A new sound from Paramore

They will once again be rocking the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City tonight, Friday, Feb. 15. Their last visit three years ago was great so you can expect a lot of fans to show up on this one. I suppose it will also include the non-dating, not romantically-inclined kids who could not be bothered with Valentine’s week and just want to rock it and have a great time.

I am sure they will. Paramore is one of the newer bands with solid songwriting skills that can go the whole range of rock music. Think huge arena rousers to intimate ballads. So it was quite exciting to come across Now, a new single release. It turns out that the popular rock band has all this time been working on a new album, the first one to be titled Paramore, which is due for the stores in April and the song Now, the band’s latest, is one of the cuts.

Now is gorgeous. It is a soaring, anthemic ballad. It is not typically Paramore, but I see it as the blending of all the music that the group has created and discovered these past years. It is a sort of bringing everything together and finally finding the right sound. It is young and energetic with sparkling melodies and well-written lyrics. I detect a little bit of Ignorance and a little bit of Decode and some Misery Business perhaps. I also think of it as the natural follow-up to the song Monster from the Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon soundtrack.

How this new sound will fare all depends on Paramore fans, who must be excited about the upcoming CD. Take note, these guys still have to do a bad album. Besides, if I remember right, it has already been four years since Paramore’s last CD, Brand New Eyes and its biggest seller came out. It is the one with the big acoustic ballad The Only Exception. That is quite a long time for a young band to be working on a follow-up. But it is now almost here and if Now is any indication, then it will be another success for the group.

This should also put to rest fears that Paramore’s music will suffer because of the departure of guitarist Josh Farro and his brother, drummer Zac Farro. This development turned Paramore into a trio made up of leader Hayley Williams, rock’s red-haired sex symbol on vocals, piano and keyboards; Taylor York, on guitars and percussion, who shares the songwriting chores with Hayley; and Jeremy Davis on bass guitar.

They will be the stars at the MOA tonight. Tickets are priced at P5,810 (VIP); P5,280 (patron seated); P4,760 (patron standing); P3,700 (lower box); P1,800 (upper box); and P850 (general admission).

Postscript to the recent Grammy Awards. Here is something that should ease the disappointment that those artists, who went home without a Grammy, must be feeling now. That also includes all others who had been feeling the same way these past years. If it is any consolation, they are in very good company. There are so many, who like them had never won a Grammy.

In fact, a lot of names in the rosters of losers are now considered pop music legends. A good example is reggae icon Bob Marley, who was honored with a special tribute by a cast that included Sting and Bruno Mars during last Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

Of course, the Grammys have continued to remedy this oversight by naming those artists or their recordings into the Grammy Hall of Fame or giving them Lifetime Achievement Awards. But as Pinoys are often quick to remark, that is all consuelo de bobo. Nothing beats that flush of joy and excitement of hearing your name called as the winner. Here, found in the Digital Music News are the names of some of those to whom that had never happened and perhaps never will.

The Doors, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Bjork, Chuck Berry, The Grateful Dead, Diana Ross, Nas, The Beach Boys, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, Buddy Holly, Notorious B.I.G., Rush, Run D.M.C., Guns ‘n’ Roses, Boston, Sam Cooke, Talking Heads, The Ramones, The Everly Brothers, Patti Smith, Public Enemy, Sly & the Family Stone, The Sex Pistols, The O’Jays, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Motley Crue, Kiss, Deep Purple, Journey, Jackson Browne, The Pretenders, Toby Keith, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Kinks, The Smiths, ABBA, Dusty Springfield, Teddy Pendergrass, Oasis, Curtis Mayfield and The Byrds.