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It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s read more than a few articles here on the Chez that fellow blogger Dukemich and I are big Paramore fans. We’re also both big fans of ripping off each other’s ideas for blogs. And one of the most frequent ways we do this is with countdowns. I already did a Best of Linkin Park second take, so why not go with a Paramore version now. Just as a heads up, mine’s gonna have some unusual choices, but hey, what can I say, I get a weird satisfaction out of being different. I’ll post videos and if I can, make them Dragon Ball Z ones, although I realize how much more difficult it will be find Paramore/DBZ videos that Linkin Park/DBZ ones. Anyway, let’s get right to it.

Honorable Mentions

My Heart (The Final Riot Version): I like the song My Heart well enough… until the screaming comes in, which fits so poorly it’s downright anathema to the rest of the song. It literally ruins it. However, the live version takes that out and seems to do this song how it was meant to be. I’d love to participate in this version at a concert. But the screams? No thanks.

Whoa: This is one of those songs that I’m not entirely sure why I like it so much. It’s just…. fun. It’s relatively simple, but it’s just a fun song to sing along to.

Pressure: Oh, how closely Paramore skirted the line of being emo in their early days. The video for this song is probably the prime example of that. Nonetheless, it’s a good song, but for the most part, pretty unremarkable. Good, but not great.

Miracle: Miracle is like the poor kid that always gets left behind. Among all the other very memorable songs from Riot!, it just gets lost, so much it was the only song from the album not included on The Final Riot. But it’s a nice song and I don’t think it gets as much as love as it should. But it’s still not good enough for the top 15. Okay, here we go!

15.  Emergency

All right, kicking off the countdown proper with an All We Know is Falling classic, Emergency! I like this one a fair bit more than Pressure, though neither is my favorite from that particular album. Anyway, Emergency is a solid song all around, but much like most of the honorable mentions, nothing about it sticks out too much. And that’s why it lands toward the bottom of the list.

(It’s not a DBZ video, but Fullmetal Alchemist is an incredibly amazing anime and a totally worthy substitute for DBZ)

14. All We Know

All right, and in one of the first major instances of going against the grain in my list, I have All We Know ranked above both of the much more popular and well known singles from Paramore’s first album (Case in point: On Youtube, the view count for Pressure and Emergency are both around 16 million and then All We Know is only 2.3 million). So why do I have it higher? Well, because it’s a better song. It jumps right into things, Hayley’s really on her game and the song is very personal and emotional. I feel like it very well reflects the youth of Paramore at this time as well. It’s funny watching the video as I work on this blog and seeing how young they all looked, especially Hayley.

(Couldn’t find anything good for this one)

13. Careful

Now this is one of those songs that’s a great deal of fun to sing along to. It’s catchy and I like the intro that starts off slowly easing into the song. Hayley really nails the chorus and the Farro brothers both really did their thing.

(Nothing good for this one either)

12. For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic

I absolutely cannot think of a better way to describe myself than the title of this song. As such, I guess you could say it holds a special place in my heart. Everything about this song is very solid, but at the same time, there’s nothing that particularly stands out. It’s just vintage Paramore.

(No luck again)

11. Monster

One thing you gotta love about Paramore is their tendency to turn real life experiences and tribulations into kick ass music. And I don’t think there’s any point in pretending this song isn’t about the departure of the Farro brothers. It’s pretty rockin’ for Paramore and the chorus is pretty powerful. Good stuff.

(Well, it’s not DBZ, but how about another fantastic anime? This time it’s Death Note)

10. Hallelujah

And we break into the top ten with Hallelujah. Back when I first got into Paramore and was going through and listening to all their songs for the first time, this one was my favorite for about a half hour. Cool story, right? Anyway, this a great song to sing along to. As befits its name, it’s just a rather joyous song, one suited well to an air of celebration or accomplishment.

(No dice)

9. Ignorance

And here we have another of Paramore’s most rockin’ songs. The guitars and drums really get cranked up on this one and Hayley sings with a distinct tone in her voice that lets you know this song is really coming from the heart. Like most of their songs, this is also a fun way to sing to. And also great to quote whenever anyone brings up the concept ignorance in a conversation.

(At last, success!)

8. That’s What You Get

Ah, now if you want a song that’s fun to sing, here you go. I can be a pretty insecure guy and I felt kinda weird when I first started liking Paramore, as they weren’t really popular yet and it was all like, “oh, a girl singer? well, that’s so gay!” Surprisingly, I had the courage to ask my friends to play this on Rock Band and the rest is history. The chorus, especially the “whoa” part is just, happy, I guess. It’s fun to sing.

(And more Fullmetal Alchemist!)

7. Crushcrushcrush

One time while walking through the mall with dukemich (what, two 20 something guys can’t walk through the mall together?), we spotted a seemingly random soda machine in the middle of nowhere, with utterly nothing else surrounding it. What soda was displayed prominently on the screen? Crush. And every since then, that soda has morphed into crushcrushcrush soda for dukemich and I. Anyway, yeah, this is a great song all around, one with a bridge that really makes you feel like rocking out.

(Back to DBZ!)

6. Brick By Boring Brick

This is mostly a lyrics-driven song, but that’s fine with me, as I tend to put more weight on the lyrics than any other aspect of a song. Interestingly, though, I do very much like instrumental music. I guess I just feel that if there are lyrics, they better be good. And this song hits it out of the park in that regard. I love all the references to fairy tales and classic stories. And the reality of having to bury one’s inner child rather hits home for me. Yeah, still working on that. Oh, and the bridge is fantastic in this one.

(Two in a row!)

5. Born For This

I feel like this one is really underrated. It’s pretty much Paramore’s only song that could really be classified in the “pump up” genre, but man, can it get me fired up. Cliche though they might be, the lyrics of the chorus really are quite true. And then when the title of the song finally gets dropped toward the end, it’s just epic. Oh, Hayley, I’ll glad say anything along you. Just say the words.

(And he bowls the turkey!)

4. Misery Business

Gasp?! Misery Business at only number four? Yes, believe it. The song that catapulted Paramore into stardom and arguably their most popular and well know song (Decode being the main challenger there, though The Only Exception might actually have a case as well) is only their fourth best in my opinion. This is a rockin’ one and that guitar riff toward the end after the bridge is all kinds of awesome. Hayley really nails this one and Josh really kills it on the guitar. Fare thee well, Josh. We miss you.

(He. Could. Go. All. The. Way!)

3. Let the Flames Begin (Live)

Now, you wanna talk epic, here you go. The original Let the Flames Begin was a good, though not remarkable song. Well, Paramore took that and turned it into something absolutely incredible in their live performances. It literally doesn’t even seem like the same song. The guitars and drums are going crazy in terms of awesome, Hayley really turns things up and then we hit the addition at the end of the song, the incredible “Oh Father” outro. Hayley’s passion every time she sings that part is unreal. I’m so glad I had the pleasure of seeing it live. Truly epic.

(I did find a DBZ video with the regular Let the Flames Begin, but the live version is much better, so enjoy this video from the Paramore concert that I went to Atlantic City [I did not take this video and take no credit for it])

2. Misguided Ghosts

Yep, a song that didn’t make dukemich’s list at all, not even in the honorable mentions, comes in at number two for me. And I was very, very close to putting it at number one. But I’m sure by now you all know what will come in at number one anyway. Well, perhaps I like this song so very much because of how dearly it speaks to me. I just realized even though I said “For a pessimist, I’m pretty optimistic” is a perfect way to describe me, the term “misguided ghost” might suit me even better. I’m really just a guy trying to find his place and I’m rather misguided. You could say I have no direction. But at the same time, I feel like I have to break free, go somewhere I don’t feel safe. I have to branch out. I don’t want to feel useless. I don’t want to be a ghost. On a side note, how about a little shameless blog for my other blog that I set up, which owes its name and partly its inspiration to this wonderful song. Check it out. Note to self: Update that blog.

Judging the song itself, it’s just fantastic. Hayley’s voice is soft, almost somber. The guitar seems sorrowful and hopeful at the same time. And, as I’ve shown, the lyrics absolutely speak to me, more than any other Paramore song. So partly because I can relate to it so much and partly because I do believe it’s genuinely a fantastic song, Misguided Ghosts comes in at number two. So, since number one is a foregone conclusion at this point, let’s just get to it.

(I would’ve been floored if I actually found a DBZ/Misguided Ghosts video. Instead of that, here’s one with the incredibly gory and disturbing, but at the same fantastic, anime, Elfen Lied.)

1. Decode

I just would like to point out that I did become a fan of Paramore well before the whole Twilight craze kicked off. But to me, it doesn’t really matter when you became a fan or why. It just matters that you are. Honestly, this song is probably the single best thing to come out of any and all things Twilight. It stands head and shoulders above the books, the films and all the other songs found on the films’ soundtracks (although I will readily admit that the soundtrack to the first movie kicked ass). It is that awesome. Hayley is at her most vocally powerful throughout the song and the instruments and everything seemed to just be, harder I guess, than most of their songs. It almost seems like something more along the lines of Evanescence than Paramore. The bridge is fantastic, Hayley really sounds heartfelt, the choruses are extremely powerful and the song ends in a truly beautiful manner. Truly, this is Paramore at their finest and I would quite like to see them make another song in the same vein as this one. Or another acoustic masterpiece like Misguided Ghosts. Anyway, this concludes my list, so adios.

(And we have to finish it off with DBZ)