The most beautiful thing to come out of alternative music, according to black people--right after Ms. Lana Del Rey, of course--is the one and only Paramore. Nobody stans Paramore more than black people. We are just so happy for them and their overall success over the years. And it all started with "Twilight."
It was 2008, and "Twilight" was making its debut on the big screen. As a wide-eyed prepubescent kid, this was everything to me (I was obviously Team Jacob). This was when I first discovered Paramore and their unique snares and enthralling melodies. It was the song "Decode" that did it for us. The music video even enhanced that love.
It was at that moment that the Black community officially decided to stan Paramore. Paramore was that GIRL.
Not long after this "crushcrushcrush" (see what I did there) began, we discovered that Paramore was more than just their hit movie soundtrack song. They had plenty of other bops too. My personal favorite is "Misery Business," in which the lead singer, the beautiful and wonderful Ms. Hayley Williams, sings about a young girl scorned by love, and somehow I felt like ten-year-old me could relate to that. It made me want to call up the ex I never had on my flip phone. Fast forward a bit and you find yourself jamming to "Ain't it Fun" and "Still Into You," which are unarguable anthems.
I think this time period was the pinnacle of kids who thought they were rebelling against their parents, and even more so for a community who wasn't really into the alternative/rock scene. Paramore made it okay to be different and to be black at the same time. It was okay that Lil Wayne or Soulja Boy didn't tickle your fancy. And I thank Paramore for being there for me during "Hard Times" (did you see that time?).