The Summer Anthem 2006: What is It?

The Anthem. Oh how I wish every summer had them. It pains me to say that only certain summers can. Only once in a while does a song have enough power to truly be a summer anthem. Its been a while since I can actually recall a summer with a noteworthy one.

It was the summer of 2002. My friend, Nicky, had always been into hip-hop, rap, and R&B. I, however, avoided it at all costs unless I was at a bar or club, a party, or somewhere else where I would be acting cool when I really was not. So, naturally, Nicky and I worked as friends. She got to be the awesomely hot dancer chick and I, her sidekick. I was her "not-so-talented-at-the-dancing-thing-but-funny" sidekick. It's cool. I could live with it.

In late April, Nicky started talking about this new Nelly song. Now, I've always been a fan of Nelly. I mean, who isn't? I'm a huge Nelly supporter. I bought his first album (twice because my boyfriend stole the first one). I watched him on Cribs. I even have been known to use Nelly songs to tell time. Like, "Don't worry, I'll be back in 3 Nelly songs." I was intrigued. A new Nelly song? Nicky started massively quoting just one line in the song. The line we all know dearly by now. The "Girl I think my butt getting big" line. At first, I dismissed this as a song without much staying power (good thing I'm not a music critic) but then Nicky startedplaying the song over and over in her Jeep. Of course, I could have gotten a ride around town from our other roommate or simply driven myself, but our other roommate drove a Corolla and I, a Saturn. So, Nicky's Jeep it was.

Over that summer, the strangest thing happened. The song grew on me. Every time I heard it (and still to this day), I suddenly felt happy. Suddenly, all was right with the world. I've found that Nelly tends to do that to people. That Nelly! He's always cheering people up.

After we graduated college and went our separate ways, I didn't see Nicky for about two years. Sure, I thought about our iconic summer rolling around Athens, GA and causing trouble (well, I would cause trouble. She just drove the getaway car) from time to time (mainly when listening to the all-inclusive hits from the 80's, 90's, and today type radio stations) and I wondered if a song would ever be as iconic as "Hot in Herre" was in 2001.

A couple weeks ago, I went to visit Nicky. I thought about staging a "Hot in Herre" comeback. Surely a song could be a summer anthem twice? Right? I was sadly mistaken. After consulting the official rule guide of summer anthems, I was violently sobered by the clause stating a song can't be an official anthem of the summer twice in the same decade. I think Hall & Oates said it best when they wrote, "So close, yet so far away" (although I can't be sure if it was Hall, Oates, or a joint effort. Although, I must admit, I never trusted that Oates guy. Something about him just doesn't sit well with me).

And then - something glorious happened. A song came out from the ashes and rose up to greet us all with its hope, cheer, and funky dance beats. A song so insatiable, we wanted to hear it again and again. It didn't matter how many times MTV played snippets of it after "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" or how many people had it as their special song on "Myspace." Overplayed on the radio? That doesn't faze us. No, this song was powerful, an enigma of sorts. And it was another Nelly song. No, not that Nelly from "The Lou." Nelly Furtado. With her brilliant idea to rap, her brilliant idea to team up with Timbaland, she singlehandedly (well, almost asTimbaland did help) brought back the summer anthem. For years to come, people will refer to the summer of 2006 as the Summer of "Promiscuous Girl!" That catchy little tune that simply grows on you.

Watch out for the return of "Hot in Herre" as the summer anthem for 2010...