TRY IT ON

How Law Roach reimagined red-carpet style.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
SORRY I'M NOT YOUR CLOWN TODAY
The New Yorker

SORRY I'M NOT YOUR CLOWN TODAY

Bowen Yang's trip to Oz, by way of conversion therapy and S..N.L.”

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
SNIFF TEST
The New Yorker

SNIFF TEST

A maverick perfumer tries to make his mark on a storied fashion house.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024