Post Malone: meme or musician?

Photo credit: Getty Images

We underestimated Post Malone.

We collectively laughed at his disheveled appearance. We questioned his tattoos. We conspired that he’s actually Justin Bieber (really). And all the while, Posty found a way to make millions off the mainstream hits that keep him comfortably at the top of the charts.

Within a year of uploading “White Iverson” to Soundcloud in 2015, Austin Post’s gritty yet auto-tuned voice was inescapable. From “Takin’ Shots” to “Sunflowers,” “rockstar” to “circles,” his style reflects the slowed down, melancholy melodies that have dominated top-100 lists since the late 2010s. Post Malone’s music calls to mind the likes of Juice Wrld and XXXtenacion – two young rappers who were as tortured as they were talented and unfortunately wouldn’t live to see 2020.

Post Malone is the perfect amalgamation of millennial and, even more so, Gen-Z pop culture. He’s not a rapper. He’s not a pop star. But despite his undeniable internet clout, Post Malone is determined to prove that he’s more musician than meme. He doesn’t just have songs with Future and Young Thug. On his latest album, “Hollywood’s Burning,” Post Malone proved that rappers and rockstars aren’t so different when he got Ozzy fucking Osbourne on the same track as Travis Scott – the“Sicko Mode” rapper who recently made headlines for pissing off Tommy Lee – the notorious drummer of Motley Crüe, who made his own headlines last year when he married an internet influencer half his age. Is your head spinning yet?

As it turns out, the entire country is thirsty for a nostalgia, genre-blending cocktail and Post Malone is happy to serve. From the confines of his swanky, liquor-filled basement, with his talented pals in tow (including a Hooter’s bootyshort-clad Travis Barker, the legendary drummer of Blink 182), Post Malone served up a raucous 75-minute tribute to Nirvana and the late, great Kurt Cobain.

When I got wind of the livestream, I feared the worst. Just last month, irrelevant, mid-2000s, dad-grunge band, Puddle of Mudd, went viral with their blasphemous rendition of “About a Girl.” I mean, truly. It’s the stuff of nightmares. But Post’s performance was good. Really good. Unsurprisingly, it caught the attention of Courtney Love . On Instagram, she wrote, “Thank you, mighty KC, for writing these songs with your elegant and monkeyed hands that the kids still want to sing and play and hear and use to fight and hunt and cure and heal and eradicate this fucking covid-19 virus. I approve the usage. Good luck Mr. Malone.” Posty and friends even got a shoutout from Nirvana bassist, Krist Novoselic, who tweeted, “I don’t think these fellows can play any better. They are on fire!!!”

Personally, my favorite parts of the performance were the subtle nods to KC himself. The portrait of Kurt behind Barker on the drums, the dresses, the incessant cigarettes, the gut wrenching vocals , and an honorable set list. Notably missing from which was “Smells like teen spirit,” the generational, fan favorite that was openly despised by Cobain.

The stream, which raised more than $500,000 for COVID19 relief efforts, is available in its entirety here. I highly recommend watching. Courtney Love was right – we are craving music that makes us want to fight and hunt and cure and heal and eradicate this fucking virus. And what’s better for that than Nirvana?

Full set list:

1. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle
2. Drain You
3. Come As You Are
4. Lounge Act
5. School
6. Heart-Shaped Box
7. Something In The Way
8. About A Girl
9. Stay Away
10. Lithium
11. Breed
12. On A Plain
13. Very Ape
14. Territorial Pissings
15. In Bloom