What Is The 2015 Song of the Summer?

Is OMI's "Cheerleader" the song of the summer? Radio consultant Sean Ross makes a case for it:

“Cheerleader” was perhaps the first time since “California Gurls” that a song remained a front-runner from Memorial Day to Labor Day, although there were a few negative whispers at the beginning (one PD told me that the women he played it for didn’t like it) and PDs who came up to me midsummer and admitted they didn’t like it at first.

It’s hard to come up with a more profound case for “Cheerleader” than the one made for it in May: “reggae + dance music = extra summer smash insurance in 2015.” But after “Blurred Lines” and “Fancy,” the song’s sweetness probably counts for something as well. You can also say that about “Shut Up and Dance” or “See You Again” after a glut of “Elastic Heart”-type midtempo harshness in the format.

I don't know. I just haven't heard this song much this summer. Maybe I didn't get out of the house much this summer? Yet I did travel quite a bit, and I just never heard it in the wild! What do you make of it?



Sean's other finalists included The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” (which seems to have picked up steam later in the summer); Silento's “Watch Me (Whip/Ne Ne)” (which feels more like the next Gangnam Style/What Does the Fox Say/Harlem Shake novelty sensation than a song of summer); and Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” which is leading Billboard's summer chart.

What say you?

Endless Summer in Southern California

Yes, the Blogger Kids are back in school... but with the temperatures still as high as they are, we finally hit the beach for the first time this summer. We generally head to Manhattan Beach, where the parking gods always smile on us. A tip: go in the late afternoon, as the crowds clear out. Stay for the sunset. Eat dinner in town.

Should School Really Start in Early August? Some Glendale Parents Say No

The Blogger Kids returned to school on August 10, earlier than just about anyone else in the region. To much relief of Maria... but was it fair to the boys?

Honestly, they didn't protest that much, and we had just about run out of things for them to do this summer, so we saw it as pretty much of a good thing. We did the family trip, they did multiple camps and were starting to get restless.

On the flip side, it seemed like summer had barely scratched the surface, and I had been working most of it, limiting my summer fun with the kids. But given our weather, it's almost always summer in Southern California, so that didn't bother me much either.

It bothered some parents in the Glendale Unified School District, however. According to the Glendale News-Press, they're hoping to push the school start closer to the end of August rather than the beginning:

As Montrose parent Sarah Rush was driving her daughter to Rosemont Middle School on Monday, it was Rush, not her daughter Amanda, who was experiencing a sudden sadness.

The start of the school year on Aug. 10 arrived one week sooner than it did last school year, and Rush felt it had interfered with precious family time with her daughter.

“Summer was over, and it just felt wrong,” Rush said.

Over the past few months, Rush’s daughter attended summer school to refine her math skills, then she spent a week at Camp Fox on Catalina Island.

That left the mother and daughter with only two weeks of summer to spare, Rush said.

Later on Monday, Rush created an online petition dubbed “Save our GUSD Summers.”

I find it interesting that it was the parent, not the kid, driving this! Here's what the petition says:

Please sign the SAVE OUR GUSD SUMMERS petition to have our schools' starting date be extended to much later in August (and as close to Labor Day as possible) for 2016 and subsequent years. This would not affect the mandatory 180 days of instructional teaching. We have only so many years to build summer family memories with our children. By losing a month of the summer vacation, the lives of our children and families are being negatively impacted in many ways. If our children are taking summer school, their summer vacation has been shortened to only 3 weeks. Our children deserve to have time in the summer for camps, sports, recreation, and most importantly, family time. In our society, the stress of our adult workloads are increasing, and our recreational time with our children is being lessened. We are a community who is very committed to the educational lives of our children. When the academic year begins, we are all invested in their well being and educational process. Kids need a break. Families need a break. If a teacher is interested in pursuing educational opportunities to build on their own expertise, those are also affected by the shortened summer hiatus. The stated "pro" for starting our schools earlier is so that our students will have taken their finals before the Christmas break. This goal could be met by adjusting other holiday dates in the calendar year, and still starting school at a later date. There are also parents who feel that their children do fine with the extra time to study and prepare for the exams. There is room for discussion. The GUSD school starting date is one of the earliest in the entire United States. It is affecting our children's internships and summer job opportunities as well. The warm temperatures are miserable for our kids in non air conditioned classrooms and for outdoor Physical Education. I don't know if any of the School Board members have children in our schools at present. Were any parents consulted when the decision was made for August 10th to be the starting date for GUSD? I have not found a single parent who is happy about the school year beginning so early. Next year the starting date is scheduled for August 8th. I know that our School Board leaders are committed to the children of this community, and are driven by their love for education. Let's send them a message that curtailing our summers does not benefit the family and the educational lives of our children, but hurts us all.

This seems more like an emotional debate than perhaps a logistical one. The debate over how long the summer vacation should be has waged for years, and honestly, it's a struggle for kids to return after too long of a break to basically re-learn everything they forgot over the summer months. I think this shorter vacation time is also beneficial to Glendale's growing language immersion program, as kids need to be surrounded by the target language more often for it to stick. Honestly, most schools in the region started a few days, or at most, a week later...

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: Comic-Con Recap, Plus Banning TV's Pariahs

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I are joined by Give Me My Remote's Marisa Roffman:

Mike and Marisa Roffman are just back from this year's Comic-Con, while Joe opted to once again take it all in from a distance. The gathering has evolved over the years, and while it can still be a great place for genre shows to connect with fans, the convention does have its downsides. For shows, it's expensive to stop production and fly their cast out to San Diego. But if they don't go, they run the risk of media-savvy fans throwing a digital fit. And from the perspective of someone covering the event, it's tough to get any actual news from Comic-Con. The focus seems to have shifted to primarily debuting trailers and sharing some casting news, although even those announcements are increasingly made before the panel discussions and presentations themselves.

Also, It's been a news-filled summer, and a lot of that news has meant networks have had to decide what to do about shows connected to problematic people like Bill Cosby or Donald Trump. Dukes of Hazzard also disappeared from TV Land because of the Confederate flag painted on top of the famous car, the General Lee. Was it necessarily to pull the whole show, or could there have been a way to digitally remove the flag from the car?

Finally, gone are the days when summer was the time to catch up on TV shows you missed last fall. A batch of new, critically acclaimed shows like UnReal, Humans and Mr. Robot are filling the void instead.

Listen below!

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: August Edition (Listen Now!)

It's the August edition of our monthly TV podcast on KCRW, The Spin-Off! This month, Joe and I are joined by Yahoo TV's Maggie Furlong. Here's what we discuss:

This summer saw lots of new, original programming in both cable and broadcast networks. Not all of it was great, but much of it has been renewed. Some new reality projects are taking interesting risks, but are networks willing to give the shows the marketing boost they need? And after resolving contract disputes for the show's main stars, The Big Bang Theory will be back, though no one ever really doubted its return.

Unlike in years before when summer was the time for reruns only, this summer offered a variety of new shows across lots of different networks. There was big hype surrounding programs like HBO’s The Leftovers, CBS’s Extant and FX’s The Strain. But the show that’s done really well? TNT’s The Last Ship, which counts Michael Bay as an executive producer. That show is one of several summer debuts that has been picked up for a second season.

And in the realm of reality TV, there’s been a lot of talk about all the nudity in shows like VH1’s Dating Naked, but the buzzy show of the moment is FYI’s Married at First Sight. Part of the appeal comes from the show’s docu-drama feel. Producers don’t appear to exploit the cast members like we might have seen in a version of this show 10 years ago. And ABC’s The Quest also feels like something new and adventurous, but with little marketing and a less-than-ideal time slot, did ABC bury a show that could have been a winner?

Plus, fans of The Big Bang Theory need not worry. The hugely successful CBS sitcom will be back with a new season in the fall, after only a brief hold-up during cast contract negotiations. The show’s three main stars will now make around a million dollars an episode and get a piece of the back-end from syndication. Given the continued popularity of the show — it still draws over 20 million viewers a week — there was never much doubt that CBS would find a way to resolve any contract disputes.

Finally, a quick round of Emmy predictions! Listen to find out who’s team Cranston and who’s team McConaughey (and even who’s team Woody Harrelson), which Spin-off guest is fine with Modern Family winning yet again, and which guests will riot if a different comedy doesn’t walk away with an award.

Listen by clicking below!

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: June Summer TV Edition (Listen Now!)

It's the June 2014 edition of KCRW's monthly TV podcast, The Spin-Off! This month, Joe and I welcome Variety.com's Laura Prudom to help us banter about some of the big headlines in TV. Here's what we talk about:

The summer used to be a time where the networks hung out the proverbial “Gone Fishin” signs and programmed repeats until fall. Cable changed all that, and forced everyone to step up their game. Now, this summer brings new shows from big names like filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof. Will viewers find a lot to love or feel overwhelmed among the clutter?

And in the world of new shows a little further out, Chelsea Handler is leaving E! to do a talk show on Netflix. There’s a lot of speculation about what her new show will look like, but we’ll have to wait until 2016 to find out for sure. Also in 2016, we’ll get a second season of the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. AMC gave the greenlight for another batch of episodes while season one is still in production.

Finally, what’s in a name? Will a cable network called by any other name draw more viewers? Bio, HLN, We TV, Military Channel, Style and others have all undergone recent name changes (or are about to). What’s the thinking behind this kind of naming shake-up?

Click on the logo to download, or go here to stream it!

Thursday Night Live at the Descanso Gardens

There are few better things on a late summer evening than rolling out a mat under some trees, unpacking a picnic basket, pouring a glass of wine and listening to some live music. You can't quite crack open a bottle at the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena, but those shows are free. You can do the whole picnic thing at the Hollywood Bowl, but parking (and admission) aren't cheap. We love the Thursday evening Farmers' Market in South Pasadena, but that's a different scene.



The Descanso Gardens, on the other hand, is an economical way to meet up with folks on a warm summer evening without breaking the bank. Kids under 5 are even free. Thursday nights, Descanso stays open late for visitors (with paid admission) to enjoy jazz under the setting sun. Concerts begin at 6 p.m. Here's what's left this summer:

July 12: Gonzalo Bergara (Gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso from Argentina)
July 19: Nick Mancini (Powerhouse vibraphone player)
July 26: Jimmy Branly (Cuban jazz)
August 2: Kristin Korb (California cool bass and vocals)
August 9: Sammy Miller (Up-and-coming jazz drummer)
August 16: Betty Bryant (Sophisticated blues from the pianist/singer)
August 23: Terry Harrington (Veteran sax player and Simpsons regular)

Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge 91011. Admission: General $8. Senior/Students $6. Children (5 to 12 years) $3. Guild members and children under 5 free.

L.A. Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats Starts Tonight

One of our favorite events of the entire year, the Los Angeles Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats, kicks off on Wednesday night at the Orpheum Theatre.

Last Remaining Seats opens the doors to some of downtown's most glorious old movie palaces -- and for one night, they're once again used to screen classic films as they were intended. And this year, the event (whch started in 1987) is celebrating its 25th year.

Tonight's screening,the 1954 Hitchcock classic "Rear Window," is already sold out. More details:

The season opens with a sold-out screening of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Renowned film critic and historian Leonard Maltin will host the evening and introduce the film. Robert York will perform before the screening on the Orpheum’s 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer organ, the last remaining theatre organ on Broadway. Nearly two thousand people will fill the beautifully restored 1926 Orpheum Theatre to kick off this special anniversary season, which runs through June 29 in the Broadway Historic Theatre District.

Read our post from last year's Last Remaining Seats (in which we caught the screening of "The Graduate" at the beautiful Los Angeles Theatre) here.

There are still tickets remaining for many of the screenings. Here's a list:

May 25
Rear Window (1954) - SOLD OUT!
Orpheum Theatre
June 1

The Music Man (1962)
Los Angeles Theatre

June 8
Captain Blood (1935)
Million Dollar Theatre

June 15
King Kong (1933)
Los Angeles Theatre

June 22
Zoot Suit (1981)
Co-presented with the
Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles
Million Dollar Theatre

June 26
Sunset Boulevard (1950) - SOLD OUT!
Palace Theatre

June 29
Safety Last! (1923)
Orpheum Theatre

Beating the Heat in Manhattan Beach

Now that we've found free parking in Manhattan Beach, just a few blocks from the beach, it's become our go-to spot to hit the sand. (The 105 is also a lot less crowded on warm weekend mornings than the 10, as folks driving to Santa Monica and Malibu clog the freeway).

Where do you hit for a quick few hours at the beach? Let us know below.

And the 2009 Song of the Summer Is...

Earlier this summer, inspired by Sean Ross' annual column on the song of the summer, I asked you to pick what you think this year's top contender was -- and you chose "When Love Takes Over," by David Guetta and Kelly Rowlands.

Now that the summer is over, Sean has revealed his own pick for song of the summer... and it's probably not a shocker: “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas.

Sean writes:

“Boom Boom Pow” was not just a massive hit but a sonic landmark. It had millions of supporters of all ages and from all quarters, but like “SexyBack” a few summers back, it was also a seemingly unsparing record that redefined what a hit song sounded like. I know a surprising number of people my age who pride themselves on staying current but couldn’t warm up to this one; (and it didn’t fall on the “love Hip-Hop/hate Hip-Hop” axis either, some of them had “Knock You Down” as their favorite summer song). And those are the records that become touchstones in years to come.

Sean notes that "Boom Boom Pow" actually came out in the spring -- and the BEP's "I Gotta Feelin" might have been a more timely choice. But in the end, the sheer weight of "Boom Boom Pow's" popularity and ubiquity pushed it over the top.

Your Summer Pop Song of 2009 Is...

... David Guetta and Kelly Rowlands, "When Love Takes Over"

The song barely beat out Madcon's "Beggin" (which was my pick)... I find "When Love Takes Over" to be pretty boring myself.

Overall, voting was low for the poll, which makes me assume that none of the picks excited you that much. Here's how the poll wound up:



"Other" picks included "Who's Got Your Money?" by Tina Parol, "Blame It on the Alcohol" by Jamie Foxx (really? Really?), "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga (probably too old to be a summer song), "Love Game" by Lady Gaga, and "Gimme Sympathy" by Metric.

Wednesday Poll: What's the Pop Song of Summer 2009? (Part II)

Last week, we asked you to submit finalists for Pop Song of Summer 2009. This week, we'll find our winner. Vote above! And there's still a space to add your own pick.

Wednesday Poll: What's the Pop Song of Summer 2009?

Every June, Edison Research's Sean Ross handicaps what might eventually emerge as the unofficial Pop Song of Summer. Last year, the winner was easily Kid Rock's "All Summer Long." This year, he writes that there are no obvious front-runners, but a lot more contenders than usual:

There's no shortage of tempo and energy - always a prerequisite in this column for "The Summer Song." (The other rules, for those who haven't seen previous columns in this series, are that a song's radio run has to cover the bulk of the season, and that it can't be a song that peaked in spring and carried over.)

Following Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" ride back to stardom last year, there's no shortage of visible jockeying to take advantage of the season. Rascal Flatts' "Summer Nights" (not the "Grease" song) is already scaling the Country charts. Sean Paul's new "So Fine" was released earlier this month, since summer often means Reggae. And Sugar Ray is making an obvious bid to follow the comeback Kid with "Boardwalk," from the provocatively titled "Music for Cougars." (It's more of a left field entry--still brand new, where "All Summer Long" was an obvious hit by last May 20th.)

My vote is in the video above: Madcon's "Beggin'." There's something so catchy and retro (it's a remake of a Four Seasons tune) about this song; I could easily see it blowing up big time on the beaches and at the pools. I've already been hearing it a bit on top 40 radio, and it's been a big hit all over the world. I'm sure we'll be sick of it by the end of summer.

Sean's contenders include:

Lady Gaga, "LoveGame"
Kristinia DeBarge, "Goodbye"
Katy Perry, "Waking Up In Vegas"
Kelly Clarkson, "I Do Not Hook Up"
Pink, "Please Don't Leave Me"
Black Eyed Peas, "I Got A Feeling"
3Oh!3, "Starstrukk"
Flo Rida f/Nelly Furtado, "Jump"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"
Pitbull, "I Know You Want Me"
David Guetta & Kelly Rowlands, "When Love Takes Over"
Madcon, "Beggin'"
Kevin Rudolph, "Welcome To The World"
Kings Of Leon, "Use Somebody"
Metric, "Help I'm Alive"

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN. Either pick one of these contenders, or tell us another song that oughta be in the running for song of the summer. We'll then take the finalists and have a runoff next week. Get at it!

Your Favorite Summertime Haunts

Last week, as we launched the contest for tix to see Gilberto Gil and Devendra Banhart at the Hollywood Bowl, we asked you to tell us your favorite places to celebrate summer in L.A. Some answers:

Alexander: My favorite spot in LA is downtown LA. There are a lot of swimming pools on the rooftops and there's a bunch of bars and museums, and Little Radio has BBQs on Saturdays.

Cathy: My favorite summer places in LA are Evenings sitting on a bench up at the observatory with the breeze
looking at the lights in the Los Angeles basin. Daytime strolling around the Santa Monica pier especially during the
twilight dance concerts.

Jamie: One of my favorite summer afternoon things to do is to sit in the shade at the Trails Cafe, on Ferndell in Griffith park, and eat one of the yummy tomato tarts with a glass of lemonade... mmm, summery!

Mitch: The best place to spend the summer in L.A? Has to be the ice skating rink in Culver City. You wouldn't know it's summer...'til you walk outside.

Loren: El Matador State Beach in Malibu, more specifically one of the beach caves accessible at low tide but more challenging to reach once the swell increases.

Allison: My favorite place to spend the summer is at the Hollywood Bowl-duh!

Iko: Scoops!

Leslie: My favorite place to spend the summer in Los Angeles is Runyon Canyon in those early evening hours of sunlight. Perfect temperature and light for hiking without sweating up a storm.

Margaret: Mothers' Beach

Ivona: I am not sure does it count, since it is not a part of the LA per se, but more part of the LA region. I loooooove jumping on cat express, going to Two Harbors, and then do a hike to Shark Cove. Beautiful beach on the other side of the island, nice surfing, great diving, perfect chillin out area. And sunset, definitely one of the best ones in this area.

Don: So many places to be in the summer, but I'd have to pick hiking in the San Gabriels as my pick.

Bob: Self-Realization Lake Shrine.

We'll reveal the winner tomorrow!

What Will Be This Year's Summer Song?

Edison Research's Sean Ross once again asks the question, What song will ultimately be remembered the most as the quintessential 2008 summer tune?

Last year, it was pretty obvious that Rhianna's "Umbrella" would wind up as the song. With its catchy "-ella, -ella" chorus, the song dominated the charts and the airwaves all summer long. Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" wasn't too far behind.

This year, there doesn't seem to be an obvious contender just yet. Ross breaks it down:

Kid Rock, "All Summer Long" - It's been just lying in wait on his "Rock N Roll Jesus" album since the end of last summer. It is already off to a good start in medium markets, but as "Picture" showed, Kid always has to scrap his way back on to major-market, rhythmic-leaning Top 40 stations which could take, well, all summer long.

New Kids On The Block, "Summertime" - A co-worker who grew up with NKOTB heard this and liked it, but couldn't help making the comparison to LFO's "Summergirls," which is a little like the singer John Wesley Harding's joke about the Beatles reuniting and sounding a lot like ELO and XTC. And, besides, we've now seen them go from Boyz II Men as well. Also took a few weeks to get some major-market momentum, but is picking up this week.

Boys Like Girls, "Thunder" - As a power ballad, it's disqualified. But it belonged on this list because the trade ads have emphasized its "soundtrack of my summer" lyric.

Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocketful of Sunshine" - It's growing slowly now, but if it can hang in there for a few weeks, it will, like "Unwritten," then hang around for months. And if having a pocketful of sunshine doesn't quite sum up the national psyche right now, aren't summer songs meant to alleviate the national mood?

A few more of Ross' finalists: Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl"; Metro Station, "Shake It"; Danity Kane, "Damaged"; Duffy, "Mercy"; Chris Brown, "Forever"; Alicia Keys, "Teenage Love Affair"; Miley Cyrus, "Seven Things"; Lady Antebellum, "Love Don't Live Here"; Carrie Underwood, "Last Name"; Flo Rida, "In The Ayer"; Maroon 5 & Rihanna, "If I Never See Your Face Again"; Lloyd f/Lil Wayne, "Girls Around The World."

And what are your summer picks?