So summer officially began yesterday, traditionally inaugurating a season of cheesy beach music. Believe I’ll go in a different direction, starting with Patti Smith’s rather unusual vision of a summer trip to Georgia, or Hell, or the carnivorous love of her fans, or all of the above: “Summer Cannibals,” as performed on Letterman in 1996. Pretty sure that’s Tom Verlaine on guitar.

Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.