Station Break with Paul Farhi: Dumb Summer Songs, Obama and Smoking, Ed McMahon, Jon and Kate

Washington Post staff writer Paul Farhi was online Tuesday, June 23, at 1 p.m. ET to talk about the latest news and topical issues in the pop culture world of TV, radio, movies and trends.

Today's Topics: It's summer, and you know what that means: Time for dumb pop songs that stick in your head...for the rest of your life. Join us as we discuss the best and worst of all time, or at least of the past 50 years. Plus: Does President Obama still smoke? Plus Two: Ed McMahon, remembering the sidekick. And Plus Three: Jon and Kate. It's over. Send on your thoughts.

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Paul Farhi: Greetings, all, and welcome back again. Before we go further: R.I.P., Ed McMahon, who died this morning at 86. Or should we say, "Hi-yo!" (No, maybe we shouldn't). Despite all the fun Johnny Carson poked at Ed, he was essential to Carson's success. From his famous introduction--"Heeere's Johnny!"--to his throaty (and constant) chortle, Ed was the essential sidekick, a fixture, a friendly presence, part of the experience of "The Tonight Show." Ed did some other stuff--host of "Star Search," shill for Publisher's Clearinghouse and Budweiser--but it was his second banana-ness, his sidekick-ness, that people will remember. It always struck me, too, what a great country this is that a man could become rich and famous as a "sidekick." Only in America!

On a lighter, brighter, even slighter note:

I'm driving in my car the other day and on the radio comes "Grease," a song I've heard at least 6,000 times. But it doesn't occur to me until hearing No. 6,001 how unbelievably non-sensical, how outright DUMB, this song is. "Grease is the way we are feeling"? We are? What does THAT say about us?

"Grease" is my personal Dumbest Song of the Summer (the Black Eyed Peas' new song, "Boom Boom Pow" has a chance to displace it, but while it has stood the test of dumbness, it hasn't stood the test of summer--yet).

Anyway, I'm curious: What's your personal DSoS? What song has stuck with you all these years, the one you remember hating every 430 times it came on while you were at the beach or pool or the summer job back in the day? Bring 'em all on. No questions asked....

Okay, let's go to the phones...

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washingtonpost.com: Ed McMahon, 'Tonight Show' Sidekick, Dies at 86 (Post, June 23)

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Alexandria, Va. : Yesterday's Metro tragedy underscored for me how lousy radio news in D.C. now is. WTOP was...OK, but not great. I listened for an hour, they never reported the obvious details about whether the train was heading in to town or out of it. Yet they managed to get in a lot of questions to spokespeople that even I knew would be answered with "we can't comment on that." The only other news voice in town, WAMU, seemed to be locked into its regular NPR programming. Ditto WMAL and its white-male talk. And, no one else in town really has a news presence. If you need evidence of the harm broadcast deregulation has done, there it is. The "most important city in the world" has one news station, and its reporting resources are lacking.

Paul Farhi: From what I saw, read and heard last night, it was classic "breaking story" coverage all around. Lots of misinformation, which is understandable, given that the facts are still emerging and "developing." But, yeah, unfortunately, outside of WTOP, there really isn't a very good radio news operation on these kinds of breaking stories. Which is a shame, considering that everyone who wasn't at their TV or online during rush hour last night was either on the Metro or in their car--i.e., radio territory.

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McMahon: How great is this: his last public words were "Goodbye, old friend" to a gold toilet.

Paul Farhi: Is that true? Wow. Unbelievably tacky...

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Upper Marlboro, Md.: Here's a Haxian question for the crew: why do women who hack at their husbands and the husbands who take it without communicating until they can't stand it anymore seem surprised when a divorce is the result. Yes, I am talking to you two idiots, Jon and Kate!She bullied him and he let her. She beat and he ran away. He was passive- aggressive and she was shocked, SHOCKED!Then you throw in the foolishness of continuing a show that he didn't want to do anymore (and wasn't adult enough to say so) and you have a mess. This is why a year of pre-marital counseling is not excessive IMHO.

Paul Farhi: I find that some men LET their wives browbeat them (okay, equal time: I also know some women who let their husbands do the same to them). It's horrible to be around people like that, but that's their choice, and sometimes it even works for them (or doesn't really bother them). Now, you throw eight young children on top of all the hectoring PLUS the pressure/hassles of doing a TV show about having a nagging wife and eight kids and, yeah, I could kinda see why someone would rebel. But, of course, it's also true he made this bed...

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Washington, DC: What's your take on that Season 1 Finale of "Real Housewives of New Jersey?" Did Bravo Channel producers encourage Danielle to put that argument-inducing book on the table, or was that Danielle's idea?

Paul Farhi: I don't know for sure, but I do know this: Just about every element of "reality" TV is manipulated in some way, so it would not surprise me. And, please, who are we kidding here? The ghouls who sign up for shows like "Real Housewives" and "Real World" KNOW that they're supposed to act like ghouls. So what's the surprise when they do?

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What's your personal DSoS?: I have 2 least favorite songs. "MacArthur Park" and "Escape." They are still bad after all these years.

Paul Farhi: "MacArthur Park" may be the worst pop song not just of summer but of all time (chosen as such by Mr. Dave Barry in a nationwide contest some years ago).

"Someone left the cake out in the rain/I don't think that I can make it, because it took too long to bake it."

Wow. And wow.

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Houston, Tex.: Heck yeah, Obama is still smoking -- the most stressful job in the world, and he's going to QUIT! -- It just can't happen.

As to dumbest song of the summer -- "The Pina Colada Song" -- more for its iniquitousness than anything else -- more to come.

Paul Farhi: Confession: I like "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)." Oh, yeah, it's stupid. But stupid fun. God forbid this country loses its ability to appreciate stupid fun...

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Anar, KY: "Sugar", by the Archies. After humming this in my mind for three hours while backpacking, I am ready to wrench my intestines out of my body cavity via the back door.

Paul Farhi: I was about 10 years old when "Sugar" was a gigantic, humongous, blow-the-doors-off hit for "The Archies," a group that never really existed. It took me until about the age of 18 to realize it was a complete piece of idiocy. I am slow that way.

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Washington, DC: The ULTIMATE Dumb Summer Song: "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry.

Oy. God help us all.

Paul Farhi: Heard that one the other day, too, and it sounded pretty good after a very long absence. But I suspect it would NOT sound pretty good after a short absence. It wears out quickly...

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Bring on the bad songs!: I need to get something in my head besides "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

Paul Farhi: That's a song? Or instruction from a sadistic camp counselor?

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Real Housewives: But do you think they are that good actors? I think they simply let their evilness out rather than stifle it as most people do in polite society. It is as though they have a case of "social Tourette syndrome".

Paul Farhi: Letting out one's evilness is not a virtue. We have something called "civilization" (what you call "polite society") so that we DON'T let out our evilness, for the good of our fellow man. But I'll grant you this: The lure, if any, of shows like this is that we get to see our ids run wild.

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Baltimore, Md.: MacArthur Park: If you read the lyrics and remember that the song was released at the height of the psychedelic era, I think you will see that it's simply a lame attempt to describe an acid trip. MacArthur Park is in L.A. right?

"MacArthur Park is melting in the dark, all the sweet green icing flowing down."

Oddly, it is the work of the highly accomplished songwriter Jimmy Webb (not to be confused with the Senator from Virginia.) He wrote "Galveston" for Glen Campbell, among many other hits.

Paul Farhi: Yes, MacArthur Park is in L.A. And that always got me, too: What does this darn song have to do with the actual MacArthur Park? As for the psychedelic connection, sure. But it doesn't say much for acid trips, does it? I mean, you'll see a melting cake if you take LSD? Oh. I'll pass.

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MacArthur Pa, RK: Really, with so much happening, you're going to focus on the lyrics of a 40-year old song? I'm not saying it's the world's best song -- or even a good one. But, jeez, it's been 40 years, give it a rest. (At least "Grease" is just 31 years out of date.) By the way, the lyric isn't as you wrote it. It's ""Someone left the cake out in the rain/I don't think that I can TAKE it, because it took too long to bake it."

Paul Farhi: I didn't realize there was a statue of limitations on considering frivolous pop songs. But thanks for the correction on those particular frivolous pop song lyrics...

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Centreville, Va.: Dumbest Song: Kokomo by the Beach Boys. Lord how I hate that song!

Paul Farhi: I hate that song for several reasons: It's dumb in its own right (Kokomo? Isn't that in Indiana? Why are they singing about "Bermuda...Bahamas..." and a town in Indiana? Plus, it's dumb because it's a pale, cheap ripoff of the Beach Boys' greatest. They trashed their own legend with that one.

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Arlington, Va.: "My Humps" and "Itsby Bitsy Eensy Weensy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

Paul Farhi: Hate, hate, hate the former (the Black Eyed Peas are rapidly moving up the charts as the Dumbest Pop Band of All Time), but love the latter. A classic!(See: stupid fun).

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Washington, D.C.: What's the deal with all the extra charges on the Paul McCartney concert tickets? Besides the extra charges I've already paid, the tickets have printed on them "+$10 for parking." Do you know if it's $10 per car or $10 per ticket?

Paul Farhi: Was not aware of that!I assume that's the latest in a long line of outrages by the woeful Ticket Master, home of the $5 "convenience" fee for printing your own ticket. I know they are sometimes forced to break out extra charges by the bands and/or the venues, but it's just another reason for consumers to hate them. If they just charged you more, and shut up about the reasons for charging you more, they would be doing themselves a great P.R. service. As is, more reasons for loathing them.

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Kokomo: used to be the name of an island in the Caribbean. I don't know what it's called now.

Paul Farhi: Ah. This explains...well, not everything. I doubt most people who've heard that song was aware of that geo-reference.

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Worst song: "Black Balloon" by the GooGoo Dolls:

A thousand other boys could never reach you How could I have been the one I saw the world spin beneath you And scatter like ice from the spoon That was your womb

And the rest of the lyrics are just as strange!

Paul Farhi: As Leonard Pinth-Garnell (look him up, kids) would say: "Oh, that's very bad indeed." Reminds me of "99 Luftballoons" by Nena, a German group. Except that "99 Luftballoons" is actually very likeable and smart and catchy.

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The Airless Cubicle: Ed McMahon was a sidekick only on television. Ask any of the Marine Reservists he commanded.

He was a fighter pilot -- a position that mandates having high self-esteem -- in World War II. He then was an aviation spotter in Korea, which requires high personal courage, and he reached the rank of colonel, which requires intelligence, education, and good interpersonal skills. He was then commissioned a general in the California National Guard.

It's very clear from his achievements elsewhere that being 'sidekick' was simply a fine acting job by General MacMahon.

Of course, he was working with a highly intelligent person, Johnny Carson, whose interests included amateur astronomy.

If MacMahon had started his career later, he probably would have ended up a conservative radio host, and leftists would be trying to get Ed MacMahon off the air.

It's a good thing I listen to opera instead of summertime pop most of the time... the songs I can't get out of my head are in ranges I can't sing!

Toyohoyo!

Paul Farhi: You never fail, Airless!That really does change my take on Ed, who sure played a convincing doofus. Thanks for the backgrounder.

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Herndon, Va.: The Beach Boys -- "they" didn't "trash their legend" -- one part of "they" had nothing to do with it -- Brian Wilson.

Paul Farhi: Which really does explain a lot about that song, doesn't it? It's like a Twinkie without the filling...

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"it's a pale, cheap ripoff of the Beach Boys' greatest": Seen their touring band lately? Lots of grandsons and random sidemen.

Paul Farhi: Yeah, I guess the Beach Boys have been ripping off the Beach Boys for a while now...

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Ballston Dude: Lest we forget 'MacArthur Park on the Tablas' from the Simpsons.........

Paul Farhi: I missed that. But this is why God invented YouTube. Let the search begin!

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Sometimes When We Touch....: the honesty's too much... I wanna hold you 'til I die!

Paul Farhi: Suddenly, I'm feeling nauseous...

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DSoS: I nominate "Shiny Happy People."

Paul Farhi: Well, wait. Isn't that a comment on false optimism? Or something? Am I reading too much into it?

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Kokomo...No: The island in Jamaica was named for the song, not the other way around

Paul Farhi: Oy....See? Either way, dumb....

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Washington, D.C.: RIP, Ed "You are CORRECT, Sir!" McMahon:

I loved it when Johnny was doing "Carnac the Magnificent," and Ed would make some silly comment about something, to which Johnny replied "May your (fill in the blank) end up on an off-ramp in Pomona!" Ed laughed at everything, which made him the perfect sidekick. He will be sorely missed. Now if we could only get Conan to dump Andy -- he wasn't funny then; he isn't funny now. Conan is fine with Max, La Bamba and the rest.

Paul Farhi: Agreed. I am struck by how irritating and distracting Andy is, in a way that Ed never was. Part of the "art" of the sidekick is his/her unobtrusiveness. You have to know your place, which is to make the Big Guy (or Gal) look good. Vivian Vance understood this. Ed understood this. Andy does not.

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Speaking of the Simpsons: there was that episode where their doorbell got stuck playing a Carpenters' song constantly and Marge almost went insane. Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?

Paul Farhi: That's "Close to You," which is actually a great song. Or really, it's a great piece of singing by Karen Carpenter, who, despite often singing treacle, sang treacle better than just about anyone. She really was an extraordinary talent.

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Greater Green Bay, Wisc.: Don't forget the Donna Summer version of "MacArthur Park" where the old men switched from playing checkers to Chinese checkers. Why?

Paul Farhi: Oh, that makes it better, so much better!..Okay, it doesn't. But, what, other than NOT singing that song, could make it better?

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The island in Jamaica was named for the song: So why did they change the name again? Did someone come to their senses and say, why did DO that?

Paul Farhi: Maybe they heard about the town in Indiana?

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Paul Farhi: Well, wait. Isn't that a comment on false optimism? Or something? Am I reading too much into it? : An interesting premise, but poorly executed. Also, ranked as the Wussiest Song of All Time:

The 111 Wussiest Songs of All Time (No. 1)

Paul Farhi: Oh, yeah. Definitely among the wussiest. But then, R.E.M. is way up there on the Wussiest Rock Band rankings...

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Sidekicks: Would Joe Biden be Obama's Ed McMahon?

Paul Farhi: Naw. Biden talks too much. He's more like Obama's Andy.

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El Ballston Dude: I am Pahusacheta Nahasapeemapetilon, and tonight, I'll be playing MacArthur Park on the tablah."

Archivos de la categoría 'Season 4'

Paul Farhi: Hahahaha!Awesome....

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From Wikipedia: Sandals Cay (formerly called Kokomo Island) is part of the privately owned Sandals Royal Caribbean all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It is apparent that Sandals has an almost identical island in their Nassau, Bahamas location called the Royal Bahamian. The original name for the island came from the song "Kokomo," written by John Phillips, Mike Love, Terry Melcher and Scott McKenzie, and performed by The Beach Boys. The inspiration for the song was a pool-side bar in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys.

It is a very small island (2.5 acres), and according to the Sandals Royal Caribbean Web site, the only amenities on the island are a Thai restaurant, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a bar and a secluded beach. The island caters to couples on tropical getaways.

Paul Farhi: Oh, gawd. The plot grows tackier....(Thanks for that posting...)

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Sidekicks: Paul Farhi: Agreed. I am struck by how irritating and distracting --Paul Shaffer] is, in a way that Ed never was.

Fixed it for ya.

Paul Farhi: Well, you just fix it right back. Paul Shafer is hilarious. Always has been.

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Alexandria, Va.: My DSoS is "Flashdance (What A Feelin')." Partly because this was a huge hit the summer I graduated from high school, partly because it's pretty stupid ("Being's believin'"?).

I don't think it's fair to chastise the Black Eyed Peas for being stupid; all their good songs are intended as mindless fun. "Let's Get It Started" even encourages people to "get stupid." Criticizing them for being stupid is like criticizing James Brown for being repetitive.

Paul Farhi: Well, I will say that reading too much into any pop song is dangerous, and that perhaps pop songs should STRIVE to be stupid. And while I love "Let's Get It Started," "My Humps" and "Boom Boom Pow" just cannot be justified under any circumstances.

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Anonymous: Brian Wilson was the whole twinkie. Mike Love? Just a price tag on the wrapper.

Paul Farhi: I'm not really in a position to disagree. At least not strenuously...

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Speaking of sidekicks: I don't watch Letterman because I cannot stand Paul Shafer.

Paul Farhi: You don't love his goofiness? His non-sequiters? His he's-so-uncool-he's-super-cool ness? I do...

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Old Blue in Exile: Back around 1970, the Carpenters got their big break when "We've Only Just Begun" was first used as the background for a bank ad on TV in California (before receiving airplay as a record). Do you remember which bank it was for? I can't.

Paul Farhi: I not only remember the name of the bank--Crocker Bank, now outta business--but the name of the ad guy who created that ad. It was Hal Riney, he of the very brilliant Saturn and Bartles & Jaymes ad campaigns. And if that Crocker ad is floating around the internets somewhere, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's lovely.

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Olney, Md.: Hi, Paul -- just a note that MacArthur Park was remade by Donna Summer about 30 years ago, which helped ruin that summer (pardon pun) and definitely put it high on my dislike list. Any other remade DSoS that helped mess up two summer seasons?

Also have to comment on the McCartney tickets (which my wife bought) -- at what point are the fees going to be worth more than the face value of the ticket? It seems that you have to allot the price of another ticket for fees/taxes, etc. Even with the "no service charge Wednesdays" this summer, it's only for lawn seats, which is a ripoff as well. Thanks for giving me a place to rant on that topic.

Paul Farhi: Good point--rarely has a song ruined TWO summers at once...And I find Ticket Master quite amazing. They have endured years and years of complaints, but still keep on chugging. How do they do it? (Answer: Volume!)

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Let's get...: "'Let's Get It Started' even encourages people to 'get stupid.'"

Indeed -- the song was originally "Let's Get Retarded," until someone pointed out that was kind of offensive. (Or the change might have been because the NBA wanted to use it as a theme and made them redo it. I forget the details.)

Paul Farhi: "Started" is about 120 times better than "Retarded," which IS offensive, so kudos to the NBA or whomever for a smart move.

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Alexandria, Va.: While we are remembering Ed McMahon, let's not forget that he spent many, many years as the co-host of the Jerry Lewis Telethon. He did a great service to Jerry's Kids!

Paul Farhi: Ah, yes!Good works by Ed. On the other hand, Publishers Clearinghouse always seem a little dicey to me...

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Billy, Don't Be a Hero!: I was ten, okay?

Paul Farhi: I was a bit older, and thus was required, by the rules of puberty, to hate "BDBAH." But it's kind of a fun "story" song. Plus, a little bit of history thrown in on the side. All hail, Bo Donaldson (if not the Heywoods).

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Kokomo: "Which really does explain a lot about that song, doesn't it? It's like a Twinkie without the filling..."

And did you know that John Stamos (in the "Full House" era) played drums on it? It just adds to the cheesiness!

Paul Farhi: Excellent trivia!I don't even want to ask why he was on that recording. What, they couldn't get Saget?

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Appalachian Trail: Do you anticipate that "going off the grid" for a week or so of hiking (without telling family or work colleagues) is going to become this summer's hot trend?

Paul Farhi: That was a crazy story (about S.C. gov. Mark Sanford disappearing for a time while hiking). Jeez, don't they have Twitter up there in the mountains? Can't they build just a few thousand cell towers on the Trail?

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Back around 1970, the Carpenters got their big break when "We've Only Just Begun" was first used as the background for a bank ad: I thought they heard the tune being used in the bank ad, and liked it so much they wrote lyrics to it. Right?

Paul Farhi: That doesn't sound right to me. I thought that WAS the Carpenters singing/playing in that ad. Anyone?

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Burke, Va.: Paul:

A couple of years ago (or more), the Beach Boys' present incarnation appeared on the Today Show, and the smarmy Mike Love was asked what his favorite Beach Boys' song was . . . and he said, "Kokomo."

I had to get a new television set.

Paul Farhi: Ughhh. That's about as smarmy as it gets. Mike Love is off my list. Way off.

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Does Kokomo, Indiana: think the song is about them? That would be a little sad.

It's like everyone around here thinking the song "My Old School" was written about Annandale HS in Annandale, Va.

Paul Farhi: "My Old School" ISN'T about Annandale H.S.? Didn't one of the Steely Dan guys go there? No? Another "fact" I'm being disabused of...

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Re: Sidekicks: That Kevin guy on Leno was the worst. He just laughed like Anthony Edwards in Revenge of the Nerds.

Why did they mic that guy? All he did was laugh.

Paul Farhi: I've got no problem with Kevin Eubanks. Yeah, he doesn't have much to say/add/contribute. But he didn't try to say/add/contribute much, anyway.

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Chinatown: Jon and Kate were probably doomed from the beginning. Jon does not strike me as someone who, at the age of 26 or whatever, could have agreed wholeheartedly to having eight children under the age of 3. I'm sure he was browbeat/browbeated into that unfortunately.

Paul Farhi: That's some mighty big browbeating, though, don't you think? Can't imagine how THAT would go. I wish TLC was around when that conversation took place:

Her: "Hi, honey, I have an idea. Let's have eight children, spread over just three years. What do you think?"

Him: What?!Are you crazy?

Her: Oh, c'mon, honey. Please please please...

Him: Well, okay.

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"My Old School" ISN'T about Annandale H.S.? : No it's about some school in NY.

Paul Farhi: Dang.

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New York, N.Y.: Ed McMahon did not work for Publishers Clearing House. He worked for American Family Publishers with Dick Clark. That is a completely different company from PCH.

Paul Farhi: ANOTHER "fact" I'm now being disabused of. This chat has been very educational, if only for me.

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Annandale, Va.: The song is about a school in New England. Luke Skywalker went there and the school just retired a teacher who thinks and taught that the Holocaust was staged.

Paul Farhi: I think you mean the Holocaust. The Holocaust sounds like a badly named discount chain...

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Bad Songs?: Anything by Celine Dion....or Meat Loaf.

Paul Farhi: Sure.

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That doesn't sound right to me. I thought that WAS the Carpenters singing/playing in that ad. Anyone? : Shall we go to Wiki again?

"We've Only Just Begun" is The Carpenters' signature song. Although it was recorded in early 1970, it is still much in demand as a wedding anthem. -1] Written by the songwriting team of Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics), the song originally debuted in a commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in 1970, with Williams providing the vocals.-1]

Paul Farhi: Paul Williams sings it in the commercial? Funny how the brain works, or doesn't. I can still hear Karen Carpenter, or some other sweet-voiced female person, singing on the soundtrack of that ad...

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You need to shut down this chat: So far, you've praised Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, the Carpenters, "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny...." and "The Pina Colada Song."

Please stop now while you still have some modicum of credibility left.

Paul Farhi: Oh. My. God. I have just inadvertently outted my inner bubblegum pop fetish. Hey, have I mentioned how much I love to groove on "Yummy Yummy Yummy, I've Got Love in My Tummy"?

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Philly, Pa.: I'm curious why people express what at times appears to be foaming hatred for Kate of Jon and Kate, while excusing everything he does? From what little I've been unable to avoid, both have their flaws, but she, at least, seems to be making an effort to provide stability and financially for their children, while he checked out long ago and has been running around acting as though he has no responsibilities. It doesn't matter if he thought she was nagging him - his behavior has been hurting his children, who aren't responsible for his decisions. (For the record, I've long wished they'd both get off the television so their kids could have some privacy.)

Paul Farhi: I have to say I agree with you. Man up, J.G.!You married that nightmare, you agreed to have those kids. Now deal with it.

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Sexist lyrics -- yuck!: "You're Having My Baby" & "Lightning Strikes" -- the anthems of the woman-submits-to-man-as-the-boss mindset.

Paul Farhi: How about "Take a Letter, Maria," wherein the secretary submits to her ACTUAL boss? Or at least is targeted by the boss on the rebound, without apparent protest from her...

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Not saying where: Horse with No Name. Worst song of all time, must have been around in the summer.

Paul Farhi: I always feel like I'm wandering aimlessly in the desert with the narrator of that song as he drones on...

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Real Housewives: I agree with you - these women who think they are above the rest of us because they have money are truly the lower class. Perhaps they are encouraged by the show to let their hair down but I don't think they do anything out of their character - stuff that the rest of us stifle. Low class indeed.

Paul Farhi: I don't suspect they really act like that when the cameras are off. People will do anything to get on/stay on TV.

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Washington, D.C.: "My Old School" isn't about just some school in New York, it's about Bard College where Becker and Fagen met.

Paul Farhi: See, I'm not the only one who believes in "facts" that aren't. We can't even agree on the facts what are.

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I'm Too Sexy: That's an annoying song. Although any song can get annoying if you can't get it out of your head. I've always got some song running through my mind and I'm really susceptible to outside influences. So if someone says "blue" I start singing "Blue Skies" over and over. Since the chat started I've been singing that song by the Cars that goes "Summer... Summer, Summer, Summer." It's not a bad song but I don't really know the lyrics so I just keep repeating that.

Paul Farhi: "I'm Too Sexy" is one of those songs that doesn't stop at dumb. It streaks well beyond dumb and rockets into sublime stupidity. For that, we must be thankful.

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Bowie, Md.: The real reason we watch reality shows is because it allows us to see OTHER people's ids, so that we can feel morally superior to them or patronizingly proud of them. "I may nag you, but I'm not a shrew like that Kate Gosselin." "I really admire that woman on 'The Biggest Loser' who went from 200 pounds overweight to 50 pounds overweight. I still wouldn't dream of hiring her, let alone dating her, but still, good for her."

Paul Farhi: Yeah, there's a certain catharsis to it, I guess. It's also the function of local TV news--i.e., you watch so that you can see what happened to some poor guy across town, and afterward you think, "Well, thank God my life isn't THAT bad."

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Summer Song: "Judy in Disguise With Glasses" by John Fred and His Playboy Band. HorriblE!

Paul Farhi: Silly, sure. Horrible? I dunno...

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Embededness: What is it that makes a song stick so persistently in your consciousness? What peculiar mix of music, lyrics, time and circumstance does it take? (I vote for "Barbara Ann" -- but not the McCain cover of "Bomb Iran.")

Paul Farhi: Fascinating question. I am sure someone, or a lot of someones, have earned PhDs exploring this question. If they haven't, they should...

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Changed My Mind: I submitted, for your consideration, We Didn't Start the Fire, but upon reflection I must second the nomination of Horse With No Name. Though Billy Joel should still receive some sort of lifetime dreck award.

Paul Farhi: "We Didn't Start" throws so many names and references around that I haven't really had time to consider its dumbness. I'm still trying to figure out what all the name dropping is about...

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Worst Summer Song - : It begins and ends with Ricky Martin's "Shake your bon bon."

Awful.

Paul Farhi: Shouldn't we, as a nation, be proud of any song referencing "bon bons" and "shaking"?

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Falls Church, Va.: "Man up, J.G.!You married that nightmare, you agreed to have those kids. Now deal with it."

Nonsense. If the sexes were reversed, we'd be calling it abuse and urging her to get out.

Paul Farhi: No, we'd be telling the abusive bastard to stop being an abusive bastard. But fair enough: Kate is a shrew who needs to be, um, tamed (inadvertent Shakespeare reference!).

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Washington, D.C.: It's summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime summertime sum sum summertime summertime...

Well shut them books and throw 'em away And say goodbye to dull school days Look alive and change your ways It's summertime...

Well no more studying history And no more reading geography And no more dull geometry Because it's summertime

(Chorus) It's time to head straight for them hills It's time to live and have some thrills Come along and have a ball A regular free-for-all

Well are you comin' or are you stayin You saw it first and I won't complain Hurry up before I change It's summertime

Well I'm so happy that I could flip Oh how I'd love to take a trip I'm sorry teacher but zip your lip Because it's summertime

(Chorus)

Well we'll go swimmin' every day No time to work just time to play If your folks complain just say, "It's summertime"

And every night we'll have a dance Cause what's a vacation without romance Oh man this jive gets me in a trance Because it's summertime

Chorus It's summertime

It's summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime summertime sum sum summertime Summertime

It's summertime

Paul Farhi: Classic. No way to improve on that.

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Multiplicity: Supposedly having "multiples" triples the chances that a marital couple will split up. Which means the odds were really against Jon and Katen even without their personal foibles. At least the Octomom has no one to divorce.

Paul Farhi: Yeah, the stats say that. And it's hard enough raising ONE kid. But that's the hand they were dealt. Actually, it's the hand they CHOSE. So deal with it. Both of 'em. And start by getting the hell off TV.

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It's not summer without Afternoon Delight: Muskrat Love, too!

Paul Farhi: "Afternoon Delight" was will always be a delight, thanks to "Anchorman." There is no way to redeem "Muskrat Love," however.

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Arlington, Va.: Speaking of poor coverage, when I finally got home at 9 p.m. and tuned into NewsChannel 8, they were rerunning the 7 p.m. ABC national newscast. What's the point of my paying (via my cable bill) for a "local" news channel that isn't bothering to cover one of the biggest local stories in years?

Paul Farhi: That's odd. On a day like yesterday, I'd prefer to see a replay of their live coverage, instead of the national news replay...

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Thanks for reminding me: "The Streak" when I was still young enough to spend all day at the pool.

"Afternoon Delight" for my first real job.

Yeah, thanks a lot for putting those back in my head.

Paul Farhi: "The Streak" fits into the category of dumb fun. But not so another Ray Stevens song: "Ahab the A-rab." Appallingly racist....

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Dumb Summer Song: I cringe every time I hear "Don't worry, Be Happy"

Paul Farhi: I've always been too fascinated by the a capella production of that song (no musical instruments were harmed in its making!) to notice how dumb it is.

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Deaths come in 3s: Today Ed McMahon, later this week: Farrah Fawcett and Walter Cronkite.

Paul Farhi: Reports of Uncle Walter's demise apparently have been greatly exaggerated. He's reportedly ill, but not that ill. Can't say the same for Farrah, unfortunately....

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D.C.: Airless Cubicle, please for the love of God (and Ireland) stop spelling it MacMahon. Thank you.

Paul Farhi: Perhaps he's referring to Ed's Scottish cousins....

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There is no way to redeem "Muskrat Love," however: I change my mind. MacArthur Park is only second worst... to Muskrat Love. I'd forgotten about that song. MacArthur Park you can excuse because the writer was clearly on LSD. Captain and Tennille, I doubt they did anything that heavy.

Paul Farhi: It's not just the absurd premise--rodent sex/love--but the cutesy execution of the song. Oh, the little rats have names, do they? Awww....And the tempo, and the arrangement/instrumentation, and the vocals and...

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Paul Farhi: Folks, I hate to leave you on that note (or any note from "Muskrat Love"), but I kinda have to. Perhaps next time, we can try a more uplifting theme: the best/greatest songs of summer (I'll submit early: "All Summer Long," by the aforementioned Beach Boys). Or perhaps not. Anyway, happy summer to all, until next time. And as always...regards to all!--Paul.

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