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Love And Other Drugs

Like A Rolling Stone Baby...I Just Can't Stop

Five girls. Two guitars, one bass, a set of drums and an awesome pair of vocal chords. All of this should make for a pretty great band, but musical instruments does not a band make. The Hollywood Dolls started out hard and heavy with their debut album All Dolled Up, which went Platinum in January of last year. They toured with a band that were like their male counterparts-Black Veil Brides-and seemingly tried to rule the world. Their first album hit the rock world with something that had never been seen before-at least not since 70's darlings the Runaways-and we were all reeling. But before we get in to the review everyone has been waiting for-lets talk about the history behind the madwomen of rock and how they came to be one of the best female rock groups in the world.

The Hollywood Dolls practically came out of nowhere and began rocking the music scene in the late spring of 2011. With famed music producer and manager Alexander McFadden at the helm, the girls rose to fame and acclaim like a rocket headed for outer space. Lead singer Luxe(no last name)has said that she came from a small town in North Carolina, answering a call from a former childhood friend, Lulu(Talula Winters), and then moved out to LA to join the other girls. The band began with lead guitarist Char(Charlotte Rousse) a bad girl who had been on the LA music scene for quite some time. Char found a drummer in Mads(Madeline Walters) and a rhythm guitarist in Pixie (Penelope Stuart) all of these girls had come from the streets of LA-working as hard as ever to make it happen.

But they still needed a bassist and singer. Pixie made the call to coworker Lulu, who turned out to be one hell of a bassist, but not much of a singer. The girls scoured the streets, auditioning girl after girl until finally Lulu made the call all of them were banking on. Luxe was flown out to LA by the girls hopeful record company, Interscope Records, and auditioned right after stepping off the plane. It was love at first sight for the girls-they then spent three weeks holed up in a studio, writing and recording what would become their demo tape. Interscope offered them a vast deal, spanning six years, five records and major amounts of touring all over the world. The girls were handed everything, but no one had ever seen them play.

That all changed on the first day of the 2011 Vans Warped Tour, where the girls were given a five show stint spanning California and Washington state. The crowds loved them-they became an instant hit and then a whirlwind of media attention began to swarm them. Parties on the strip, drinking and wild behavior followed the girls like a moth to a flame. Luxe's rumored connection with bad boy of rock Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides was cemented in rock relationship history when the two bands announced that they would be touring together over three continents which would take them six months. The couple kept quiet, speaking to one another on social media and doing interviews together when possible, but it seemed like the prince and princess of rock were just a normal couple.

Near the tail end of the US leg of their tour, Luxe took ill, collapsing on stage and proving that she was just as accident prone as her singer boyfriend(who had recently taken a tumble and broke three of his ribs). The tour was postponed, a few shows were cancelled, but the girls would make it up to their disappointed fans. All seemed good in the world of the Dolls, until they flew over to Europe. Welcoming arms embraced them, as did many people who would get the girls going on their venture in to the stereotypical world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. The girls would party their way across the European continent, having partied so hard at times that they would have to be carried out of the venues and placed on their bus. The hardest party girl was lead singer Luxe, who had developed a nasty addiction to prescribed medication and to Cocaine. The girls never slowed or stopped, until the very end of their tour in Australia, when Andy and the guys of BVB finally gave them an ultimatum.

Things seemed to slow down for the group as they went in to a Seattle recording studio, working with famed producer Butch Vig, who had made Nirvana as famous as they would get. Rumors still flew around the girls as they recorded what would turn in to their sophomore album, Burning Down The Doll House, and it shows. This article is less of a history lesson and more of a life lesson to up and coming rockers out there. The Dolls were once a great band, their first album shooting up into the sky and exploding like a giant firework, but the partying and drugging has proven-once again-to be the downfall of what could of been a legendary band. In the coming article I will break down each song off of the newest album from the girls, telling you what works and what should of been kept on the cutting room floor.

It's easy to say that the award winning Dolls could of been great, but they turned in to their own worst enemies.

Burning Down The Doll House-Before I get in to each song, I wanted to talk about the title of this album. The previous album-All Dolled Up-spoke of the girls coming together and was sort of a tagline for their fanbase, which are all called Dolls. This new title, however, speaks to the rumors of the girls being less than pleased with their music producer, manager and the one man who created them-Alex McFadden. Are they really burning down the Doll House? Are they sick of their manager? Some of the songs on this new record point to exactly that.

Pearl- With a slow start and techno feel, Pearl is most definitely a departure for the girls from their previous songs. It speaks of someone, possibly Luxe, being held back, kept down and unable to be who they truly are. It is not unknown that Luxe was resistant to join the band, playing the rock girl that she wasn't, but Alex talked her in to it. Since then a few insiders have spoken on how much Alex pressures Luxe into being the rock girl of his dreams. A decent song, but not a Dolls classic.

I'm Still Breathing-Again, a much slower song than their debut album, but not a terrible one. If played correctly on tour-meaning acoustically-the girls could really make this in to something.

Bloody Mary-A return to what the Dolls have always been, this song is heavy on the guitar and even heavier on the spookiness that their fans love. Rumors abound that this song -which was written by guitarist Char-is about another female singer who had begun to copy Luxe's and the other girls style. Great marketing ploy or catty school girl immaturity? You be the judge.

Death Of The Party-Another return to the good old ways of the Dolls, this song is incredibly fun to listen to and even though it has a dance undertone, it still packs a punch. It speaks of a union between the girls and their fans and I am sure is a popular song on their current co headlining tour with Motionless In White.

The Arsonist-The first single to be released off of this record and it, while slower, is still reminiscent of the old Dolls we know and love. The music video for this song is haunting, gorgeous and again speaks to the unhappiness of the girls with the way their manager has been rumored to treat them. I would of preferred this song be on the album twice and Pearl not at all.

My Medicine-In typical Dolls fashion the girls have alluded to their current problems. This song rings of possible drug use, the mixing of partying and trying to still be a successful band. This song is pure Butch Vig, the deep and trippy guitar sounding like something right off of his greatest work-Nirvana's Nevermind.

Light Me Up-Butch Vig obviously had a lot to say on this record as once again this song has his imprint all over it. Never a bad thing, but not really a Dolls standard.

Nothing Left To Lose-This is a perfect song to showcase what Luxe can truly do with her voice. It's slow, but has a blues feel to it, which isn't akin to what the Dolls do, but it still works. I'm only hoping to be able to see this performed live.

Who Am I Living For?-This song is an enigma of what this entire album is about. The girls are obviously struggling to figure out who they are and this song shows how they feel about their rush to fame and fortune. You take five girls who once had nothing and you give them everything and sooner or later they become disenfranchised and confused.

Not Like The Movies-A strong difference between this slower song and Nothing Left To Lose is again the fact that Not Like The Movies is a total piece of pop fluff. Perhaps it's about the possible forced relationship between Luxe and Andy Biersack, nothing perfect can stay and maybe this is Luxe's way of ending the relationship-which was doomed from the start.

Any Last Words?-The last few songs on this album seem to be a return to the original Dolls and I am happy for it. This song it loud, fun and expertly done which will probably prove to be a good thing since the video for it is scheduled to be out by the beginning of spring.

Let's Get Dead-One has to wonder why the very end of the album is a return to greatness and why some of the earlier songs-especially Pearl-were ever placed on to the master disc to begin with. This song harkens back to Do Your Worst, which was the Dolls most popular single off of any album they have released.

My Sweet Unvalentine-Again this song harkens back to the original Dolls, the band that I honestly miss and wish would resurface before it's too late.

Razor-Possibly the saddest song on the record, Razor speaks along the same lines of Who Am I Living For? In the way that it reminds the audience that these girls are famous and that it might be destroying them from the inside out.


So, now for the final verdict-don't waste your money. Instead buy the recently released deluxe addition of All Dolled Up, which includes video footage from the girls studio time, the tour with Black Veil Brides and personal interviews from Luxe about each song. Possibly buy a few singles from this record-Bloody Mary, Death of The Party, The Arsonist, Light Me Up, Any Last Words?, Lets Get Dead, and Razor. It's hard to tell what this album is supposed to be-a pop record, grunge, or rock, but it is clear that the girls could possibly be suffering from some sort of Schizophrenic disorder and that is clearly showing in their frantic and failed attempt at a pathetic and disjointed sophomore album.

Trisha Peters, Rolling Stone Rock Writer


The cover of Rolling Stone was a lot of things-beautiful, sexy, and a total lie. All five girls were standing in front of a white background, naked, but they were covered strategically. Char and Pixie were holding their guitars up against their bodies, covering everything that needed to be contained. Mads held her huge bass drum, her eyes filled with a glaring hate as she stared at the camera. Lulu was holding her bass, smiling sweetly compared to Mads' glare, Char's smirk and Pixie's look of shock. The only one who wasn't looking at the camera was Luxe, who was holding a huge inflatable version of the Earth as she stood sideways, facing her bandmates. She was griping the Earth, her eyes closed and her mouth wide open-as if she was screaming at the top of her lungs. They were all completely naked, except for the black leather pumps adorning their feet.

The shoot had been fun, the girls had been laughing and giggling the entire time and yet they hadn't even known what was going on. They had been beyond thrilled to hear that they were going to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, an interview would be conducted and a full review of their newest album would also be inside. A total of twelve pages-all dedicated to them. The album had been one of the most anticipated albums in the past ten years and magazines were jumping all over the chance to get first dibs. Little did the girls know what was in store for them...what was going to happen the evening of their album release.

It tanked.

The record had been out for two weeks and was only at number 148 on the top 200 Billboards charts. The guys were experiencing greater success and Luxe felt miserable when she saw how poorly they had done. But the guys had never been on or even in Rolling Stone, so that was a plus, but as she tossed the magazine aside, Luxe felt sick to her stomach. The review ripped their album, band and self esteem to shreds and completely exposed the girls as something that they were, but didn't want people to know. Party girls, wild girls who could barely play their instruments anymore and none of this was helping Luxe's sobriety.

Pulling the curtain on her bunk shut, Luxe dug around outside for just a moment and then smiled as she pulled a bottle into her bunk, unscrewed the cap and began to chug it. Jack Daniels tasted terrible straight, but it would get rid of every single word that that woman had said about her. She was going to drink her pain away...fuck Andy and fuck any promises that she had made him.

Notes

Oh no...
Bad reviews. Bad reputation. This looks like the perfect situation to get Luxe in to a lot of trouble.

Review<3

Comments

@Giacobra

I'm so glad you found this little gem. Sadly this was my last full story, but I do have a few other serial stories on this site which are different from this one, but just as well written. You can find all of them in my profile<3

Broken Wing Broken Wing
4/16/16

So I can honestly say I didn't discover this story until recently. When I first started reading it I knew it would be one of my favorites from this site. I saw the sad ending coming but dear god I was still not prepared in any way. You wrote everything so genuinely and in a way that showed an amazing range of real and raw emotions. I may or may not have been crying profusely through the last chapters. This was a beautiful, bittersweet, and amazing story and I look forward to anything else you may ever decide to write. Thank you

Giacobra Giacobra
4/15/16

I've been reading this story for so long and now it has come to an end. It ended so beautifully. Thank you for the hard work you put into this. This was a great story <3

This was probably the first stories I read here. Every chapter was amazing, and you just as an amazing writer. Thank you for making such an amazing story. It felt so real to be part of the life of Luxe and the Dolls!!

RisenDemon RisenDemon
3/31/16

I'm pretty sure I've done nothing but cry while reading these last few chapters. You do a wonderful job getting the reader emotionally involved in this story, and I'm really glad that I was able to read this wonderfully written piece. Thank you for all of the time and hard work that went into this story. It is definitely one of the best that I have read in a really long time.

LostInTheMusic LostInTheMusic
3/31/16