Hollywood is a single by Marina Diamandis, released under her previous stage name 'Marina and the Diamonds'. Appearing on her first studio album, The Family Jewels, it is the 7th track on the album, and was released as the 3rd single.
The song was written by Marina alone, and produced by Ash Howes, Richard "Biff" Stannard, with original production by Starsmith.
The B-side to Hollywood's vinyl release was Bad Kidz.
Background[]
In August 2011, Marina said:[1]
❝ I wrote, 'Hollywood' a year and a half before I was signed. And it’s funny actually because people will always try and pick holes in things like that. When it was a single 'bloggers' were going 'oh she’s sold out', and I was like, 'what are you going on about? I wrote that on a £200 keyboard two years ago'. ❞
In 2015, in an interview with Edge Media Network she said:[2]
❝ I wrote that song when I was twenty-one. By the time it was released, I was twenty-four. [..] Actually, I did go to America. I went on my own to Miami for a trip (laughter) when I broke up with a boyfriend. I went away! Actually I came up with a few ideas then. ❞
Marina turned 21 in October 2006, and was signed two years later, in October 2008, indicating the song was written between late 2006 to early 2007.
Using comments available on Marina's MySpace at the time, Rockabilly's timeline places Hollywood around January 2008, under the working title 'Hollywood Infected Your Brain'.[3] In July of the same year, this version was scrobbled by an old fan through the music listening website Last.fm, under the album tag "marina diamandis's Album", which is the default metadata tagging of music production software GarageBand. This suggests that Marina likely uploaded an early, self-produced demo, as this was over a year before the track's final version was released as a single. However, this version has yet to resurface online since being taken down.
Meaning[]
When asked why Hollywood was chosen as a single in an interview with the BBC News website, Marina said:[4]
❝ I'm saying: This is who I was. Hollywood infected my brain and I really valued the wrong things in life, but I changed dramatically. [..] This obsession with celebrity culture is really unhealthy. I don't want to live my life like that, and I don't want to be a typical pop star. ❞
She went on to tell The Sun:[5]
❝ That track is a sarcastic and cynical take on everything that's commercial about America. I love the country and people dearly and can't wait to tour there but I hate the way it brainwashes you. I am seduced by its pop culture but I don't want my brain to be infected. ❞
In 2015, Marina reflected on the song:[6]
❝ We had been receiving all those kinds of gossip mags and that kind of gossip tabloid culture for pretty much a whole year. It was all Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie etc. We really didn't consume gossip the same way then, as we do now on the Internet, where you can get it everywhere. It was this popular culture thing and it was very destructive. It was very all consuming for a young girl, so, that's how I wrote about it. [..] It's such an invasive kind of thing, the American effect. It was hard to ignore and I was interested in it. It wasn't about America per se, it was more about L.A. culture and how I thought that was negative. ❞
Artwork[]
|
Photoshoot _1-003_(B%26W).jpg "Rankin (15 Oct 2009) 1-003 (B&W).jpg (316 KB)") Unedited _1-004_(B%26W).jpg "Rankin (15 Oct 2009) 1-004 (B&W).jpg (307 KB)") Media  Single artwork  Alt. crop  Alt. design  Limited edition signed vinyl |
Videos[]
| Video | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Title | Hollywood | |
| Premiere | 30 Nov 2009 | |
| Length | 3:30 | |
| Location | 'The White House', West London. | |
| Filmed | 17 Nov 2009 | |
| Director | Kinga Burza | |
| Producer | Leanne Stott | |
| Production company | Partizan Darkroom | |
| Editor | Darren Baldwin | |
Additional Credits
- DoP: Will Bex<
- Art Director: Sam Tidman
- Stylist: Celestine Cooney
- Make-up: Hiromi Ueda
- Hair: Naoki Komiya
- Telecine: James Bamford at The Mill
- Commissioner: Alan Parks
Behind the Scenes
 |
|
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| Video | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Title | Hollywood (The Making Of) | |
| Premiere | 19 Mar 2013 | |
| Length | 2:34 | |
| Location | 'The White House', West London | |
| Filmed | 17 Nov 2009 | |
| Notes | This is a (possibly lower quality) reupload of the original BTS video which originally premiered around December 14, 2009, assuming from this blog post. | |
| Video | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Title | Hollywood (Acoustic) | |
| Premiere | 06 Jan 2010 | |
| Length | 3:39 | |
| Video | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Title | Hollywood - Orchestral Version (feat. Chilly Gonzales) | |
| Premiere | 26 Jan 2010 | |
| Length | 3:47 | |
| Location | Estonia TV, POP! You decide | |
| Director | Dan Knight | |
| Producer | Lucy Booth | |
Behind the Scenes
_BTS_001.jpg "Hollywood (feat Chilly Gonzales) BTS 001.jpg (72 KB)")
| Video | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Title | Hollywood (Ground Control Remix) | |
| Premiere | 08 Feb 2010 | |
| Length | 3:34 | |
| Location | 'The White House', West London | |
| Filmed | 17 Nov 2009 | |
| Director | Kinga Burza | |
Official Versions[]
| Version | Released on | Date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Album (International album version) | The Family Jewels | 15 Feb 2010 | 3:50 |
| Single/US Album | Hollywood - EP | 31 Jan 2010 | 3:24 | |
| ▶ | Greg James Jingle | ~Jan 2010 | 0:33 | |
| Remixes | ||||
| ▶ | Gonzales Remix (Orchestral version) | Hollywood - EP | 29 Jan 2010 | 3:43 |
| ▶ | Fenech-Soler Remix | Hollywood - EP | 29 Jan 2010 | 5:43 |
| ▶ | Monarchy ('Gliese Remix') | Hollywood - EP | 29 Jan 2010 | 7:24 |
| Ground Control Remix | 5:27 | |||
| ▶ | Ground Control Remix (Radio edit) | ~Jan 2010 | 3:34 | |
| ▶ | Juan MacLean Remix (Promo remix) | Hollywood - EP | ~Jan 2010 | 8:35 |
| ▶ | Radioproof Remix (Promo remix) | Hollywood - EP | ~Feb 2010 | 4:43 |
| Acoustic/Live | ||||
| Acoustic | Hollywood - EP | 29 Jan 2010 | 3:38 | |
| Demos | ||||
| Home Demo ("Hollywood Infected Your Brain") | MySpace | ~Jan 2008 | Unknown | |
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
American queen is the American dream
American queen is the American dream
[Verse 1]
She is a Polish girl in America
Tall, tanned, hot blonde called Anja
I asked her, "Why would you wanna be a Hollywood wife?"
"Because I don't wanna end up living in a dive on Vine, a dive on Vine"
[Verse 2]
Air hostesses doing gossip magazine
Crosswords on a flight to JFK
Thirty-nine years old with a mile high sheen
Trying to stimulate a mind
That is slowly starting to decay
[Pre-Chorus]
I itch my skin, I jump up and say
"Lady, I know why your thoughts turn grey"
[Chorus]
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
Living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America (Ooh)
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America
[Verse 3]
A fat security making place for me
Soon as I touch down in old L.A
He said, "Oh my God, you look just like Shakira
No, no, you're Catherine Zeta"
Actually, my name's Marina
[Pre-Chorus]
Your mind is just like mine
All filled up with things benign
You're looking for the golden lie
[Chorus]
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
I've been living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America (Ooh)
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America
[Bridge]
American dream is the American queen
American queen is the American dream
Is the American dream
[Chorus]
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
I've been living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
I've been living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America (Ooh-hoo)
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America
[Intro]
American queen is the American dream
American queen is the American dream
[Verse 1]
She is a Polish girl in America
Tall, tanned, hot blonde called Anya
I asked her, "Why would you wanna be a Hollywood wife?"
"Because I don't wanna end up living in a dive on Vine"
[Pre-Chorus]
You do anything for a dime
You're looking for the golden lie
[Chorus]
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
Living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America (Ooh)
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America
[Verse 2]
A fat security making place for me
Soon as I touch down in old L.A
He said, "Oh my God, you look just like Shakira
No, no, you're Catherine Zeta"
Actually, my name's Marina
[Pre-Chorus]
Your mind is just like mine
All filled up with things benign
You're looking for the golden lie
[Chorus]
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
I've been living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America (Ooh)
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America
[Bridge]
American dream is the American queen
American queen is the American dream
Is the American dream
[Chorus]
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
I've been living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hollywood infected your brain
You wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh-oh
I've been living in a movie scene
Puking American dreams, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America (Ooh-hoo)
I'm obsessed with the mess that's America
Hollywood infected Greg James
He wanted kissing in the rain, oh, oh
Yeah, he's working at the BBC
Got a face for the TV, oh
He's obsessed with the mess that his hair is in, ooh, ooh
Everyday, 1pm, make sure you tune in
To Greg James
Credits[]
Personnel[]
- Vocals - Marina Diamandis
- All instruments - Richard "Biff" Stannard, Ash Howes
- String arrangement - Lucy Shaw, Stephen Large
- Double bass - Lucy Shaw
- Violin - Alison Dods, Neil Catchpole, Oli Langford
- Viola - Oli Langford
- Cello - Anna Mowat
Technical[]
- Writer - Marina Diamandis
- Producer, mixer - Richard "Biff" Stannard for 365 Artists, Biffco Productions, Ash Howes
- Original producer - Starsmith
- Programmers - Richard "Biff" Stannard, Ash Howes
- Recorded at, mixed at - Sarm Studio 2, London, Biffco Studios, Brighton
- Master - Guy Davie at Electric Mastering, London
- Publisher - Warner Chappell Music Publishing Ltd
Registration[]
The song was registered once on ASCAP/BMI[7] and GEMA,[8] listing no co-writers.
On ASCAP the song is registered as Hollywood, with Hollywood (Single Version) and Hollywood - Single Version listed as as alternate titles.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.popjustice.com/articles/an-interview-with-marina-the-diamonds
- ↑ https://boston.edgemedianetwork.com/story.php?ch=entertainment&sc=music&sc2=news&id=175776&marina_and_the_diamonds:_ripe_with_new_%2527froot
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20091009214703/http://marinaandthediamonds.net/discog/songs.shtml
- ↑ Sound of 2010: Marina and the Diamonds
- ↑ Hollywood Songfacts
- ↑ https://boston.edgemedianetwork.com/story.php?ch=entertainment&sc=music&sc2=news&id=175776&marina_and_the_diamonds:_ripe_with_new_%2527froot
- ↑ https://www.ascap.com/repertory#
ISWC: T0118038826 Work ID: 880483400 - ↑ GEMA work no.: 11026703-001
