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Henry Rollins has an interesting and
colorful past. In December 2004 IFC premiered a show called "Henry"s Film
Corner”. He"s also the former lead singer of a punk rock band called Black Flag. Rollins is
a comedian, social commentator and a writer.
There"s no guessing as to
what side of the political fence his lawn chair is on, and that"s perfectly fine
with me. I found myself nodding approvingly about many of his
comments, noting how close to my own thinking they are.
While I like
the format of the show, I wish it were longer. I love the fact that Rollins has one
speaking guest and one musical guest per show. It is wonderful that the musical guest can take as
much time as they need to express themselves. It’s perfect.
Rollins starts each show with a
monologue which shows no ambiguity at all about his political and social
beliefs. He tells it like he sees it, unashamed and unapologetically. Critic Steve Huey described him as “a
post-punk renaissance man”. We
need more Renaissance men and women speaking out in society today.
Episode One
In this episode Rollins
interviews Marilyn Manson. One thing I notice is Henry sits on the edge of his
sofa in rapt attention while his guest is speaking. He’s very often leaning on
the balls of his feet as if readying himself to jump to his feat and shout a
resounding “Amen” with fists pumping enthusiastically in the air. The simple set
consists of two sofas, one for him and one for his guest opposite his and books
on shelves and tables in the background. It’s new Renaissance indeed.
Manson talked very
poignantly and intimately about his 4-year hiatus from recording, which finally resulted
in “Eat Me Drink Me”. He spoke of his personal crisis that many deep feelers,
creators and thoughtful people have when they are in touch with their mortality, questioning where they are in their lives. I am glad to hear this
questioning, and obvious pain, led to a new creation instead of him walking away
from his craft forever.
There was a monologue from
Jeanine Garafalo called the “Disquistion” where she observes that she does not
do e-mail. I think she’d be very happy with quill and parchment—and happy to
tell you how happy she is about that—as if it matters to anyone. I’m still
scratching my head on how I feel about that bit of a rant. Am I supposed to
feel guilty or less of a person that I “do e-mail”? I’m moving on before I spend
too much time away from Henry. He’s the star, and a bright one at that.
The musical guest was
“Peaches”. No warm and fuzz there.
Episode Two
Henry’s guest is Ben
Stiller. Henry’s commentary was on “blogging”, another new-age substitute for
social connection. I agree with him in that so many people hide behind “virtual”
personalities as a way to replace actual loneliness with virtual loneliness.
While the internet allows us to be “connected” to so many people, the true human
connection is lacking. I like to see people’s faces and hear their voices.
Ben Stiller spoke of his
Star Trek “geekiness” while visiting William Shatner’s house. He’s lucky he can
get an invite to his house at all. I wouldn’t. I’m not a movie star. Maybe if I
do some creative visualization I’ll get an invite to my “d’object de fandom’s
house”. What struck me about Ben is how serious he is about being funny. He
admitted that he’s very intense, almost too intense and a bit anal when it comes to knowing his character’s motivation and making sure that scenes make logical
sense. I think he’s one of the most underrated comedic actors around. However,
what he lacks in high ratings and critical acclaim, his films make up for in
the box office.
Henry did his “Letters from
Henry” segment which featured a letter to new Hollywood
residents David Beckham and his wife “Posh Spice”. I laughed when he said at
the age of 32 you are considered to be washed up (in soccer) and he’s been
washed up since then himself but you get used to it. Henry is 46.
His musical guest was Ryan
Adams and the Cardinals. They performed the very soulful “What Sin Replaces
Love”.
Episode Three
This episode features an
interview with John Waters of “Hairspray”. John champions the underdog in
his films. He said he loves it when losers win like “the fat girl gets the
guy”. He observes that his films are “very moral, very politically correct”.
Henry spoke of video games
in his “day” such as Dungeons and Dragons. He quips “no one got laid and no
one got hurt”.
I loved his bitter-sweet, or
should I say, bitter-funny letter to Toby Keith, which comments on the “Blue of
Collar and the Red of Neck”, “white trash with money”, and the “get-drunk-and-be-somebody” culture that Toby is a part of and sings about. I laughed when he
said that he sings songs that tell people the “best thing they can do is
buy a $40,000 pickup truck on a $30,000 a year salary". This is funny, but
painfully true stuff.
The musical guest was Mars
Volta.
I would like to see Henry Rollins interview Toby Keith. That would be the Shiznit! |
