CWW: Hayley Williams

Hayley Williams was born December 27, 1988 in Meridian, Mississippi.  After her parents’ divorce in 2002, Williams moved to Franklin, Tennessee where she met her soon-to-be band members Jeremy Davis, Josh and Zac Farro. The guys from the band admit they were a bit “edgy about the whole female thing” in having Williams be their lead singer. After they realized her singing talent and songwriting ability they truly wanted her in the band. Later Jason Baynum joined the group as a rhythm guitarist. Their band, Paramore was officially signed by Atlantic Records in 2004 and have since released four studio albums, All We Know Is Falling, Riot!, The Final Riot! and Brand New Eyes. The band recently launched an Instragram account allowing fans to view the progress on their upcoming album, a follow-up to their last album, Brand New Eyes that is projected to release in 2013. In 2003, Hayley was asked to sign as a solo artist but resisted. After an interview with HitQuarters, Williams made it very clear what she wanted. The band’s A&R at Atlantic, Steve Robertson, said,  “She wanted to make sure we didn’t look at her as some straight to the Top 40 princess. She wanted to make sure that she and her band got the chance to show what they can do as a rock band writing their own songs.” The band continues to be extremely successful and has been recognized at the American Music Awards, Grammy Awards, Kerrang! Awards (Won- Best Album-2010), Los Premios MTV, MTV Australia, MTV Europe Music Awards (Won-Best Alternative-2010), MTV Movie Awards, MTV Music Video Awards, MTVU Woodie Awards (Won-Woodie of the Year-2008), NME Awards USA, People’s Choice Awards (Won-Favorite Rock Band-2010/2011), Scream Awards, Shockwaves NME Awards (Won-Best International Band-2010) and Teen Choice Awards (Won- Rock Track/Rock Group-2009-2011).

 Aside from Hayley’s work and dedication to Paramore, her fiery red hair, unique wardrobe and amazing vocal talent scored her many cameos on other artist’s albums. These include, October Fall’s- “A Season in Hell” and “Say Anything’s In Defense of the Genre”, Twilight Soundtrack- “Decode”, New Found Glory- “Tangled Up” and the track “Airplanes”, a collaboration with hip-hop artist B.oB, which peaked at number two in America and topped the carts in England. Williams’s first solo composition, “Teenagers” was included in the movie soundtrack to Jennifer’s Body. She recently won Hottest Female at the 2012 NME Awards and Tweeter of the Year at the 2012 Kerrang! Awards. In the past Williams’s has been nominated for both a Grammy and a BET award for best collaboration for “Airplanes”.  She is awesome, check her out!

"Brick By Boring Brick"

She lives in a fairy tale

Somewhere too far for us to find

Forgotten the taste and smell

Of the world that she's left behind

It's all about the exposure the lens I told her

The angles were all wrong now

She's ripping wings off of butterflies

Keep your feet on the ground

When your head's in the clouds

Well go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole

To bury the castle, bury the castle

Go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole

To bury the castle, bury the castle

Ba da ba ba da ba ba ha

So one day he found her crying

Coiled up on the dirty ground

Her prince finally came to save her

And the rest you can figure out

But it was a trick

And the clock struck twelve

Well make sure to build your house brick by boring brick

Or the wolf's gonna blow it down

Keep your feet on the ground

When your head's in the clouds

Well go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole

To bury the castle, bury the castle

Go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole

We'll bury the castle, bury the castle

Well you built up a world of magic

Because your real life is tragic

Yeah you built up a world of magic

If it's not real

You can't hold it in your hand

You can't feel it with your heart

And I won't believe it

But if it's true

You can see it with your eyes

Oh, even in the dark

And that's where I want to be, yeah

Go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole

To bury the castle, bury the castle

Go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole

To bury the castle, bury the castle

[x2]

Ba da ba ba da ba ba da

Ba da ba ba ba da ba ba

Ba da ba ba da ba ba da

                         Ba da ba ba ba ba ba ba

Quote from Hayley Williams’ journal in the Brand New Eyes Deluxe Edition about 

Brick By Boring Brick:

"I believe it's important to stay young at heart. To have faith in what might seem impossible and to have goals beyond your current ambitions or temporary means. However, there is a huge difference, to me anyways, between acknowledging your dreams and never living in reality. Some people are so scared of being boring- so insecure with who they might be- that they build up this huge lie, it's all one big distraction. For not only the on-lookers but for their self. To me, it is a selfish way to live. A great means of defense. But selfish nonetheless. I've been hurt by this lifestyle. Hurt by people I barely know. I've even been guilty of living this way. It's so common. I'm glad that I've found some words to finally speak up about it.”

Relation to class: “Wolf Alice” By Angela Carter & “Letter to a Daughter at Thirteen” By Barbara Kingsolver

“Its all about the exposure the lens I told her”

I think the lyrics mean that life is all about the perspective one chooses to take, whether that be living in one’s own controlled fantasy world or facing the reality of the ups and downs of life.

Wolf Alice is accustomed to living her life in a timeless, “now” state of mind. This relates to the song because in a sense she is living in a fairytale world where nothing exists except present time. The song refers to a girl who only “lives in the fairy tales”, meaning she chooses not to expose herself to the reality of her life. The girl is also stuck in a timeless state of mind because she thinks she is able to control her reality. It is not until Wolf Alice’s first menstruation cycle that she learned how to prepare for the future and recall experiences. Also, when she comes into contact with human objects such as the mirror and the dress, she is able to realize the significance and appreciate it from a non-animalistic view. The mirror acts as her “lens” which allows her to see herself as she truly is. The girl from the song will never know who she truly is until she shifts her exposure and steps into reality.

“But it was a trick and the clock struck twelve well make sure to build your house brick by boring brick or the wolf’s gonna blow it down. “

I believe this means that those who choose to live exclusively in a fantasy world will eventually find that reality will come and bite them in the butt. “Make sure to build your house brick by boring brick” is using the symbol of a brick to represent solidity and the house is representing a safe place. It is saying that it is important to have a sense of solidity built up around your safe place in life (identity). The brick may also represent the traditional, plain and boring aspects of life, which people who live in fairytales pretend do not exist.

I related this to Barbara Kingsolver’s, Letter to a Daughter at Thirteen, because I saw Kingsolver as someone who had a hard time finding solidity and a safe place during her younger years. I think she created a fantasy world for herself where she was always doing something wrong, causing her much self-hate and confusion. Ironically the novels she read brought her to her safe place, where she was able to learn a lot about herself and the many opportunities her life had presented her. I think she gained solidity through watching her daughter and being a proud mother.  She says, “You have more confidence and wisdom beyond anything I’d found at your age.”

“Support music every day because there isn’t a day music won’t be there for you!” 

― Hayley Williams