Taylor Swift’s “The Black Dog” is about a bar, but the story I have to tell today is about an actual black dog. This week, I asked myself a question after a traumatic event took place in my own neighborhood. Why do some people have dogs? During a morning walk with Simon and Garfunkel, we encountered a loose dog (reenactment dog pictured above) right before we were about to cross a busy street.
Being a responsible dog owner and human being, I looked around for the dog’s owner and saw a woman walking l e i s u r e l y towards me with zero urgency. I greeted her and started walking towards her with the dog following, assuming he would be able to return back to the owner after she called him. I walked about halfway to the owner, encouraged the dog to return home, and turned around to finish the morning walk.
Unfortunately, the dog did not want to go home and the owner had zero interest in calling the dog back. He began following us across the busy street and I immediately walked back and tried to bring the dog to the owner again, who at this point still had not reached her dog. She said I could leave the dog be and she would grab it, but I was highly skeptical. I decided to switch up my walk and the boys and I turned left on the busy road instead of crossing it. The black dog sprinted away from its owner and launched itself into oncoming traffic, running under five total cars. I screamed!
For a second, the dog disappeared. He eventually bounced back up, but while he was gallivanting through the cars, three cars crashed while two other cars were fully stopped. Each driver rolled down their window and started screaming and yelling, “GET YOUR DOG ON A F*CKING LEASH!” etc, etc. The owner looked at the group of cars and calmly responded, “Stop yelling at me!”
The dog decided to have another go at running into traffic while the owner was not concerned about his well being. One of the drivers who had been rear ended got out of his car and demanded (with expletives) the woman stay put while he called the police. She replied again, saying, “Stop cursing at me!”
The dog continued running out into traffic and at this point, I refused to see a dog die so I fled the scene. It was a powerful moment for me to realize I am indeed a flight girl NOT a fight girl!
I was listening to a podcast during the incident (even though they’re out), and had to fully rewind after leaving the scene. Truly terrible to witness, but at least no one died and the dog can live to see another day. (Though I do think the owner should probably rehome?)
After surviving the incident and pondering my question about dog ownership, I switched to some of the new music that has been coming out. There are so many good albums and songs to listen to and it was hard to narrow down what I wanted to include in the playlist. I think it turned out to be a fun summery vibe that is perfect for the summer and I hope you enjoy them!
Did you know TikTok is not only a shop but also is a great place to find new music? I have a folder labeled “Music” and it has every artist, critic, and album recommendation saved that looks interesting from my FYP. Fana Hues is not new to the scene, and I first heard of her when she was featured on Tyler the Creator’s 2021 album Call Me If You Get Lost. Her third album, Moth, has plenty of fresh and funky beats that accompany Fana Hues’ voice perfectly. “Rental” is easy to dance to and even easier to keep on a loop.
SOPHIE’s last album will be released posthumously on September 27th. Her family shared in a statement, “Sophie didn’t often speak publicly of her private life, preferring to put everything she wanted to articulate in her music. It feels only right to share with the world the music she hoped to release, in the belief that we can all connect with her in this, the form she loved most.” I personally can’t wait to cry in the club while I’m dancing to SOPHIE’s creative and one-of-a-kind beats, and I loved the first single released earlier this week.
Tove Lo and SG Lewis are no strangers to collaborating, and on “Let me go OH OH” they solidify their artistic partnership and ability to create sweaty club tracks. HEAT was released earlier in June, and it’s short and sweet but packs a punch.
Whether you’re having a brat summer or a rat girl summer, this song can definitely be added to your playlists. Alt-pop producer Mura Masa teams up with electronic/indie artist yeule to create this catchy summer tune. yeule starts the track confidently repeating every spot the makeout will occur, continuing to repeat “We Are Making Out” over and over, until it feels like a mantra. The instrumental outro is sweet and feels like the euphoric rush you feel after a summer make out.
Fountain Baby came out last year and was one of my favorite albums of 2023. “sweeeet” has a similar style but is unique in its own way, making it the perfect single for the extended edition of the last year’s album.
Have you ever smelled so good you were on top of the world? Harrison Patrick Smith, better known as The Dare, can absolutely relate, and dedicated an entire song to the joy of smelling good. Cheap perfume, expensive perfume, it doesn’t matter. It’s your perfume!
FLO is so fun, confident and nostalgic. I love how they are able to create their own sound while nodding to the R&B and pop artists who have come before. On “Walk Like This,” there are plenty of double entendres, winks to the listener, and gorgeous harmonies.
Love Heart Cheat Code, Hiatus Kaiyote’s fourth album, comes out today, and one of the singles released earlier this year, “Everything’s Beautiful” is a gorgeous mix of flute, drums, and lead singer Nai Palm’s voice. I enjoy how intricate this song is while being approachable, and I could easily add it to a variety of playlists.
*For Apple Music and YouTube Music, Doja’s Cat’s version is in the playlist because hemlocke springs’ cover is only available on Spotify.
In 2023, “agora hills” by Doja Cat was my most played song on Spotify. I was determined to learn the entire song to sing at Ball Arena in Denver when I saw her perform and thankfully, I achieved my goal, even at the expense of messing up my algorithm. The song itself is pretty goofy, and hemlocke springs’ cover leans into some of the odd lyrics while putting her own spin on it (“Wait, is it root beer?/ I f*cking hate root beer though/ oh my god”). The last minute of the song speeds up, putting hemlocke springs in complete control of the new sound she created for this cover.
Empire Of The Sun wants you to know the radio doesn’t play songs they like. It’s good to hear new music from them, especially when it resembles some of their earlier tracks. “Music On The Radio” caught my ear because I can heavily relate to the sentiment and it feels good to be seen in the music I listen to.
Thanks for reading! Listen to this week’s playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube! :) See you next week!
oh my gods, what a ridiculous story. was the woman stoned?! that poor pup.
Geeez! What an insane story!! People should really should be required to get a license before they decide to take care of anything, pets, babies etc! Glad you and your doggos are safe!