Dolls are an essential rite of passage. Girls are supposed to love them. Boys are supposed to stay away from them unless they're army soldiers. Then it's ok in limited doses or until the other kids start to make fun of you and call you names and tell you your dad sucks and your bike is lame and your clothes are stupid and your TV isn't big enough and if you don't give over your lunch money you're going to get beat up after school at "the hill" and...anyhow, Dolls are a sensitive matter and it takes sensitive dudes and dudesses to make a band successful with this much emotional baggage. At least it does around here.
Pussycat Dolls - According to the bio I just read, Gwen Stefani, Carmen Electra, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears and Kelly Osbourne have all joined the Pussycat Dolls on stage to be part of their incredible lingerie act. Sometimes when you feel as if the world might be ending, you stop and realize, no, that's just Kelly Osbourne singing. Then you hit the muscle relaxants hard and let Calgon take you away.
Dresden Dolls - German cabaret music never goes out of style. Kids the world over clamor for its...uh, cabaret-ness? DD are a duo--man and woman--who wear weird clothes and make you feel as if music is only effective if you have a nervous breakdown while listening to it. Which is better than music that makes you dance like a jackass!
Demolition Doll Rods - They're from Detroit. At least two of the three of them are women, I think (I've never been to their dressing room). They don't wear a lot of clothes. And they play trashy rock n' roll. One of the members left the group to start a family. Will another leave to start a Blimpie franchise? Opportunities abound.
New York Dolls - These guys would've been huge if cable TV had been more en vogue back in the mid-'70s. Make-up, high-heeled boots, tons of hair, a singer that looked like Mick Jagger but not as old--though these days it's like choosing between Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan--and then the requisite two albums that people say could've been better if they'd been produced right. Everyone saw them live back in the day. Which must be news to the living members of the band--and probably the dead ones too! Considering they played some pretty small clubs back in the day!
Goo Goo Dolls - They ruined Paul Westerberg and the Replacements for an entire generation. But the Goo Goos' teen drama rock really strikes chords (musical pun, that one) with young people who watch teen drama shows. Personally, they make me want to stick my head in the oven. To clean it, of course.