Henry Rollins Interview

Off Topic
21

[quote]supermick wrote:
jacross wrote:
I’d say he probably hasn’t gotten over his best friend being murdered in front of him…well behind him as it were.

I didn’t realise Rollins had an aggressive leftist stance. Up until the Iraq war his opinions were more sociological rather than political. The Libertarian Party is isolationist but I still like them. Maybe being an Aussie it’s not such a defining thing. Do you seperate people into pro and inti Iraq War throughout your day?

Basically, I’ve known about Rollins for years before the Iraq war. His opinion on the war does not define him anymore than any other opinion defines him. I’m quite undecided about the Iraq war, that doesn’t change my love for Rollins in any way.

well, youve gone and picked my points and it seems youve taken them as me critising him. Im not. If i wanted to do that id have started the sentance with ‘that rollins dick is a leftist pussy…blah blah…etc etc’

I was after a reason why people like him, not being critical. It seems he’s many things for many people.

You love him? why? thats what im interested in basically.[/quote]

I merely expressed my opinion that your starting postulate was inaccurate. You seem to have taken that as me criticising you? I’m merely asking why you put forward that postulate and what you based it on.

22

[quote]jacross wrote:
supermick wrote:
jacross wrote:
I’d say he probably hasn’t gotten over his best friend being murdered in front of him…well behind him as it were.

I didn’t realise Rollins had an aggressive leftist stance. Up until the Iraq war his opinions were more sociological rather than political. The Libertarian Party is isolationist but I still like them. Maybe being an Aussie it’s not such a defining thing. Do you seperate people into pro and inti Iraq War throughout your day?

Basically, I’ve known about Rollins for years before the Iraq war. His opinion on the war does not define him anymore than any other opinion defines him. I’m quite undecided about the Iraq war, that doesn’t change my love for Rollins in any way.

well, youve gone and picked my points and it seems youve taken them as me critising him. Im not. If i wanted to do that id have started the sentance with ‘that rollins dick is a leftist pussy…blah blah…etc etc’

I was after a reason why people like him, not being critical. It seems he’s many things for many people.

You love him? why? thats what im interested in basically.

I merely expressed my opinion that your starting postulate was inaccurate. You seem to have taken that as me criticising you? I’m merely asking why you put forward that postulate and what you based it on.

[/quote]

ok your picking an arguement but ill bite -

My 3 examples of why people may like him (you call them postulates) were: -

Aggressive leftist stance: - well, not sure if his aggression comes from being so pro left or anti right - either way its there. Have a look at his letter to Ann Coulter (who i understand is a total right wing nutter). He’s written leftist songs before, is anti war etc etc…

Isolationist - he admits to this in several intervies, including the one above.

Love the iron - Im not explaining this one.

Ok so now you explain to me why you thought i was so off the mark with my comments?
And also, why do you love him?

Thanks.

listen to the interview

23

I don’t believe I’m picking a fight with you, if you feel that the vigorous back and forth of competing ideas is a bad thing, we will have to agree to disagree (a little juxtaposition for yat there).

My problem is with one of your ideas. His aggressive left stance. I don’t believe it is there. He pursues a leftist political position (at least on the Iraq War if you consider that ‘leftist’). The Iraq war is the only political issue he has ever taken a strong view on to date in my opinion. I’d hardly call him an aggressive leftist at all. Perhaps we just have different ideas of what aggressive is. Rollins presents his ideas in an aggressive manner, but his ideas to me never stray far from a centre (or probably having two bob either way) perspective.

To me, an aggressive leftist is Che Guavara, to you an aggressive leftist seems to be somebody who does more than whinges at the dinner table.

You make Henry Rollins out like he is a crusader for socialism (or at least social democracy). I feel that is incorrect. I found nothing in the Ann Coulter letter that would make me think otherwise. Most rightwing people I know think Ann Coulter is full of shit. I think Ann coulter thinks she is full of shit too. I’m a free market capitalist and I think she is full of shit (my libertarian beliefs may betray me on that though, I’m not sure how you define left and right). All Henry did was offer her an employment opportunity which included shutting the fuck up. All we establish from that is he thinks Ann Coulter is an idiot.

Ann Coulter is hardly the definition of right.

If you have any other evidence please present it to me. If that is all you have to go on then we obviously have fundamentally different views of the world.

As to why I like Henry Rollins. To sum it up in one way would be to cheapen the experience. I don’t like him for one facet, I like him for all facets (the anti war thing doesn’t do much for me as I have been unable to come up with a set view on that, the intensity and passion behind it does do much for me though).

24

[quote]jacross wrote:
I don’t believe I’m picking a fight with you, if you feel that the vigorous back and forth of competing ideas is a bad thing, we will have to agree to disagree (a little juxtaposition for yat there).
[/quote]
very funny. ha ha.

despite the fact he’s written several songs on leftist issues before (id call that active, some would label it assertive, some aggressive). Your turning this into something thats an issue for you and very little else. Youve picked up on one comment i made and have decided not to defend your statement that my ‘postulations’ were wrong on the other comments.

Utter bullshit. Your twisting things and untill i define henry in my own words as ‘a crusader for socialism’ dont label me as doing so.

[quote]
Ann Coulter is hardly the definition of right.

If you have any other evidence please present it to me. If that is all you have to go on then we obviously have fundamentally different views of the world.

As to why I like Henry Rollins. To sum it up in one way would be to cheapen the experience. I don’t like him for one facet, I like him for all facets (the anti war thing doesn’t do much for me as I have been unable to come up with a set view on that, the intensity and passion behind it does do much for me though). [/quote]

pal,

i was after reasons why people liked henry. yes, i do believe the examples i gave and you seem to think im directing an insult or something. Ive clearly stated im not - i dont give a fuck what persuasion he is politically (If you listen to some you tube vids, he does actually hint he voted democrat though) and to say rollins isnt aggressive??? - well maybe we do have different views but to listen to his rants in addition to his ‘shut the fuck up’ message im fairly sure that would count.

Im not sure what your problem is? I stated that all i was after were peoples reasons why Henry seems to be admired so much. Im not interested in attacking him, or peoples reasons for liking him.

So far youve said you have love for him and the reasons behind that is due to his passion and intensity on views that you dont necessarily agree with.

great.

25

[quote]swivel wrote:
supermick wrote:
ok…

im not going to quest rollins in any way as i realise the likelyhood of a lynchin is fairly high, but im interested to know what you guys find appealing about him? His aggressive leftist stance? The fact he seems to be an isolationist and love the iron?
This is by no means a ‘why the fuck is he so special?’ - im just a nosey bastard.

mick

i think he has a rare integrity throughout his music, his word gigs, his writings, and his tv show. it’s always the same henry coming through all of those mediums, no matter what project he’s working on. in short rollins believes in what he does and if he didn’t believe it he wouldn’t do it. that and the sheer amount of work he does insires me to get off my ass, avoid the window dressings of life like a plague, and get to the essense of living.

[/quote]

essense of living? you think henry rollins has that figured out?

i’ll give the guy a shitload of credit for his work ethic and for the way he attacks his life. i admire that because that should be an aspect of everyone’s life. without it, you’re just a failure.

but THAT is not the essense of living. the essense of living is what you do to help other people. it’s your devotion to other people, your family primarily. it’s not a devotion to work or a burning desire to make music or movies or publish or host a TV show, produce or direct. the essense of living is not your work.

i think it’s proven by his almost rueful statements about not having a girlfriend. he dresses it up a bit then talks about what he does not like in women. but there is a pause there and he actually says, ‘i’d like to have a girlfriend.’ i think THAT’S the real guy! and i also think that kind of feeling is what drives him so hard. he’s a lonely guy.

but i like him. i like him a lot. i hate his music. i don’t think he has much talent. i don’t agree with him politically…at ALL. i think he’d probably look down his nose at they way i live my life and what my priorities are. maybe not. i don’t know. but i like the guy for ONE REASON. it’s the reason that i like most people that i like. he is NOT full of shit. he really believes everything he says and it shows. i respect that. no matter if i agree or disagree. more power to him.

26

[quote]Hack Wilson wrote:
essense of living? you think henry rollins has that figured out?

[/quote]

i said he inspires ME to get to the essence of living and i think that’s a good statement. “essence” being "essential, neccesary, fundamental, basic ". when you have no family, no girlfriend etc. the essence of living is keeping yourself alive and productive. rollins has done that and beyond. he’s not only alive and productive but he’s living the life that he wants and, i can’t speak for him, but it would seem without compromise.

i don’t disagree that the “essence”, the basics, to you may be quite different. especially if you grew up with a sense of family or have a family you care for now. some people don’t and more importantly never did. and many, many people in that situation turn lazy in life, self destructive, and addict themselves to whatever kind of escape though self-medication. i think rollins definitely has had his self-destructive periods which he has bridled, and put to work for him.

without a family, to look forward to or back on, it’s tough to stay alive. it’s just you and a shitty world that beats on you with no relief. henry’s “essence” is to stay alive and like it. it doesn’t get any more basic than that.

i identify with rollins personally because my life is much the same. there’s definitely times when i say to myself something like " how the fuck am i gonna keep myself going for the next 80 years ?" and i’ve gotten alot of inspiration from him in that regard, particularily in getting stupid stuff and stupid people out of my life, and things that i actually want in.

you’re right though rollin’s life is lonely and disconnected. it follows that his essence, and his method, are not for everyone.

27

I like Rollins because he’s straight. He’s more eloquent than I am about why it’s a good idea to be sober, and he makes it clear that you don’t need to be in some kind of club or clique, or be in AA, or be Christian or anything like that to be sober. The guy’s a total bad-ass and he doesn’t do a thing, he’s the best example of how you don’t need to do drugs, smoke or drink to be cool. It takes more strength to be straight and face all the hardships of life on your own, instead of escaping through drugs or booze.

Haha, it’s like he said himself: I’ve got no time for drug addiction, no time for smoke and booze. Too strong for a shortened lifespan, I’ve got no time to lose! It’s hero time, it’s time to shine.

In addition, he sort of reminds me of myself. We both really just want a good woman in our lives. Seriously, if you read Rollins’ written work, that seems to be the underlying theme behind all of his anger. He’s lonely as hell, it drives him to do all of this stuff, but he’s still lonely and unsatisfied at the end of it all. He can’t find women that stick around or are worth putting time into. I can identify, because trying to find an 18 to 20 year old woman(I’m 20) that doesn’t list drinking as her main outlet for fun is becoming nigh impossible. Which isn’t to say I’m a t-totaller. I’ll drink on rare occasions with good friends, but if you ask me what I do for fun, that won’t be on my list. It’s just not important, and I’m not attracted to women who think they’re going to impress me by letting me know how ‘cool’ they are.

28

If I implied that I meant all your postulates I apologise, I was addressing the first postulate (aggressive leftist stance).

I don’t believe you are insulting him, and I am not trying to accuse you of that or anything else. I merely believe that your beliefs on the first issue are a distortion of the truth.

What you have given to me, I don’t feel lines up as an ‘aggressive’ leftist stance. You have since given me other words such as assertive or proactive. That I can buy.

For the record, voting democrat is hardly an aggressive leftist stance. He didn’t vote at all in 2000, and hypothetically if I lived in USA and Michael Badnarik didn’t exist, I would have voted democrat as well (which just goes to show the terrible state of politics in the USA).

We don’t really have a problem here mate, I just disagreed with your assertion. I didn’t want to make a big deal of it, so let’s not.

I’ll give you a rebuttal issue. Guns. Despite his friend being murdered in front of him (well technically behind him as I said) with a gun, he does not maintain a view that guns should be legislated against. He sort of can’t make up his mind between the two sides on that one. Hardly an aggressive leftist stance.

Anyway, irrelevent. If somebody likes him for his Iraq war views or some ‘let’s be nice to the poor people through taxation’ view then good for them.

Like I said, calm down ya blarney, it’s not a big deal.

29

[quote]Hack Wilson wrote:
but i like the guy for ONE REASON. it’s the reason that i like most people that i like. he is NOT full of shit. he really believes everything he says and it shows. i respect that. no matter if i agree or disagree. more power to him.[/quote]

Yeah, that sums up my feelings. He puts himself out there, and is not afraid to expose his weakness and strength in front of the public, which is a rare quality that takes some balls.

30

[quote]swivel wrote:
Hack Wilson wrote:
essense of living? you think henry rollins has that figured out?

i said he inspires ME to get to the essence of living and i think that’s a good statement. “essence” being "essential, neccesary, fundamental, basic ". when you have no family, no girlfriend etc. the essence of living is keeping yourself alive and productive. rollins has done that and beyond. he’s not only alive and productive but he’s living the life that he wants and, i can’t speak for him, but it would seem without compromise.

i don’t disagree that the “essence”, the basics, to you may be quite different. especially if you grew up with a sense of family or have a family you care for now. some people don’t and more importantly never did. and many, many people in that situation turn lazy in life, self destructive, and addict themselves to whatever kind of escape though self-medication. i think rollins definitely has had his self-destructive periods which he has bridled, and put to work for him.

without a family, to look forward to or back on, it’s tough to stay alive. it’s just you and a shitty world that beats on you with no relief. henry’s “essence” is to stay alive and like it. it doesn’t get any more basic than that.

i identify with rollins personally because my life is much the same. there’s definitely times when i say to myself something like " how the fuck am i gonna keep myself going for the next 80 years ?" and i’ve gotten alot of inspiration from him in that regard, particularily in getting stupid stuff and stupid people out of my life, and things that i actually want in.

you’re right though rollin’s life is lonely and disconnected. it follows that his essence, and his method, are not for everyone.

[/quote]

fair enough. you made good points about family and some people not having that, etc. made me think about it and i think you are right on here. thanks. i learned something.

i think i admire the guy even more now.

31

[quote]The_Rabbi wrote:
I like Rollins because he’s straight. He’s more eloquent than I am about why it’s a good idea to be sober, and he makes it clear that you don’t need to be in some kind of club or clique, or be in AA, or be Christian or anything like that to be sober. The guy’s a total bad-ass and he doesn’t do a thing, he’s the best example of how you don’t need to do drugs, smoke or drink to be cool. It takes more strength to be straight and face all the hardships of life on your own, instead of escaping through drugs or booze.

Haha, it’s like he said himself: I’ve got no time for drug addiction, no time for smoke and booze. Too strong for a shortened lifespan, I’ve got no time to lose! It’s hero time, it’s time to shine.

In addition, he sort of reminds me of myself. We both really just want a good woman in our lives. Seriously, if you read Rollins’ written work, that seems to be the underlying theme behind all of his anger. He’s lonely as hell, it drives him to do all of this stuff, but he’s still lonely and unsatisfied at the end of it all. He can’t find women that stick around or are worth putting time into. I can identify, because trying to find an 18 to 20 year old woman(I’m 20) that doesn’t list drinking as her main outlet for fun is becoming nigh impossible. Which isn’t to say I’m a t-totaller. I’ll drink on rare occasions with good friends, but if you ask me what I do for fun, that won’t be on my list. It’s just not important, and I’m not attracted to women who think they’re going to impress me by letting me know how ‘cool’ they are.[/quote]

nice post. i’m older than you, 37. i’ve been through a lot of what i read in your post and i want to tell you: it get’s better. it is hard to meet a woman like you described at this point in your life. it’s the age when what matters are things that - really - DON’T matter. but, when you are 20-something, you haven’t figure that out yet. well, THEY haven’t. you have, it seems.

years ago i WAS you, man. dating some woman who into stuff i just was not into. but i got into them to be with her. i drank to be with her. i watched her smoke and went to bars and drove drunk and watched her get into drugs. but i kept thinking she was going to change, become the girl i met when we were 18. took me years to realize that THIS was who she was. these were her priorities and i had to get away from her before they became mine.

i went through a ‘fat and drunk’ period when i was with this woman, after she became what she really is. when she started being real with me. it lasted a few years. a few years of stagnation and lost productivity. i’d break-up with her and get back. over and over.

then one day it knew i was done. i KNEW it for the first time and i just walked away. didn’t tell her. just got out. a few months later she figured out i was gone and that i wasn’t coming back this time. she went nuts, of course. promised this and that. i kept on going. she’s still in the same place. a loser. it’s who she is and i saw that and FINALLY got smart.

this was 10 years ago. when i got rid of her i immediately stopped drinking. not a drop in 10 years. i lost 50 pounds of fat and started working out again. got into olympic lifting and powerlifting. never thought i would but i started winning things, accomplishing things. started a new career and in short order became - for me - a great success. met a great, beautiful, educated woman. got married. had a kid. life is great.

be true to what you want and who you are. it may not be my stuff. but you will be happy. i have everything i ever wanted. it started with losing that bitch. don’t even get started with someone you know is wrong just have someone.

32

Good on you Hack. I’m 21 and ambitious too. Glad you’ve moved towards what matters to you. (with or without Henry Rollins)

33

Wasn’t Henry Rollins Time Life Man of the year sometime in the late 80’s early 90’s?

34

Great post, Hack.

35

the vid that started this thread was from '95. here’s rollins doing an online q & a earlier this year.