How "Old Town Road" gave us hope without making us cringe, and became our song of the year.

Discussed this week:

• Joe Coscarelli, Alexandra Eaton, Will Lloyd, Eden Weingart, Antonio de Luca and Alicia DeSantis. "Diary of a Song — ‘Old Town Road’: See How Memes and Controversy Took Lil Nas X to the Top of the Charts" (The New York Times, May 10, 2019)
• Jon Caramanica. "The Short Rise and Long Tail of Lil Nas X" (The New York Times, Jun. 26, 2019)
• Jade Jolie
• "Shut Up & Sing" (directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck, 2006)
• BriMalandro.tumblr.com