In Old Town Road, Chris Molanphy considers Lil Nas X’s debut single as pop artifact, chart phenomenon, and cultural watershed. “Old Town Road” was more than a massive hit, with the most weeks at No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 history. It is also a prism through which to track the evolution of popular music consumption and the ways race influences how the music industry categorizes songs and artists. By both lionizing and satirizing genre tropes—it’s a country song built from an alternative rock sample, a hip-hop song in which nobody raps, a comical song that transcends novelty, and a queer anthem—Lil Nas X troubles the very idea of genre. Ultimately, Molanphy shows how “Old Town Road” channeled decades of Americana to point the way toward our cultural future.
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- Contents
- Introduction. BONAFIDE ’til I Can’t No More: Old Town Road” as the Endpoint of a Century of Genre and Chart Evolution
- 01. WIDE-EYED ’til I Can’t No More: The Maker of “Old Town Road” and the Elements of Its Creation
- 02. HIED ’til I Can’t No More: A Brief History of Country and Race
- 03. FLY ’til I Can’t No More: The Collision and Cross-Pollination of Rap and Country
- 04. REIFIED ’til I Can’t No More: What a No. 1 Hit Meant as the Hot 100 Evolved
- 05. DIVIDE ’til I Can’t No More: Genre Charts, Data, and Identity
- 06. WORLD WIDE ’til I Can’t No More: How Technology and Internet Culture Built “Old Town Road”
- 07. BESTRIDE ’til I Can’t No More: How Lil Nas X Dominated 2019
- Epilogue. PRIDE ’til I Can’t No More: How Lil Nas X Became a Multihit Wonder
- Acknowledgments
- Bibliography
- Index
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