Laibach, "Vor Sonnen-Aufgang"

Is summer over?

Photo: Jack Zalium

“After the 4th of July,” my grandmother used to say, “summer is over.” Maybe yours did too: Any time I have related this anecdote at least one person in the group has said, “So did mine!” If I’ve learned anything it’s that grandmas love to remind you that summer is brief and its end ever approaches. The good news is, thanks to our inability to do anything about our changing climate, warm weather now lasts well into November here in New York City, so, in that sense, summer has a ways to go yet. But in all the official senses, and what with our already being closer to Labor Day than we are to Memorial Day, summer is in the autumn of its years. (Haha, get it? Hmm, does that phrase even mean anything to people anymore? No? Just the elderly? Ugh.) Pretty soon you’ll be in “summer is over and I wasted it” mode, and we all know how that goes. Try to appreciate it while you can, because it’s not going to be around that much longer. Anyway, here’s music. Enjoy.