Summer Sounds’ Staying Power

By Stephen Caputo

Nothing says “summer” like driving around with your windows down, rockin’ out to some tunes. There’s a popular scientific theory that says prolonged exposure to sunlight increases levels of Vitamin D, thereby improving mood and the desire to turn up the volume and share it with the public. This effect grows exponentially in direct correlation to how many passengers are in the car. Look it up.

This method helps to determine what the most popular song of the summer will be. Every year, there’s one inescapable tune that emerges and becomes the anthem of the season. Almost all of us have a favorite, or at least one that sticks out in our minds more than any other. I have the misfortune of only being able to remember “How Bizarre” by Otara Millionaires Club whenever I hear or read the phrase “Number One Jam of the Summer.” I have, in plainest terms, a musical ear worm.

OMC’s only hit came in that magical summer of 1996. I was thirteen, Independence Day was probably the best movie I’d ever seen, and Monica Lewinsky was not yet a household name. These were obviously simpler times.

Recently, I decided to try looking for an old mix tape that featured “How Bizarre” in order to re-live the experience (or exorcise it…whichever). Making tapes from the radio is now a lost art form. Back in the day, you would hit the record button so hard that you hoped the tape heads would be able to go back in time and get the note or two you missed. Not that it mattered, of course ~ the DJ was still most likely yammering about something. I tried to locate this tape I’d made, but upon finding it, it crumbled into dust and slipped through my fingers ~ reminding me that I also no longer own a tape deck.

So it was off to YouTube. The video takes things rather literally, following singer Pauly Fuemana driving around town in his classic Chevy with his friends. Then it turns into every other video from the mid 90s, as he shuffles around in sharp clothes with some chicks and tosses money around. If you watch it, you’ll no doubt realize that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took several cues from Fuemana’s look.

So why’d I love this song so much? When you’re thirteen, no matter what you end up thinking about a song years later, this sort of musical summer memory thing sticks with you and becomes a part of your DNA. Forever.