summer jams.

I'm a total self-confessed music snob. I openly admit this fact to everyone I know. Somehow I wear it as a banner. Rather impressive considering you're essentially telling that person: "I'm a douche. I am more pretentious than you when it comes to taste in music. I will most likely look down on your taste in music - and possibly mock you for said taste in music." Total ass behaviour. I will also often ask people to tell me what music they - and tell them that I judge people based on their taste in music. All of this is true.

It's amazing that I still have friends.

Despite all of these things - it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate a good summer jam. You know the ones: they are usually constantly played, they're fun, they're peppy and have about as much substance as cotton candy. Though at the same time, they're just as sticky sweet. Whenever you hear the song again - you'll immediately flash back to your summer where everywhere you went the song was being played. Granted this does have to be like, 5 months late, because usually by the end of the summer you hate the song because it is being played every five minutes and in every store you go into and it's just much too soon and you want to punch someone in the face when you hear it.

I'm still deep in the love affair with my summer jam. I hate myself for it, but I can't help but love Chris Brown's "Forever." I mean I had an immediate reaction to the song - I want to have a deep, hot secret love affair with it. Never really acknowledging to anyone that I knew said song and was essentially fucking it all day long. Because really? It's rather embarrassing - there's not much substance to the song but rather it has catchy hooks and beats - and it has just enough of a techno background to it that I love it like a fat kid loves cake. It's fucking awesome.

I hate myself even more - because the snob in me essentially hates liking a song that everyone and even their fucking grandmother know and love. Seriously. As soon as a song I like is introduced to pop culture it fucking pisses me off. I have to stop liking the song because then people will think I discovered the song from a commercial. Thank you Apple! Fuckers ruining perfectly good musicians like Feist. So, I have to say that I'm not a total stickler for rules. I'll still listen to Feist and some of my other faves on the total down low.

This is what pains me about a band I discovered this summer - and like two weeks later they were being mentioned everywhere - including as to what Elton John was listening to. Really Elton? Really. Way to take away their total Brooklyn cool. Anyway, there is a group called Hercules & Love Affair that I have totally fallen in love with. Especially their song "Blind." I own all the mixes. It takes much of what I love - electronic, cheesy 80s songs (I know. No. I know.), interesting voice, great repetitive drumming beat - and more and fuses it together. I'm seriously not doing a good job describing the song. Even better it has the requisite queer factor with the two members being gay. It's like they got together and said: "We're going to make music that karen thinks is awesome. How are going to achieve that? What does she love? Can we put it all together and make it sound awesome?" Of course the answer is a resounding yes.

Killer's summer suggestion is Bon Iver. I haven't been won over yet - I'll give it another go, but I don't feel a love affair beginning. See? Rocking awesome band name to have "Love Affair" included in the name of the band. You can't go wrong.