If someone were to ask me what some of my favorite rock artists of all time were, on a purely musical basis I would have to list a few of the usual suspects: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Yes, The Who, Queen, The Police, Metallica, Guns N' Roses.
But if you were to ask me who my all-time favorite rock 'n' roll fashion icons are, I would have but one answer: The New York Dolls! I'm definitely a fan of their two cult-classic albums, New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974). Although their playing skills could most generously be described as amateurish, what they may have lacked in the realm of chops they more than made up for in terms of spirit, attitude and energy! Not to mention the fact that David Johansen's lyrics are sharply witty, laser-incisive and fiercely intelligent. But the thing that always strikes one about the Dolls at first - because you always see the cover photograph (or magazine photos) first, before hearing the music - was their insanely, flamboyantly cool fashion sense! I mean, if there's one band in the history of rock 'n' roll about whom I could say - however hyperbolically - that I would be willing to give up a major organ (or at least a digit or two) in order to possess even a fraction of their sense of style...it would have to be the Dolls!
After the fashion excesses of the '80s (and I mean the New Romantic and Goth looks as well as the Sunset Strip glam-metal), nowadays it may be difficult for some to understand the fuss about the New York Dolls was way back in the very early 1970's. But back then, any all-male band - especially any American band - who sported makeup, tight spandex stretch pants, scarves, jewelry, stackheeled platform boots and pumps and teased-up hair was definitely going against the grain. After the release of the Dolls' first album, there were some American DJ's who wouldn't even play the record because they were so freaked out by the cover photograph! (Insecurity, perhaps?
) Alice Cooper may have been regarded as threatening, up to a point, but it was sort of understood that his was largely a theatrical schtick (albeit a brilliant one). And oddly enough, David Bowie's being British probably served as a mitigating factor in his theatrical sci-fi glam-rock being accepted by American audiences, however sexually suspect he may have been regarded as being by certain people. But I guess the Dolls came across as being too much the real thing for some people - whatever sort of deviant thing they imagined that to be!
Nowadays, however, living as we do in at least a somewhat more liberal and accepting time, we can see how far ahead of the curve the Dolls were, in terms of their look and their sound. I certainly needn't once more restate the fact of their obvious influence on the punk-rockers of the late '70s (Ramones, Sex Pistols, Dead Boys)...and beyond! (The very early late-'80s beginnings of grunge definitely show a strong Dolls influence as well, particularly the recordings of the prototype Green River!)
Recently, Bob Gruen's book of photographs of the New York Dolls was released (in hot-pink hardcover, appropriately enough), and looking through it, I would have to say that the Dolls' image still comes across as just wickedly, insanely and lethally cool after all these years! And that's because, to a great extent, it was very much the "real thing," in the sense that it wasn't a look they took off once they were offstage. It also came across as...well, somehow natural (oddly enough) in that it looked so thrown-together and came across as an instinctive sensibility rather than a look that was calculated. When you look at photos of the '80s glam-metal bands like Motley Crue, Twisted Sister and Poison these days, it pretty much comes across as something of a schtick, however rebellious and radical it may have looked to teenage fans at the time. It may genuinely have been what the bands were into, but now it comes across as a bit of a quaint time capsule. The only other band from that era that comes even remotely close to touching that kind of natural sense of defiant flash that the Dolls had would probably be Hanoi Rocks (whose bassist Sam Yaffa has now replaced the late Arthur "Killer" Kane in the new lineup).
There have often been times, when I've worked up enough nerve, that I've attempted to at least partially emulate the look of the New York Dolls. In the past, I've often donned a colorful scarf, and even now I sometimes wear tight stretch jeans or tight, flared women's slacks. However, I possess absolutely zero skill in applying makeup or teasing up my hair, and I've never been able to find anything with stacked heels that could fit on my feet!
How about any other guys out there? Has anybody else ever tried to emulate the New York Dolls' fashion sense?
But if you were to ask me who my all-time favorite rock 'n' roll fashion icons are, I would have but one answer: The New York Dolls! I'm definitely a fan of their two cult-classic albums, New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974). Although their playing skills could most generously be described as amateurish, what they may have lacked in the realm of chops they more than made up for in terms of spirit, attitude and energy! Not to mention the fact that David Johansen's lyrics are sharply witty, laser-incisive and fiercely intelligent. But the thing that always strikes one about the Dolls at first - because you always see the cover photograph (or magazine photos) first, before hearing the music - was their insanely, flamboyantly cool fashion sense! I mean, if there's one band in the history of rock 'n' roll about whom I could say - however hyperbolically - that I would be willing to give up a major organ (or at least a digit or two) in order to possess even a fraction of their sense of style...it would have to be the Dolls!
After the fashion excesses of the '80s (and I mean the New Romantic and Goth looks as well as the Sunset Strip glam-metal), nowadays it may be difficult for some to understand the fuss about the New York Dolls was way back in the very early 1970's. But back then, any all-male band - especially any American band - who sported makeup, tight spandex stretch pants, scarves, jewelry, stackheeled platform boots and pumps and teased-up hair was definitely going against the grain. After the release of the Dolls' first album, there were some American DJ's who wouldn't even play the record because they were so freaked out by the cover photograph! (Insecurity, perhaps?
) Alice Cooper may have been regarded as threatening, up to a point, but it was sort of understood that his was largely a theatrical schtick (albeit a brilliant one). And oddly enough, David Bowie's being British probably served as a mitigating factor in his theatrical sci-fi glam-rock being accepted by American audiences, however sexually suspect he may have been regarded as being by certain people. But I guess the Dolls came across as being too much the real thing for some people - whatever sort of deviant thing they imagined that to be!Nowadays, however, living as we do in at least a somewhat more liberal and accepting time, we can see how far ahead of the curve the Dolls were, in terms of their look and their sound. I certainly needn't once more restate the fact of their obvious influence on the punk-rockers of the late '70s (Ramones, Sex Pistols, Dead Boys)...and beyond! (The very early late-'80s beginnings of grunge definitely show a strong Dolls influence as well, particularly the recordings of the prototype Green River!)
Recently, Bob Gruen's book of photographs of the New York Dolls was released (in hot-pink hardcover, appropriately enough), and looking through it, I would have to say that the Dolls' image still comes across as just wickedly, insanely and lethally cool after all these years! And that's because, to a great extent, it was very much the "real thing," in the sense that it wasn't a look they took off once they were offstage. It also came across as...well, somehow natural (oddly enough) in that it looked so thrown-together and came across as an instinctive sensibility rather than a look that was calculated. When you look at photos of the '80s glam-metal bands like Motley Crue, Twisted Sister and Poison these days, it pretty much comes across as something of a schtick, however rebellious and radical it may have looked to teenage fans at the time. It may genuinely have been what the bands were into, but now it comes across as a bit of a quaint time capsule. The only other band from that era that comes even remotely close to touching that kind of natural sense of defiant flash that the Dolls had would probably be Hanoi Rocks (whose bassist Sam Yaffa has now replaced the late Arthur "Killer" Kane in the new lineup).
There have often been times, when I've worked up enough nerve, that I've attempted to at least partially emulate the look of the New York Dolls. In the past, I've often donned a colorful scarf, and even now I sometimes wear tight stretch jeans or tight, flared women's slacks. However, I possess absolutely zero skill in applying makeup or teasing up my hair, and I've never been able to find anything with stacked heels that could fit on my feet!
How about any other guys out there? Has anybody else ever tried to emulate the New York Dolls' fashion sense?
