Here’s the last installment of my conversation with Roommate Joe about the ultimate SISSY of 2008. And in case you missed them, here’s Part One and Part Two.
MARKS SAYS:
Well, I’m sure Brandon Flowers can handle the SISSY title, but after working out to The Killers’ “Human” yesterday, I just don’t think we can give that song the crown. It’s too autumnal… too lush and lovely to be a summer anthem.
But I think we’ve been dancing around the truth anyway. Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” has the season right there in its title, and it was the biggest cross-format hit on radio this year. Country stations, rock stations, and pop stations were all on board. I don’t love that song, but millions of people do. Could that be our SISSY?
Hm… I’m gonna say no. Curse my passion if you must, but I just can’t award a track I don’t love. So I’m throwing my weight behind “Live Your Life.” T.I. will just have to buck up and accept it: For me, he’s the biggest SISSY of the year.
JOE SAYS:
You sort of dangled Kid Rock out there in front of me and then snatched him away, didn’t you? Kind of like a matador with a big red cape. Because for me, no cape is redder than that of Kid Rock. HATE. Hate the surly attitude, hate the shitkicker/hood-rat poses, hate the faux sentimentality of “Picture,” hate “Picture” in its entirety, hate Hepatitis C, hate all of it. And I really hate the “Sweet Home Alabama” riffing in “All Summer Long.” I have no doubt that was really the song that shaped his teen years, but that just makes me hate him more. Does your conscience bother YOU, Kid Rock, as you’re trading on hip-hop culture while waving the flag of a stars-n-bars band like Skynyrd?
Anyway …Â I think what I’m saying is: we agree “All Summer Long” is out of the running.
And I respect and applaud your ultimate choice of “Live Your Life” as the top SISSY. It’s up there for me. In the end, though, I think I have to go with the pop culture penetration of Beyonce on this one. “Single Ladies” woulda been audible from every street corner, front porch, and patio bar in North America had it been given a proper summer run. It is, ultimately, SISSY Fierce.
And that’s that for us. What would YOU dub SISSY 2008?






2 responses so far ↓
1 TRAYB // Dec 9, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Mark: I love this discussion and how heated it’s become. I was surprised, though, that nobody brought up Mariah’s “Touch My Body.” I know, I know: The song came out in late February, meaning that it peaked too soon to be called a true Song of Summer. But the better house remixes didn’t hit until a bit later, like late spring, and were ubiquitous during Memorial Day Weekend. From my experience this was the track I heard in every gay bar or party I stumbled into all summer, including clubs in Atlanta, D.C., London and Barcelona. My BF and I heard it so much on our Atlantis cruise in July that it became a running joke. So maybe it was only the Gay Song of Summer (GaSS?), but Mariah definitely deserves some love here.
BTW: Happy birthday!
2 Mark Blankenship // Dec 9, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Excellent suggestion, Tray! And thanks for adding GaSS to the lexicon.
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