Hit Parade | “Ride ’til I Can’t No More Edition Part 2”

Host: Chris Molanphy
Date: November 24, 2023
Podcast: Hit Parade – Slate Podcasts

Episode Overview

This episode continues Chris Molanphy’s exploration of what makes a modern musical hit, focusing on the interplay between technology, virality, and changing chart rules. With a particular spotlight on Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Molanphy traces the lineage of viral sensations and how innovations from ringtones to TikTok have shaped the pop charts over the past two decades. Throughout, the episode blends music history and social commentary, culminating in “Old Town Road” as a cultural and technological phenomenon.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Digital Era Disruption: How Technology Reshaped the Charts

• Rise of Digital Downloads
  • The 2005 holiday season marked the first time iTunes sales counted toward the Billboard charts, with iPods given as holiday gifts (03:12).
  • D4L’s “Laffy Taffy” became the simplest No. 1 hit, powered almost entirely by digital downloads after Christmas 2005, dethroning Mariah Carey (00:46–03:12).

  “They needed software for their new hardware, and 99 cent download buyers made Laffy Taffy a smash.” – Chris Molanphy (03:12)

• Ringtone Rap & Mobile Virality
  • “Snap music”—basic, minimalist Atlanta rap—was ideally suited for ringtones (05:37).
  • Virality through ringtones foreshadowed TikTok’s influence a decade later (05:37–07:30).

  “You can think of Laffy Taffy as the first Hot 100 number one hit powered by mobile virality. Consuming it in short bursts compelled millions to want to hear the whole song.” – Chris Molanphy (07:30)

2. Pre-Internet Virality: The Original Memes

• Dance Crazes as Early Virals
  • Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” became the first song to hit No. 1 twice as the dance craze spread from teens to adults – a process that, pre-internet, took more than a year (09:55–11:22).
• File Sharing Experiments
  • Early experiments included Aerosmith’s “Head First” (1994, CompuServe download) and Duran Duran’s “Electric Barbarella” (1997), laying groundwork for digital music distribution (12:10).

3. The YouTube and Social Media Explosion

• Social Platforms Create New Stars
  • YouTube Phenomena:
    • Weird Al Yankovic’s “White & Nerdy” goes top 10 thanks to YouTube, establishing a blueprint for digital virality (15:54).
    • Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” becomes the first No. 1 fueled by a YouTube dance meme (17:21).
  • MySpace Era:
    • Arctic Monkeys break in the UK (2005); Owl City in the US (2009) via MySpace fanbases (18:45–20:30).

    "People feel like they know Owl City, like they've got a direct connection to him because of how he approaches his connection with them online." – Adam Young’s manager (21:10)

• Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: Pop Stardom Evolves
  • Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Carly Rae Jepsen all leverage social media for fan engagement and chart dominance (22:31–25:52).
    • Bieber boosts Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” via Twitter; YouTube becomes a metric for hitmaking (24:06).

4. YouTube Data Transforms the Hot 100

• Impact of Viral Videos on Charts
  • Psy’s “Gangnam Style” almost reaches No. 1—held back only by limited radio play before YouTube streams counted for Billboard (25:52–27:38).
  • In 2013, Billboard incorporates YouTube plays, making Bauer’s “Harlem Shake” the first meme video turned No. 1 (27:40).
  • Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” returns to No. 1 thanks to a viral Chatroulette parody (29:30).

  “…the fan clip used the original audio of Cyrus's hit; its views counted for the Hot 100. That was enough to push Wrecking Ball back to number one.” – Chris Molanphy (30:22)

5. Short-Form Video: Vine and the Dawn of Micro-Memes

• Vine’s Legacy
  • Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Boy” and the “Schmoney Dance” explode on Vine (31:31–32:47).
  • Cilento’s “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” leverages YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram, and Vine—another pre-TikTok viral strategy (32:47–34:47).

6. The Hip-Hop & Country Crossover: Laying Groundwork for “Old Town Road”

• Gradual Acceptance and Experimentation
  • Nelly and Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” remix is hyped via social media, breaking barriers for country-rap (34:55).
  • Black rappers embrace country tropes—Young Thug’s “Family Don’t Matter” is a direct country trap precursor (36:43–37:35).
  • Lil Tracy’s “Like a Farmer” features the line: “I got horses in my car just like a farmer, I got some horses in this truck. Keep up” (38:40).

    “Like a Farmer was perhaps the most obvious antecedent to Old Town Road, not only in its twang but also in its sense of humor and even its lyrical hook.” – Chris Molanphy (39:00)

• The “Yeehaw Agenda” & Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Black cowboy culture surges in mainstream conversation after Twitter memes, Ciara’s Western photo shoot, and the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 (40:14–42:59).

7. TikTok and “Old Town Road”: A New Era of Hitmaking

• Incubation on TikTok
  • Upon release in December 2018, “Old Town Road” first goes viral via TikTok cowboy memes, often using Red Dead Redemption 2 footage (42:59–44:44).
  • Tipping Point: TikTok user Michael Pelchat posts a 15-second kick dance, crediting the “horses in the back” lyric as meme gold (44:44–45:39).

    “Like I heard like five seconds of it and I was like this is gonna be something. There’s something here.” – Michael Pelchat (TikTok influencer), (45:15)

• Multilayered Virality and Record-Breaking Chart Run
  • The “Yeehaw Challenge” merges meme and movement—Black cowboy culture and country rap unite under “Old Town Road” (45:39–46:32).
  • Lil Nas X expands virality with genre-spanning remixes (Billy Ray Cyrus, Young Thug, BTS’s RM, Mason Ramsey), official video cameos (Chris Rock), and public appearances at sporting events, festivals, and schools (46:57).

    “When you see a black man on a horse going that fast, you just gotta let him fly.” – Chris Rock cameo in the official video (46:57)

• “Old Town Road” Triumphs at the Grammys
  • Wins two awards; Lil Nas X performs with a supergroup of all remix contributors (48:13–49:13).

    “Old Town Road now belongs to belonged to everybody and Lil Nas X can’t nobody tell him nothing.” – Chris Molanphy (49:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Music & Technology:

  “You might say the interplay of music and technology comes in two varieties, the medium and the marketing.”
  — Chris Molanphy (07:48)

• On Early Social Virality:

  “As the dance spread like an infection from the young to the old … that was about as fast as a viral musical phenomenon could propagate pre-Internet.”
  — Chris Molanphy (11:18)

• On Chart Rules & Virality:

  "What made Harlem Shake an instant smash wasn't an official video … but Billboard's new fan video rule."
  — Chris Molanphy (28:30)

• On “Old Town Road’s” Cultural Moment:

  “As 2019 began, Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road was fully established across social media as the Yeehaw Agenda’s official soundtrack.”
  — Chris Molanphy (45:39)

Important Timestamps

• 00:46 — D4L’s “Laffy Taffy” and iTunes chart impact
• 05:37 — Snap music and ringtone rap explained
• 09:55 — Chubby Checker and “The Twist” as first dance craze meme
• 17:21 — Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” and YouTube virality
• 20:30 — MySpace-fueled hits (Owl City, Arctic Monkeys)
• 24:06 — Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, and the power of Twitter/YouTube
• 25:52 — Psy’s “Gangnam Style” and Billboard’s changing metrics
• 27:40 — Bauer’s “Harlem Shake” and the YouTube chart revolution
• 29:30 — Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” and viral fan covers
• 31:31 — Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Boy” and Vine’s impact
• 34:55 — Nelly/Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" remix and country-rap
• 36:43 — Young Thug and the birth of country trap
• 38:40 — Lil Tracy's "Like a Farmer" and viral influences
• 40:14 — The “Yeehaw Agenda,” Red Dead Redemption 2
• 44:44 — TikTok user Michael Pelchat and the “Horses in the back” meme
• 46:57 — Chris Rock cameo in the “Old Town Road” official movie
• 48:13 — “Old Town Road” at the Grammys; Supergroup performance

Conclusion

By tracing the arc from ringtones to TikTok, Chris Molanphy demonstrates that musical virality is as much about technological zeitgeist as musical genius. “Old Town Road” became an epochal hit not through luck alone but through the strategic, meme-powered exploitation of every digital channel available. This episode underscores the inseparability of platforms, memes, and music in making a modern hit.

For anyone interested in the convergence of music history, technology, and pop culture, this episode offers a masterclass in how the hit parade has evolved—and how it will keep changing.