aberk

Interesting, I'll go try and find some more live videos and focus on what the bass is doing this time.

This is either going to result in a locked thread and my crucifixion by rabid fans, or provide some genuinely interesting viewpoints (I hope for the latter ). For the background, I'm a nineteen year old male from the UK, I listen primarily to classic rock [Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Thin Lizzy, Jimi Hendrix...] but you can just as easily find a slew of Sugababes, Beethoven, Metallica, Jimmy Eat World, The Pixies, Herbie Hancock, Arctic Monkeys and so on, lurking in my music library. I've been drumming for about eight years, and most of the music I like is based on its the technical level; There's nothing better than a bloody good solo. Of course, I should also point out some of the greatest music is also the most simple - it doesn't need to be especially complex for me to enjoy it. Now that we're done with the preamble let me start by saying, I think Paramore are, quite frankly, mind blowing. As oxymoronic as it sounds, they also disappoint me greatly. Hayley truly has talent bursting at the seams; too many bands now adays don't give enough weight to the vocals and the result is like nails on a chalkboard. Not only does she write [i presume she's the one who writes them, perhaps I'm wrong?] incredibly meaningful, and exciting lyrics, but she also applies them in very creative ways. For me, the vocals should always be like another instrument and she certainly uses her voice like one. I've only watched a handful of the live videos on youtube, and she's still impressive there so what more could you ask for? Very few drummers from this genre [pop punk?] make me stand up and take notice, but Zac has a powerful groove and I very much like what he's doing. He's got the sort of energy I try to exhibit during my gigs, but I find it surprisingly lacking in a lot of who sit behind the skins. For me, the band pretty much stops there. As harsh as it sounds, I think it's fair to say (from my perspective), 95% of the musical character of the band is derived from the vocals and the drums. Nothing turns me on more than a mouth watering bassline, but there's nothing very exciting happening in that respect. Perhaps it's indicative or limiting due to the type of music, but the fact it's so unnoticeable, makes it even more noticeable. Finally we have the guitar. Like I said above, there's nothing more delectable than a solo, and there just aren't any. I'm talking about proper guitar solos here; considering 'Misery Business', yes you could class the 'solo' part, as a 'solo' but it's not really a solo. Apologies for the patronising that is about to follow, but I'm guessing I don't need to elaborate on what should constitute a guitar solo - I can do if people feel I haven't been clear enough. The main problem is that, although Paramore's songs are catchy as hell, have fantastic vocals and explosive drumming, there isn't the keystone in the middle [the solo?] to make it fit together. I certainly enjoy listening to them, but I can't really rate them very highly because of the reasons I've just explained. I would consider them absolutely amazing if they were able to melt faces with the guitar every once in a while, but their list of influences doesn't have much in the way of notable guitarists who would offer inspiration and the fact that they're already going places means there probably won't be much time for the practice required to improve the general skill level. I mean, maybe I'm wrong - during live shows does the guitarist break out a block full of rock? I just haven't heard anything from him which indicates that he has the technical ability necessary to pull off such a feat. What does everyone else think? Again, I hope I don't sound like too much of a prick making the following observation, but it seems like an appreciation of Paramore correlates with the appreciation of other bands which also have a similar problem - my point being that if you're not listening to things centred around soloing ability, it's likely not to bother you here too. Do you think they're lacking in solos, or have you not considered it? Do their strengths outweigh their weakeness? Tell me what you think!