From the Archive is a series on playlists past.
526 was one of those playlists that started with the title track: Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. I don’t know what exactly triggered my memory of this absolutely incredible song, but it hit me like a load of bricks. It’s not tasteful or elegant—it bangs. I’ve been told that I never was nor ever will be a teenage dirtbag, but I sure do like to scream this song in my car.
A more accurate reflection of my teenage experience is my obsession with The Killers. I love Hot Fuss (2004) as a piece, but their hits record was the first album I really wanted to own on vinyl. “For Reasons Unknown” and “Smile Like You Mean It” are perfect songs. I imagined—and imagine still—myself laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling blankly while “Somebody Told Me” shakes the walls.
I’ve rediscovered Paramore recently. I’m entranced by their live cover of “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac (in which Hayley Williams repeatedly belts a B4) and have been revisiting Riot! (2007) and Brand New Eyes (2009). Some of my favorite tracks include “Brick by Boring Brick”, “Misguided Ghosts”, “crushcrushcrush”, and “Feeling Sorry.”
In the wake of the new Britney Spears documentary and the #FreeBritney movement, the media has been forced to produce tepid concessions to various women in the music industry. Although this is too little, too late, I believe Hayley Williams deserves to be included; she was demonized as a manipulative, tyrannical front-woman whose bad behavior culminated in the break-up of her band. In reality, Paramore never broke up, and Williams rebuilt the band from ashes after the dramatic departure of their guitarist and drummer. If anyone cares to know:
Hayley was publicly slammed by these members via various early-aughts social media platforms and news outlets ate it up, quoting the caustic posts and perpetuating the narrative that Hayley pushed these members out of the band. I remember reading that Hayley was the problem, that she wanted the band to break up to go solo; she was the only member with their name in the contract with Atlantic. Would the media have responded to a male lead singer the same way?
As a female musician, I’m always wary of becoming the target of such defamation. My reflection on Paramore and all its controversy makes me angry on behalf of Williams, and all women in music who find themselves in similar positions. We owe them apologies, and we owe their contemporaries media landscapes free of virulent sexism.