Do you hear that? Hear what? I don’t hear anything.
That’s what I mean.
Not that I’m necessarily complaining, mind you. For the past handful of years we’ve had “songs of summer” that were completely inescapable, and we do have a couple of songs that are getting a fair amount of airplay, but nothing on that same order. As a matter of fact, I’ve heard more of the “SOS” of past seasons than this year.
While is has crippled Iggy Azalea’s standings through it’s omnipresence in 2014, and took a Mortal Kombat deathblow to Charli XCX’s solo opportunities for now, I still hear “Fancy” pumping out of terrestrial radio on a frequent basis. The combination of “Dear Future Husband” and the now-interminable “All About That Bass” from Meghan Trainor is hanging in there, and the #1 album of 2014, Taylor Swift’s 1989, retains it’s chokehold on the public imagination.
What has there been to rival these? Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You” has been strong, but has not — mercifully — been the fingernail splinter that “Call Me Maybe” was. I personally counted Jepsen out upon the newer song’s release, and must admit that I was thoroughly incorrect about her ability to jump back into the fray. But “I Really Like You” is an enjoyable hayfever when measured against the full-blown ebola that “Call Me Maybe” was.
We have the two bitches of summer duking it out, and that’s not my terminology…that’s theirs. Madonna’s “Bitch I’m Madonna” arrived as it’s own parody, not needing “Weird Al” Yankovic to waste any energy over it. Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” has seemingly had a chilling effect on the audience who genuinely want to like Ms. Fenty, and are apalled by the video showing her as a bloodied, brutal kidnapper.
I think — and I may be wrong on this, but — the song of the summer is turning out to be the song of the spring: Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars. It is a track that has surprised many, not only because of its staying power, but because it has found such genre-crossing unanimity. Even those who are fed up with the track can’t ignore its positive qualities.
There’s something to consider, that there hasn’t been something more persuasive to knock out a song that’s been rampaging for nearly half of a year. Could it be that the institution of the “summer banger,” if not dead, is seeing the first of real growing pains? Or has the lack of a suitably strong contender left too much real estate open, allowing older properties to linger longer? Or is there a club burner we’re conveniently ignoring? Let us know!
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