Discussion: Why Are We Scared To Like Paramore?

On Wednesday, Tom Breihan described Paramore as being “arguably the best of the MySpace emo wave, for whatever that’s worth” – a sentence as defensive as an abused puppy flinching at the touch of a shelter worker. (Weirdly, within hours of name-dropping the Get Up Kids.) It’s 2010, guys: we’re all listening to dance music our middle school selves would’ve dubbed a homophobic expletive. Why are we so afraid to listen to, much less enjoy, Paramore? Look: here’s an album stream. Pop open a new tab, put it on and listen. Is “Misguided Ghosts” really so much less evocative than Bon Iver? Isn’t “Careful” just a couple of haircuts and a guitar pedal away from Metric? Let’s talk this out in the comments.

Previously: First Look: Paramore – Brand New Eyes