Henry Rollins, free 2-hour talk in PDX. (x-posted to Oregon)

[Rabblevox]

Hopefully you are both old enough to know about Henry Rollins, and young-in-spirit enough to appreciate him.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rollins

He'll be at 2nd Ave. Records in downtown Portland, OR tomorrow between 4-6 pm, reading from his newest book, titled, ironically "Occupants".
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514niCurIlL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

http://www.2ndavenuerecords.com/
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2011/10/21/henry-rollins-takin-pictures-signin-books

http://www.amazon.com/Occupants-Henry-Rollins/dp/1569768153


He got his start as the front-man for punk/political group "Black Flag" in the 80's, and has consistently been one of the most fierce, coherent, and intellectual voices from the left. Here is his most recent column about the Occupation:

I was in Washington, D.C., a few days ago. I spent part of an afternoon at Liberty Plaza, watching the sidewalks fill up with people carrying sleeping bags and food. They were ready for a prolonged stay. I watched the police spreading out, with teams on corners, their faces grimly set. It hit me how serious all this has become.

I emerged from Penn Station hours ago here in Manhattan. Lots of cops clutching the heaviest firepower I have ever seen on NYPD. Apparently, Occupy Wall Street protesters were going to be marching.

Is the Occupy protest being taken seriously? Oh yes. The main indicator is how hard and often Fox News pundits and others on television and radio are going after the protesters. Glenn Beck is cross-eyed, with paranoid Method-acting rants. He predicts that he and his ilk will be taken into the streets and done great harm. Doubtful, but his wacky speak may still play to his ever-dwindling demographic, who are definitely to be avoided. The hysterics of the three professors on Fox & Friends are pathetic and forced. It's easy to tell that they're getting their marching orders to fill time, and that it's not going all that well for them. It is funny, however, to watch scripted people attempt to connect words and form sentences on their own and fail so miserably in front of a national audience.

Words cannot express how much I am enjoying witnessing the real fear that is coming from zero-traction hacks like P.J. O'Rourke. He recently buried himself on an episode of HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher when he characterized the protesters as clueless bongo-drum enthusiasts. Then there was Rep. Peter King of New York, who took a break from Islam-bashing to accuse the protesters of being anarchists. Sen. Rand Paul made a fool of himself trying to compare them to a "French mob." Ooh la la!

More:
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/10/henry_rollins_the_column_7.php

[a la izquierda]

1. His spoken word is phenomenal.

He's one person who's given me the courage to travel without fear, and to embrace the world. And I'm a punk rock girl, so of course I love me some Rollins.

[Rabblevox]

2. His spoken word performances are indeed phenomenal, here's a clip from NY last year...

and I get to see him FREEEE tomorrow!!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xViZpyYIo4

[Gregorian]

3. I miss the Rollins Show.

I forget what channel it was on. But he is kind of like a musical Rude Pundit. His remarks durng the Bush years were life savers. I was just looking at the live Dinosaur Jr. show on youtube today.

Man, he sure knows how to boil it down. And I love three chords. But he does it with words as well.

[Rabblevox]

6. Kinda like with 3-chord punk, he proves the genius that can be found in simplicity...

A band does not have to be YES or Styx to produce kick-ass music.

A speaker does not have to sound as intellectual as Chomsky (or the 2 Naomis)in order to rivet their audience.

Sometimes the brilliance is in stripping something right down to it's essence.

[provis99]

4. his put-down of Ann Coulter was an all-time classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgSBhlw-o9E

[Rabblevox]

7. wow! I had not seen that clip before. Spot-on! /nt

[flamingdem]

5. rec for rollins