AP: Paramore: Band of the Year

Unfortunately, Westminster College only forwards first class mail home over break which doesn't include magazines, so I was happy to be able to check my box immediately once I got back to school to get the newest Alternative Press.

Okay, so maybe I didn't check it immediately when I got back to school. It only took me a week to be shake my laziness and make the brisk walk across campus to the student center where I opened my box and saw the February 2008 issue with Paramore on the cover, glaring back at me with "Band of the Year" typed directly below their name in grey.

Band of the year?

Ok, so I agree. They wouldn't be a bad choice for band of the year. I shouldn't be surprised either. In fact, I remember reading an article on Paramore several years ago where the author called Hayley the next Gwen Stefani and compared her stage presence to that of Stefani's during No Doubt's rise to fame. That was probably about two years ago, around the same time Paramore was doing their first headlining tour. They stopped in Cleveland and luckily I was able to catch them.

I was blown away. Hayley was incredibly shorter in person.

Yes, I did get to meet her. After an astounding performance, we made our way out of the Agora Theatre and starting walking towards the car parked at a gas station close-by when we saw Ms. Williams signing autographs near-by. I believe the exchange went something like:

"Oh my gosh, there she is."
"Oh geez. Do you have your camera?"
"Yes. Here, hold this bag."

"Ok, now lets act like adults and not crazy fans."

"Uhhh, you were realllllly gooood tonight. Can I take my picture with you?"




I'm not gonna lie. When "Crushcrushcrush" happens to play on TV or at a restaurant, I brag to my friends that I met her. Yes, I am 21 years old and have since moved forward in my tastes in music. But validation feels good. I was one of those who knew about Paramore when they were touring small clubs--not becoming one of the most talked about rock bands since Fall Out Boy.

Murder and injustice in a small town

As a high school student, John Grisham was my favorite author. He was a younger, fresher writer who had interesting stories to tell, unlike the "great american fiction" that had been forced down my throat in English class. Now a junior in college, revisiting John Grisham for the first time in nearly four years has revitalized my interest in law and justice, evoking the same feeling as it did on that same did in 10th grade when opened to the first page of "A Time To Kill."

Two weeks ago and now 435 pages later I closed the book on two innocent men, wrongly convicted of rape and murder, just as the district court of Pontotoc County closed them book on them years ago, sentencing one to death and the other to life in prison. As I reflect, I am unable to comprehend the levity of being sentenced to die for a crime I did not commit. Could you imagine standing before a jury as an innocent man while listening to them administer the death penalty? To me, it is unfathomable.

I've never been able to give a straight answer as to my beliefs when it comes to the death penalty, and even after reading this book, I still can't. But I can say that I am appalled about what can happen in a court of law; junk science, bad police work, arrogant prosecution, and lying snitches removed from the jail cells and promised bargains if they talk. Let's just thank God for the discovery of DNA testing.

"God help us, if ever in this great country we turn our heads while thsoe who have not had fair trials are executed. That almost happened in this case."

-Judge Frank H. Seay, presiding District Court Judge who granted Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz a new trial