With Jerry Nolan, Billy Murcia, Arthur "Killer" Kane and Johnny Thunders all long dead, it's already kind of a moot point, but it was just recently announced that the New York Dolls --- or those who call themselves the New York Dolls these days -- are going to spend a large swathe of this summer as an opening act for the likes of both Motley Crue and Poison. The proper, uppity aging music geek reaction to this should be, of course, abject outrage, but I just find it more depressing than anything else. As equally influential to The Ramones, The Clash and The `Pistols as they were to Kiss and Aerosmith, the iconoclastic `Dolls laid the groundwork for whole sub-genres to mimic, either with their pointedly trashy tonsorial/sartorial aesthetic, their bold (for their era) gender-pretzeling or their endearing lack of musical refinement. More prominent bands pay lip(stick) service and/or rip off the New York Dolls than can be quantified, but it seems the band is still sorely deprived of the recognition they deserve (they're certainly not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but that hardly matters). But I can't imagine that touring with the comparatively slackjawed upstarts in the Crue and Poison is going to do them any favors in that capacity.
Don't get me wrong, though. I still love and defend the first two irrefutably idiotic Motley Crue albums. I've never liked Poison (I've always applauded that fleeting part in the Dead Milkmen's video for "Punk Rock Girl" when they walk into a record store and fold a copy of Look What The Cat Dragged In by their then-label-mates like a taco). But while it's certainly true that both of these bands owe incalculable debts to the New York Dolls for their respective sounds and styles, they both completely lack the originality, humor, intelligence and effortless insouciance of the original New York Dolls. Put simply, they aren't fit to share the same stage with them, much less have them as a warm-up band.
But again, it's not like it's really the New York Dolls anymore, and it's not like they haven't already let down their legacy here and there. But hey -- I suppose if they can fill their coffers a bit and possibly recruit a few new followers in the process, who can fault them for it? I still think it's kinda depressing, though.
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Cries & Dolls
With Jerry Nolan, Billy Murcia, Arthur "Killer" Kane and Johnny Thunders all long dead, it's already kind of a moot point, but it was just recently announced that the New York Dolls --- or those who call themselves the New York Dolls these days -- are going to spend a large swathe of this summer as an opening act for the likes of both Motley Crue and Poison. The proper, uppity aging music geek reaction to this should be, of course, abject outrage, but I just find it more depressing than anything else. As equally influential to The Ramones, The Clash and The `Pistols as they were to Kiss and Aerosmith, the iconoclastic `Dolls laid the groundwork for whole sub-genres to mimic, either with their pointedly trashy tonsorial/sartorial aesthetic, their bold (for their era) gender-pretzeling or their endearing lack of musical refinement. More prominent bands pay lip(stick) service and/or rip off the New York Dolls than can be quantified, but it seems the band is still sorely deprived of the recognition they deserve (they're certainly not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but that hardly matters). But I can't imagine that touring with the comparatively slackjawed upstarts in the Crue and Poison is going to do them any favors in that capacity.
Don't get me wrong, though. I still love and defend the first two irrefutably idiotic Motley Crue albums. I've never liked Poison (I've always applauded that fleeting part in the Dead Milkmen's video for "Punk Rock Girl" when they walk into a record store and fold a copy of Look What The Cat Dragged In by their then-label-mates like a taco). But while it's certainly true that both of these bands owe incalculable debts to the New York Dolls for their respective sounds and styles, they both completely lack the originality, humor, intelligence and effortless insouciance of the original New York Dolls. Put simply, they aren't fit to share the same stage with them, much less have them as a warm-up band.
But again, it's not like it's really the New York Dolls anymore, and it's not like they haven't already let down their legacy here and there. But hey -- I suppose if they can fill their coffers a bit and possibly recruit a few new followers in the process, who can fault them for it? I still think it's kinda depressing, though.
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