indulging in my self-defeat

keep art alive; art by joshua petker

the summer song. you know the kind, it sticks to your skin like humidity, like melted ice cream dripping down your fingers, like a lip-gloss kiss. the song is typically catchy, pop-music candy; low on lyrical significance, but high on addictive melodies. the chorus is key. repetition and sing-a-long ease are the necessary ingredients, and a comfortable dose of simplicity.

the song needs to have cross-over potential, not just between musical genres, but generations, too. it needs to have the hip-factor, the mainstream appeal, and some other something that pushes the song to the top of the charts, and on the tip of everyone's tongue. oh, and it helps if the song appears on a summer movie soundtrack. the almost unavoidable fate of the summer song is of course the curse of the one-hit wonder; though it will have plenty of company, both in the inevitable vh-1 special, and in karaoke bar playlists, all around the world. and, while it rules it's summer reign, the song is definitely on fire.

steal my sunshine is one of those summer songs. let loose in the summer of 1998; the pop-punk band from toronto, len, lit the radio up and had everyone singing along. the song was featured in the movie go, one of my personal favorite summer films. the quirky dialogue, and almost non-sensical lyrics, just made the song more likeable, and near-impossible to forget.

what exactly is an impaired tribal lunar speak, anyway?

steal my sunshine ~ len