Podcast Summary: Cannonball with Wesley Morris — “And a Britney Song Was On …” (June 2, 2022)

Episode Overview

In this episode of “Cannonball,” Wesley Morris, critic and culture writer for The New York Times, reflects on how our relationship with pop music and its makers evolves—personally and collectively—over time. Using songs like Montell Jordan's “This Is How We Do It,” R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” and hits from Britney Spears and Michael Jackson, Morris explores how context—both personal growth and societal reckoning—reshapes the way we hear, feel, and understand familiar tracks. He questions the lasting joy and meaning of music amid revelations about artists' lives, injustices, and shifting cultural attitudes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hearing Songs with New Ears

• Wesley recounts hearing “This Is How We Do It” at the gym (00:38) and suddenly perceiving deeper layers in the lyrics:
  • The line “It feels so good in my hood tonight…” (02:00) resonates, signifying a rare moment of peace in South Central LA’s reputation for violence. Morris sees this as a subtle but moving celebration of survival and everyday joy.
• He reframes the song as a “country song” because, like traditional country, it’s rooted in place and community, connecting it to Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee” (03:47).

“I do think that ‘This Is How We Do It’ is a country song. And here’s what I mean…There’s a kind of country song that is exclusively about where people have come from.”
— Wesley Morris (03:00)

2. Personal Growth Alters Perception

• “This Is How We Do It” didn’t change, but Wesley had. He acknowledges that with more life experience, songs gain new resonance.

  • “I am a slightly more sophisticated person than I was when I was 19.” (06:33)

• Similarly, with R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” Morris realizes as an adult that what he sought in the song wasn’t just understanding the singer but discovering himself:

  • As a gay teen, he heard the lyrics as coded longing, only to recognize later he was using the song to process his own identity (07:30–09:45).

“This amazing song, this beautiful lyrical song was actually just telling you that you, Wesley, were gay. I was writing the lyrics out, looking for answers to who I was, not who he was.”
— Wesley Morris (09:14)

3. Collective Re-Evaluation: Britney Spears & Cultural Reckonings

• The “Framing Britney Spears” documentary becomes a catalyst for cultural awakening about Spears’ lack of agency (11:40).

• Fans become “protectors” and push for her freedom, channeling justice-oriented energy toward one celebrity.

• Morris notes the complexity of this collective attention: why does society mobilize so powerfully for a famous white woman amid so many other injustices? (12:25)

• He also wonders if our relationship to her music has fundamentally changed—“Now [her music] becomes sad music…it doesn’t make us happy anymore when we hear those opening bars of ‘…Baby One More Time’…” (13:40)

“I actually think it kind of changes our relationship to her work…when it comes on, we're gonna put our lighters up like it's ‘Candle in the Wind’ or ‘Purple Rain’…She didn't die, ya’ll…she’s free.”
— Wesley Morris (14:20)

4. Art, Artists, and the Legacy of the MeToo Era

• Morris reflects on the MeToo movement and the broader reckoning with abusive or exploitative behavior in entertainment (15:00).
• He revisits the question: “What do we do with all these bad people who made good art? Or these wronged people who brought us pleasure?”
• Example: Hearing Michael Jackson’s “Jam” in public, he feels conflicted—experiencing both the joy of the music and the discomfort of its context (16:50–17:50).

“I can think about those kids, and I can think about when I was a kid, and I loved that song. One of the beautiful things about art is that the art itself is not going to change…it's always gonna be there, essentially unchanged, ready for you, waiting for you to be ready to receive it.”
— Wesley Morris (18:20)

5. Memorable Moments: Family Connection

• Wesley’s nephew, Christopher Tompkins, appears to help read credits (19:13), adding a warm, relatable moment to the episode.
• Post-credit, Christopher shares a comedic anecdote about getting lost in the building, creating a humanizing coda (20:33–21:10).

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “There is just something so moving about the idea that, because this party is happening, somebody is gonna live tonight.”
  — Wesley Morris (02:10)

• “He has judged half the country in five bars.” (about Merle Haggard)
  — Wesley Morris (04:32)

• “You, Wesley, were gay. I was writing the lyrics out, looking for answers to who I was, not who he was.”
  — Wesley Morris (09:14)

• “It now becomes sad music. It doesn't make us happy anymore when we hear those opening bars of ‘…Baby One More Time.’”
  — Wesley Morris (13:40)

• “The art itself is not going to change…It's always going to feel like an invitation to me…ready for you, waiting for you to be ready to receive it.”
  — Wesley Morris (18:20)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:38–03:00: Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”—song as communal celebration, country song comparison
• 07:30–09:45: R.E.M.'s “Losing My Religion,” personal identity, and the evolution of meaning
• 11:40–14:20: Framing Britney Spears, fans as protectors, changing context for pop music enjoyment
• 15:00–18:20: Cultural reckoning, separating art and artist, Michael Jackson as a case study
• 19:13–21:10: Lighthearted family moment with Wesley’s nephew Christopher

Tone & Style

Wesley Morris brings a thoughtful, confessional, and wryly observant voice throughout the episode, blending music criticism, cultural analysis, and personal memoir. He candidly shares moments of change and insight, encouraging listeners to reflect on how their emotional and moral landscapes shape their relationships with pop culture. The episode moves from analytical to poignant to warmly humorous, especially with the closing family exchange.

Takeaways for Listeners

• The meaning of a song is not fixed; it shifts as listeners evolve and as society changes.
• Personal growth and cultural events reframe songs, sometimes making former anthems into elegies, or uncovering deeper resonance.
• The reckoning with artists’ lives and actions challenges us not to amputate pleasure, but to acknowledge complexity.
• Music can act as both a site of celebration and reckoning, unchanging in form but ever-changing in reception.