Henry Rollins--My Friend

Recently, I have decided to give Mr. Henry Rollins another chance. Back in the mid 90s—when I first was discovering music—I came across one on Henry’s spoken word albums; it changed my life for the worst. After hearing Henry’s thoughts towards culture, I then decided it was my duty—at the age of twelve—to become a flaming liberal/progressive. Being a progressive was not what I envisioned it would be. Honestly, I thought that being a progressive meant hanging out with hot chicks, drinking tons of beer, and doing tons of drugs. I was wrong. Being a liberal/progressive meant complaining about everything, hating the Midwest, and developing a myopic world view. Frankly, it was my pleasure seeking attitude that lead me to respect Henry Rollins.

Ten years later, watching television, I saw my hero—Henry Rollins—talking to another hypocrite by the name of Gore Vidal. At this time in my life, I had discovered that at a younger age I was ignorant when it came to human nature. Well, after listening to Henry recite the usual clichés geared towards George Bush and Conservatives, I found myself thinking about how an undeveloped and narcissistic mind—or many for that manner—has the potential to poison our societal well.

In an effort to relive my glory years, I decided to listen to one of Henry’s spoken words. To my recollection, this shit was revolutionary; in hindsight, this shit was bullshit.

However, with my old age coming into factor, I have decided to give Henry another chance. How I will reconnect with Henry has yet to be determined; it might be something as small as watching his music video LIAR on youtube. Anyways, I must say that much of my potential rereverence for the man has to do with seeing him on FX’s critically acclaimed series Son’s of Anarchy. In the series, Henry plays a Neo-Nazi who--in this seaon's first episode--rapes a female. I guess rape is something Henry has always had an inclination towards; he certainly raped my impressionable soul when I was young.