Post Malone Explains Why Hollywood Is Bleeding

BY: GRACE S.

Austin Post, more famously known as Post Malone, came out with an album called Hollywood’s Bleeding on September 6, 2019. It has 17 tracks and is 51 minutes long. Post Malone keeps pumping out banger after banger. This album is no exception to that, but rather, a solidifying testament to his legitimacy as an artist.

Post hinted at the creation of Hollywood’s Bleeding six weeks after the release of his last album, Beerbongs and Bentleys. Four singles from the album were released prior to the album itself: “Wow.”, “Goodbyes” (featuring YoungThug), “Circles”, and “Sunflower” (with Swae Lee) from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Hollywood’s Bleeding is a listenable album; so much so that 14 out of the 17 tracks are ones I would voluntarily play. I would most likely not play them in front of my mother though, because 13 of the tracks are explicit. She does like “Circles”, which is one of the four non-explicit songs. The others are “Hollywood’s Bleeding”, “Take What You Want” (featuring Ozzy Osborne and Travis Scott), and “Sunflower” (with Swae Lee).

Post’s fast rise to fame has burdened him with an abundance of fake relationships with people only wanting to use him for clout or money. “A Thousand Bad Times” is about his experiences with those one-sided relationships. His mindset in this song is that bad things happen often to him, so what’s another time? Post sings, “I had a thousand bad times/ So what's another time to me?/ You try to burn my house down/ But what's another house to me?”

“Circles” was the fourth single from the album. It details an unhealthy relationship wherein the couple stays together despite their best interest rather than letting go. Post sings, “Seasons change and our love went cold/ Feed  the flame 'cause we can't let go/ Run away, but we're running in circles.” This song is entirely unique from any other Post Malone song. It follows the structure of a pop song, (verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus) when he normally switches it up. The song doesn’t contain any rapping, just singing. The instrumentals sound like a pop song as well, with a steady drum beat and understated bass. Many fans of his don’t like this song because of its uniqueness, while many people not fond of other Post Malone tracks say, “Wow. I actually like this song.”

The shortest song on Hollywood’s Bleeding is “Internet”. Coming in at just over two minutes, it proves songs don’t have to be long to be impactful and say something. This is one of the only Post Malone songs to contain orchestral strings, and they are euphonious and add to the seriousness of the message. Unfortunately, some songs from this album were leaked onto the internet without Post’s consent prior to its release. Post sings about those incidents in this song to explain his distrust of the internet. He also talks about how people alter their appearance before posting a picture to the internet or how people only want to meet him so they can post a photo of it to gain clout or impress their friends. He admits he prefers to be ignorant than to have to deal with all of the troubles the internet poses. “Instalove, well if ignorance is bliss, then don’t wake me up/ And I’ll probably be the last to know/ ‘Cause I don’t get on the internet no more,” sings Post.

The fifteenth track on the album, “Myself”, is one of those songs that disguises a sincere message under a vibey tune, so consumers of the music fall in love with the groovy beat before the lyrics sink in. Perhaps the message Post is trying send is how he doesn’t feel present in his own life. He is constantly traveling across the world, but he doesn’t have the time to enjoy all the places he is going to. For him, life is moving at an excruciatingly fast pace and he wishes he had the ability to take it in, but he can’t slow down. This song showcases the emptiness he feels that cannot be filled by money or extravagant trips. With a chorus that says, “It's what it is, it's how I live/ All the places I've been/ I wish I could’ve been there myself/ I made so much, spent so much/ And I can’t get enough/ I wish I could've been there myself,” “Myself” is the most introspective song on the album, and one of my favorites.

Song placement on this album was a factor I took issue with. The album title and first song are called Hollywood’s Bleeding. The song is about the loneliness, dishonesty, and corruption of Hollywood. The theme of the album is that Hollywood is bleeding and Post explores all the ways it does. The last song, “Wow.”, lightly touches on this theme, but is mostly a track full of Post bragging about his accomplishments. There is no closure at the end. The final song of an album is arguably the most important one because it is the last impression the listener has; it should either be related in some way to the theme or have an important message itself. “Wow.” accomplishes neither of these things. A more fitting song to conclude the album would be “Internet” or “Myself”; both songs address the complex issues listed above and are not just Post bragging about his pimped out car.

I love Post Malone and I love this album. Hollywood’s Bleeding has been my go-to at the gym, in the car, and any place earbuds are allowed. This inside scoop to the realities fame has to offer is both enlightening and appreciated. With three albums under his belt and no sign of slowing down, Austin Post is proving himself to be a luminary. Hollywood may be bleeding, but Post Malone is there to help it recover.

Songs I Enjoy: Hollywood’s Bleeding, Enemies, Allergic, A Thousand Bad Times, Circles, Die for Me, On the Road, I’m gonna be, Staring at the Sun, Sunflower, Internet, Goodbyes, Myself, I know,

Songs I Don’t Enjoy: Saint Tropez, Wow., Take What You Want