Summer Entertainment Guide
Reading Time: 3 minutesMuse | Photo by Danny Clinch
Lee Thomas | Lifestyle Editor | @leenis85
Summer 2015 is shaping up to be better than ever for fans of escapism. With near constant releases from every different medium, let this be your guide through the digital jungle.
Movies have historically been a huge draw in the warmer months with students out of school and vacation season in full swing. Musical artists have also generally been known to push their summer smashes throughout.
Now that we have entered this new television era where every cable channel and streaming service has started making it’s own high quality shows, summer is no longer the television wasteland it once was. In fact, it’s a booming metropolis.
With so many options, how does one choose on what to focus their attention? So glad you asked.
Music is at a point where it’s never known if someone is going to randomly drop an album, including music videos for all 17 tracks, in the middle of the night. In this post-Beyoncé world, surprise releases are THE trend for huge name artists. Rihanna, Kanye West and R&B virtuoso Frank Ocean are just three artists speculated to pull a Yoncé this summer.
Music in the month of June, according to Metacritic, is set to be varied and plentiful with releases from Muse, Adam Lambert, James Taylor, Third Eye Blind, Breaking Benjamin, Desaparacidos, Kacey Musgraves, and Miguel, to name only a few.
In July, fresh jams will to stream across the airwaves (or pass through the laser lens of a CD player if you’re old school) and into earbuds courtesy of The Dream, Ratatat, MS MR, Tame Impala, and The Bird and the Bee.
August provides us with even more to please the eclectic palate. Artists scheduled to release new music are HEALTH, Luke Bryan, Method Man, Noah Gunderson and Beach House.
Adam Lambert | Courtesy Photo
In the cinemas, strictly in the wide release category, there are many films vying for your attention. June releases include the film version of HBO series Entourage, Sundance standout Dope, long-awaited dinosaur franchise follow up Jurassic World, Disney’s latest animated flick Inside Out, and dirty talking teddy bear comedy Ted 2.
July is packed with blockbusters including Magic Mike XXL, Terminator: Genisys, Despicable Me spinoff Minions, Marvel’s latest superhero Ant Man, Jake Gyllenhaal starring boxing drama Southpaw, and a reboot of National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise.
In August, you can sit in an air-conditioned theater packed with strangers to screen the Fantastic Four reboot, Meryl Streep’s rockstar turn in Ricki and the Flash, N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, stoner comedy American Ultra, and Zach Galifianakis/Kristen Wiig comedy Masterminds.
For the boob tube/tablet/computer screen viewer, arguably the hippest of young consumers this summer, rich and layered storylines are awaiting in any direction you turn. Or there’s always The Real Housewives franchise.
Among the metric ton of June television premieres, these are the highlights. From The Matrix’s Wachowski Brothers, a Netflix original series Sense8, season three of Orange is the New Black, ABC Family teen chiller Pretty Little Liars, and the new MTV horror series based on the film franchise Scream.
July brings the heat with premieres including landmark Showtime biopic series Masters of Sex, the second season of excellent Netflix animated comedy BoJack Horseman, Netflix series reboot of cult hit Wet Hot American Summer, which stars close to every comedian you can think of, as well as the premiere of ScyFy’s culturally significant, and much needed, TV movie sequel Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
August is your last month to chill before the dreaded Fall semester, so relax while watching the final season of AMC’s turn of the century period piece, Hell on Wheels, season 22 of America’s Next Top Model, or season 5 of MTV’s surprisingly hilarious Awkward.
It seems that there is a lot on everyone’s plate this summer. While consuming these mass amounts of media, do remember to take water breaks, occasionally eat something, and care for your personal hygiene. Or not. Leaving your house is overrated anyway.