Holy Heatwave, Batman! DC seems incredibly aware that yesterday was the Summer Solstice. The door has closed on springtime and, unlike the revolving door transition between winter and spring, where we got tiny, alternating tastes of each season, we have been thrust into the full heat of summer the day it starts. Just as the heat continues, so the Report continues with summer stories. (Though the sun has now descended to its usual banner location. But that doesn't mean it's going down, as some readers have suggested. Though... Yes, it is too late in the day for it to be rising now...)
First up, for those of you who aren't keen on surf rock as the sound of your summer, NPR has an alternative. They have analyzed the Billboard charts from June to August for every year since 1962, picking out the top Songs of the Summer for fifty years... Don't let the fact that the list is at the bottom of the article confuse you, though. The link to hear the tunes is at the top of the page between the headline and the Mini Surfer. The random order of the mix makes for some interesting results... When I was checking this out yesterday, Bill Withers' fade out encouragement to "Lean On Me" gave way to "Oh. My. God. Becky. Look at her butt..." Oh, Baby Got Back. Classic. And I admit, there have been times where I was wishing for a skip track offering, only to find that the only way I could avoid listening to the Macarena was to hit mute for a while. Of course, once you've heard the Macarena, it's in your head for the rest of the day. Sorry if the same applies for reading the word... Biggest surprise find of the playlist: Icona Pop's "I Love It," which is not, it turns out, some song I'd never heard of from the 80s, much as it sounds like that...
And, at risk of repeating the structure of yesterday's report almost exactly, here are some dogs who found ways other than surfing to beat the heat. Of course, they'll all still smell like wet dog. Except the smarties at the water fountains or the ones who got frozen treats. Relaxed as 17 looks, I think 6 has the best strategy... Though 8 probably has the most fun and 11 has the cute toys. Funny how different dogs react to water. 1 is in pure doggy bliss, while 7 is so clearly terrified.
Finally, if lying in a pile of ice cubes isn't your idea of cooling off, maybe hanging out in the air conditioning with a good book would suit you better. If you're not sure what to read, and aren't taken by my less than subtle Chabon plug, maybe this flowchart will help. With 101 to choose from, there's bound to be something good there that you've yet to read. That said, the list is made by teach.com, meaning that there are a whole bunch of young adult aimed books on there. Don't worry, no judgment for picking one of those... Just... Get it on Kindle so no one can tell what you're reading!
Well, ~150 songs, 20 dogs, and 101 books seems like a good place to leave things for the day. After all, it's Go Skateboarding Day, apparently, so I should be out there on the board Ollying and Pop-Shoving-It and... Oh, who are we kidding, I'm totally just going to do this.
Could it be that the sun is sitting a little higher in the banner's sky today? No, we're not continuing our celebration of Paul Dano and Little Miss Sunshine. (Believe me, dear reader, I would love to... But that would be observed with a yellow bus zooming past in the report background and a .gif of me dancing to Superfreak.) No, we're observing the Summer Solstice! Yes, today's the day, that long and lazy day where the sun reaches its highest position in the sky and in the report banner.
And what better way to celebrate the beginning of those dog days of summer with a surfing centered report! That's right, shoobies, the Report is hitting the beach! But first, we'll need some tunes to crank out over the peaceful sounds of those waves lapping at the shore. (Seriously, leave that on in the background while your boombox and/or other Internet tabs play some music.) I could just recommend listening to this on repeat all day, but there are too many surf rock tunes to do that. And thankfully one reader recently turned me on to a band that has put together some amazing mixes at Reverberation Radio. I recommend Reverberation #14. And the music of the band itself, cleverly named the Allah-Lahs, also comes with that great classic surf feel.
Of course, I get it, those twangy reverberations and good vibrations aren't for everyone. (Though if you don't like "Good Vibrations," you'll have to do some work to prove to me that you have a soul.) For those of you who don't like surf rock, I offer... Surf bark. Yes, for some reason this happened. And not just once, but six times before this, as well. That's seven years of slobbery surf and wet dog wipeouts. But what a fun world record to set... Bummer to be one of the dogs that jumped off, though... No place in the record for bailing out, they went home tail between their legs. Anyway... Totally teaching Archer to surf next time I'm in NH. Too bad he'll be afraid of the surfboard. And the waves. And the sand.
That's all for today. Enjoy the long sunshine and the incredibly appropriate fact that it's Brian Wilson's birthday! Make his day and send him a letter telling him the name of your favorite vegetable (I know that you'll feel better.) Or just hit the beach, boys and girls! Wouldn't that be nice!
As the sun rises high and things heat up, remember to keep cool cool.
