$9.60  Do I Come Here Often? (Black Coffee Blues, Pt. 2) - Book |
$8.25  Black Coffee Blues - Book |
$10.47  Broken Summers - Book |
$11.56  See a Grown Man Cry, Now Watch Him Die - Book |
$9.00  Solipsist - Book |
 [Larger view] | Smile, You're Traveling (Black Coffee Blues Part 3)
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Average user rating:  | |
| Lighten Up Just A Little, Henry! | |
| Henry Rollins would probably be aghast if he ever read what I'm about to say, but here goes: I've found all of his books and spoken word performances to be both entertaining and surprisingly humorous and I usually hang on every word contained therein, but Rollins just seems so morose (OK, more morose than usual) and down on the world in this one that it makes me wonder if he needs to be shielded from all sharp instruments and have his shoelaces removed before he does some real damage to himself. I, too, find dealing with the general public on a daily basis to be tiring but damn, Henry, to paraphrase something you once said: if you hate people with such venom you're already giving them way too much of yourself. Rollins' commentary on the British tourists he encountered on his trip to Africa, however, are downright hilarious and the single-minded devotion he shows toward Black Sabbath is admirable. Loses one star for depressing the hell out of me. | |
 Henry brings you the world. | |
| It's funny how people in the western world have become so thoroughly accustomed to fakes. People without the mental energy to take that small leap to reality are shocked that they've actually purchased a book off the modern shelves written by someone willing to be completely human in his prose. Readers not smart enough to realize how attuned they've become to charlatans whine that there are "contradictions," even "hypocrisies" in the text. Almost every other nonfiction book about a person's life or actions, biographical or autobiographical, provides a one-dimensional, public-validated, fake version of the subject. So a REAL human comes off as "contradictory" for those who can't escape their media training. How would those critics hold up if they were to keep a journal and be completely, brutally honest about what they were feeling and how they saw the world? There would be much LESS consistency than in Henry's fantastic books about seeing places that most of his readers will never get to see. Humans feel both good and bad. Yin and yang, babydoll. I'd highly suspect anyone trying to come off real who DOESN'T display a few double standards. That's the way we all are. I sure am -- and so are you. Awesome days alternate with utter travesties. Henry pulls no punches, and he doesn't lie to his journal. It's addictive, fascinating, warm, funny and galvanizing to read about where our collective friend has been and what he thinks. He happens to be superintelligent and he has a perspective based on experiences at the top of the mountain alternating with being burnt in the lava inside the cone. No hypocrisies...just a human being, willing to let it all hang out and show his readers why they should realize, every day, that they're ALIVE. Thanks again, Henry. For everything. For the fantastic books, for the wonderful Black Flag tribute album in support of the WM3, for all the hard work you do. It's inspiring and exactly what some of these feeble minds need. ALSO RECOMMENDED: Broken Summers by HR. | |
| Reality Check | |
| In his third installment of the Black Coffee Blues series (Black Coffee Blues and Do I come here Often?) Our favorite American boy (Henry Rollins) uses frequent flyer miles to visit Africa after his stay in England to see a reunited Black Sabbath. "I WAS A SPAZ" quotes Rollins. His journal entries on the serenity of Africa will make you envision what he saw on his journey. His use of language to describe everything is excellent. A must have series for anyone that has an intellect. Simply amazing. |
