Photo by Matt Lief Anderson
Jessica Hopper: Since summer is officially done here in this hemisphere, we can weigh in--officially--on what was the Song of the Summer for 2015. I will leave parameters open, and acknowledge that any dominating "song of the summer" has likely been ramping up to do so for nigh six months. Case in point, my selection—"Planes", which dropped in goddamn mid-January and is not so much my choice because the song is perfect or apt, but rather it is simply a wish for more Jeremih. A summer with multiple omnificent "ft. Jeremih" hits is some real Pavlovian conditioning. I know this is Fetty and Abel’s summer, properly, but I choose to rep local in contests like these. It is also my choice because the recent Tink singles make her sound like someone else, and because I am a reluctant comer to #JidennaHive.
Ernest Wilkins: DID SOMEONE SAY #JIDENNAHIVE?!
Meaghan Garvey: Okay look, I get it. Jidenna carries a fashion cane, dyes his beard, says "mumafucka" instead of "motherfucker," and is passionate about Jim Crow-era double round collars. It seems like a huge joke. But the weirdest thing about Jidenna, and his ode to panache as self-actualization, is that it’s not a shtick. I realized how rare this was watching the VMAs: as pop culture corrodes into an ooze of shitty memes, "Classic Man" sets you up for the punchline, then drops a manifesto about community-driven activism and radical pride on your ass. It’s also triple-reverse Iggy Azalea shade. There’s levels to this shit. Stop hating. Yea, it sounds like "Fancy". Yea, he says "I’ve got charm like a leprechaun." #JidennaHive is real.
Ernest Wilkins: TALK TO ‘EM. Look, my love for Jidenna is well-known and infinite, and while it’s my personal song of summer, I can’t call it The Song Of The Summer in good conscience. That honor is sitting in a firm three-way tie between "Insert Fetty Wap song here" (pick one—"RGF Island" is my favorite — there were a bunch, you can’t really go wrong), Major Lazer’s "Lean On", and the Weeknd’s "Can’t Feel My Face". Now that I’ve written that, it’s wholly apparent I’m wrong. The only correct answer is "Classic Man", save for the part on the "Classic Man" remix when Kendrick Lamar goes "Woo-WOO-woo!" because that’s a sound that reminds me of being drunk with my shirt off.
Jeremy Gordon: The song of the summer is Bieber's "Where Are Ü Now". It would have been "Trap Queen", but for my pointed memories of hearing it in clubs as far back as December 2014. (Call it the song of the year--for me, the song of the summer rises right as the temperature does.) It would have been "Classic Man", except that if you transplanted me to the summer of some country where no one had ever made a "classic man" joke, there’s little chance I’d throw it on. My definitive choice is "Where Are Ü Now", because it achieved the rare effect of making Justin Bieber—a man once videotaped pissing inside a bucket after flipping off a photo of President Clinton—seem anonymous, and because I saw so many of my non-music writer friends fall in love with it even after finding out ultra-heel Bieber was involved. That’s really the crux for me: "Where Are Ü Now" is so undeniable that it made Bieber—as unliked a cultural icon as any in recent memory, the pop game Donald Trump—seem like an artist. It’s a poptimist argument using sounds, not words. That is impressive, which is why it’s my song of the summer.
Jessica Hopper: JB's "What Do You Mean?" has squeaked into my late summer top 10 in part because I read it as a song about consent, and for that same reason--it felt like a foriegn hand, detached from Bieber and all his baggage. Maybe late Summer 2015 is the late-pass entry point for reluctant Biebing, between these two songs.
Anupa Mistry: I love the Soulelection-lite vibe of "What Do You Mean?", what a great song for Bieber to come back with.
Andy Emitt: If Diplo saved Justin Bieber from being the "pop game Donald Trump," the Diplo-deployed and defended "Bitch I’m Madonna" made its titular diva the pop game Hillary Clinton: inevitable, compellingly persistent, and disseminator of language both immediate and opaque. What does it mean for one to "be" "Madonna," like Nicki claims to be in her verse, anyway? Who knows, but all season I’ve used "Madonna"-as-adjective in response to anything from work emails to medical advice: Bitch, I’m Madonna; Y'all, last night was pure Madonna; Too Madonna for that, honey! In an alternate (just) universe, "Bitch I’m Madonna" became the hit song every summer needs, a celebration that asserts its own right to celebrate—thanks to the platinum durability of the Ciccone brand’s calling card. Summer itself was Madonna, irresistibly—bitch.
Sheldon Pearce: I think there are strong cases to be made for both "Classic Man" and "Where Are Ü Now", but the song of the summer is Kendrick's "Alright". It’s the song that has helped me, as a black American, get through these trying last few months and I’m apparently not alone. It was at the forefront of some of the protesting. It’s been unofficially nominated for New Black National Anthem. But enjoying it isn’t limited to being privy to the black experience, which is part of what makes it so great: It’s reprise "We gon’ be alright!"—is purposefully vague enough to be empowering for all. "Alright" is a record that somehow manages to muster up the same response at parties and barbeques that the more typical song of the summer contenders get while speaking indirectly to the current sociopolitical climate. It’s a feel-good anthem about overcoming struggle devoid of self-righteousness.
It’s probably worth noting that it has often felt like the Summer of Fetty, but there have been so many different hits spinning through setlists that it’s hard to pin one down, and as Jeremy said, the most obvious one has been out a little too long. There’s probably an argument to be made for the Weeknd’s "Can’t Feel My Face", too, because I haven’t been able to go anywhere without hearing it since like June and it gives off the more run-of-the-mill SoS vibes. But… I’m going to stick with "Alright" and stop before I somehow manage to talk myself out of it.
Minna Zhou: My Song of the Summer vote is Miguel’s "leaves", because summer is ephemeral, like relationships are ephemeral, and "leaves" does a beautiful job collapsing and kaleidoscoping between the two. Not to bust in with complete Debbie Downer vibes. The track is an ending, it’s a beginning, and it’s the limbo in between. It’s also arguably the most vulnerable he gets on Wildheart. The mugginess lifts in waves throughout the song, and by the end, with the kickdrum going, it feels like you’re in a drop top (doin’ hunnid, y’all in my rearview mir—jk!)—it feels like you’ve got the top down, racing through the end of the summer with the Pacific wind to your face and the promise, somewhere on the horizon, of a little restored peace. Which sounds real cheesy. But honestly, Miguel says some cheesy things with great sincerity, and I relate. The only kind of bummer about this song is knowing that Billy Corgan has a songwriting credit on it because the guitar riff is kind of reminiscent of the Smashing Pumpkins' "1979". But that’s never really affected my listening. When I first heard "leaves", it actually reminded me more of Mariah ft. Miguel’s "#Beautiful". Which I love.
Jeremy Gordon: What’s wrong with "1979"? #CorganHive
Ernest Wilkins: Wow, I had no idea. Genuinely happy to hear this, because I thought the only Billy Corgan-related news I was getting this summer was this photo:
Joking aside, I’m surprised no one else is caping for "Lean On". It’s a perfect "summer" song, equal parts empty, yet familiar. The song is inescapable but don’t really get tired of it. Yet another weird ass dolphin noise (contributed by DJ Snake). If we’re going full throttle with the metaphors here, "Lean On" was the musical equivalent of Bud Light for me this summer: Harmless and easy, plus your friends from high school all know about it.
Jessica Hopper: I forever mishear the refrain as "Ficus!/ Fire a gun!" and imagine a plant that is both deadly and decorative.
Minna Zhou: I hate Diplo.
Ernest Wilkins: Me too, which is why I can’t believe I liked this song so much.
Jessica Hopper: Thirding that motion. We can come to a quorum on Diplo, then.
Minna Zhou: I just rewatched the beginning moments of the video for that song, which was a HUGE MISTAKE, as I now need to go take a Silkwood shower, put some soap in my eyes in order to wash out those few moments of steaming appropriative bullshit from my vision. I’m not even kidding. I’ll be back when I am clean.
Ernest Wilkins: It’s that bad? I’ve never seen the video.
Wow. Uh, I’d like to retract my previous statement, pull a Sea Org and renew my #JidennaHive membership for the next billion years.
Minna Zhou: Ok, so admittedly I hadn’t showered in 36 hours, so I was due. But also, that video is terrible.
Eric Thurm: You know what video isn’t terrible, though…?
Andy Emitt: Lets collectively recover from the sight of Diplo shirtless in a tub by imagining him self-consciously adjusting and re-adjusting the creases in his swimming trunks in between takes. Lorde knows his bulge is just as laughable as his dancing in "Lean On", which is to say VERY. Can I say the consensus is in? Diplo was the MRSA bacteria infecting The Songs of Summer 2015: gross, untreatably ubiquitous, and keeping your body in motion.
Anupa Mistry: What the hell, you guys came upon a consensus already? My personal SOTS is WizKid’s Drake & Skepta remix of "Ojuelegba" BUT! I think most people might say—and I can only ascertain this from riding in cars with friends who listen to FM radio—that the actual song of the summer was OMI’s "Cheerleader"? A song that that has been percolating on regional radio stations for years, and then somehow (someone explain how!) was elevated to a global smash this summer? I have it on second-hand info that Kanye loves this song and kept requesting it be played at the OVO Fest After Party. I mean, if there’s any song that new dad Kanye is gonna love, it’s one he can dance and sing along to with his daughter, right?
Jeremy Gordon: The only thing that keeps me from anointing "Cheerleader"—which I love—is that it goes down a little too easy. It’s like the Bud Light Lime of songs. But hell, I love Bud Light Lime, so maybe it’s "Cheerleader".
Anupa Mistry: To anyone who says they don’t love Bud Light Lime, I ask: "MMMMMMMMOhhhhmygod stoopp fuckin lyin!" No, I totally agree that "Cheerleader" is the lightest of lightweight summer tunes, and perhaps I am being too objective in my approach here, but it’s actually the song that real people (as opposed to fake people on the Internet) are listening to! Why is that?
Jeremy Gordon: To be fair, I heard "Cheerleader" outside as much as I did "Trap Queen" or "Where Are Ü Now". (My very objective metric: What song did I hear the most from cars, and at DJ sets run by my friends?) But I’m all here for a math-based approach, unless that approach ends up giving it to the Wiz Khalifa song about Paul Walker (which reigned on the charts for almost two months!).
Eric Thurm: I’m really going to have to jump in this late in the game to argue for the most obvious pick imaginable, huh? Okay, then. As much as I’m forever #JidennaHive, the honest pick for "song of the summer" (a concept I sometimes have trouble understanding) is also, from where I’m sitting, the obvious one—sorry everyone, but it’s "Trap Queen". Go ahead, CALL ME BASIC! Yes, I know it’s been out for quite a while, and I know Fetty has had a buncha buncha hits this summer, and I know that it’s been everywhere for long enough that we’re all probably sick of hearing it, talking about it, and engaging with yet another celebrity awkwardly trying to get in on Fetty mania (shouts to Kate Hudson). But that’s the whole point! And as it becomes increasingly difficult to identify a single, unifying cultural obsession, "Trap Queen" has done it—for me, you, and my mom. If I’m trying to level with myself about what song I’ll remember as defining the summer of 2015 in 20, 30 years, there’s zero chance it’s not "Trap Queen." I don’t like having to do this, but… somebody had to get us Ready for Fetty.
Sheldon Pearce: Hoping the song of the summer isn’t "Cheerleader" because I’ve been avoiding it like the plague. If the main metric by which a song of the summer is defined is its ubiquity then I’d definitely give the edge to "Trap Queen". But "Trap Queen" peaked in the spring (it hit #1 on the Billboard Rap charts in April and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early May) and the summer buzz was mostly runoff. Even if it’s prompted some to argue that it is this generation’s greatest love song, I don’t think it’s been as big a summer contender as some of the others mentioned. It makes more sense to cast a ballot in favor of "Lean On", despite how terrible its video is. It is definitely a prototypical summer song. Whoever ghost-produced Diplo’s contributions did a really solid job (sorry, that just slipped out). It really caters to those at the intersection of EDM festivals and Top 40 radio so it has big time reach. It’s very easy to love and it has survived traditional radio wear and tear very well. So, I guess this is me adding my name to the "Lean On" tally.
Eric Thurm: Point taken on the numbers and dates—maybe my summer was just lamer than everyone else’s (it definitely was, with the exception of that party where everyone went nuts to "Classic Man"). Here’s one thing I will say: While I was walking to the subway one night, a car pulled up blasting "Trap Queen", and the couple inside looked expectantly at me. After a brief deer-in-headlights moment, I realized they wanted me to dance to Fetty… and, after a brief period of hesitation and panic programmed into me by years of being a teenager, I did. So if "Trap Queen" isn’t technically eligible for "song of the summer," it’s at least the song of my own summer triumph. And that, at least, frees me up to hop on team "Classic Man". Jidenna for Summer 2015, Jidenna for life.