301. New York Dolls, "New York Dolls"

 


Another one of those acts with more influence than fans, the New York Dolls paved the way for so much glam rock and hair metal and punk.  Kiss owes their entire existence to the Dolls.  

I liked, not loved, this album.  It's weird, I don't think I've ever heard it all the way through, but I definitely knew the song "Trash," which is a pretty great song.  What was strange was I know I knew the song from somewhere but I couldn't place where at what point in my life I knew it and it felt strange and disconnected, like another person had once known the song.  Memory is a trip.


This would be a good time to point out that the Dolls were snubbed this year for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which, I'm sure, they're probably proud of.  I've had ongoing debates with people for years about the HOF and whether it means anything and we've never come up with a good answer.  I tend to think getting inducted into a rock hall of fame is probably the uncoolest thing that can happen to an artist, but it seems like it's slowly becoming accepted and if you're gonna have one, goddamit the New York Dolls should be in it.

The songs on here aren't really punk qua punk.  They're more just dirty rock.  There are definitely notes of 50's rock and rockabilly; that's probably why the band hired George Morton, who had produced the Shangri-Las, to produce their second record.  You can hear it on this album on songs like "Looking for a Kiss" and "Subway Train."  There are also some wild cards like "Lonely Planet Boy," an acoustic stomper that sounds not unlike a Stones song like "Sweet Virginia," but grungier.

And that's 200 posts!  Wow, 200 albums in less than a year.  That's definitely a record for me, since I'm usually an "obsess and listen compulsively to the same 6 songs for weeks then move on" person.  My Spotify is so fucking confused, I'll tell you that much.  What do you WANT, goddamit?  Here, take this flamenco, here's some early disco, fuck it, here's Scorpions, JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Certainly.

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