new york dolls

Marty Thau Dead

Feb 172014

I coulda had Marty Thau Presents 2×5!

I’m seeing reports that New York punk impresario Marty Thau has died at 75. Official reports are far and few between, however, in this electronic age, in which almost anyone who’s ever striven to be anyone merits a flurry of “he/she was a great (wo)man…” tributes. I cannot sincerely attest to the greatness of Marty Thau, but he seemed like an interesting person around whom cool artists gathered. He seemed at least as interesting as that spoken-word 1-hit wonder poet Maggie Estes, who sadly passed away at the age of 50 and who had a fling with MTV in the early ’90s, so let’s give it up for Marty Thau.

Personality Crisis: If Only David Johansen Could Have Allowed Himself to Be David Johansen

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 012012

David Johansen is a talent of limited means but huge brass balls. His huge brass balls have always been the driving force in a career that has straddled underground cred and occasionally somewhat anonymous public adoration. Mach schau!, David, and more power to you for delivering through the guises of drag queen, lounge lizard, and bloozologist.

Despite his limitations as a singer, I was always intrigued by the “real” David Johansen, the wannabe Jagger under all the make-up and nylon firing up songs in The New York Dolls, the guy who came out of the gates on his first solo album with the excellent single “Funky But Chic” and who had a minor hit with a live medley of Animals songs. That Johansen was a guy I could best identify with. He was still putting across his meat-and-potatoes rock ‘n roll with style and fun, certainly, but doing so in a straightforward manner, without the rock star bullshit that had gotten out of hand in the late-’70s. I was trying to find a way to do something like this with my friends and our little band. This possibly imagined Real Johansen was leading the way toward a rock scene in which I could fit.

Bullshit On: The New York Dolls

Posted by sammymaudlin

Jun 302009

It’s a provocative statement. I know. Fact is I like about 1/2 of that first album. But I’m calling Bullshit On The New York Dolls‘ legendary status.

Let’s face it. The Dolls were a product of a place and time and heavy shtick. And ya know what, I dig the shtick but when all is said and done, the music is moderately interesting at best.

Rolling Stone called “Personality Crisis” the 267th best rock song of all time. Really?! Granted this was 2006 and doesn’t include anything the Raconteurs did but…

K-Mart Stones in drag, man. And yeah that’s cool but c’mon, legendary? Bullshit.

Here’s the greatest thing The Dolls ever did:

I’m not talking about the album, I’m talking about the image on the cover. I maintain that without this cover, The New York Dolls would not have attained legendary status. And though this doesn’t have the balls, it did come 2-3 year before.

What say you?