That Summer was a Bummer

My apologies to my readers for the delay in posting this piece.  I consider the end of summer when the good weather ends. 

If ever there was a season for pop culture, it is the summertime.  Pop culture is disposable, like a popsicle stick.  It comes and goes before you even learn the chorus.  The temperatures soar, while our standards for what is acceptable entertainment drop. 

And I want my summer of 2007 back.  Or at least I want us all to learn from the mistakes we let the entertainment industry get away with.

In the past the Beach Boys, Under the Boardwalk, Dancin in the Streets, and Summer Nights set the tone on the airwaves.  Sure, they are dated, but you get the point.  What did we have this year? Rehab by Amy Winehouse and Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston.  Those two pop radio mainstays deal with the question of going to rehab and suicide.  Maybe I’m alone here, but neither makes me wanna load up the camper. 

A couple things quickly: I know that it is unfair to lump them together.  I do not own a censorship chip for my television.  I also know that it isn’t the artist’s responsibility to provide a soundtrack for a season.   I do know that the rest of the year has budgets, overcast clouds and extra clothing.  So I want summer to be funner than 75% of the year. 

Even the biggest concert of the summer was thrown by Al Gore.  Captain Runner-Up.  And guess what? It was for global warming.  Gee, get me a party hat.  What was that 7 continent special called again?

It used to be that the third installment in a movie meant it was the end.  Except for Police Academy.  Or Leonard Part 6.  This summer we saw a third Spiderman, Ocean’s and Bourne movie.   Fans of those franchises may shed a collective tear at their passing – if they knew they were actually done.  Instead, the Rocky, Die Hard, and Indiana Jones (2008) franchises are still churning out pics, even though collective age of their male leads totals somewhere around 180.  See what I’m saying? Either some of the biggst blockbusters of this decade ended, or they are going to be kept on life support ‘just in case…’  Anyone else imagine Matt Damon thinking to himself, ‘Hmm, I can do two more Bourne’s…three if the script’s good.’  So where do we stand? What new trilogy’s kicked off? Which new action hero broke out a sweat in the heat of the 2007th summer? Surely not Seth Rogan.  Alas…

A couple more points about the films and summer times.  First, I remember a few years ago when Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughy starred in Reign of Fire.  I really enjoyed it, but it was released in the summer but looked like an autumn movie.  Why does Hollywood do this? Movie of this look and feel (The Order of the Phoenix, for example) can wait for the right season.  Trust me.  They just released Hallowe’en BEFORE Labour Day, for Pete’s sake.  Why not do that in, oh, say October?

And while I touched on Harry Potter, the end of that series, as spectacular as it was, is perhaps the end which began the most lamenting amongst pop culture fanatics.

I would turn to television for some hope or salvation on the pop culture front but I’m not so easily duped.  Here is what is on TV in the summer time: reruns, reality tv, and the least interesting sports time of the year. 

Still not convinced? Does steroids, animal abuse, and crooked officiating make you want to go on a picnic? Consider this: of the four major sports, the commisioner who had the best summer was Gary Bettman.

I rest my case.  I rest it right on top of my Pet Sounds record.

In other words, all around it was a bummer.  Let’s not do it again.