New York Dolls

New York Dolls是搖滾史上極其重要的一支樂隊，他們是朋克音樂最早的先驅(qū)者之一。如果說，The Velvet Underground開創(chuàng)了地下音樂的先河，Stooges開創(chuàng)了朋克的源頭，那么New York Dolls則開創(chuàng)了音樂融合的先例。人們很容易被他們?nèi)A麗的服飾裝束和荒誕的舞臺行為所迷惑，以為他們在搞華麗搖滾。時至今日，仍有許多人把New York Dolls的音樂等同于滑稽、嘲諷。事實上，New York Dolls是一支被忽視了的偉大樂隊，他們的音樂內(nèi)涵是極其豐富的，諷刺和鬧劇只是他們音樂的一個部分而已。New York Dolls真正的音樂價值要遠遠超出簡單的行為主義藝術(shù)。
他們?nèi)嗪狭薚he Velvet Underground、Stooges、Rolling Stones的音樂特點，盡管從音樂表象上你可能感覺不出六十年代樂隊給他們帶來的深刻影響，但New York Dolls的確吸收了許多老樂隊的精華：The Velvet Underground的實驗符號，Stooges的分裂狀態(tài)，Rolling Stones的叛逆狂放。
從音樂類型來講，他們是典型的朋克樂。不管New York Dolls制造出多少滑稽可笑的情節(jié)，他們的音樂本質(zhì)還是十分徹底的。判斷一種音樂的好壞，除了看技術(shù)和思想性以外，還有一點是很重要的：這種音樂是否純粹。New York Dolls決不是一支僅僅停留在滑稽氛圍中的樂隊，公正地說，他們的音樂內(nèi)容發(fā)揮得淋漓盡致，涉及面相當寬泛。在音樂長河的承接使命中。New York Dolls的作用是不可替代的，他們既向人們展現(xiàn)了傳統(tǒng)的布魯斯元素，又使人依稀看到Rolling Stones的影子。但最終，他們的音樂先鋒性是無庸置疑的。New York Dolls總覽似地回顧了上一代音樂家的偉大貢獻，同時又極為個性化地延伸出了獨一無二的朋克。從音樂感覺來說，他們似乎更靠近前朋克，但他們沒有走入極端的自我中去，他們對音樂結(jié)構(gòu)的破壞帶有濃重的實驗色彩和藝術(shù)快感，這和Sex Pistols革命風暴一般的藝術(shù)反叛是有區(qū)別的。Sex Pistols的音樂更具侵略性，相比較之下，New York Dolls的音樂底子更厚實，包容性更強。Sex Pistols的音樂是狹小管道里的爆炸，而New York Dolls的音樂則仿佛在飽和的空間里反復凝固。同時，New York Dolls是一支時代責任感很強的樂隊，他們關(guān)注了這個社會：在某些極具嘲諷意味的片斷背后，你能發(fā)覺，他們的藝術(shù)態(tài)度是相當嚴謹?shù)?，New York Dolls并沒有閉起眼睛搞藝術(shù)，他們時時刻刻睜大眼睛在觀察這個世界。從他們的音樂里，你可以找到幾分人文主義精和對一些敏感問題的隱喻。
即使是成為他們“音樂特色”的滑稽、諷刺，也是有深厚的文化根基和音樂根源的。至少，它說明了New York Dolls摧毀偶像的決心，在他們身上，你找不出一絲一毫的崇拜因素。New York Dolls不像Rolling Stones在打破偶像的同時建立起悲劇意義上的英雄，他們仿佛根本不關(guān)心這些，他們的早期朋克就是要讓人感到別扭，感到不可理喻。David Johnson是很有藝術(shù)天賦的，這是一個骨子里很狂妄的藝術(shù)家。從本質(zhì)上講，他應(yīng)該是目空一切的。但他卻偏偏反其道而行之，去搞什么滑稽效果。人們對事物審美價值的觀念是不斷變化的，在經(jīng)歷了轟轟烈烈的朋克運動后，Stooges得到了歌迷瘋狂的崇拜，一切先前被遺忘的東西又不合時宜地出現(xiàn)在贊美的圣壇前。但在當時，這種音樂是被誤解的。David Johnson的觀念超越了普通大眾，他是一個走在時代前列的人，他使New York Dolls的作品和人類固定理念中的美保持距離，甚至不惜與之相背離。David Johnson在制造滑稽通感的同時，把觀眾也一塊嘲笑了。這很像一個天才用智慧紡織出一系列看似荒誕不經(jīng)的東西，而他本人則坐在角落里望著發(fā)笑的人群暗自好笑。
New York Dolls的音樂是對一切自以為崇高的事物的徹底反叛，它的真正內(nèi)涵是很難把握的。人們可能感受到了音樂背后所要表達的含意，但始終無法將它固定下來。因為這音樂屬于另一種形式的內(nèi)在化，它的不朽就在于它超越了不朽。New York Dolls在朋克史上的地位是不可動搖的，The Clash、Ramones……Nirvana，一個又一個出色的名字都或多或少受到過New York Dolls的啟發(fā)和影響。
The New York Dolls created punk rock before there was a term for it. Building on the Rolling Stones' dirty rock & roll, Mick Jagger's androgyny, girl group pop, the glam rock of David Bowie and T. Rex, and the Stooges' anarchic noise, the New York Dolls created a new form of hard rock that presaged both punk rock and heavy metal. Their drug-fueled, shambolic performances influenced a generation of musicians in New York and London, who all went on to form punk bands. And although they self-destructed quickly, the band's two albums remain two of the most popular cult records in rock & roll history.
All of the members of the New York Dolls played in New York bands before they formed in late 1971. Guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets, bassist Arthur Kane, and drummer Billy Murcia were joined by vocalist David Johansen. Early in 1972, Rivets was replaced by Syl Sylvian and the group began playing regularly in lower Manhattan, particularly at the Mercer Arts Center. Within a few months, they had earned a dedicated cult following, but record companies were afraid of signing the band because of their cross-dressing and blatant vulgarity.
Late in 1972, the New York Dolls embarked on their first tour of England. During the tour, drummer Murcia died after mixing drugs and alcohol. He was replaced by Jerry Nolan. After Nolan joined the band, the Dolls finally secured a record contract with Mercury Records. Todd Rundgren — whose sophisticated pop seemed at odds with the band's crash-and-burn rock & roll — produced the band's eponymous debut, which appeared in the summer of 1973. The record received overwhelmingly positive reviews, but it didn't stir the interest of the general public; the album peaked at number 116 on the U.S. charts. The band's follow-up, Too Much Too Soon, was produced by the legendary girl group producer George "Shadow" Morton. Although the sound of the record was relatively streamlined, the album was another commercial failure, only reaching number 167 upon its early summer 1974 release.
Following the disappointing sales of their two albums, Mercury Records dropped the New York Dolls. No other record labels were interested in the band, so they decided to hire a new manager, the British Malcolm McLaren, who would soon become famous for managing the Sex Pistols. With the Dolls, McLaren began developing his skill for turning shock into invaluable publicity. Although he made it work for the Pistols just a year later, all of his strategies backfired for the Dolls. McLaren made the band dress completely in red leather and perform in front of the USSR's flag, all of which meant to symbolize the Dolls' alleged communist allegiance. The new approach only made record labels more reluctant to sign the band and members soon began leaving the group.
By the middle of 1975, Thunders and Nolan left the Dolls. The remaining members, Johansen and Sylvain, fired McLaren and assembled a new lineup of the band. For the next two years, the duo led a variety of different incarnations of the band, to no success. In 1977, Johansen and Sylvain decided to break up the band permanently. Over the next two decades, various outtakes collections, live albums, and compilations were released by a variety of labels and the New York Dolls' two original studio albums never went out of print.
Upon the Dolls' break up, David Johansen began a solo career that would eventually metamorphose into his lounge-singing alter ego Buster Poindexter in the mid-'80s. Syl Sylvain played with Johansen for two years before he left to pursue his own solo career. Johnny Thunders formed the Heartbreakers with Jerry Nolan after they left the group in 1975. Over the next decade, the Heartbreakers would perform sporadically and Thunders would record an occasional solo album. On April 23, 1991, Thunders — who was one of the more notorious drug abusers in rock & roll history — died of a heroin overdose. Nolan performed at a tribute concert for Thunders later in 1991; a few months later, he died of a stroke at the age of 40.
In 2004, former Smiths vocalist Morrissey — who was once the president of a British New York Dolls fan club — invited the surviving members of the New York Dolls to perform at the 2004 Meltown Festival, a music and cultural festival that was being curated that year by the singer. To the surprise of many, David Johansen, Syl Sylvain, and Arthur Kane agreed to the gig, with Steve Conte (from Johansen's solo band) standing in for Thunders and Gary Powell from the Libertines sitting in on drums. The group's set was well received by critics and fans (and was recorded for release on DVD and compact disc), which led to offers for other festival appearances, but only a few weeks after the Meltdown show, Kane checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital with what he though was a severe case of the flu. Kane's ailment was soon diagnosed as leukemia, and he died only a few hours later, on July 13, 2004, at age 55. With Sam Yaffa (of Hanoi Rocks) on bass, the remaining Dolls played a hometown tribute to their fallen brothers at Little Steven's International Underground Garage Festival in New York City on August 14, 2004, reuniting again in 2006 for the all-new CD/DVD One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This.