Insert Foot and Lil Nas X vs. the real Satan

The pandemic must be over, the economy is obviously soaring, and everything is A-OK, situation normal, we’re all fine here … how are you?

I’m great. Because Satan is back.

I waxed nostalgic a while back over America again accusing a pop artist of devil worship. It made me think of Tipper Gore’s hair, Ronald Reagan puppets on MTV and Dee Snider not taking it from Congress.

This time it’s Lil Nas X, who makes really fun videos …fun  at least to those who are not some combination of raging racist, homophobe and/or religious nut.

In case you don’t know, Mr. Lil Nas X is a rapper … playing that rap music … probably one of those people who burn down cities (I’m still waiting for someone to show me that city, but never mind that).

He made a video for “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” in which there’s some fantastic imagery alluding to fun things like snakes, the garden of Eden, angels, something maybe about the movie “Dangerous Liaisons” and Nas giving Satan a lap dance before killing him.

We are outraged … (just like Nas and his record label want us to be).

The video takes place in a land in which Lil Nas X can be himself. He’s queer, he’s Black, he likes pastels, stripper poles and touching people. And, really, who doesn’t?

Well, CNN tells me some “high-profile pastors” are upset at the Satan thing. The straight, white Republican governor of South Dakota, obviously a big fan otherwise, tweeted some drivel about Nas’ soul and hell and stuff.

Strangely, I didn’t see her tweeting about Matt Gaetz.

Weren’t we supposed to be distracted by flying cars in 2021, instead of this same old idiocy?

It takes me right back to the good old days when Ronald Reagan stood guard over the white upper-middle class so their children could just say no (we didn’t) and play LPs backward to see how metal bands wanted us to kill ourselves.

As with many of LNX’s videos, it’s made tongue in cheek while teasing the rest of us for being hung up on our versions of morality (insert your Matt Gaetz joke here). There’s also an underlying seriousness that people who need to understand will never understand. I guess we’ll have to settle for it being a great way to expose and publicly shame the stupid and humorless population of Bigot Town.

In related news, Nike asked a judge for a restraining order against Lil Nas X last week, which of course had nothing to do with morality and everything to do with money. Seems that Nas has collaborated with artist collective MSCHF to modify and sell Nikes into “Satan shoes,” containing one drop of human blood. Because child labor is no big deal, but you just try giving a gay lap dance to a fictional boogey man …

By the way, no one seemed to mind MSCHF’s “Jesus shoes,” complete with holy water in the soles, retailing for $4,000.

Yes … real. No way could anyone never make that up.

The only bad part about the whole thing are the real issues prompting artists to even need to make statements to begin with, or having to create a fictional world for their freedom to exist. Lil Nas X has more courage in one of his fantastic pastel fingernails than all his critics combined. As usual, the delicious irony here is the morons giving him all the extreme publicity are motivating people to support him in a battle they didn’t even know he was fighting.

We do now.

Follow music critic Tony Hicks at Twitter.com/TonyBaloney1967.