This Is Why: A Year in the Life

Intro essay by dykehayleywilliams

5

The Album Collage art by souvenirmp3 Album redesign by hidekomoon Art by komediebrvte / komedie.brute*

9

The News Art by ignorancelive

Running Out of Time

10

Collage art by thepunkpanther Graphic art by strawberryysage

C’est Comme Ca

12

Collage art by hidekomoon Collage art by userparamore Poetry by Cassidy Black / heartmailbox

You First

15

Collage art by Cassidy Black / heartmailbox Blackout poetry by ahsokatanoss

Figure 8

18

Graphic art by countyourteeth Graphic art by lovefortayley Collage art by hidekomoon Collage art by ignorancelive

Crave

22

Collage art by floverf0rvases / killedoptimistcreations* Digital art by kimartings Graphic art by lovefortayley Photo art by gentlemenpreferblondie*

Thick Skull

26

Graphic art by givemeheroism* / cellphonehippie Collage art by userparamore Collage art by doctorcurdlejr Poetry by depolluted / tricks_of_self*

* = instagram

Paramoreblr is Iselin, userparamore Lupe, ignorancelive Ro, dykehayleywilliams

Additional info.

The works included in this fanzine were submitted by their respective creators. The front and back covers utilize pictures taken by the photographers listed below (in alphabetical order).

This fanzine is a passion project created by Paramore fans who want to celebrate the album This Is Why. No comissions or profits are made from the creation or publication zine.

Photographers Front cover: Karlo Dayes Back cover: Alex K Ariana Reinoso Ashley Osborne Deanie Chen Kimchi Photography Pooneh Ghana Tim Landes

Introduction Here, in the midst of all things, lies This Is Why. It’s not a beginning, a reintroduction, a finale, but a messy chapter in the middle. There’s no reinvention or reconciliation, but a worn-in comfort, learning to exist and cope with the melodrama of existence.

This Is Why is the first Paramore album to feature an identical lineup as the previous album. That becomes apparent in the synergy between bandmates, united and electric. It’s a record made by people who have grown up together, who have made it through hard times and are stronger on the other side. While touring the album, audio of Hayley saying “I love both of these people more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life” played before the band launched into a love song, dedicated to one another. The collaboration, admiration, and adoration for each other is sewn into the lifeblood of the music.

A year on, This Is Why reads like a diary, documenting the mundanity and struggles of waking up every day. Stretches of days without leaving the house, running late for chiropractic appointments, endless cycles of refreshing news feeds. A settled love, nostalgia for beginnings now that you’re solidly in the middle.

Reflections on the men who always come out on top, mantras muttered in silence, screamed aloud, that karma will settle the score one day. Nightmares that blur into reality, reminders of the idealized person you thought you’d grow up into and the reflection that meets you in the mirror instead.

Same lesson again and again and again and again.

This Is Why isn’t about the highs and lows of love, angst, and emotion, as much as it is about documenting how it feels to be alive on a day-to-day basis. There’s still euphoria and anger, of course. But it’s okay to let things simmer on the backburner, enjoy the love in the room. Spilled coffee; candlelight. It’s layered in the complexity of the drum patterns, hypnotic guitars, odes meant to be screamed aloud.

This Is Why: A Year in the Life sits with the discomfort and reckoning, nostalgia and ache. It’s a collection of art, heartfelt and poignant, from the last year, capturing what it means to live. Discovering the reasons why.

Thank you to all of our contributors for your time and talents. It is an honor and delight to share this community and music with all of you.

One year down, a lifetime to go. May we keep growing, keep learning, and keep loving.