New York Dolls still rock

The summer of 2009 has definitely been the time for former heroes to get on the road and wow a new audience but it is not always about the artists who have been away for years. Sometimes an older artist or act finds a new lease of life and manages to stay on the road for a period of years. What their shows lose in the novelty excitement of their first shows back, gain in the experience and comfort that comes from playing regularly and getting a partnership together again. This is a good way to describe many of the acts performing this summer but one of the best ones under this banner is definitely the New York Dolls. They may be close to their fortieth year together but they are still more than capable of putting on a show, even though they may be down to two original members. David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain are more than capable of putting on a show and anyone who has the pleasure of seeing the boys on their current tour will be more than satisfied.
They may have developed their own sound from bands like MC5 and The Stooges but the New York Dolls had a far wider influence than just on punk bands. Yes, their impact on the New York New Wave and punk scene is well documented with even acts like Blondie taking a lot from the band but there have been a number of big names artists professing their love who you may not think of as big Dolls fans. Morrissey, formerly of The Smiths and now a solo artist of much fame, was such a big fan that he was president of the fan club. It doesn’t get much bigger than that and Morrissey played a huge role in the bands reformation in 2004. Another really big fan of the band is Michael Stipe from R.E.M. Yes, the man who crooned “that’s me in the corner” on ‘Losing My Religion’ has regularly stated his love of the New York Dolls, even if the influence does not come shining through in his own bands music.
Johnny Thunders managed to carve out a career after the band went their separate ways and the maverick guitarist and front-man was one of the most recognisable heroes of the punk legend. Tracks like ‘You Cant Put Your Arms Around A Memory’ or ‘One Track Mind’ stand the test of time and are as much a blue print for punk rock as anything by The Ramones or the Sex Pistols. As well as touring the Sex Pistols and The Clash, Thunders later worked with Steve Jones and Paul Cook on his ‘So Alone’ album, putting him firmly at the heart of all things punk on both sides of the Atlantic. There will always be a level of debate and discussion over which brand of punk rock was better but Thunders was one of the boys that managed to straddle both sides convincingly.
In the end, Johnny Thunders went the same way as Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix and Sid Vicious in the fact that his death is still shrouded in mystery. He may be missing from the New York Doll’s current tour and new found popularity but his legacy lives on and still managing to influence new generations of fans.

Some bands just live forever

“Where were you while we were getting high?”
Its one of the most evocative lyrics from ‘Champagne Supernova’, the big finishing track from Oasis’s ‘Whats The Story (Morning Glory?)’ record but it could easily be said about the fans who have been flocking to see them in stadiums across Britain and Ireland in recent weeks. There are still plenty more stadiums to go as the band plough through their homeland with no great regard for pleasantries or niceties. Brothers Noel Gallagher, the main songwriter and guitarist, and younger brother Liam Gallagher are the public face and image of the group and they seem to polarise opinion very easily.
Of course, for those who lived through Britpop, it can be hard to think of Oasis, without mentioning Blur. The chart scrap between ‘Roll With It’ and ‘Country House’ may have saw two of the weaker songs in both bands arsenal fighting it out but their paths have taken a very different route since. Oasis have never left the stadiums but many say that they have lost the knack of song writing, whilst the individual stock of Blur members has never been higher since their split. Whether it is Damon Albarn in the Gorillaz, Graeme Coxon on his own or working with Pete Doherty, Alex James working with Damien Hirst and Keith Allen whilst selling cheese or even drummer Dave, who has dallied with helicopter flying, law and politics, the four members of Blur have been fairly active. This summer though, they are back and ready to do battle with Oasis once again as both bands fill stadiums and play major shows this month and for the rest of the summer. So whether you are “Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls” or even just looking to expand your ‘Parklife’, there’s a lot to enjoy this summer.
The Britpop era of music hasn’t aged too badly but another of the main stars of the era is also on the comeback trail and although Jarvis Cocker may be appearing on a smaller stage than Oasis or Blur, he doesn’t lack a fanatical fan base. His antic at waving his arse at Michael Jackson at the Brit Awards may have overshadowed some of the band music but there are very few fans out there who remained unaware of Jarvis Cocker after that incident. Many stars and people have came out and criticised the King of Pop for his actions and behaviour but few have managed it in such a manner that Jarvis Cocker did.
One thing that all three acts have in common is a debt of gratitude to bands like The Stone Roses, The Smiths and Joy Division. All three hailed from Manchester, giving an immediate Oasis link but their different styles of British guitar music and popular tunes can be heard in all the major acts of the Britpop era. There’s very little in music that is truly and of course, the music of bands like Oasis owes as much to the swaggering pomp of the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin as it does to the lyrical style of Ian Brown but there should be no doubt that Britpop borrowed heavily from music’s past.
For new generations, this is a great aspect about finding new bands, as it makes it easier to get into classic stars and great lyrics from a bygone era but as some of the biggest stars of the Britpop era return to ensure the world stills remembers their name, they will have to battle with some of the even older statesmen of indie and rock this summer. For some fans, it is all about Oasis and Blur but for those of a slightly older vintage, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and AC/DC will be of much, if not more, interest than the stars who first found fame in mid 1990s.

LYRIC T-SHIRTS

When we started doing Lyric T-shirts the response was fantastic. Customers really loved the style and concept as it gave them a subtle alternative to other T-shirts. Unlike our usual image T-shirts which are screen printed, the lyric T-shirts are digitally cut from flex vinyl. This gives them a super sharp edge, which is not suitable for the artwork of our image T-shirts, but makes the lyrics look fantastic on the T-shirts.

At present we have 60 or so lyric T-shirts available - I would say from A to Z, but it actually only from A to W - although I think we will do an XTC or X-Ray Spex T-shirt as well as a Zappa or ZZ Top lyric T-shirt just so we can....

So which lyric T-shirt do we have?
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
AC/DC - Whole Lotta Rosie
Adam & the Ants - Prince Charming
Adam & the Ants - Ant Music
Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator
Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right (To Party)
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Blur - Boys & Girls
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
Bob Marley - No Woman No Cry
Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
David Bowie - Life on Mars
Don McLean - American Pie
The Doors - Break On Through
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench
Foo Fighters - Best of You
Genesis - Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis - Ripples
Green Day - Basket Case
Guns N' Roses - Paradise City
Happy Mondays - Kinky Afro
Iggy and the Stooges - Search & Destroy
Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (also doubles as a Leonard Cohen T-shirt)
Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
Madness - House of Fun
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Oasis - Champagne Supernova
Patti Smith - Gloria
Pearl Jam - Alive
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
Pogues - Fairytale of New York
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Queens of the Stoneage - No One Knows
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name
REM - Everybody Hurts
REM - Losing My Religion
Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
The Smiths - This Charming Man
The Sweet - Blockbuster
T-Rex - 20th Century Boy
Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
Tom Waits - Tom Traubert's Blues
The Who - My Generation
The Who - Pinball Wizard
The Wildhearts - Greetings From Shitsville

There will be loads more over the next few days, weeks and months. We have so many more ideas from so many different bands and genres. Indeed if you have any ideas, then let us know