Summer Jam 2026 CHAMPIONS!

 Ah the greatest of Norwegian Morning Wood Traditions. The definitive jam of Summer 2026! We're off the rails and will troll you in a second here, but let's recap the last twenty years of definitive summer jams:

2007: "Umbrella" by Rihanna
2008: "Bleeding in Love" by Leona Lewis
2009: "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
2010: "California Gurls" by Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg
2011: "Park Rock Anthem" by LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock
2012: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
2013: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke ft. T.I. & Pharrell
2014: "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea ft. Charle XCX
2015: "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon
2016: "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake
2017: "Despacito" by Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi ft. Justin Bieber
2018: "Never Be the Same" by Camila Cabello
2019: "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus

2020: "Rockstar" by DaBaby

2021: "good 4 u" by Olivia Rodrigo

2022: "Running Up that Hill" by Kate Bush

2023: "Kill Bill" by SZA

2024: "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar

2025: "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter

What did 2026 bring us? Yeah, not really any sort of definitive list but we had a smattering of widespread hits:

"Dracula" by Tame Impala and JENNIE

I really like this one! It's hypnotic and a subtle party anthem that echoes back to a bygone era. I didn't hear it on radio all that much, but that doesn't count for anything anymore.

"House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter

I don't think this really got the traction it deserved. It is a damn sexy video but also really well directed and choreographed (By Sabrina herself along with Margaret Qualley!) and is jam packed with little references to previous works and is generally a ton of fun. Again, didn't seem to catch on!

"Debbie" by Yung Gravy

I was really obsessed with this at the start of summer. It's got great flow and a maddeningly fun energy to it.

"Choosin Texas" by Ella Langley

This is likely the actual jam of 2026 and was massively popular and I do like it but it definitely broke late for me.

"Body that Twin" by BC Twitch x Kidflo

Wake up every day, body that twin, and repeat! I listened to this for 30 straight days and have heavily contributed to its 249 total views on YouTube. I don't know why the algorithm pointed me in its direction but most of my summer was spent bodying that twin. And thus, the age of truly individualized music customization is truly here!

Summer of '26 Movies!

 I have long since given up tracking all my watching but I feel like this summer was exceptional. Here is the big list of stuff I watched and my personal favorites:

In order of worst to best!

The Adventures of Pluto Nash - Yep, I watched this on a whim. It is probably worse than you'd even think. It makes no sense, isn't funny, and doesn't know what it wants to be.

The Marvels - I watched this after watching The Bone Temple directed by Nia Dacosta and thought, oh maybe this needs reappraisal because the directing in Bone Temple is really good. Uhhh...no, not really, this is pretty rough. Just undeveloped, no real reason to exist, no real attempt at character growth or much of anything.

72 Hours - This was okay, some really great Kevin Hart jokes, who I don't really enjoy, and a handful of decent gags. Kam Patterson was the standout but I think they could have pushed everything more.

Ambulance - This was a rewatch. Michael Bay is his own genre and I feel like this has been long overlooked.

Freaky Tales - Anthology movie, the first two parts are pretty weak but it makes up anlot of ground with its third segment which is one of the coolest action scenes of the year.

Little Brother - Actually pretty funny and well cast and genuinely touching.

The Bride! - This was just so weird. Good direction by Maggie Gyllenhaal! And Frankenstein had a bigger role than I thought he would. I didn't totally buy into the plot mechanisms but I liked just about every actor in it.

Masters of the Universe - Really fun bit also seemed to feel really ashamed of itself and a lot of self-conscious narration. It was 90% there but needed to commit.

Americana - this was okay. Some interesting concepts and kind of cool non-linear storytelling and I dug the setting. But there were some boffo character moments that took me out of it. But generally solid.

The Long Walk - I really liked a lot of this but I think they fumbled the ending. It was not like the book, which isn't bad but if you're going to change it it needs to be motivated and satisfying, which this was not.

They Will Kill You - This was charming (for an extremely bloody movie) and some real madcap sequences. It could have been cleaner with its character work but all in all was a good effort for this kind of movie.

Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die - I was pretty pumped for this, I did not really enjoy the anthology structure but the second half once it finds itself was solid. I am not sure ot really had anything insightful to say about AI besides "AI bad" but it was enjoyable.

28 Years Later - You gotta get past an absolutely brutal first scene but then you get a really massive zombie dong!

The Drama - This was so full of palpable tension and really brilliant acting choices. I wasn't quite on board with the ending and I think there is nuance here to be developed but it is a phenomenal character work.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - Possibly better, less frenetic direction and a story that feels both bigger and more intimate. I loved the characters and Iron Maiden bit.

Caught Stealing - this was surprisingly good and then I found out it was directed by Darren Aronofsky, so of course! Austin Butler is a sincere rising star and the ending was very satisfying

Eddington - This might be the most unpackable movie I've watched and also one of the most stress-inducing. But very good and much more than just a COVID movie.

Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie - Everything about this was pretty jaw-dropping. I've never seen the show or anything but you get these characters right away, the guerilla filmmaking is genuinely astounding, the writing is really sharp, and intehration of old footage is astoundingly seamless.

Summer Jam mid-2026?

 Let's do it!

I don't know if summers even have songs at ore outside of huge things that break through. But here's what we like!

"House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter

How does it feel to be the last pop star standing?! This isn't nearly as big as "Manchild" but I might like it more.

"Body that Twin" by BC Twitch and Kidflo

https://youtu.be/1pP6shrkEqk?is=knJ2TVaO773LM98G

This is NOT a big song at all but I love it and want to give my man some exposure! Wake up, body that twin, sleep!

"Debbie" by Yung Gravy

This video captures me

"Stupid song" by Olivia Rodrigo

She's tryin! But nothing here has stood out like her last album. Or "Drop Dead"

E85 by Don Tolliver

Some Drake songs? Folks are really still listening to Drake with a straight face?