A music-obsessed, retired San Francisco lawyer, and author of the rock & roll memoir Jittery White Guy Music (available on Amazon)... picking a random album or song in his collection every day or so and sharing a few thoughts.
I'd probably categorize the New York Dolls more as one of those "artists I totally respect and who had a huge influence on a ton of bands I love" than as a band I actually listen to much. Still, their 1973 self-titled debut remains a hoot. The late David Johansen's Jagger-isms, coupled with touches like Todd Rundgren production and a Bo Diddley cover, keep it more closely tethered to traditional rock & roll than, say, the Stooges or early Roxy Music. And lead-off track "Personality Crisis" manages to merge campy glam flash and proto-punk boisterousness into a comically fun gem. It's the rare track you can admire for its role as helping birth the Pistols and Ramones and countless others, or simply enjoy as a song that never got the love it deserved on its own merits.
R.I.P. David Johansen.
On the Midnight Special, 1973:Teenage Fanclub with Donna Matthews (from Velvet Goldmine soundtrack):Same (clip from film):Sonic Youth:Joan Jett:
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