The following podcast contains explicit language.

I'm Stephen Meckath, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest Summer Strut, 2017 edition.

It's Wednesday, July 12th, 2017.

On today's show, we are going to, as is our annual want, sift through an immense strut submission list. And we're going to discuss, as it's also

our want and our great pleasure, the state of our pop music soul with Chris Melanphy, the music

critic and pop chartologist, author of Slates, Why Is This Song Number One? And host of the wonderful new hit podcast, Hit Parade, he will also lead us in a discussion about the song of the summer. First, let me welcome Julia Turner, Slate's editor. Hey, Julia. Hi, Steve. And of course, Slate's film critic, Dana, hey, Dana. Hello, Stephen. And Chris, it's, as always, just an enormous pleasure to have you back and part of the team to talk strut and song of the summer. How's it going? That's going great. I've got my head packed with strutty songs. No better state. There's no better state in the world. Well, I mean, there are sort of two categories that we're coping with here. One is

what made us strut out of this immense list of songs, a very generous list of songs that our

listeners sent to us and what the world is strutting to. Maybe we'll start with the latter.

What's on the charts now and what does it mean? What's on the charts now is a whole lot of

Justin Bieber. The top two songs on the charts now is a whole lot of Justin Bieber.

The top two songs on the Hot 100 for most of the last couple months have both been songs that prominently feature the Bebes, who has basically emerged as the radio hit X factor that can turn anything into an enormous hit.

This is not what we anticipated when we all saw his movie many years ago and he seemed like a sad

little boy.

And not to mention what's happened since, I mean, nobody could have spelled out Flash in the Pan

that has now burned out and is peeing in a mop bucket.

If flashes can pee in mop buckets than Justin Bieber in the pan that has now burned out and is peeing in a mop bucket. If flashes

can pee in mop buckets than Justin Bieber in the last few years, right? If I were sitting in this chair. No, we were total, we were total unbelievers. How did this freaking happen? Okay, so if I were sitting in this chair two years ago at this time, July of 2015, right? I would have said, A little zither.

Dilloo,

Dilloo,

Dilloo,

right.

I would have said,

...