Dope: Felons and Revolutionaries Review (EDSAE)

As promised, I’m reviewing every Dope studio album EVER. And we’re starting with a review of 1999’s Felons and Revolutionaries.

Worth noting: I’m not a journalist, and have never claimed to be. I AM however, a very opinionated fan with a loud mouth and a platform. That’s … almost there on the qualifications, let’s be real. Point is, don’t take this like I’m a music industry expert or anything. My reviews also tend to reflect that I find it unproductive to be overly critical just for the sake of a “balanced critique.” If there’s nothing particularly at fault with a work, I won’t pick it apart just to find something to criticize.

With that said, let’s get into this review of Felons and Revolutionaries.

Felons and Revolutionaries: The Beginning

felons and revolutionaries review

Dope burst onto the world stage with the release of Felons and Revolutionaries in 1999. As of this writing, it is their best selling album. It’s also *most likely* the album you’ve heard the most from commercially: the song Debonaire was featured on The Fast and the Furious and Scream 3 OSTs. Debonaire was also used as the entrance music for the wrestler Rhyno when he was in ECW, which I actually didn’t know until recently.

Along with the ever popular Debonaire, the tracks Sick, Everything Sucks and Pig Society were released as singles from Felons. Debonaire, Sick and Everything Sucks also received music videos. The album was produced by Edsel and John Travis, with Edsel also helming the design and artwork for this release.

The Review: Cristina’s POV

Felons and Revolutionaries has received generally favourable reviews, and for good reason. It’s a damn good album. For those of you who got into Dope with No Regrets or later releases, though, you might think you’re listening to a different band at first. That’s because with their debut, Dope was definitely giving more industrial vibes. This might be a slightly different Dope in style but not in overall tone. But if you’re not big into industrial, this might not be your go to Dope album.

Debonaire is without a doubt the strongest track on the album, along with (arguably) being Dope’s most commercially successful single. Don’t sleep on low key bangers Spine for You, Kimberly’s Ghost and One Fix, though. This album is also notable for featuring one of very few covers by any artist that is (in my opinion) better than the original: You Spin me Round (Like a Record). Originally performed by Dead or Alive off the album Youthquake, Dope’s arrangement is still a mainstay in their live shows. When it comes to another cover on Felons (N.W.A’s “Fuck tha Police”), the re-recorded version on American Apathy is the stronger pick.

The Verdict?

Felons and Revolutionaries is still a bop 25 years on, and gives no impression of feeling dated or “of its time”. Music is a landscape that sometimes changes by the second. It’s not often that albums from this era still feel so fresh and relevant. I’ve never really understood how Edsel seems to manage keeping his music so continually timeless. At the end of the day, I don’t need to understand. Don’t take things too seriously or overcomplicate them. Good is good.

I’ll see you with the next review where we take a look at Life. The album that spawned that one song that will forever remain Dope’s most infamous track…

Best Dope Albums (As ranked by edseldopefan.org)

Apple Music’s recent ranking of the “Best Albums of All Time”… was certainly full of choices. It was a list of all time, to be sure. While I knew Dope wasn’t going to be on this list, it got me thinking: I have seven studio albums to choose from… what are the three best Dope albums?

I’ve already touched on this topic in edseldopefan.org’s Instagram stories, but with the nature of that medium, I can’t put down all of my thoughts. So I thought it would be fun to expand a bit here.

“Cristina, no one wants to hear your biased opinion. You run an Edsel Dope fansite.” That’s fair *shrug*. As I’ve always stated, I’m not a music reviewer or a professional in the music industry. What I am is a fan, and I know what I like. If your fave isn’t on this list, it’s not because I somehow dislike it. Truthfully, I don’t think Dope has ever released a bad album. But if we’re ranking the top THREE, then something has to be cut.

If you’re ready for this, then so am I. Let’s get into it.

Number Three: No Regrets
Released: March 10, 2009

best dope albums

No Regrets is what a lot of rock albums wish they were. Straight up, uncompromising rock n roll. When I talk to people about Dope, generally this album or Blood Money Part 1 are brought up in the conversation. Actually, my most viewed and faved video on our Tiktok is a video commemorating this album. For good reason: this album is spawned some iconic bangers. The title track, My Funeral, Violence, We Are… there’s really no duds to be found. From start to finish, it brings exactly what it promises. No regrets.

Number Two: Group Therapy
Released: October 21, 2003

People think of this album as a departure for Dope. I’ve always disliked that term. Departure, to me, denotes that an artist has a little box they fit in, and that’s all they’re able to do. “An artist straying from their lane? Scandal!” Instead of looking at it as a departure, let’s reframe that thinking. While yes, this album has a more alternative vibe than Dope’s other records, it also shows more range and vulnerability. And unlike a lot of more “alternative” albums from the early 00s, this one still sounds modern and relevant. There are certain albums out there from the same time period that do not hold up at all. (Not mentioning any names, but I think we all know a few off the top of our heads)

And now for our number one pick… oh boy. I feel like I’m going to make some fans mad with this one.

Number One: Blood Money Part Zer0
Released: February 24, 2023

The amount of shit I get for sticking up for this album in the way that I do is mad. It’s not even that people say it’s a bad album, it’s this overarching idea of “new stuff bad, old stuff good” when it comes to Dope. Dope is one of the few bands I know of that people want to firmly stick in one era, and don’t seem to be interested in anything else. While I love the classics, don’t let nostalgia goggles blind you to new, amazing entries into a body of work. Blood Money Part Zer0 shows not only growth, but the ability to reinvent a band’s sound while still staying true to their original vision. Not a lot of people can do this successfully. In fact, Blood Money Part Zer0 is all the stuff you always loved about Dope taken in a new and exciting direction.

And there you have it. Those are my top three Dope albums. Were your faves on the list?

A note from Cristina

Hello hello. This is probably the longest I’ve gone without an update (and even this is not that long.) If there’s nothing going on with Edsel currently, I’ll highlight moments from days gone by in his career or make up original articles like our merch spotlight feature. This leads to me posting about once a week, not including any social media posts I make.

Thing is, it’s also led to me to post content just for the sake of posting content. Posting on a consistent schedule is not always ideal for this sort of website, because sometimes there’s really and truly nothing to talk about. But I’ve set a precedent for a long time, and once that happens, it’s always in the back of my mind. “Oh it’s been x amount of days, I should be posting or updating the website.” It feels like I’m failing if I don’t keep up with an arbitrary precedent. (I know I’m not, but I feel how I feel)

Content for content’s sake is very contrived: it feels fake, and ultimately it’s a lower quality product. I want to be proud of the content I create, as does anyone. That may mean going forward, there might be a week or two (or three) that I don’t post. When I do, you can be sure it’s something worthwhile. I don’t want to waste your time on content I don’t 100 percent believe in.

I’ve had fans tell me they’re glad I’m around, because this website brings them closer to an artist that means a lot to them. That’s valid. And I’ll probably always be here.  It would take Edsel doing something truly horrific to make me not support him anymore. (I don’t see that happening, by the way. Just telling you I’m not fickle, and I see this as a long term project. I believe in my work, and in the person I’m trying to support.)

Please don’t take this as “poor me, boohoo, content creation is hard”. I find that just as annoying as you probably do. I know I’m not doing anything terribly important here. I’m not a big deal, nor does anyone owe me anything. At the end of the day, I’m a nobody with a bit of graphic design talent. I also didn’t want to jump scare you and make you think this was me saying goodbye. It’s not! I want to keep posting content, and I will. But like any content creator, I just want to put out a product that makes me happy, and that makes you happy. If that takes a bit longer, so be it.

Thank you for your understanding. Love you lots.

Cristina xx

Dope Merch Roundup: The Best of… Shirts!

It’s been awhile, so it’s time for another Dope Merch Roundup! I thought of a fun idea when I was looking through the Dope shop: why not rank my top five faves of each category? We’re starting with my top five favourite shirts in the Dope merch shop!

But First… This.

As we always do, we start off with a big fat disclaimer: These are not affiliate links. I am not compensated for these posts or my opinions. Everything I recommend from the Dope merch shop are items that I either personally own or genuinely like. Now that’s out of the way, let’s hop to it. We’ll start off with my absolute favourite shirt in the Dope merch shop!

dope merch roundup

2022 Logo Shirt – Cristina’s #1 pick!

You know me. I love the classics, and you really can’t go wrong with this classic Dope logo. It’s an oldie, but it’s still a goodie. This would probably go with a lot of your wardrobe already because of how sleek and simple it is.

dope merch roundup

Null Shirt

I love discreet references to Dope (I named my collective site Undevoted after all), and this shirt definitely fits the bill. And again, this will probably go with a lot of stuff you already own!

dope merch roundup

Cross Shirt

If I saw you in this shirt, I would think oh! There’s somebody with excellent style and fabulous taste in music. (Psst… it’s you! You’re that somebody!)

Flag Shirt

Another absolute classic. The Dope logo, the American flag… it just works.

Believe Shirt

I love this one for both the look AND the song it’s repping. It’s really such an underrated song, and an awesome video too!

And there you have it: these are my top five favourite shirts currently available for purchase in the Dope merch shop. Which one was your favourite? Will you be buying any of them?

Stay tuned for more of the Best Of … Dope Merch Roundup! These are one of my favourite features on the site – and I hope you enjoy them as well!

Dope Bus Invaders Screencaps, etc.

The LARGEST Edsel Dope photo gallery on the net just keeps getting better.  We’re coming at you with updates from classic spots with Dope: Bus Invaders and other segments from Digital Tour Bus. Let’s get right into it.

dope bus invaders

Dope: Bus Invaders
View Photos | View Video

  • 47 photos added to Dope: Bus Invaders. This is a segment that is still pretty popular, and with good reason!
  • Not familiar with Bus Invaders? Here’s a rundown: Do you remember MTV Cribs? Think of that, but with tour buses. If you liked MTV Cribs, you will probably like this channel. I for one am quite nosy and find this sort of content really interesting. I’m forever watching “what’s in my bag” videos, or house tours.
  • Edsel himself is the one giving the tour of their bus, and is accompanied by the man, the myth, the legend Acey Slade.

Dope: Tour Pranks
View Photos | View Video

  • 37 photos added to Dope: Tour Pranks!
  • ANOTHER video with both Edsel and Acey? Heck yeah! I’ll understand if you need a moment to compose yourself to get ready for all that awesome.
  • This is another video by the awesome Digital Tour Bus. Shockingly, this channel doesn’t have at least a million subs even though they really should. You know you can fix that, right? If you like what Digital Tour Bus creates, why not subscribe? You can check out their channel right here.

Dope: Tour Tips
View Photos | View Video

  • 42 photos added to Dope: Tour Tips.
  • The last in that series from Digital Tour Bus, we join Acey and Edsel one more time. Two rock legends, one video. Your day just keeps getting better. This is a very fun series, I really hope you watch all the videos!

Again, if you liked what you saw, please sub to Digital Tour Bus. They have a lot of cool people featured – the one on Wednesday 13 was also really interesting. Which video was your fave?

Edsel Gallery Update

Just a small Edsel gallery update for you today. This is not a particularly huge update, but I really don’t want to get behind again.

edsel gallery update

VIEW GALLERY (EDF PHOTO)

EDF Photo is the largest continuously updated Edsel Dope photo gallery on the web. We’re over 2000+ photos strong, and we’ve got no plans to stop. But EDF Photo is a lot more than that.

As I’ve said before, one of the best things I can do with my platform is lift up other content creators. Particularly if they don’t have the reach that I do. To that end, I’m proud to feature a lot of diverse creators in our Interview Directory! I hope my screencaps capture your interest – I’ve provided links to each and every interview that go directly to that creator’s channel!

I encourage all our visitors to check out the creators we’ve featured, and if you like what you see, support them by liking and subbing. I’ve personally discovered a lot of really cool interviewers while running this site, and I sincerely hope you give them a watch too! (Plus, it’s always the best to hear Edsel in his own words)

You can access our Interview Directory here, and watch some of Edsel’s best interview moments.

Have YOU interviewed Edsel on your Youtube channel? Do you want your interview publicized on edseldopefan.org? Feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to help!

Dope Apple Music page: edseldopefan.org has questions!

Hey, Apple Music? Quick question… can you please remove things that have nothing to do with Dope from their Apple Music Artist page? Or is that asking too much?

See, to me, artist pages should have only that artist. Yet for the longest time, you’ve have this single on Dope’s artist page that is demonstrably not them.

You’re obviously familiar with their catalogue of music, since everything else is right. And other platforms don’t seem to have made this error. Just yours.

You might not care about this, but they probably do. And it’s a bit annoying from a fan perspective to have incorrect media on an artist page. It might seem like a minor problem, but minor problems are still problems. (And in my opinion, it’s not a minor problem, but I digress.) I’m sure you can imagine that this kind of thing leads to confusion and misunderstandings.

Dope Apple Music

To help you out, I’ve provided this picture to illustrate the problem. Feel free to reference it if you need to while you fix this issue. It’s yours to have – giving you this one for free! Now that I’ve shown you the problem, can you please fix the Dope Apple Music artist page? Thanks a bunch!

Also, while I have you, another quick question. I promise, this is the last one. For now. Dope has been a thing since the late 90s. They have released seven studio albums. Yet, they don’t have an Essentials compilation on your platform. I guess my question is… what’s up with that? It seems like more obscure artists with less extensive musical catalogues have one. Why not Dope, a well established and successful band? I genuinely don’t understand. If you need suggestions, edseldopefan.org has made our own Dope Essentials playlist! Feel free to take the hint. You can view it here if you need some ideas: Dope Essentials by edseldopefan.org. You’re very welcome!

Hope this helps! <3

Tiny layout/graphics refresh

Just a small update to let you know I’ve refreshed graphics around site a bit. As you know, one thing about me is if I am not 100 percent satisfied with something, I’m not going to rest till I am. That being said, I’m actually really happy with our layout situation now. I think this one will stay up for awhile, or until I’m sick of it. (Not likely to get sick of this layout anytime soon, plus how could anyone be sick of Edsel? Absurd.)

I will be back with a proper update this week, so stay tuned!

Machine Killer Tour aftermath catch-up

Time for a bit of Machine Killer Tour aftermath catch-up! Yes, I know, the Machine Killer Tour’s finale was this month. Sad days, but Edsel has to rest sometime! And he more than deserves it. This tour was absolutely phenomenal. I really hope you got to see it!

Back to the subject at hand: here’s a few things you missed, so let’s get you up to date.

machine killer tour aftermath

Keep Supporting Edsel!

Speaking of… I hope that by seeing the offerings on EDF Photo, you are inspired to support Edsel by purchasing his music (you can do so at dopetheband.com). He’s a really talented artist and frankly? He doesn’t get the credit or recognition he deserves. You can fix that, though!

In the Machine Killer Tour aftermath, we need to continue with this awesome energy. It’s really up to us, the fans, to keep the fire going. I’m just one girl shouting in the wilderness, here. How can you all help? Easy! It does mean a lot when you support Edsel by buying his music or even following him on social media. If you already do – thank you so much! If not, you know what to do. <3

Dope Die MF Die GIFs, Site Updates and more!

Today’s update sees some shiny new bells and whistles on edseldopefan.org, some additions to the Graphic Archive (Dope Die MF Die Reunion gifs) and a new series hitting EDF.org’s social media. Let’s not waste any time and hop right into it.

dope die mf die

  • As you might be able to tell, we have polished up our look even more lately. I’m really happy for you to see it. I do all the graphics and site design myself, and hopefully my skills do Edsel justice.
  • EDF Photo also got a new-ish look. The site experience should now aesthetically be more cohesive throughout, which is my goal.

Graphic Archive Updates:

  • Five GIFs from the Now or Never video added. Though Lovesong unseated it from the top spot in my favourite Dope videos, it’s still sitting pretty at a solid second. As with all the GIFs I create, I do not show previews here like I do other graphics. (I too hate fansites that have a ton of gifs that need to load and make everything hella slow.) Simply head directly to the page here.
  • Two GIFs from the from the Die MF Die Reunion promo added.
  • I am working on more graphics content, since I know that’s a popular aspect of this fansite. Please note: all my graphics are free and always will be. The only thing I ask in return is not using them as the basis of your own work. And maybe a link back too, if you use and like them!

How It Starts

  • I know I don’t really talk about edseldopefan.org’s social media presence a lot on this site. There’s a reason for that. I want you to follow and sub to Edsel’s social media, not mine. It really is one of the best ways to support him and his music, so go do that now if you haven’t yet. Go on. I’ll wait.
  • Back? Good. I make short form content about Edsel once a week on our social media. Our Tiktok and Instagram will be hosting a new series to that end, How it Starts. Part music challenge, part hype for a supremely underrated band, it will look at Dope (and Edsel’s music as a whole) in a fresh new way.
  • I hope you join us for the series! On Tiktok and Insta, we are @edseldopefanorg. I will also be posting it here in case you don’t have either platform.
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