Above, listen to an episode of The Current's daily Music News podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also sign up for a daily Music News e-mail and join our Facebook group.

What counts as country? It's a big question if you're a scholar — there have been fat books written on the subject — but it's Billboard that decides what songs get ranked on its country music chart. Right now, the industry publication is in the middle of a controversy regarding the song "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X. It's a song about horses, valleys, tractors, bull riding, and independence, with the chorus "can't nobody tell me nothing." Although the song itself rides on trap beats, the hook is played on a banjo. Sounds pretty country, right?

That's what a lot of Lil Nas X fans think, including the legions of teens who've turned the song into a popular meme on TikTok. They start out wearing normal jeans and fleece or whatever, then they jump in the air and when the beat drops, they land and they're suddenly dressed like cowboys and cowgirls, drinking yee-yee juice.

Their enthusiasm has turned the song into a streaming hit, landing in the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100. It started to climb Billboard's country chart until it suddenly disappeared from that tally.

When asked about the song's disappearance, Billboard said, "While Old Town Road incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version." Lil Nas X reacted with a sad-face emoji. His fans reacted with more pointed criticisms, many saying the decision was redolent of a long history of racism in country music. Lil Nas X is African-American, and black country artists have long found it very difficult to gain acceptance in the genre.

Billboard says their decision is all about what the song sounds like, and has nothing to do with the artist's race, but the publication is continuing to face criticism from people who say the decision is racist. That includes football star Deion Sanders, who tweeted, "What y'all did to Lil Nas X was TERRIBLY wrong." (BBC)

Picture book for rebellious women announced by the "boys" of Green Day

Green Day are releasing a new picture book based on their 2009 song "Last of the American Girls." According to publisher HarperCollins, the book is "an inspiring homage and handbook for the rebellious everywoman who refuses to capitulate [...] The song about a spirited nonconformist young woman named Gloria embodies today's cultural zeitgeist and is a salute and tribute to female empowerment and individuality."

Great...but here's the thing: all the members of Green Day, as you may be well aware, are men. The book's illustrator, Frank Caruso? Also a man. Reactions to the book announcement have, well, varied. Some women fans tweeted about the news with comments like "I'm crying at work I love my boys" and "watch me drop all my money."

Another woman, though, wrote, "boys i love u with all of my heart and would happily take SEVERAL bullets for you but dont you think the main ''rule'' to being an independent woman in punk should be to, well, not be told how to live their lives by men who have no experience in what its like to live as a woman??"

Writer Andi Zeisler asked rhetorically, "What rebellious everywoman among us has not longed for an inspiring handbook authored and illustrated by four men and zero women?"

Mikki Halpin, another writer, added, "I'M SO INSPIRED THAT THREE DUDES FOUND A FOURTH DUDE TO ILLUSTRATE THIS HOMAGE FOR REBELLIOUS EVERYWOMEN!!!!!!!"

If you're in the "take all my money" camp, you can set $19.99 aside for October 29, when Last of the American Girls hits bookstore shelves. (Twitter)

Renowned tour manager Gerry Stickells dies at 76

Tour manager Gerry Stickells has died of cancer at age 76. He was closely associated with Jimi Hendrix, touring with the guitar god for years, including bringing Hendrix to Woodstock. Poignantly, it was Stickells who identified Hendrix's body and brought it back to Seattle after Hendrix died in London in 1970.

Stickells went on to become an in-demand manager as concert tours became more lavish: artists like Elton John and Madonna needed someone who was reliable and knowledgeable, and there weren't many tour managers who were more respected than the former mechanic from England. He and a business partner formed a production company that could manage all aspects of increasingly complex tours.

He also had the crucial tour manager's skill of being able to relate to world-famous artists and bring them down to earth when needed. For that reason, he was an invaluable part of the touring team for the band Queen: he had a strong relationship with lead singer Freddie Mercury. Stickells's wife said that although her husband was very ill and could hardly speak by the time the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody came out, he loved seeing the recreation of the band's Live Aid performance, which was a highlight of his career. Stickells pointed, smiled, and said, "It's Fred." (New York Times)

Red Bull Radio and Music Academy closing down on Halloween

Red Bull has announced that it is closing Red Bull Radio and Red Bull Music Academy after 21 years promoting "interesting sounds for truly adventurous audiences." The energy drink company says it's still interested in "providing a global platform to promote creativity," but it will take a different form after Halloween, the last day for both of its current ventures.

Red Bull Radio is a stream of music, interviews, and other features. Red Bull Music Academy is a multimedia platform with online and IRL features exploring music and the people who make it. (NME)

British reggae classic Babylon coming to the U.S.

The movie Pitchfork calls "one of the best reggae films ever made" is finally coming to U.S. movie theaters...almost 40 years after it was made. Babylon is a 1980 British film about a roots reggae sound system crew getting ready for a duel on the very mean streets of South London, starring real-life musicians like Brinsley Forde and Jah Shaka.

According to reggae scholar Lloyd Bradley, Babylon is a hard-edged and electrifying movie that captures both the scene's thrilling music and the brutal racism its artists often faced. The film now has scheduled screenings at theaters across the country, and it's expected to be released online this fall. We're making the movie's trailer our viral clip of the day. (Pitchfork)

Recording industry revenue grows for fourth straight year

Global revenue for the recording industry just had its fourth straight year of growth, according to the annual report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. With $19.1 billion in total revenue, the industry grew almost 10% last year — and the vast majority that revenue growth is coming from streaming services. Streaming revenue was up by over a third last year, more than making up for a 10% decline in revenue from physical copies and a 21% decline in paid downloads. The fastest-growing region is Latin America, especially Brazil and Mexico. The South Korea recording industry also saw revenue growth of nearly 20% as K-pop exploded. (Pitchfork)

Audio sampled in podcast
Jahzzar: "Comedie" (CC BY 4.0)
BoxCat Games: "Against The Wall" (CC BY 3.0)
Queen: "Hammer to Fall"
Green Day: "Last of the American Girls"
Lil Nas X: "Old Town Road (I Got The Horses In the Back)"
Jah Shaka Sound System: "Babylon"