The Dropout Disposition

Who Will Blow Up In ‘09???

3 Bands/Artists that will absolutely EXPLODE with popularity in 2009.

1. Travis McCoy- The front man for hip-hop group Gym Class Heroes. Recently signed to Nappy Boy Records. And you know what the means? Lots and lots and lots of collaborations with T-Pain. T-Pain will be on AT LEAST 10 top 25 singles this year, look for Travie to be part of at least 2-4 of those. Not to mention his connection with Lil’ Wayne and younger cousin Tyga will help him blow up even easier.
2. Two-Tongues- The love child of Say Anything’s Max Bemis and Saves The Day’s Chris Conley. Respectively, these two bands are huge, but put them together you have a pop-punk fan’s wet dream. Album drops in the next couple of months, by summer, see how many big names will be touring with this 2 headed monster.
3. Asher Roth- White MC from Pennsylvania Suburbs. Was a semi-big hit with his song “I Love College.” Performed at the MTVU Woodie Awards. The early twenties MC, while having many comparisons to Eminem because he is white, is whittier than your average rapper and his rhymes will have you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for the next line.

“Where has all the music gone?”

Remember the first time you went to a “punk rock” show? The smell of sweat and cheap plywood that was formed in the shape of a stage, the haze in the air from body heat, the long lines at the merch booths and being “that guy” because you wore one of the band’s t-shirts that was playing that night. But most of all, remember looking around at the faces and feeling accepted? Taking in a deep breath and thinking that you were finally home?

That doesn’t exist anymore.

Many local venues can’t afford to stay open. VFW halls and Firehouses don’t want to have to worry about the liability. Local bands are now forced to cold call everyone they know and fight to get on shows just to play a venue at half capacity. What happened? In a matter of just a couple of years, local music went from being a safe house for the misfit (and some conforming, well, a lot of conforming) teenagers, to a nostalgic era. There are many things we can blame for this. Here are just a couple.

1. The Almighty Internet- Yes, the same internet you are using to read this blog. No longer do kids needs to go to shows to find new music, they just need to go on a website and have Pete Wentz tell them what to listen to. The internet should have been the greatest tag team partner to music ever, but instead it has taken away a lot of its purity. Bands can sign to major labels and sell platinum records without ever leaving their own town. ::cough:: Panic At The Disco ::cough:: Can you blame the record labels for wanting to make money? No, after all it is the music BUSINESS. They do what they have to, some more conniving then others, but still. This is not even about Limewire, or Napster, as most local bands would give out cd’s for free anyway at shows. This about watching someone you have never met, spilling their guts out on stage to you, and you being emotionally affected by their performance. Now, YouTube brings that experience to you. At least that is what some will argue. It is far from the same thing. And just by being spammed by a “bot” paid for by a band on Myspace, can you accept their “friendship” and hear their music, auto-tuned to perfection with no earnestness. That is a far cry from talking to band after a sweat soaked band about where the best pizza in the town is, and when they come back to town, they remember your name. Ask your favorite band if they remember your Myspace name.
2. Concerned Parents- I cannot fault parents for being concerned for their children’s safety but just because someone accidentally gets hurt in a “mosh pit” does not mean that the show is just a madhouse filled with violent animals. Often times, a band will encourage other audience members to help the person out of the crowd so they can seek medical attention. This will of course get blown out of proportion and the parents talk and stop allowing their kids to go to these shows because they are just going to get hurt. Because everyone knows sheltering children from the real world is a great way to help them grow up.
3. And last but not least, The Government- The government does not give grants to local bands/venues while an Asian kid can go to Juliard for free because he is sought as progression of art. Is it just me or is that completely ridiculous?  Thousands of bands can’t afford to go on tour because of the high gas prices, the automotive expenses, food, shelter, etc. And NO ONE is helping them. If venues can’t get bands to play, they will not make money, and they will have to close. Parents won’t let their children pursue their dreams of being a “rock” star because the kid down the street is broke, covered in tattoos, and still chasing his dream. And dreams don’t pay the bills kids, remember that. Local music is endangered and no one is doing anything about. There is more to music than music education. Sure it is a great key to get kids mind’s active and get them interested in the arts. But when they go to the guidance counselor and get asked what they want to do with their lives and get told “That is stupid,” how is that progressing art? We need to stand up for our rights as musicians to be rectified as artists. To receive grants from the government, health benefits, and just the support needed to keep going. They may argue there are musician guilds, but they are not enough nor do they accept that many musicians to begin with.

I’m sure I sound like some pretentious indie fuck that needs to get off of his high horse. And maybe I do. But the only way we can save local music is together. At the end of this month I am launching a campaign called Life With No Music. Keep your eyes and ears out for that because in order to be heard sometimes, you need to turn the volume up.

For Once, I Believe In Scare Tactics

With the recent Proposition 8 fiasco in California, I’d like to bring into light a subject that is not talked about when the term homosexuality comes up. That term is suicide. The term alone makes you open your eyes and can send shivers through your bones. Believe it or not, with the passing of Prop. 8, there could be more suicides than ever in the United States.

In the late ‘90’s a study was performed by the National Institute For Mental Health http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-us-statistics-and-prevention.shtml to find the statistics of suicide. The outcome was, alarming, to say the least. Gay teens are six times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual counterparts as they make up 30% of all teenage suicides in the nation. Not to mention that almost 37% of the gay population has admitted to attempting suicide. There have been leaps and bounds over the years to allow homosexuals to be comfortable opening up not only to themselves, but the World. Sadly, we are not even close to where we need to be.

The United States as a nation is a very homophobic one. There are a few exceptions such as inside larger cities where one can be more open than say in a rural area. Homosexuals are literally scared to death to admitting they are gay. They would rather take their own lives, than come out to even their family and friends. By the time the truth is realized, it is too late.

With slander like “homo”,  ”faggot,” and “dyke”, can we really blame them for being scared to come out? In schools they are looked down upon, scowled out. In the office, gossip swirls and bigotry rules. Without a supportive surrounding, how is one supposed to be comfortable with themselves? They turn the T.V. on and hear horror stories like that of Matthew Shepard, and protesters marching while two homosexuals get married telling them God will send them to hell. This will only cause them to throw themselves farther into the closet, where it is a dark place, and they feel there is only one way out. Suicide.

We need to have civil rights for those of any color, creed, and sexual orientation. Telling a whole culture of people that they cannot be legally married is the real blasphemy. If you believe in God, you believe in love, and marriage throughout the centuries has become the ultimate testament of love. Not allowing two people to show their love for each other goes against everything our Constitution stands for. Unfortunately the phrase,”Where all men are created equal,”; is not even close to being realized.

Slim Pickens

After Barack Obama’s incredible accomplishment of becoming president-elect and moving this country in the right direction when it comes to equal rights, it’s time to take a step in another direction. Clean Energy. Global Warming is real, it affects not only the physical appearance of the world, but also the internal make-up( i.e. currents, etc.). That being said, it is time we start to dissipate our dependence on not only foreign oil, but oil in general. That is where the man with plan comes in. T. Boone Pickens. Yes, the same man that owns a hedge fund, and the same man that has a net worth of over $3.0 billion. His plan is to promote clean, affordable energy, by using windmills. Not only is he suggesting this, he is taking the initiative. As we speak, he is building a 200,000 acre wind farm that will one day be attached to the electrical grid of Texas. Rarely, if ever, is a man as wealthy as him, as successful as him, take interest in something that is encompassing our entire planet. So be it if he is trying to make some money off this, is it really that despicable that someone will make money off something that could potentially help save our planet? I won’t go into detail but I will link to his website where you can learn a lot more about his proposal. www.pickensplan.com

Welcome To My Disposition, In Spirit Of The Election, We Will Start On The Topic Of The Electoral College

The Electoral College is a a group of representatives called “Electors” that ultimately decide the President and Vice President of the United States. That is called an “indirect election.” Now, that is very disturbing to me for numerous reasons. The main one being that the vote we cast is not actually for the candidate we vote for but instead, we place a vote and trust that the elector will grant our vote. Yes, dozens more times than not, the electors have used the guidance of the voters to place their vote but in three elections, they did not. The most recent was in 2000 when Al Gore was robbed of the presidency by the electoral college, even though winning the popular vote, he lost because of one county in the state of Florida. Now, if we remove the Electoral College, this government will actually be “For The People, By The People,” not “Perhaps For The People, By Representatives You Are Told Put Your Trust In To Rightfully Use Your Vote To Place Theirs.”