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Hollywood (Car Seat Headrest song)

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"Hollywood"
Single by Car Seat Headrest
from the album Making a Door Less Open
ReleasedApril 16, 2020 (2020-04-16)
Recorded
  • January 2019
  • October 2019
StudioAvast Recording Co. (Seattle)
Genre
Length3:23
LabelMatador
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Andrew Katz
  • Will Toledo
Car Seat Headrest singles chronology
"Martin"
(2020)
"Hollywood"
(2020)
"There Must Be More Than Blood"
(2020)
Music video
"Hollywood" on YouTube

"Hollywood" is a song by American indie rock band Car Seat Headrest. It was released on April 16, 2020, by Matador Records, as the third single from their twelfth studio album, Making a Door Less Open (2020). The song was written and produced by bandleader Will Toledo and drummer Andrew Katz.[3]

Composition and lyrics

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The song was described by Spin as Car Seat Headrest's "aim to make a big leap into alternative rock". The staff further described the song to feature "familiar heavy riffs", "a big hook" and "heavy grooves".[1] Toledo commented that the song was "about Hollywood as a place where people go to make their fantasies come to life, and they end up exploiting other people and doing terrible things to maintain their fantasy".[4] In Pitchfork's review of the associated album, critic Ian Cohen described the lyrics as "Eephus pitch" and called it "something that destabilizes through counter-intuitive simplicity".[5]

Critical reception

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Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen compared the song as Toledo's "version of Weezer's 'Beverly Hills'" and described the concept as "catchy" and "banal".[5] Upon reviewing the associated album, Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone called the track as one of the most "divisive".[6] Writing for The Observer, Emily Mackay wrote that the song is "pleasingly punchy, but brought down by facile lyrics".[2]

In a less positive review, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described the track as Making a Door Less Open's "dead thud". Petridis stated: "a conflation of guitar and raw-throated rapping in which the spirit of 1 Trait Danger seems rather too evident, self-consciously wacky shrieked vocals and all."[7]

Music video

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The release of the track was accompanied by an animated music video. It was directed by Sabrina Nichols.[8] In the animated music video, Toledo appears as his alter ego, Trait, wearing a gas mask, as he takes a journey through Hollywood.[9][10]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from Bandcamp.[11]

Charts

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Chart (2020) Peak
position
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12] 31
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[13] 29
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[14] 45

References

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  1. ^ a b "Car Seat Headrest Shares the Riff Heavy 'Hollywood'". Spin. April 16, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Mackay, Emily (May 3, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest: Making a Door Less Open review – Will Toledo in yet another guise". The Observer. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Hollywood by Car Seat Headrest on Spotify". Spotify. April 16, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  4. ^ Gallagher, Alex (April 17, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest share new single 'Hollywood'". NME. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Cohen, Ian (May 1, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest: Making a Door Less Open Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Blistein, Jon (May 1, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest's 'Making a Door Less Open' Follows a Forked Path to a Big Emotional Payoff". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Petridis, Alexis (April 30, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest: Making a Door Less Open review – cult indie star in middle of the road". The Guardian. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Minsker, Evan (April 16, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest Share New Song "Hollywood": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Kreps, Daniel (April 16, 2020). "Car Seat Headrest Caution Against 'Hollywood' in Animated Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "Car Seat Headrest unleash new track 'Hollywood'". DIY. April 16, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Making A Door Less Open, by Car Seat Headrest". Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Car Seat Headrest Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Car Seat Headrest Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  14. ^ "Car Seat Headrest Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2020.