Connected to a Song: ‘Candy Paint Memories’ – Post Malone

As the wind blows through the open windows of my best friends powder blue 2012 Ford Escape, Candy Paint by Post Malone blasts through the speakers. It’s a hot and sunny summer day in Myrtle Beach and we had all just recently gotten to the beach earlier in the week. Recent graduates of Robinson Secondary School, my friends and I all decided to take a trip together before we went our separate ways. This was our first taste of freedom, a chance to go off on our own before we left for college. A trip that I planned for months and a vacation I’ll never forget.

During this vacation, there was a rotation of four songs that were continually played throughout the trip: Candy Paint, Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid, Everyday We Lit by YFN Lucci (feat. PnB Rock, Lil Yatchy & Wiz Khalifa) and Slide by Calvin Harris (feat. Frank Ocean & Migos). Anyone of these songs could be used in replacement of the other, but nothing will ever send me back the way Post Malone can.

As the songs plays, the soft piano fades into the chorus and the bass starts kickin’. A perfect melody and vibe for a week full of lounging in the sand and swimming in the ocean. This song comes off of The Fate of the Furious: The Album, a movie I never saw and a franchise that should no longer be making movies. During this point in Post Malone’s career, he was in the process of making Beerbongs & Bentleys and his mainstream appeal was just in its beginning stage.

The song itself has a clean and mellow feel to it, as most Post songs do, and is easy on the ear. His catchy melodies make the song enjoyable and memorable, as it easily gets stuck in the listeners head. A song that stole the show of The Fate of the Furious and blasted the already quickly moving career of Post Malone into superstardom.   

What makes this song so memorable, besides the emotional attachment, is the catchiness of the chorus. Post says, “Candy paint with the white on top / Lambo doors are the oo-op drop / If you busy plottin’ on what I got / Kick in your door, I’ll SWAT, you thot / Hundred thousand dollars on the table top / Half price my whip, same price my watch / Got no jumper, but I ball a lot / Bitch, I’m young Stoney, I do what I want.” He repeats this twice and after the first listen it’s almost impossible to forget.  

Just as Post says, “I do what I want,” that was the mentality going into that summer trip. For the first time, most of us could act in whatever manner we wanted to because there would be no parent supervision. This is not to say we went absolutely buck wild, but the leash was almost nonexistent and we all took full advantage of this. Many memories and stories took place that have a special place in my heart but should never be published occurred.   

The song’s general theme is about a hot car with a candy paint finish. Go figure the movie about cars features a song about cars. Post himself has a  1992 Ford Explorer that he calls “The Texas Slab,” in honor of his Houston roots. He tricked the car out with lambo-style doors and a blue candy paint finish with white on the roof. This car was even featured on Inside West Coast Customs, in the episode titled,“Post Malone’s Old Skool Explorer. Post bought the car for $1,700 and it’s now valued at over $75,000.

Another reason this song is special is Post’s reference to Michael Scott. He says in the first verse, “Goddamn I love paper like I’m Michael Scott / I can do things that your man cannot.” Michael Scott is a character played by Steve Carell on the hit NBC comedy series, The Office. The show revolves around the shenanigans that happen at the small-town paper company where Scott is the regional manager. If you are unfamiliar with this show, you have been living under a rock and need to watch it ASAP (it’s on Netflix).

Most people have songs that take them back to a certain time in their lives where it seemed like everything was perfect. Where the only memories attached to the song are positive and make the listener happy when hearing the song. This is the correlation that I have with Candy Paint. It takes me back to a time of complete freedom and a lack of responsibility and stress. A time in my life where there were no assignments due, college was on the radar and my summer job was weeks away. A time of pure bliss and excitement.