POP SONG REVIEW: "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X

Fun Fact: This song was actually created 22 years ago, manifested in the form of "Legend of a Cowgirl" by Imani Coppola. It was a Billboard Top 40 hit in 1997, but no one remembers it. ...To be honest, I wouldn't have either had it not played during the end credits of the first episode of Daria season 2, as I've been binge watching it recently. The song is still a bop though.

Tippy

I think it's because the pop music and the discussion around pop music nowadays is so serious and opens up a lot of discussions, compared to pop music in 2010 when Pitbull and LMFAO were the biggest names.

Franco del Rosario

I've always been a fan of your videos, but a lot of your recent ones have been really good, thoughtful, funny, just the right length. Maybe critiquing is something someone gets better at with age.

De

I would not say genre is dead. But I would say genres have become ingredients, not categories. Maybe they always were that way.

Max Eliaser

WRT legal issues: fingers crossed dude!

Max Eliaser

You can't do a 'we didnt start the fire' bit and only list like 3 things. commit!

Sam Scott

Actually, I wonder if this review opens up more doors for you, Todd? Considering the blending and intermingling of genre, can't you expand your reviews? I grew up on country and gravitated towards pop songs in late middle school. Seeing Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban having a hit seems like country still has those superstars pop is lacking. Ariana notwithstanding, lol

Syl W

Sad you didn't connect this at all to "hip Hop Hoedown" considering you've admitted you "blame" Miley cyrus for the current state of country trying to emulate hip hop which would of felt perfect to bring up here in this country rap song especially with Billy Ray around. Otherwise still great ep especially pointing out "I don't have 10 minutes of Jonas brothers material" and "when did Billy Ray get actual country cred?"

Neo Ultra Mike

My Stepdad was a country music DJ in the 90's and early 00's so I feel I have enough exposure to country music to make a sound decision on the matter. This isn't country at all. It's a brag rap with a trap beat by an artist trying to appeal to everyone. Basically a male Iggy Azalea. And before you all yell at me, I don't think country music has been good for about a decade at this point, maybe more.

As a kid who grew up with Hannah Montana, I honestly did get the impression that Billy Ray Cyrus was some sort of country superstar legend. At the very least I thought he was bigger than he was.

Nowhere Girl

Hey Todd, Can You Please Do a Charity Song Review on "Just Stand Up" by Artists Stand Up to Cancer? It came out in 2008. Thx!!! (BTW I'm Still Waiting for my Worst/Best Songs of 2008 Video As Well)

Michael Jones Jr.

Maybe there's a conspiracy in the rap community to disqualify everybody you've ever covered on One Hit Wonderland? How long before Post Malone duets with Barry McGuire or Juice WRLD teams up with Midnight Oil?

Kristopher Bluth

Your videos are often my first exposure to the songs in question (Greetings from the rock I live under!), so I enjoy going on these journeys of discovery, history, and critique. Which reminds me: I just saw your video for "Imma Be," and as I had never heard that song in its entirety before, the answer to your game of Finish the Rhyme truly shocked me. Delightful!

Most modern music (post 1944) all have so many things in common. Vocal and lyrically based, 99% is in 4/4 time, the other 1% being in 6/8, the tempos are within about 30% range of each other, they use the same 4 instruments regardless of genre (guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboard.) There's repetition, and the verse/choruse/verse/chorus/bridge format. Really the only music that is a severe outlier is Jazz (pre fusion jazz that picked up the modern format) following a head/solo(s)/head format, 99% of the time has no vocalist and is known for changing signature times and tempos w/in 1 song.

Charley Pride?

I think the underlying banjo bit coming from a Nine Inch Nails track (Ghosts IV - 34) also helps quite a bit. Although it's kinda sad that it's NIN's first number one hit on the billboard charts.

Raymond

I just saw the remix trending on Youtube, watched it, liked it and only found out about the backlash and meme status later.

Raymond

I dislike most country, but I like Old Town Road. Thus Old Town Road isn't country otherwise I'd hate it :p

Raymond

ho. lee. shit. todd in the shadows, with the spiciest of hot takes: "Genre is an artifact of a time where music cost money, and people had finite amounts of cash, and needed guidelines to help them spend it. It has nothing to do with the current music scene ... these genres have no definition anymore."

matt

I think you hit it on the head with the Marlboro Man line. It gave it grit and helped balance the song off with Lil Nas X playing the naive dreamer of the cowboy lifestyle while Billy Ray Cyrus acts as the weary veteran who has done it all and wishes he had X's enthusiasm to the world.

After my obnoxious snob music snob phase I think everyone has I noticed that there would be like certain songs or musicians that were supposed to be one genre ended up more likeable, but if I made my own "rock" station for example I could probably play MOST music I like because lots of the not rock can be called alternate still. So I left "I only like rock" then what I liked became rock, ok sure. Genres are like gender labels now or something, its just going on Feel more then what technical bits like structure. Which sucks from a confusion aspect cuz you cannot describe shit anymore, but better then well literally this exact discourse of who is _____ enough. That's why being snobby wasn't worth it for me in the first place. This feels like a country song. A decent amount of the country stations seem to agree. If he wants it to be a country song let it be a damn country song. Especially if it encorages making more new weird shit. Creativity is good.

Katastrophe

The point of genre as an outdated concept is valid. You consuming all the navel-gazing think-pieces makes me very glad to essentially live under a rock; I'd only heard this song for a minute in spin class up til now. IMO it's fine.

Cristina Youngren

Your comments on genre (how they started as marketing labels and are now mostly useless except as superficial signifiers) are what I've been saying about genre in film and literature for years. If anything, country and maybe even rap are now genres the way "goth" is a music genre: it might have been a distinct musical style back when, but now it's mostly about presentation: fashion, symbols, iconography, etc. that can be grafted onto lots of different musical styles. E.g. there's goth rock, goth metal, goth industrial, goth punk, goth folk, goth chamber-pop, goth techno/electronica, etc.

Joe G

At the very least Todd makes a good point about the concept of genre being outdated.

Next thing you know Soulja Boy is going to make his big country comeback.

I hate these blurred lines.

I had no idea Snow made a comeback. He looks so out of place in the video, but there's so much energy that I don't really care.

Castleknackers

The "Macarena" will live on as one of the biggest songs of all time and nobody can convince me otherwise. You were there, I was there, everybody knows how hot the whole thing was.

Josh Spicer

"Pop is indie" Oh god, it hurts to hear you say that.

Josh Spicer

As a self-expressed fan of Big and Rich (on your end) and a self-expressed fan of Cowboy Troy (on my end) I'm interested in what you're thinking.

Josh Spicer

I was getting pretty sick of all the hot takes too, but I still wanted to see yours, and you didn't disappoint.

Owen W

Florida Genre Line

Good luck

Raymond

Cute little Fantano reference there at the start.

Samu Tolvanen

I really want Billy Ray to just do a gritty outlaw Tractor Trap album now. I'm with you that the last part of Billy's verse made this song.

Noah Smith

I’m making an old skool jungle remix of it at this very moment, Amen breaks, vintage pads and all. Fits in to that like a glove. But that’s probably since I’m primed for that this last decade from Appalachian producer Machinedrum who’ve mixed these sounds with ease for the majority of his career. His album ”Vapor City” is a treat. Y’all should check him out.

Emanuel Alfredsson / Lemanic

On the topic of country and rap together... has anyone mentioned Gangstagrass yet? That bluegrass and rap but still