I came across this article last night by accident while looking for something else. I was checking to see what the idiot with the fake heroin van story was up to now—if you don't know what I'm...
I came across this article last night by accident while looking for something else. I was checking to see what the idiot with the fake heroin van story was up to now—if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't bother, you're better off—and ended up finding out what he was doing last month, which was more interesting anyway.
We had a few discussions on Tildes about the song/controversy at the time, but I hadn't seen anything since then. This article does a good job of explaining how it turned into a controversy in the first place, and is a great example of how some random guy can lie on Twitter and it will get blown up and echoed through all the different sites that feed off each other's reporting without doing any of their own research or validation.
I think the discussion of the timeline for when the single charted, was removed, and when certain articles came out is interesting, but ultimately, I don't think the timing for the different...
I think the discussion of the timeline for when the single charted, was removed, and when certain articles came out is interesting, but ultimately, I don't think the timing for the different articles really made all that much difference.
Yes, the original Saving Country Music op-ed "Billboard Must Remove Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” From Country Chart" came out after Billboard had already removed it, but I still think their reasoning is pretty terrible for why the song shouldn't be country.
The basic reasoning SCM lays out is here:
“Old Town Road” is no more country than The Beastie Boys’ “High Plains Drifter.” Including Wild West signifiers or references to horses in no way qualifies a rap song with a trap beat as country. Furthermore, Lil Nas X is not professing to be a country artist. He’s not signed to a country label, and has no affiliation to the country industry whatsoever. Lil Nas X has no ties to the greater Nashville music campus in any capacity. There are no country artists guesting on the track like you had with Bebe Rexha’s collaboration with Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant To Be.” There appears to be absolutely no credible reason to include this song on a country chart aside from a bigoted stereotype bred from the fact that horses and cowboy hats are referenced in the lyrics.
So their two big points are that:
Lil Nas X did not hail from the country industry or is from the Nashville scene.
I think this is a pretty weak argument as there are plenty of artists on the country charts that are not from Nashville, or identify as recording artists, or don't have a record label, or what have you. Ultimately, an artists not being in the industry, doesn't make a song country or not.
Token lines about country topics doesn't make a song country and Old Town Road is a meme rap song with no meaning to its lyrics / uses country topics as a joke
I think this is the only real argument I see in this op ed about what qualifies qualify a song as being country. I would argue there are plenty of songs that are essentially pop other than a few short lines about tractors or cowboys.
There are also plenty of discussions online that say lyrics are what make a country song.
The lyrics in a country song take precedent over the sonic soundscape. They always have, they always will. Have you listened to a rock or pop song lately? While the vocalist is audible, they’re typically in the mix of the song or just slightly ‘out front’ over the accompanying sonic soundscape. Country’s never been this way as the vocalist is always front and center on a song with lyrics. I’ll say that again; country music’s singers are ALWAYS front and center on a song with lyrics. It’s a fundamental aspect of country music, it’s what makes it important. It’s why people cherish that historical aspect of the youth, because the songs truly mean something. They’re not just the latest trendy, catchy tune. They matter.
Several of you called The Morning Show and said that the beat of the music is what makes a song country. Others said that it's the lyrics or the story that makes the grade. Others said that is is the instruments and arrangement that make a song country.
This could be based on the instruments used (pop music tends to use more electronic sounds, whereas Country more likely has acoustic-driven sounds), or the lyrics (if a song specifically mentions Rodeo, or the American country, or mentions cowboys whatsoever, it's definitely a Country song).
I think Lil Nas X does a good job explaining the lyrics and their meaning in this video by Genius.
Despite how the Saving Country Music op-ed claims it is a joke or a meme, you can see he has a lot of actual thought behind his lyrics. Lil Nas X goes into detail to explain that references to country topics like horses, cowboy hats, and trailers, all have significance, they are not just jokes.
Haha, well, I don't really care for the song, but it's an interesting situation. I also think it's clearly not country, and the article mentions that they only chose to label the song country in...
Haha, well, I don't really care for the song, but it's an interesting situation. I also think it's clearly not country, and the article mentions that they only chose to label the song country in the first place to try to manipulate the charts:
As Lil Nas X’s own manager Danny Kang has admitted, Lil Nas X chose country as the genre for “Old Town Road” in metadata listings to game the system, and receive more traction since the song would chart better in country where there was less competition. Danny Kang told Rolling Stone, “There’s a way to manipulate the algorithm to push your track to the top. That’s favorable versus trying to go to the rap format to compete with the most popular songs in the world.”
The article also mentions that the song ended up becoming so popular that it started getting played on country stations anyway, so it could end up back on the chart (but it's been more than a month since this article and I'm not sure if that happened):
“Old Town Road” is now the #1 song in all of music, and it will likely be re-added to the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the coming weeks now that it is beginning to receive country radio airplay. Once reinstated, it will reside at the top of the country charts well into 2020, and challenge for the longest-running #1 song in the chart’s history.
I have a feeling that if this guy doesn't capitalize on the success of this track soon he'll quickly fade into obscurity. I don't think the song or his others are very good, but he's definitely...
I have a feeling that if this guy doesn't capitalize on the success of this track soon he'll quickly fade into obscurity. I don't think the song or his others are very good, but he's definitely turned it into a fantastic marketing opportunity. Maybe he'll get hooked up with a good producer and get groomed into a good artist.
Genres have continually become messier and messier in the sense that everyone pulls from everything these days as we embrace the MonoCulture afforded to us by the Internet. But radio stations like their clean-cut genres and formats so they'll be the last stronghold of strongly-held genre beliefs. (I think)
He is super active on Twitter and keeps his interactions with his fans going there to keep the hype up. I see at least one post of his every day on r/blackpeopletwitter or elsewhere on Reddit too....
I have a feeling that if this guy doesn't capitalize on the success of this track soon he'll quickly fade into obscurity.
He is super active on Twitter and keeps his interactions with his fans going there to keep the hype up. I see at least one post of his every day on r/blackpeopletwitter or elsewhere on Reddit too.
He also just released a 5 minute Old Town Road "movie" two weeks ago that featured Billy Ray Cyrus and had a Chris Rock cameo. So there is some content coming out to keep attention on him until his album which may be coming out next month.
I came across this article last night by accident while looking for something else. I was checking to see what the idiot with the fake heroin van story was up to now—if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't bother, you're better off—and ended up finding out what he was doing last month, which was more interesting anyway.
We had a few discussions on Tildes about the song/controversy at the time, but I hadn't seen anything since then. This article does a good job of explaining how it turned into a controversy in the first place, and is a great example of how some random guy can lie on Twitter and it will get blown up and echoed through all the different sites that feed off each other's reporting without doing any of their own research or validation.
I think the discussion of the timeline for when the single charted, was removed, and when certain articles came out is interesting, but ultimately, I don't think the timing for the different articles really made all that much difference.
Yes, the original Saving Country Music op-ed "Billboard Must Remove Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” From Country Chart" came out after Billboard had already removed it, but I still think their reasoning is pretty terrible for why the song shouldn't be country.
The basic reasoning SCM lays out is here:
So their two big points are that:
I think this is a pretty weak argument as there are plenty of artists on the country charts that are not from Nashville, or identify as recording artists, or don't have a record label, or what have you. Ultimately, an artists not being in the industry, doesn't make a song country or not.
I think this is the only real argument I see in this op ed about what qualifies qualify a song as being country. I would argue there are plenty of songs that are essentially pop other than a few short lines about tractors or cowboys.
There are also plenty of discussions online that say lyrics are what make a country song.
I think Lil Nas X does a good job explaining the lyrics and their meaning in this video by Genius.
Despite how the Saving Country Music op-ed claims it is a joke or a meme, you can see he has a lot of actual thought behind his lyrics. Lil Nas X goes into detail to explain that references to country topics like horses, cowboy hats, and trailers, all have significance, they are not just jokes.
Lil Nas X also personally annotated his own song on Genius here if you prefer to read vs. watch, and he reiterates a lot of the same points here.
https://genius.com/16899486
Ultimately, going back to my comment in the previous discussion, I think Billy Ray Cyrus summed it up well in saying:
Haha, well, I don't really care for the song, but it's an interesting situation. I also think it's clearly not country, and the article mentions that they only chose to label the song country in the first place to try to manipulate the charts:
The article also mentions that the song ended up becoming so popular that it started getting played on country stations anyway, so it could end up back on the chart (but it's been more than a month since this article and I'm not sure if that happened):
I have a feeling that if this guy doesn't capitalize on the success of this track soon he'll quickly fade into obscurity. I don't think the song or his others are very good, but he's definitely turned it into a fantastic marketing opportunity. Maybe he'll get hooked up with a good producer and get groomed into a good artist.
Genres have continually become messier and messier in the sense that everyone pulls from everything these days as we embrace the MonoCulture afforded to us by the Internet. But radio stations like their clean-cut genres and formats so they'll be the last stronghold of strongly-held genre beliefs. (I think)
He is super active on Twitter and keeps his interactions with his fans going there to keep the hype up. I see at least one post of his every day on r/blackpeopletwitter or elsewhere on Reddit too.
He also just released a 5 minute Old Town Road "movie" two weeks ago that featured Billy Ray Cyrus and had a Chris Rock cameo. So there is some content coming out to keep attention on him until his album which may be coming out next month.
Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (Official Movie) ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
Lil Nas X Shares '7' EP Cover Art, Teases June Release Date