#BUT MY FAV ALBUM IS BARK YOUR HEAD OFF DOG

[maturefruitboy]

eats the art

diamond mine —— hop along

[fuckyeahqueermusic]

Hop Along-Bark Your Head Off, Dog

Of all the Philly bands that released fantastic new records this year, Hop Along is is the one that landed at the top of the pile for me. Bark Your Head Off Dog is the most consistently good album they’ve ever released, with not one skippable track in the bunch. “Somewhere A Judge” is one of my favorite songs of the year, and gave me one of my favorite lyrics ever–“Afternoon vanilla sun crawls away without a sound/Through the phone I pull you and drag your voice around.” I rarely have any idea what the fuck Frances Quinlan is singing about, but I know she can pull emotions out of me that very few performers can, and Bark Your Head Off Dog from from to back is only more proof of that.

This record is Hop Along’s most textured and varied to date, with strings and lots of subtle keys, weird guitar tones and harmonies provided by FY!QM fav Chrissy Tashjian of Thin Lips. I’ve yet to get bored listening to it, and there’s always a new little flourish or tone to catch that I hadn’t yet. And Quinlan here is at her best, using her unique voice to its full potential. Bark Your Head Off Dog is the kind of record that makes me feel grateful that I even get the opportunity to hear a voice like that. She’s been one of my favorite vocalists since I first heard her, and this album only solidified that for me.

Bark Your Head Off Dog isn’t a revelation. Hop Along didn’t reinvent their wheel, they honed and perfected it, finally making the actual perfect record they had in them all along.

[chaosmenu]

fav lines from each song from bark your head off dog because i love this album so much. not including lines that use the refrain "so strange to be shaped by such strange men" bc it occurs so often but thats my favorite line. out of all of them

How Simple

I suppose one, one, one who hasn't seen The earlier frames Could say I am advancing up this road

Don't worry, we will both find out, just not together

Somewhere a Judge

Death, indiscriminate drags off The newborn buck with the broken leg

Afternoon vanilla sun crawls away across the lawn Through the phone I pull you and drag your voice around

I, I don't know why I'm so mean each time I come to visit I, I don't know why I'm so mean each time I come around

How You Got Your Limp

The voice of a doomed man Condemning his students In my lack of power, I knew him

I know what you'd like me to say, but You got to do exactly what you wanted It's how you got your limp; All your strength came from her humiliation

Not Abel

What those kids thought they saw, Do you really want to remember this?

Shirt bloodstained, and yet it was not Abel but Cain Who got to hear The voice that for so long had been a stranger Not one word of all the time they spent Growing up brothers Even love, yes, even love, yes, even love's Something to lose

What if the details there were suddenly shared? Tender moments siblings keep secret

The Fox in Motion

She looked like decay in motion We saw the fox run, like a ghost Lost and embarrassed

How can I explain it? Having been seen What would that mean?

One That Suits Me

In an open field, man is guilty always

Of course I am for peace, One that suits me

Son, you and I both know the real criminal is time I understand your crime, your crime But what makes you think you've got the right to be young?

In the history of man, reality becomes softened

What the Writer Meant

Gold, alone, clinging to a stem Pretty soon this will be a skeleton

That G-d is the one, G-d is the one, G-d is the one who changed

We saw him, in one brutal gesture, tear that rabbit open And you turned to me, "Isn't this supposed to be for children?"

Look of Love

Go on Romeo, bark your head off My last terror of ignorance is still to come

That night, the awful relief Now what are you gonna do to me? First symptom of guilt then became a permanent shame

Prior Things

You were on your own, you were on vacation Vacation means "leave" Means "obliterate all prior things"

And nobody needs to know, will know That I ever meant to leave my Little lower road

[weirdshitishappening]

Alright, nerds. It's time for my annual Facebook post about my favorite music of the year.

First up, shit that was actually released this year that was seriously really special and I'm grateful to have been here on this Earth for.

7-Beach House. OK I lost faith in them tbh and then a boy I fell a little bit in love with in June was playing this new album of theirs and it took me to a magical place where all my dreams were coming true.

Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino-Arctic Monkeys. A band I will always enjoy, an album that was actually pretty fucking good and definitely groovy.

Some Rap Songs-Earl Sweatshirt. LONG ANTICIPATED. Not a long as I would have liked, a little experimental, but still something I am so excited about.

Sweetener-Ariana Grande. Hi I fell in love with a pop star!? Me, emo kid!? I'm obsessed with her and this album was fucking sweet.

Black Dog In My Path-Yowler. Perfect timing, in October when things were dying and I was gearing up for another Colorado winter. I love her and this is as expect, hauntingly beautiful.

Room 25-Noname. A favorite female rapper that's a little more serious and creative than the stuff on the radio. Different, eclectic, fresh, refreshing.

Invasion of Privacy-Cardi B. OK YOU KNOW I love Cardi. I got d o w n to this shit all fucking year long. I got wild to this stuff.

Daytona-Pusha T. There for me when I was doing some of the most wild things for work I've ever done. Bark Your Head Off, Dog-Hop Along. I love this band so much and this wasn't super memorable but had some great moments.

Vessel-Frankie Cosmos. A great way to start springtime, though not a smash by the end of the year.

Now, for the more detailed playlist of sorts.

Not all of these albums came out this year, but this was what I discovered and was playing in the background of one of my most surreal, wild years yet. I separated the list by season this time because I felt like it. Everything is in the format of album, artist, favorite track(s).

The fresh new year, winter to early spring:

DAMN-Kendrick Lamar. This entire album is really incredible, and I have not been able to say that about an album in a while. If I had to pick favorites... XXX, Lust, Duckworth, Pride.

Winner-Alex G. Talking, Falls Apart.

Random other Alex G tracks I found. Screwy People, Big Problems, Hole in the Ground, Fay.

Harmless Melodies-Yellow Days. A Little While, Outro.

Is Everything Alright In Your World?-Yellow Days. A Bag of Dutch, The Tree I Climb.

Race-Alex G. I love all of this, but, Let it Go, Things to Do, Trash, and House are my favs.

C-Sides-Alex G. Buttercan, Family Tree, Scar Tattoo.

The Rise of Hobo Johnson-Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers. Peach Scone, Dear Labels, Romeo and Juliet.

Blond-Frank Ocean. I KNOW I'M LATE TO THIS ONE TOO. Self Control, Nights, Solo, Pink and White, Ivy. Most of the album tbh.

Spring and early summer:

Vessel-Frankie Cosmos. Caramelize, Being Alive.

Invasion of Privacy-Cardi B. I Like It, Money Bag, Bickenhead.

Bark Your Head Off, Dog-Hop Along! Somewhere A Judge, How Simple, Prior Things.

Still Woozy who does not have any albums yet. Cooks, Goodie Bag.

Big Fan of the Sesh-Biig Piig. Perdida, Pink Sorbet.

Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino-Arctic Mokeys. Star Treatment, American Sports, The Ultracheese.

7-Beach House. Possibly my favorite album released this year. Pay No Mind, Drunk in LA, L'inconnue, Lemon Glow.

Cranberry-Hovvdy. Petal, Brave.

Summer and early fall:

Little Bird Flies Into A Big Black Cloud-Mount Eerie. I Was Afraid All of the Day, The Water is Wide.

Summer of Ten-Porches. Count the Cash, Rib Cage.

Ronald Paris-Porches. Leather.

Je Taime-Porches. Bein' Alone, Dirty Clean, Tan Lines.

Daytona-Pusha T. Come Back Baby, The Games We Play.

Sweetener-Ariana Grande. Better Off, God is a Woman, Everytime, R.E.M. Get Well Soon.

The Moon and Antarctica-Modest Mouse. Dark Center of the Universe, Perfect Disguise, A Different City, Life Like Weeds, The Stars Are Projectors. 

Random SALES tracks that I found. White Jeans, Off and On.

Fall and winter:

Black Dog In My Path-Yowler. Holy Fire, Awkward, WTFK, Aldebaran.

Room 25-Noname. Self, Window, Montego Bae, Blaxploitation.

Familiars-The Antlers. Intruders, Hotel, Parade, Director.

Some Rap Songs-Earl Sweatshirt. Loosie, December 24, Red Water, The Bends, Veins.

Men I Trust who don't have solid albums. Show Me How, You Deserve This, Say Can You Hear, I Hope to Be Around.

Alright there you go.Music is always something I will collect.