Riot!
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Riot!
Studio album by Paramore
Released	June 12, 2007
Recorded	January - April 2007 at the House of Loud, New Jersey
Length	38:47
Label	Fueled By Ramen
Producer	David Bendeth, John Janick
Professional reviews
Absolute Punk (71%) link Allmusic link Alternative Press Drowned In Sound (4/10) link NME (5/10) link Spin link Stylus Magazine (B+) link
Paramore chronology
The Summer Tic EP (2006) Riot! (2007) Live in the UK (2008)
Alternate cover
MVI+CD Re-release
Singles from Riot!
"Misery Business" Released: June 18, 2007 "Hallelujah" Released: September 18, 2007 (U.K.) "Crushcrushcrush" Released: January 15, 2008 "That's What You Get" Released: March 24, 2008

Riot! is the second studio album from the pop punk band Paramore, and was released in the United States on June 12, 2007 and in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2007. The album was certified Platinum in July 2008 by the RIAA, and Gold in the UK and Ireland. Riot! produced 4 singles, including the Top 40 hit "Misery Business", and "Hallelujah", "Crushcrushcrush" and "That's What You Get".

Music

Recording and production

The album was produced by David Bendeth. Lead vocalist Hayley Williams said the album was called Riot! because "For us, the title ‘RIOT!’ literally means an unbridled outburst of emotions. When we were writing, it seemed like our thoughts and emotions were coming out so fast that we couldn't control them. It felt like there was a riot within us. So the album takes our passion to a new level; it’s just all raw energy."^[1]

The title for "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic" comes from what Josh reflects as "putting your faith in someone and they blow it." But in the writing of the song. Josh composed the song and gave the demo to Hayley. Josh is known saying "I wrote the music specifically to be awesome live and to be extremely energetic. It all came out at once. I showed it to Hayley and she just nailed it lyrically. She completely got the feeling I wanted the song to have."^[1]

During production, Paramore held an online contest entitled "The Last Song You'll Ever Sing" where fans submitted videos on YouTube for the opportunity to sing back up vocals on the track "Born For This". The winner was Mary Bonney of McLean, Virginia. ^[2] On "That's What You Get," Steven from "Steven's Untitled Rock Show" is featured and is credited. The band asked him when he went to the studio.

Songs

The album has yielded four singles. "Misery Business", the album's fourth track and first single. The song "Misery Business" has its origins in a message Hayley put on the band’s Live Journal page, asking her fans to post what they’re ashamed of. "I found that people really were reaching out to someone to spill their guts to," she recalls, So I did the same thing lyrically in the song and let everything out. It’s more honest than anything I’ve ever written, and the guys matched that emotion musically."^[1] The song became an instant hit, eventually receiving heavy rotation on MTV and other music television networks.

The album's second single "Hallelujah". As Hayley recounts, "It’s one of the oldest songs we’ve got, but we wanted to save it for this record, and it’s the perfect home for it. It’s a claim of victory for both ourselves and our fans."^[1]

The album's third single was "Crushcrushcrush" and was released the 15 of January in the US and the 23 of January in the UK.

The album's fourth single "That's What You Get" was released just over a week after Paramore canceled their European tour to work on "personal issues"^[3], amidst media speculation of the band breaking up. Hayley Williams explained that, given the fragile state of the band, they all thought it best if they kept the shoot low-key, surrounding themselves with their friends and family, keeping it simple. And, in the process, the whole thing evolved from just another video shoot into an impromptu band therapy session, which Paramore desperately needed.

Hayley added "We had tons of friends there, and it really just felt like a hangout session. And Marcos [Siega, the director] was so cool about it. He said, 'Bring your friends.' We shot it in some of our friends' houses, and it just felt so real ... and I think it's the first time in a video you're gonna get to see who we really are."^[4]

Release

Riot! was released in the United States on June 12, 2007 following the debut of "Misery Business" on the radio. It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 charts at 20 in late 2007. Riot! sold 42,000 albums in the U.S. in its first week and three months later the album hit its peak at 15 on the Billboard 200. The album achieved some success in the UK reaching #24 on the albums chart. The album was certified Platinum in July 2008.^[5] The hit single "Misery Business has also been certified Gold by the RIAA.^[6] The album was re-released in late 2007 as a U-MYX MVI CD/DVD. The album has so far sold 1,018,290 copies in the U.S.^[7] Riot! was certified Platinum in the U.S on July 11, 2008.

Reception

Critical opinion for Riot! was mixed. Some critics gave the album positive reviews; Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars and commented that "Ultimately, this disc has enormous crossover potential, and will probably appeal to those who are fans of the genre, and for those who aren't, there's a good chance of it becoming a guilty pleasure."^[8] Stylus Magazine gave the album a B+ and said "Riot! is immediately appealing because it focuses on sounds that have been neglected by the genre’s front-runners. This is an uncomplicated album comprising of strikingly uncomplicated music, entirely lacking in 15 word song titles."^[9] Gareth Dobson of Drowned in Sound gave the album 4 out of 10 stars and said "At 38 minutes long, it’s mercifully brief, but still manages to feel like a double album for those who endure it. That’s those who don’t manage to forget that it’s on the stereo at all. People, get your pop-punk thrills somewhere else. At least somewhere where there are actual thrills to be had."

Accolades

Despite mixed and lukewarm reviews, Riot! found itself in several "must have" lists that were compiled by various music publications, networks, and other media. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Riot! are shown below:

Riot! Tour

Hayley said "We're hoping to do one more tour across the States before we really get started with all the (European summer) festivals. Of course, I want to do more Warped Tour dates, 'cause it's, like, my favorite tour ever. We'll see what works out and hopefully just have another great year."^[11]

After the album release the band went on an America tour following it up with a World tour. After their fourth single from Riot! was released the band canceled their European tour to work on "personal issues", amidst media speculation of the band breaking up.

Track listing

1. "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic" - 3:48 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams)
2. "That's What You Get" - 3:40 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams/T. York)
3. "Hallelujah" - 3:23 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams)
4. "Misery Business" - 3:31 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams)
5. "When It Rains" - 3:35 (J. Farro/Z. Farro/Hayley Williams)
6. "Let the Flames Begin" - 3:18 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams)
7. "Miracle" - 3:29 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams)
8. "Crushcrushcrush - 3:09 (Hayley Williams)
9. "We Are Broken" - 3:38
10. "Fences" - 3:19 (D. Bendeth/J. Farro/Hayley Williams)
11. "Born for This" - 3:58 (J. Farro/Hayley Williams)

B-Sides

1. "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" - 4:18

" Riot! Special/Limited Edition MVI

1. "When It Rains" [Demo] - 3:24
2. "Misery Business" (Acoustic): Live from Q101 Chicago - 3:17.
3. "Pressure" (Acoustic): Live from Q101 Chicago - 3:01
4. "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic" [Live from London] - 3:59
5. "Born for This" [Live from London] - 4:20

Riot! - iTunes release

1. "Misery Business" (Acoustic)[*] - 3:16

Riot! - Fueled by Ramen webstore release

1. "Temporary" [Demo][*] - 3:24

Riot! - Hot Topic release

1. "Decoy" [*] - 3:17

Riot! - FYE release

1. "Here We Go Again" [Live][*] - 3:23

Riot! - Rhapsody release

1. "Misery Business" (Acoustic)[*] - 3:16
2. "My Hero" (Electronic Remix)[*] - 3:32

Riot! - Best Buy and iTunes UK release

1. "Stop This Song" (Lovesick Melody)[*] - 3:23
2. "Rewind" [Demo][*] - 3:47
3. "Emergency" [Live][*] - 4:23

Charts

References