Subway to glitter

Dolls Poster, 3rd St near Bowery, 2006

14th subway

179 E3rd St.

The New York Dolls just released a record[!], all two of them. After 30 years. I took that as a backdrop for trip to NYC. Can’t show Jake Mercer Art Center of course, cause the building collapsed. Dolls all dead [including two dead drummers] but Sylvain Sylvain and David Johansen of the original band still pushing. The Dolls have wondered into our blog site before; and are essential to my original New York Days [1972-1973] became a sort of background music for the trip. Like the Hot swelter of summer subway coupled with fast cool dirty whoosh of train.

The record is pretty good. If Aerrosmith, the Who and Rolling Stones can keep pumping them out, there is no reason why the Dolls should not try. Just last night saw the film “New York Doll” - quite worth seeing for people interested in that era of glittering rock decadence - about now-dead bassist Arthur Killer Kane who finished his days out working in a Mormon church library, and had a dream that came true…

“I’ve seen more drama right on a Subway Train” - the Dolls sang on LP 1. This one has some really couple sad heartfelt things by David Johanssen..and a few fast bemused things. iPods pretty big down there these days. Places like 14th St station, 23rd St Station, W.4th St Stn, Bleeker St station, Houston have changed but are still the essential place where that music happened.

See more pics at Flickr site