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Lil Nas X has a talent for creating productive controversy. First with \u201cOld Town Road,\u201d he challenged expectations about blackness in country music. Now with \u201cMontero (Call Me By Your Name),\u201d he takes aim at anti LGBTQ+ messages propagated by the religious dogma from his youth (he came out as gay during Pride 2019). The song describes a romantic encounter without innuendo. Sure it\u2019s raunchy, but the song doesn\u2019t especially stand out on Billboard where explicit sexual fantasy is commonplace. But his use of religious iconography in his video and merchandise created an immediate backlash. In the video to \u201cMontero,\u201d Lil Nas X rides a stripped pole into hades where he gives a lap dance to Satan (also played by Lil Nas X). Despite the obvious commentary on repressive orthodoxy, religious conservatives failed to see the subtext. The song became a lightning rod. But as pundits fought on social media about the song's meaning, most critics failed to look into the song\u2019s musical references. Produced by Take A Daytrip, the duo behind Shek Wes\u2019 \u201cMo Bamba\u201d and Lil Nas X\u2019s \u201cPanini,\u201d \u201cMontero'' mashes up genres that take the listener on a global journey, sharing his message of acceptance across cultures.\n\nMusic\nLil Nas X \u2014 Montero, Old Town Road, Panini\n24kGoldn, iann dior - Mood\nDick Dale and his Del-Tones - Misirlou\nTetos Demetriades - Misirlou\nAris San Boom Pam\nSilsulim - Static & Ben El\nShek Was \u2014 Mo Bamba\nLehakat Tzliley Haud\nBouzouki recording from xserra from FreeSound under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License\n\nMore\nListen to Gal Kadan\u2019s project: Awesome Orientalists From Europa on Bandcamp\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices