Grimes is known for experimenting with technology in her music and personal life. After all, she did claim to undergo an experimental eye surgery to eliminate seasonal depression. Whether or not it actually worked (or even happened), the singer continues to push the boundaries of technology in mainstream music. But she thinks Lil Nas X’s viral hit “Old Town Road” is especially emblematic of this current time period. In fact, Grimes said the song marks the “most significant musical situation of the last decade.”
In a recent episode of her Apple Music podcast War Nymph Radio, Grimes revealed she is in the top two percent of Nas‘ listeners on Spotify. The mention of Nas turned the conversation to Lil Nas X and his record-breaking hit “Old Town Road,” which remained at the top of the Billboard charts for 19 weeks in a row. Grimes said this feat shouldn’t be brushed over, rather, it shines a light on how pivotal technology and social media are in the music industry today.
“I feel like the situation with ‘Old Town Road’ may be, like, the most significant musical situation of the last decade,” she said. “Rejected from the country charts, came up through TikTok. It really is this weird hyper-modern situation that’s the song, popped off cause of technology. Cause even, I think, he bought the beat from a guy and the whole thing is just this post social media occurrence that just could never have happened before the moment it happened.”
Listen to Grimes’ War Nymph Radio here.
