before International Women's Day was over I wanted to put together a little tribute to my favorite women in music. These ladies' voices have shaped my life and helped me discover the sound of my own!
Cass Elliot | Dusty Springfield | Grace Slick |Janis Joplin | Joni Mitchell | Judith Durham | Judy Collins | Julie Andrews | Karen Carpenter | Mary Hopkin | Petula Clark | Ronnie Spector
We’ll be filming a series of specials at @ElysianTheater starting next week (that will eventually be released on Dropout under the umbrella title "Dropout Presents") - and tickets are now available for all shows!"
So uh, yeah.
The specials are:
Chris Grace: "As Scarlett Johansson"
Courtney Pauroso: "Vanessa 5000"
Brennan Lee Mulligan & Izzy Roland: "Bigger" (improv)
From Ally To Zacky (improv) with Ally Beardsley, Zac Oyama, Kimia Behpoornia, Devin Field, Victoria Longwell, Oscar Montoya, Talia Tabin, and Jacob Wysocki
The Big Team (improv) Ify Nwadiwe, Ronnie Adrian, Zeke Nicholson, Ishmel Sahid, Carl Tart, Lamar Woods
They all filmed at the end of February 2024 and I am sure they will take a long time to finish editing.
Ronnie Peterson receives the winner's trophy from Prince Rainier and Princess Grace during the Monaco GP at Monte Carlo on May 26, 1974 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
You clicked on this review thinking you’d get a blasphemous review of the new Falling In Reverse album, huh? I hate to say “gotcha,” but I’m gonna be real here — there’s not much to say about Popular Monster. It’s bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nothing of an album. It’s the type of bad you think it’ll be, whether it’s Ronnie Radke sounding whinier than he ever has, his white guy rapping being utterly awful, his lyrics basically amounting to “you can’t say that anymore” for 40 minutes, or how bland and uninspired the instrumentation sounds, but what fun is tearing that apart limb from limb? Maybe a decade ago, when I was younger and it was more fun to hate things, but now that I’m older, where’s the fun in it?
You and I both know this album sucks, let alone which ways it’ll suck, so why bother with it? I’m all for talking shit about bad music, especially when it deserves it, but this is just boring. There’s nothing I can’t say that a lot of other people already have, so let’s talk about something better instead. For every Falling In Reverse, there are two way better bands and artists that deserve your time and attention. Instead of talking about this piece of shit album, I wanted to subvert expectations and talk about a few albums I found recently that are way better, specifically three. I’ll be writing full reviews of these albums, but for the time being, I wanted to highlight a few recently released debut albums from unknown / underground artists that are way better than this pile of trash.
First up is the debut album from Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge, entitled Wine On Venus. This record is from 18-year-old guitarist and songwriter Grace Bowers. A guitar prodigy who just played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, this record is also produced by one of the guys from the band Brothers Osborne, but its sound is rooted in 60s and 70s blues-rock, soul, funk, and hard-rock. It’s a solid ride across a literal hodge podge of styles, and she rides that wave well. She doesn’t provide vocals, only guitar, but at the same time, the vocalist is utterly killer. This album isn’t anything unique, per se, but from a young guitar player that’s only getting started? This is pretty absolutely impressive and worth a listen if you love any kind of classic rock.
Next up is the debut album from rock / post-hardcore band Nova Charisma, entitled Metropolitan. This duo is made up of the vocalist of Hail The Sun and one of the key members and songwriters of Eidola and Royal Coda, and they’ve been relatively quiet since 2020, but they’re back with an unexpectedly great debut album. This record is a lot catchier and more melodic than either project(s) from these guys, which is a welcomed change, because I’m sick of a lot of “Swancore” these days, where it all just sounds the same, but this album is unique enough to really stick out. They have elements of post-hardcore, progressive-rock, pop-rock, alternative-rock, and even some funkier bass work that wouldn’t sound out of place in the 1970s. There’s something on each song to really capture your attention, but this is a great debut that took a few too many years to make.
Finally, I wanted to highlight an album that I found a few weeks back, but I’ve been waiting to really sink my teeth into it. That’s the debut album from Chicago rock / new wave / post-punk band Brigette Calls Me Baby, entitled The Future Is Our Way Out. Like with the other two albums, I plan on reviewing these in more depth, but this album randomly came across my radar a couple weeks back, and I was absolutely blown away. These guys take 1950s rockabilly and mix it with 1980s new wave and post-punk, as well as a dash of modern indie-rock. This is one of the most unique albums I’ve heard in a long time, but it sounds so seamless. It’s got such a timeless feel to it, but it sounds huge, melodramatic, and larger than life. Their vocalist, who is a big part of why this thing works so well, has a voice that sounds like it came out of the 1950s, but he sounds like Elvis and Morrissey at the same time. This record is one of a handful I find every year that just blows me away, and this is no exception.
You come around and the armor falls
Pierce the room like a cannonball
Now all we know is don't let go
We are alone, just you and me
Up in your room and our slates are clean
Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes
I sketched this sheet a few weeks ago to train at anatomy, celebrate diversity and of course because I LOVE doodling SEVEN stuff.
Some of my babies have small or big complexes, others love their bodies ad their little selves, but the most important thing is I cherish them all with everything I have 🥺
🤣😭Now presenting: the trailer for Dropout's newest series, 'Dropout Presents'.
Dropout Presents is a series of live recorded specials that include stand-up, improv, and solo performances from Dropout cast members like Brennan Lee Mulligan to comedians like Hank Green and Chris Grace.
Directed by Jonah Ray Rodrigues and featuring beloved LA venues like Dynasty Typewriter (Hank Green), the Elysian Theater (Bigger!, The Big Team, From Ally to Zacky, Courtney Pauroso: Vanessa 5000, and Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson), and The Nocturne Theater(Adam Conover), each show will have a behind-the-scenes featurette to give viewers a look into the process of creating these live specials.
The series will premiere with Hank Green’s stand-up special “Pissing Out Cancer" and will be followed by additional specials set to release throughout the rest of the year:
📌Adam Conover: Unmedicated
📌Bigger! with Brennan & Izzy (featuring Brennan Lee Mulligan and Isabella Roland)
📌The Big Team (featuring Ify Nwadiwe, Carl Tart, Zeke Nicholson, Lamar Woods, Ronnie Adrian, and Ishmel Sahid)
📌From Ally to Zacky (featuring Ally Beardsley, Zac Oyama, Jacob Wysocki, Talia Tabin, Oscar Montoya, Victoria Longwell, Kimia Behpoornia, and Devin Field)