It’s been a big few weeks for famed American musicians Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro, aka Paramore. On Sunday February 4th, at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the adept, acclaimed and revered alt-rock trio won the awards for Best Rock Album for their stellar sixth record, This Is Why, and Best Alternative Music Performance for said record’s riveting title track.
Reacting to the wins, the band said on social media, “First off, infinite thanks to our fans, our team, and the voting academy for making This Is Why such a moment for us, 20 years into our career. Our band won two Grammys last night, sitting together in Zac’s living room, dressed in our regular clothes (yes, we saw the empty red carpet meme).
“Turns out, our win for Best Rock Album was a historic feat as we are the first female-fronted band to ever take home a trophy for this category. Ridiculous yet true! It’s an honor for Paramore to be a small but constant reminder for people to keep pushing these rock and alternative spaces to be more inclusive.
“Some of you will know that This Is Why was our last album for our deal with Atlantic Records. To finish anything well is something to be proud of. Thank you to anyone who supported the ethos of Paramore as much as the music.
“- Hayley, Taylor, Zac”.
Then, on Saturday February 10th, following the above momentous wins, the extremely talented trio announced that they have been named the 2024 Record Story Day Ambassador.
Speaking about this appointment, Paramore stated on social media, “After a long career in the music industry we have decided to announce that we are going to continue to have a long career in the music industry (sorry for any inconvenience).
“Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent records stores- a vital part of our journey from music obsessed school friends to professional music makers.
“With that being said, we are humbled to be your Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. The timing feels kismet.
“The discovery of music was always meant to be romantic. Indie record shops are some of the only spaces we’ve got that offer a tangible, tactile experience of music discovery.
“In this world that feels more disconnected and hostile than ever, it feels important to remain in touch (literally) with what inspires us, empowers us, or simply brings us joy.
“Thankfully, for all our sakes, there still survives among the chaos, the purity and radical simplicity of a great record store.
“Independently yours,
“Paramore”.
And in the midst of all of the above, Hayley, Taylor and Zac also managed to find the time to release a brand new single in the form of a fantastic cover of Talking Heads tune “Burning Down the House”.
Recorded for a tribute compilation called Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Stop Making Sense, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense and its soundtrack, Paramore’s enormously enthralling new rendition of “Burning Down the House” features a very invigorating mixture of magnificently mellifluous, splendidly expressive and spectacularly wide ranging vocal work and delightfully upbeat, irresistibly energising and tremendously skilful instrumentation, all of which plays out across a terrific collection of splendidly zestful verses and hugely electrifying choruses, giving rise to a wonderfully rousing, marvellously lively and consistently spellbinding offering that embeds itself deep in the mind and refuses to withdraw.
You can listen to Paramore’s superlative cover of “Burning Down the House” via the official Behind the Scenes video below.
Paramore’s engrossing rendition of “Burning Down the House” is also available to stream and download now.