i saw rollins last night in durham…i’ve always wanted to see him doing a spoken word tour and was greatly entertained…this man blasted on the platic and duct tape nonsense, the woman doing victoty laps over her husband, j lo, politics and lots of other topics for over three hours…if you do not know anything about him check out his website henryrollins.com…or just do a search of his name if that isnt right…
FWIW, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, today’s his 42nd birthday.
Rollins needs to go away and not come back till he evolves a thumb. I’m surprised he has the cranial capacity to even speak at all.
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
You have a reason for that opinion other than his physical stature?
hrh
Rollins seems like a nice enough fellow, but I haven’t really liked his spoken word shows that I saw on Comedy Central. He’s buff and should be talking about killing people but instead he comes off as a real sissy.
A few years ago I was working for a concert promoter and I had the pleasure of working two of Mr. Rollins’ spoken word shows. Picked him up from the airport, brought him to the venue, hung out after the show until it was time for me to drive him to the hotel. The impression I got from him after hanging out with him all day is that 1) he’s a name dropper and 2) he’s a little intimidated by women…mainly TALL women (of which I am an example). All day he was telling stories to the people working at the venue and he seemed to come alive when people were hanging on his every word, asking him questions. But whenever I came around to see if he needed anything he seemed to get a little shy. But he was very nice to me and we chatted about the weather and we both mentioned that autumn was our favorite time of year…when I dropped him off in front of the hotel he took the time to thank me by name and shook my hand and I drove away feeling that he was genuinely a nice guy, perhaps a little lonely. I personally loved his spoken word performances. The audiences were enthralled, not a sound was heard except for his voice until the very end when he brought together all of his thoughts and suddenly the room was filled with thunderous applause. I’d definitely see him again if I ever had the opportunity
I think Rollin’s work with Black Flag was great, and The Rollins Band’s “Weight” is among my favorite albums. That being said, I really have a hard time liking the guy much. “Get Off The Van” was a couple hundred pages of him whining about how no one works as hard as he does and how nobody appreciates him. I tried reading a couple of his poetry works and thought they were awful, and the segments of his spoken word concerts that I’ve seen have gotten tiresome very quickly. On “Full Metal Challenge” he always seemed friendly to the contestants and genuinely concerned with how they did, but then he’d do those stupid forced rants about how much he loved the destruction. He always seems to be trying so hard to represent himself as some rebel rocker, like everyone else has sold out but him. I’m never sure whether he has a huge ego, or just feels that he needs to project that he has a huge ego to keep up his rebel persona. Either way, for me it really detracts from the great work he has done.
I like Rollins…period.
I just saw him in Indy a few weeks back. I enjoyed it, although I agree he is a name dropper.
He also talked about being in Bad Boys 2 as a fringe character, and I have no respect for that. Here he is saying he’s not a sellout and then he gets a bit part in that type of movie? No no.
His funniest bit was when he suggested that Winona should jump naked on a trampoline to entertain our troops as a way to pay her debt to society for being a theif.
I’ve never heard him claim not to be a sellout. I’ve heard him admit to it on one of his spoken word CDs, I think it was “The Boxed Life.” He’s done Gap ads. He does voice over for some car company (I forget which). So he’s not quite as hard core as when he was in Black Flag, and he knows it. I still enjoy his spoken word, to a point, although I’m just not as angry as I used to be. It helps to be angry, otherwise, you just won’t get it, IMHO.
hrh
He was talking about trying not to sell out before he told the Bad Boys story.
It doesn’t matter, I still like him.
Hmm… can’t say he’s done a very good job of it. I like him too, though…
hrh
sell out? sell out? what the fuck? its his job, big deal if any of you agree with it or not. when did he say he would play for retatrded kids and hardly amke any money for the rest of his life? when? as faras beinga name dropper, thats part of his show, to tell about his life and his view on events…in order to do that he has to tell baot actors and whatnot hes come in contact with…sheesh…
and to eternal, have you never read any of his books? killing galore and also you may want to check out a spoken word that isnt on comedy central, he talks about plenty insane shit…as far as being a sissy, give me a break…somehow i just doubt that…even though he may try to the lonliest person around some things he says really are on the money and the entire point is that he is acting in a way…entertaining…who cares if he is in bad boys? i mean really, i would fucking do it to, just to act and have achnce to make an extra dollar…what the hell…
I never said that I was outraged, or even that I gave half a flying shit that he’s sold out. I like him, but he HAS sold out, and I’d do it too.
hrh
I liked “Night Visions”…
i’m confused…humor me please…how has he sold out?
Perhaps “sold out” is a wrong term. He seemed to me, in his youth, to be all about living outside the “system.” Black Flag was about making music he loved. His spoken and written words still have integrity. But he’s done ads for the Gap, voiceovers for (I think) Mercedes and other companies, he’s taken small parts in shitty movies that certainly paid well, but have no real value. He’s not a “sell-out” in the sense of completely turning his back on his ideals, but he’s doing things JUST to make money. I have NO problem with it. I’d do it too, as I’ve said. Ya gotta pay the mortgage, after all…
hrh
Bindrah, please don’t take this the wrong way – but how old are you? I only ask because when I was 18-20, angry and full of ideals, I LOVED Rollins. I read three of his books and saw him live several times, listened to Big Ugly Mouth and Live at McCabes all the time. But nowadays, I just don’t find him to be very relevant any more for whats going on in my life/head.
And I agree with the “sellout” thing. I think Hrhomer hit it. You wouldn’t begrudge Kid Rock for his role in some crappy movie for the same reasons…he’s stated that he’s all about the money. Rollins always seemed like (until 1990/1991) that he was all about ideals and always ragged on stupid shit that bothered him. Then fours years later he’s playing a cop in a movie starring Charlie Sheen. It just seems like exactly the thing he would have blasted five or ten years earlier.
Having said all that, I don’t fault him for his choices, I would do the same thing to make money. It’s just that IMO if you make those choices you can’t really expect to keep the same fans you had when you were of a different mindset.
I don’t really know (or care) if he’s a sellout. I just find most of his spoken-word stuff to be self-indulgent pseudo-intellectual rambling. Black Flag was great.
well, i’m actually almost 30 years old and i have two children…so more or less my ideals are sticking witrh me…i’ve enjoyed rollins for over 15 years and i will until i die…i’m not a fan, i’m just smart enough to see that one cannot tour the country in a broken down van making no maoney at all…he’s a grown man and has stuck with most everything he’s ever been about… a movie is a movie, it isnt real. i think its insanely hilarious that he plays a cop…i mean come on, can you see a more fitting role for rollins? PLAYING a cop in a film…ha, so sweet…as faras his spoken word being self indulgent, give me a break…isnt that obvious…i mean it is his spoken word, it would have to be a little about himself, no wouldnt it? as far as black flag goes, he didn’t write half the shit so lets look at that for what it was…
just to clear it up, i have all his books and many of his albums, what he says is still relevant to me, laughing about bill oreilly is ageless, so how can you say that doesnt fit in your life? you dont do politics? he is much more than stories baout killing and rants about the rock star life…i’m sorry you cannot see that…maybe you dont absorb what you read…rollins still rags on shit that bothers him and he still has ideals, i just cannot see how making a living is selling out, that is so lame…if he started drinking and fucking everything that moved, i’d say he sold himself out, but acting and playing a role, i just do not see it…quote lryics and words and i will change my mind, until then, i say he is still rollins and is making a living…sold out…haha…and you ask how old i am, as if that would make any of this relevant…i’ve changed over the years, but not that much, it was never a phase for me…