'That should be me up on that stage'
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I'm not a fan of Black Flag - for me punk had lost its' energy and real meaning by the early eighties. That said, you don't have to be a fan to enjoy this, and enjoy this I certainly did - by turns it is grim and laugh out loud funny, or often both at the same time. A cast of thousands including many from the long forgotten early eighties UK punk scene and of course, the Flag's indigenous scene. An incredibly evocative tale of a lost era.
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Get in the van: on the road with Black Flag
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Had I not fallen in love with Henry Rollins, I would never have read this book. I lived through the [English] punk era and emerged unmoved, so it's not about nostalgia or a belated interest in Black Flag, rather a search for the genesis of the man he is now. Here we get an inkling of the sharp, clever but still angry Rollins of today, minus the self-deprecating observations which make his spoken word outings so funny.
If I were not an admirer, the young Rollins might come across as a self-righteous misanthrope, yet reading this book almost broke my heart. It is not about war or genocide or any of the really awful things that happen to people on a daily basis. It is just Henry Rollins's recollection of the degradation, depression, alienation, loneliness and unremitting grinding slog of being in Black Flag.
The relentless touring of cities and countries, playing in front of often hostile crowds is recounted in graphic and vemon filled detail. He yearned for Black Flag to be taken seriously, but hated the adulation that came with being the front man.
Having said all of the above, this is a compulsive and compelling read with some laugh out loud moments. Had the young Rollins's life been anything other than miserable, he might never have quit his McJob to Get in the Van. The Henry Rollins of today appears remarkably well adjusted in comparison with his young self.
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Amaaaaazing
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This book is hardcore, yes, all you people who think that poison the well and thrice are hardcore, well read this, and you will know what its really all about, DIY ethics all over. Rollins gives a great insight into what touring was like for an american hardcore band back in the 80's, its a great read, buy it now!
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Evil Hank!
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This book is a must for all Rollins fans. This is truly a man of substance (not the snorting kind!).In this book you will find a tortured soul with his guts hanging out for all to see. Motley Crue fans need not apply.
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Exterminate! Exterminate!
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From skinny ice-cream clerk to muscled, tattooed Nietzschean uber-monster, Rollins demonstrates his descent from 'normality' to life alone in a garden shed where he dreams of napalming his audience. Quite whether Rollins ever recovered completely from the psychosis he undoubtedly went through as front man of Black Flag is a moot point. Most people I know still rate him as a frontline nutter with that thousand-yard stare of his, but he does have a perceptive intellect, a versatile imagination and an often hilarious sense of humour (check out his spoken word LPs)and the realisation that the enormous ego needed in captivating an audience has to be balanced by humanity and modesty. Reading it, from eating dog-food sandwiches to all out war with billy-clubbing police and violent thugs at the gigs, then riding coast to coast in a van - playing gigs in shit-holes where they had to fight to get paid on an insane schedule - five hundred mile trip between three cities in twenty four hours - you wonder why none of them ended up in straight jackets. It's an awesome read and the very lack of editing in its diary form that makes it 'raw' and definitely no work of literary art only adds to the adrenaline rush you'll get from the best of it. Some is gutty and hard going though and unless you're a fan you'll find some of the asides repetitive and tedious. But the bands of this era, DOA, FLipper, Circle Jerks et al lived as no other had before or since, and as we all know the Flag were the fastest, hardest, loudest terrormeisters of the lot. I terrorized my neighbours with the rolling thunder of Flag's DAMAGED LP for years! Brilliant photos give you a real feel for the scene too. Buy, read, enjoy!
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