Rollins on IFC

Rollins on IFC
www.ifc.com

last night I watched a Henry Rollins Spoken Word piece on IFC
it was pretty cool
it effected me in a number of ways

I had felt like I had outgrown Henry Rollins by the time he started the Rollins Band
in my teens I caught a number of his spoken word shows at DC Space and had seen various incarnations of Black Flag at community centers and the old 9:30 Club
Pearce Hall being the most memorable of these shows... although there are moments from the other shows that stand out
but for some reason I felt like the angst and anger of Rollins was more for my teenage self and I did not need any of his fresh material
after all... DAMAGED and it Tipper Gore labeled anti-parent lyrics offered me the emotion when I needed it
the work of Rollins was always on my radar but never on my playlist
my tastes had migrated

the climax of this Henry Rollins Spoke Word piece last night had to be his emotional recount of the war in Iraq
the words Henry shared about meeting the troops at Walter Reed hospital were very powerful
this show touched me in a way that CNN and FOX can not
although I am and always have been strongly against the war in Iraq
seeing this show last night affirmed this and reminded me how our nation has failed to put the human element onto this war

in the early stages of this war the Bush government refused any photos of coffins or US bodies
the people did not see the war as anything but numbers
numbers be they high or be they low do not tell the real story
to me the story is in the eyes of the mothers, the fathers, the brothers... sisters... and children of the victims
Henry has seen these eyes and he has been moved
in this spoken word piece Henry shares his intense emotions with the live crowd and the at home viewers

it is true that the packaging that Henry Rollins presents is not for mass consumption
not everyone would be open to Henry's energetic perspective
but I think that it would be healthy for everyone to be reminded of the reality of war
it is more than tanks and missiles with airplanes flying overhead
it is men and women
most of which are really just children who are not yet adults
many of which will die before they get to become adults
some of which will live out their lives with their bodies and/or brains scarred by the brutality of war