Probably Over Half Of America Does Not Have A Passport. If Young People Could Spend Two Weeks Of Their Life In India Or Pick An African Country To Go To For 2-3 Weeks And Really See How Life Can Be. That Might Be A Real Good Thing Because I Think They Would See Things Even If The Trip Was A Nightmare. I Think They Might Understand More Of The Mechanics Of The World.

-Henry Rollins

Please Wait....
Translating....

Probably Over Half Of

Henry Rollins

Topic

Country

Real

Thinking

More From Henry Rollins

All By Yourself, Unable To Express The Pain Of Your Distress With Your Deeper Inside. You Alienate Yourself And Everybody Else.

Pain

Revenge

Retribution

When People Make My Country Look Bad, I Can't Stand It.

Country

People

Looks

I'm Not Into Fame. I'm Not Into Making Money, Outside Of Financing My Books. I'm Not Into Status. My Thing Is Basically About Time - Not Wasting It.

Book

Making Money

Fame

I Don't Hate People - Not Remotely Other Than They Make You Crazy In Traffic, But As I Get Older I Kind Of See More And More Why People Do What They Do.

Hate

Crazy

People

When I Am In Africa, I Realize I Don't Know Much, Have Not Seen Much, And There's A Lot To Be Done.

Done

Realizing

Knows

Quite Often People Will Get An Animal Which Is Probably Not A Good Idea For Them To Have. They Get It Out Of Enthusiasm, There Is A Genuine Interest, But Sometimes They're Not Exactly Prepared For What They're Getting Themselves Into.

Animal

Ideas

People

Not That The Writers Weren't Good. I Believe In Those Books And Those Writers Very Much. It's Just That In The Climate It's Really Hard To Keep The Lights On And The Doors Open When You're Selling Poetry And Literature That Appeals To A Fringe Audience.

Believe

Book

Light

I Beg Young People To Travel. If You Don't Have A Passport, Get One. Take A Summer, Get A Backpack And Go To Delhi, Go To Saigon, Go To Bangkok, Go To Kenya. Have Your Mind Blown. Eat Interesting Food. Dig Some Interesting People. Have An Adventure. Be Careful. Come Back And You're Going To See Your Country Differently, You're Going To See Your President Differently, No Matter Who It Is. Music, Culture, Food, Water. Your Showers Will Become Shorter. You're Going To Get A Sense Of What Globalization Looks Like.

Summer

Country

Travel

My First Introduction To African Music Was By My Mother, Who Bought The 'pata Pata' Album By The Great Miriam Makeba When It Came Out. Now That Is An Album. What A Voice.

Mother

Voice

Albums

I Have Always Thought That Change You Can See And Feel Is Best.

Feels

Am I Self-righteous? Why Not? It's Not Like I Can Count On You To Be Righteous For Me.

Self

Alcohol

Why Not

I Hate Painting With A Broad Brush, But I Think The Birther Thing, At Its Root, Is Racist. The Guy Was Born In Hawaii. A Black Guy Is President. It's Cool. Get Over It. Just Deal With It. There's Nothing You Could Show These Birther People That Would Shut Them Up.

Hate

Thinking

Roots

Each Year, Every City In The World That Can Should Have A Multiday Festival. More People Meeting Each Other, Digging New Types Of Music, New Foods, New Ideas. You Want To Stop Having So Many Wars? This Could Be A Step In The Right Direction.

War

Years

Cities

Americans Should Demand Real News, More Transparency And More Truth.

Real

News

Demand

There's No Rule That You Have To Like Henry Rollins The Musician Or The Actor.

Musician

Actors

I'll Never Forget How The Depression And Loneliness Felt Good And Bad At The Same Time. Still Does.

Depression

Loneliness

Feel Good

Why Do You Think The Old Stories Tell Of Men Who Set Out On Great Journeys To Impress The Gods? Because Trying To Impress People Just Isn't Worth The Time And Effort.

Journey

Men

Thinking

I Get A Lot Of Shit Because I Put "i" In The Lyrics All The Time. The "i" Is Always For Someone Else... When I Say "i," It's So That When That Person Is Singing Along With The Song, It Empowers Them.

Song

Empowering

Singing

Without The Blues, Modern Music Would Be Nothing Like It Is Now - Not Remotely.

Would Be

Modern

Modern Music

The Only Thing Worse Than The Pastor Terry Jones Scheduled Koran Burning Is The Fact That He Canceled The Proposed Event.

Past

Facts

Events

The Ninja, As You Know, Operates By Stealth. And So, Case In Point: I Put Out Records... No One Hears Them! I Make Videos... (whispers) No One Sees! I Go On Tour.... (whispers) No One Knows! Ninja! I Was Never Here!

Video

Records

Goes On

With Age, Life Becomes Complex And Difficult, Often Fraught With Risk On Several Levels, From The Practical To The Fiscal.

Risk

Age

Levels

It Has Been Hard To Get My Head Around How Justice Antonin Scalia Rationalizes His Decisions. His Body Blow To The Voting Rights Act Was A Head Scratcher, But At Least He Was Calm When He Attempted To Justify His Odd Logic.

Blow

Rights

Justice

When The Movie Comes Out, What Anybody Thinks Of It Doesn't Really Matter To Me. I Don't Go To The Wrap Party. I Don't Go To The Premiere.

Movie

Party

Thinking

Don't Hide Behind The Constitution Or The Bible. If You're Against Gay Marriage, Just Be Honest, Put A Scarlet 'h' On Your Shirt, And Say, 'i Am A Homophobe!'

Gay

Honest

Constitution

For Many Years, My Favorite Director Has Been The Japanese Giant Akira Kurosawa.

Years

Directors

Giants

I Have To Keep Moving I Don't Want To Think I'm Going To Work All Day Today I Don't Want To Stop Don't Want To Let My Brain Catch Up My Thoughts How Will I Be Able To Tell Them That I'm A Shadow A Grey Patch Of Cold Rotting Life

Moving

Thinking

Brain

The Best Compliment I Get Every Year Is That A Band Will Write Me And Say, 'we Were Just On Tour, And We Had People Coming To Our Show Saying They Had Never Heard Us Before They Heard Us On Your Show.'

Writing

Years

People

America Is A Rough Room And You Don't Know What Might Come Your Way, So You Have To Be Prepared For Almost Anything.

America

Might

Way

As A Young Person, I Was On The Road Playing Music, So I Was Getting New Environments Shoved In My Face Whether I Wanted Them Or Not.

Faces

Playing Music

Environment

I Was Never Told To "get Up, Get Out There, Get A Job." It Was Never A Thing Either Parent Ever Said I Had To Do. It Was What I Wanted To Do. I Think I Was Very Interested In Being Away From Them As Much As Possible. Employment Was Great For That.

Jobs

Thinking

Parent

When People Hold You In High Esteem, It's Very Delicate Relationship. When They Meet You They're Putting All Their Chips Up. It's Make Or Break.

People

Make Or Break

Chips

Ramones Music Has A Pavlovian Effect On Me - The Song Starts, And The World Blurs Around The Sound.

Song

Sound

World

I Can Only Write About Personal Stuff, About My Point Of View.

Writing

Views

Stuff

Pride Is A Thing That I Have Tried To Abandon Completely. Try As I Might, Pride Still Creeps Into Many Of The Things I Do.

Pride

Trying

Might

I Listen To Blues Music A Lot And That's A Good Person Feeling Bad And Celebrating That Pain By Releasing It In That Kind Of Joyous Fashion.

Fashion

Pain

Feelings

An Appreciation Of Animals Is Good For A Human, It Can Lead To A Better Understanding And Respect For All Living Things.

Appreciation

Animal

Understanding

Between The Dinosaur Jr. Albums And His Recent Solo Albums, 'several Shades Of Why' And 'heavy Blanket,' J Mascis Is Emerging As One Of The Last Men From All That '80s Indie Madness, Still Writing Songs That You Want To Listen To Over And Over.

Song

Writing

Men

I Think There Will Always Be Great New Music And Bands. As Long As There's People Around, There's Going To Be Great Music. I Think There's Bands Like Wolf Eyes, Q & Not U, The Evens And Many Others That Are Doing Great Stuff. The Music That Doesn't Please You, You Just Don't Listen. No One Makes Me Listen To Nickelback, So Long May They Wave.

Eye

Thinking

Long

Change Is Hard, But Change Is Good.

Change Is Good

Change Is Hard

Hard

Lou Reed's Music Has Been In The Lives Of Millions Of People All Over The World For Decades. He Had A Truly Universal Presence And Was Respected By Musicians Across All Genres.

People

Reeds

Musician

I Really Enjoy The Lattitude I Have With Being A Private Citizen. I Can Get A Lot Done. I Am Good With That.

Citizens

Done

Enjoy

Where There Is Young People And Vitality, You're Going To Find Punk Rock.

Rocks

People

Vitality

People Will Remember That The Tea Party Was Co-opted And Funded By Billion-dollar Corporations, And That It Was Supported By Fox News And Other Outlets With The Same Vigor With Which They Attempt To Denigrate The Occupy Protesters.

Party

People

Tea

But Can A Song Stop A War? If Bob Marley And Bob Dylan Couldn't Do It, It Can't Be Done.

Song

War

Done

I've Enjoyed, To A Certain Extent, Any Country I've Been In, Of Course Like Serbia And Croatia Can Be Very Restrictive And Oppressive, And Frustrating, But They're Still Very Beautiful.

Beautiful

Country

Croatia

I'm Terrified Of Motorcycles. I've Been On One A Couple Of Times. I Did Not Like It.

Couple

Motorcycle

Terrified

Love Beyond The Damage.

Love Is

Damage

Rock N' Roll Unchained A Nation And Revolutionized Radio And The Record Industry, Not To Mention The Motion Picture Business.

Rocks

Records

Radio

Airports In Major Cities, Like Lax, Are Trippy Environments. It Is At Once A National And International Gathering Of Those In Transition: The Euphoric, Emerging From Planes, Their Journey At An End, And The Determined, About To Depart.

Journey

Cities

Airports

America Is A Country Born From Semi-mythologized Blood, Glory And Acts Of Selfless Patriotic Sacrifice.

Country

Patriotic

Sacrifice

The Idea That Any Performer Type Is Owed Anything Is A Joke To Me.

Ideas

Type

Performers

I've Always Seen It As The Role Of An Artist To Drag His Inside Out, Give The Audience All You've Got. Writers, Actors, Singers, All Good Artists Do The Same. It Isn't Supposed To Be Easy.

Artist

Giving

Roles

You Might As Well Enjoy The Day - You Never Know When And How Painfully It Could All End.

Might

Ends

Enjoy

If I Lose The Light Of The Sun, I Will Write By Candlelight, Moonlight, No Light. If I Lose Paper And Ink, I Will Write In Blood On Forgotten Walls. I Will Write Always. I Will Capture Nights All Over The World And Bring Them To You

Wall

Writing

Night

I Am Too Far Gone To Be Rehabilitated.

Gone

I'd Like To Be A Better Writer, But I Have No Dreams To Direct Or Do A Screenplay. And I'd Love To Have A Big Starring Role In A Movie Because The Paycheck Would Be Bigger. That's The Only Reason I Do Films.

Dream

Would Be

Roles

I Slept In Uday Hussein's Bed - That Was Just So Strange. Went To Saddam's Palace, Was In A Mortar Attack - Crazy Stuff. And Like Three Days Later You're Back In Traffic On Sunset Boulevard. It's All Kind Of Behind You, Which Is Kind Of Perfect For A Guy Like Me Because I Can Take That And Turn It Into Quite The Tale.

Crazy

Sunset

Perfect

Its No Surprise To Me That Anyone Hardly Tells The Truth About How They Feel. The Smart Ones Keep To Themselves For Good Reason. Why Would You Want To Tell Anyone Anything That's Dear To You? Even When You Like Them And Want Nothing More Than To Be Closer To Them? It's So Painful To Be Next To Someone You Feel So Strongly About And Know You Can't Say The Things You Want To.

Smart

Want

When I Write Lyrics, It's Only When I'm Angry Or Hurt Or Sad. So Lyrically It's Never Really Easy Going. And The Music Is Always Really Intense.

Hurt

Writing

Intense

You Can't Get Your Head Around Something If You're Yelling.

Yelling

Ifs

I Am A White Guy In America With An Education, Albeit High School, But A Pretty Good One. Another Guy From A Different Demographic Or Different Ethnicity In America Can Look At Me And Say, "you Take A Lot For Granted." Well... Okay. I Just Live In A White Male American Reality, Where I Hear You But I Don't Know If I Necessarily Read You.

School

Reality

Ethnicity

With Writing, There Are Multiple Drafts. On Stage, There Is One Take. I Do A Lot Of Preparation For Shows, So, For The Most Part, What You Hear Me Say Is Pretty Much What I Wanted To Get At.

Writing

Preparation

Stage

I Am Not A Trained Actor And Am Not Near The Top Of Anyone's Want List. I Go After What I Am Offered, If I Am So Inclined. Now And Then, I Get Offers For Things That Are Not To My Liking, In That I Just Don't Care About The Story. All This Super Tough Guy Stuff Isn't Anything That Interests Me All That Much. I Can't Think Of Anything I Turned Down That I Regret.

Regret

Thinking

Guy

All I Have Is Me. Over-worked, Under-appreciated, Middle-aged, And Shriveled Up.

Appreciated

Middle

Middle Aged

Contemporary Bands Often Will Do Tour-only Releases Pressed And Sold Only In Australia. Crikey!

Australia

Band

Release

When You Title Yourself, You Immediately Lend Yourself To All Kinds Of Pretension

Titles

Kind

All Kinds

Mr. Christ, I Read You As An Infinitely Patient Entity Who, As They Say, Often Works In Mysterious Ways, A Rebel Unafraid To Take The Tougher, Less Traveled Paths. Seems To Me You're Playing The Long Game. Is That Why More States Are Coming Out In Favor Of Marriage Equality? Is That Why The Affordable Care Act Is Now With Us?

Games

Long

Care

The First Van Halen Album Makes Johnny Rotten Out To Be What He Really Was And Still Is: A Hairdresser.

Firsts

Albums

Rotten

It Is Instilled In Thousands Of American Males From An Early Age That One Of Their Requirements Is To Be Able To Both Dish Out And Take A Lot Of Pain. They Are Taught The Rules Of This Road In Gyms, Rings, Backyards And Fields All Over America.

Pain

America

Age

We Humans Are Hard To Deal With. We Are A Loud, Complex And Demanding Bunch. Often, We Are Best Dealt With From A Safe Distance And For Only Brief Periods Of Time. This Could Be Why A Lot Of Marriages Fail.

Distance

Safe

Failing

When I Think Of Mick Jagger Still Singing That He Can't Get Any Satisfaction In Over Forty Years Of Being In The Rolling Stones, I Have To Conclude That He's Either Lying Or Not All That Bright.

Lying

Thinking

Years

What Goes Best With A Cup Of Coffee? Another Cup.

Coffee

Cups

Coffee Cup

As Long As I Tell The Truth I Feel That Nobody Can Touch Me.

Long

Telling The Truth

Touch Me

I'm Always Looking Upwards And Looking Forwards And So When Someone Says, "hey, Would You Consider A Tv Show?" I Say, "hell Yeah, I'll Consider That. I'll Check That Out."

Tv Shows

Hey

Tvs

All Of The Things That The Bible Warns You Of Being: Jealous, Covetous, Murderous, Selfish, Etc., That's Kind Of How Humans Are.

Selfish

Jealous

Etc

I Don't Consider Myself An Actor, For Me It's Employment. Like The Actor Who's A Waiter A Lot, I'm An Actor When I'm Not On Tour, In That That's A Job I Can Do.

Jobs

Employment

Actors

I Don't Think You'll Ever Have A Perfect World Because We Humans Are Prone To Error, And So We're Always In Search Of An Upgrade.

Thinking

Errors

Perfect

It's Hard To Get People At A Record Company To Talk About Music. They Don't Seem To Want To Talk About Music, It's All Marketing, And That's Part Of A Record, You Gotta Get It Out There, People Have Gotta Hear It, But You Could Do It In A Way That's Not Repulsive.

People

Marketing

Records

I Hate It When Men Go To Strip Bars. It Lowers The Rest Of Us That Know If A Man Has To Pay To See A Woman Naked, He Is A Loser And Probably Should Get Weeded Out.

Hate

Men

Naked

When You Put Yourself In Environments That Continually Test You, That's Where All The Good Stories Come From. That's Where The Jokes Come From Is From The Shitty Parts.

Stories

Tests

Environment

I Don't Want To Pass Through Life Like A Smooth Plane Ride.

Want

Smooth

Planes

I Want A Soul Mate Who Can Sit Me Down, Shut Me Up, Tell Me Ten Things I Don't Already Know, And Make Me Laugh. I Don't Care What You Look Like, Just Turn Me On.

Hate

Laughing

Soul

In Blues Music, There's A Lot Of Borrowing, So It's Often Difficult To Identify The Originator Of A Song.

Song

Difficult

Blues Music

It's Not Lost On Me That Everyone Dies, But Some People Have A Kind Of Immortality About Them, And You Can't Imagine That They Will Ever Be Gone.

People

Gone

Kind

People Like Jefferson, Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony And M. L. K. Are Larger Than Life To Me. I Find Myself Staring At Photographs Of Lincoln Almost In Disbelief That He Was A Man Who Walked The Earth And Not Merely Some Fiction Writer's Creation.

Men

People

Fiction

I Tend To Gravitate To The Darkest Or Most Obscure Part Of Any Venue In An Effort To Have My Own Space To Experience The Music On My Own, Free From Unwanted Conversations And Other Distractions.

Space

Effort

Obscure

Humans Will Take A Rain Forest And Lose It And Cover It With Concrete. They Will Take The Woods And Turn It Into A Parking Garage And I Am Not Saying That's Bad. I Am Just Saying That's What We Do. We Occupy The Planet With A Vengeance. We Seek To Dominate It.

Rain

Forests

Woods

I Think That Goldman Sachs And The Pentagon Determine More Of America's Outcome Then Any President Or Any Congress, That Sounds A Bit Cynical, But I Think I Am Right.

Thinking

America

Cynical

I Would Like To Become A Better Photographer. I'm Working On That.

Photographer

Listen To The Stage Manager And Get On Stage When They Tell You To. No One Has Time For The Rock Star Bullshit. None Of The Techs Backstage Care If You're David Bowie Or The Milkman. When You Act Like A Jerk, They Are Completely Unimpressed With The Infantile Display That You Might Think Comes With Your Dubious Status. They Were There Hours Before You Building The Stage, And They Will Be There Hours After You Leave Tearing It Down. They Should Get Your Salary, And You Should Get Theirs.

Stars

Thinking

Rocks

We City Dwellers, We Residents Of Los Angeles And The Surrounding Areas, Are For The Most Part Urbanized To Some Extent. We Know Deadlines, Start Times And Traffic.

Cities

Los Angeles

Residents

I Spend A Lot Of Time Alone So I Get A Lot Done. I Don't Do Much Else But Work, Check Things Out.

Done

Checks

Alone Time

I Have To Do Things For Myself, And If Those Standards Are Set High, Then It's Up To Me To Pass Or Fail.

Failing

Standards

Ifs

If I Had To Live My Life In Anticipation Of What Others Thought Of Me, Little Would Get Done.

Done

Littles

Anticipation

Sometimes I Would Get Invited To A Party Or To Go Out To Dinner By One Of Them And I Would Decline. Part Of Me Wanted To Go, But Those Kind Of Outings Always Made Me Feel Even More Alienated Than Usual. Hearing Them Talk Made Me Feel Lonely And Hateful At The Same Time. Lonely Because I Didn't Fit In, Never Did. When I Was Reminded, It Hurt. And Hateful Because It Reaffirmed What I Already Knew, That I Was Alone And On The Outside.

Lonely

Hurt

Party

This Is My 25th Year Of Being On Stage. A Lot Of People Who I Kind Of Toed Up To The Starting Line With Are No Longer In This Position. I Feel Very, Very Lucky.

Years

People

Lucky

If An American Company Has A Drop Of Patriotic Blood Coursing Through Its System, Then Surely It Would Set Up In America And Employ Americans, Right?

Patriotic

Blood

America

Keep Walking. Hot Night Right Now, Right Here. All You Have Is What You Are. All You Want Is Much Too Much. All You Get Is So Much Less. All You Feel Is Nothing. All You See Is Darkness. All You Know Is Senseless And All You Can Do About It Is Ride.

Night

Darkness

Hot

If American Forces Leave Afghanistan, The Taliban Is Going To Do What To America? Don't Say You're Worried About What They Will Do To The Afghan People. If That Was America's Concern, America's Operational Presence There Would Be Much Different.

America

People

Different

Keep Your Blood Clean, Your Body Lean, And Your Mind Sharp.

Motivational Workout

Blood

Mind

I've Got A Knife And I Want To Talk To You I've Got A Prayer And I Want To Carve It To You I've Got No Chance, That's Why I'm Looking To You O Lord, Ride With Me

Prayer

Knives

Want

Love Is Self Deception. I Am A Living Creature. Hate Is Only Self Love. I Am A Double Feature.

Hate

Love Is

Self

Entertainment's Hard On The Ego. I See Why Actors Are So Psycho Now. Because There's So Much 'we Don't Want You' Going On In Acting. Even Big People Get Rejected But The Smaller People - They Really Get Rejected. Trust Me - I Know.

People

Ego

Acting

I Just Work, To The Exclusion Of Most Other Things. I Rarely Work In A Frenzied Manner, Just Kind Of - If You Take The Beater That Whips The Icing Or The Eggs Into Shape - On The Upper End Of Medium Speed, That's Kind Of How I Am About Seven Days A Week.

Eggs

Shapes

Icing

Why Let Your Fury Lay Deep Inside You, Sullenly Boiling Your Blood Into Silent Steam And Griding Your Bones To Dust? I It Not Better To Thrust It Out With Great Velocity From Every Pore, With Your Every Action? Let Your Actions Speak Your Legend. The Physical Is The Manifestation Of The Spirit. Let Your Spirit Be Teeming With Fury. Let Your Strength Be Unusual And Controlled. The Average Is The Borderline That Keeps Mere Men In Their Place. Those Who Step Over The Line Are Heroes By The Very Act. Go.

Hero

Men

Dust

My Mother, A Very Eclectic Listener, Had The First Doors Album And Gave It To Me When I Expressed Interest In The Band. It Was One Of The First Records I Ever Had. As The Years Passed, The Babysitters Who Used To Look After Me Would Bring Their Doors Albums To The Apartment, And That's How I Got To Hear Their Later Work.

Mother

Doors

Years

I Read A Bit Of Ray Bradbury When I Was A Younger Man. I Don't Read A Lot Of Fiction Anymore... Like, None.

Men

Rays

Fiction

As Far As I Have Been Able To Understand, The Japanese Seem To Keep Things Close To The Vest. Friendly But Remote And Polite To The Point Of Being Invisible. It Is In The Music, Literature, Film And Art That The Japanese Really Seem To Express Themselves.

Art

Friendly

Literature

I Will Do My Best To Dodge Tonight's Depression Hide In Sleep Damage Myself In Dreams Wake Up Older, Slightly More Used.

Dream

Sleep

Wake Up

To This Day, My Haircut Is The Number Two Clippers, Which I Apply To Myself Every Month.

Two

Numbers

Months

When I Was A Kid Looking At Pictures Of The Sphynx, And The Pyramids, And Different Tribes In Africa, All Of That Stuck With Me, And I Always Wanted To See Those Things And Meet Those People.

Kids

Pyramids

People

I Have A Lot Of Compact Discs. I Need Them For Radio Play And Convenience. Many Bands And Artists I Am A Fan Of Don't Always Release Their Work On Vinyl, So I Take What They Feel Like Giving Me.

Artist

Play

Giving

There Are Other People, Other Economies, Governments, Cultures, Religions, And Destinies Going On At The Same Time As Yours. You Have To Widen The Scope Of Your Lens And Start Seeing More. Because Americans, It's Easy To Make Us Freak Out. When The Going Gets Rough, You Have To Get Conservative. That's What's Happened To America In The Last Eight Years. I Just Try To Point Out That There's More Going On Than Most People Pay Attention To.

Destiny

People

Trying

If I Was Gay, There Would Be No Closet. You Would Never See The Closet I Came Out Of. Why? Because I'd Have Burned It For Kindling By The Time I Was Twelve... If I Was Gay, At This Stage Of The Game?age 37, Aging Alternative Icon?i'd Be Taking Out Ads.

Gay

Games

Icons

If You Are A Kid In Beverly Hills, (i Am Not Putting Down People Who Live In Beverly Hills) If That Kid Knows Private School And A Credit Card... You Can't Say The Kid Is Taking Life For Granted. He Is Taking The Life That Was Given To Him.

School

Kids

People

It'll Destroy You If You Try To Make It Mean Anything To Anyone But Yourself.

Mean

Trying

Ifs

The Arts In America Exist In Spite Of America, Not Because Of America.

Art

America

Spite

One Of The Odd Enjoyments In Life Is To Be Alone In A Room Full Of People. To Have Them There As Unknowing Human Filler In Your Wide Shot.

People

Rooms

Life Is

I Get Angry About Stuff, I Get Very Emotionally Intense About Stuff And That's How I Get It Out - With Books, With The Band, On My Own Onstage, But It's Always Kind Of A Wail.

Book

Band

Stuff

I Want My Fellow Citizens To Wise Up And Stop Falling For [war]. I Try With My Limited Access, I'm Not Getting Into Kabul With A Camera, They're Not Letting Me Get Into Benghazi With A Camera. I Do What I Can With My Flimsy American Passport And A Visa. The Photos Are A Bit More Heavy From Southern Sudan And Haiti And Cuba.

Wise

War

Fall

Chris Christie Is New Jersey's Concern, Not America's.

America

Jersey

Concern

The Month Of November Makes Me Feel That Life Is Passing More Quickly. In An Effort To Slow It Down, I Try To Fill The Hours More Meaningfully.

Effort

Trying

Months

Is It A Shame That I Can’t Accept Love? Am I Too Burned Out To Move Towards What Will Keep Me Alive Or Too Smart To Get Pulled Into Someone Else’s World?

Smart

Moving

Alive

I Am Well Protected Too Locked Up Inside Myself To Get Free

Locked Up

Wells

Protected

I Think It Is Incumbent On Anyone Who Can To Lift Human Dignity To The Highest Possible Levels, Maintaining One's Own And Helping To Raise That Of Others.

Thinking

Maintaining

Levels

I Am Always Interested In An Opportunity To Learn Something.

Opportunity

Opportunities To Learn

Most Of The Writers I Like Just Intimidate And Humble Me But In That There's A Good Deal Of Inspiration To Be Had As Well.

Inspiration

Humble

Intimidating

Every Single Record I Have Is A Fossil.

Records

Fossils

I Plan To Be A Part Of Haiti's Reconstruction And Future.

Haiti

Reconstruction

Plans

My Father Did Not Rock. He Just Earned And Hated. Don't End Up Like This Man.

Father

Men

Rocks

When You're Little And You Don't Have Much Dough, You Have To Innovate. You Have To Be Sharp.

Littles

Dough

To Our Enemies All Over The World Who Plan America's Demise, Please Take My Advice. Give Up Now. No Matter What, You Will Lose. You Will Lose It All.

Giving Up

America

Advice

Death Metal Uses A Lot Of White Face Paint And Black Hair Dye To Make Its Point. I Quite Enjoy This Genre For Its Intensity, Extremism And Underlying Irony: You Have To Be Alive To Play It And Listen To It.

Play

White

Hair

I Used To Sit On The Roof Of The Apartment Where Jim Morrison Used To Write His Early Lyrics

Writing

Used

Roof

I Lack The Skill To Hold A Story Line For The Length Required For A Novel Or Even A Short Story. I Have Never Had An Idea That Could Withstand A Hundred Thousand Words, Or Even Ten Thousand Words Of Rubber Meeting The Road.

Skills

Ideas

Stories

No Such Thing As Spare Time, No Such Thing As Free Time, No Such Thing As Down Time. All You Got Is Life Time. Go.

Spare Time

Life Time

Spares

I Take The Work Seriously, Just Not Myself In It.

Barack Obama's Administration Responded To The Haitian Crisis Within 24 Hours. Here Comes The Soldiers, Here Comes The Food, Go Go Go... Rush Limbaugh Told His Multi-millions Of Listeners That Obama Only Did That To Gain Favour With Black People In America. This Is The Kind Of Idiocy That I Have To Deal With In My Country.

Country

America

People

Bands Have Always Written Songs Against What They See As Wrong. Ronald Reagan Really Made For A Lot Of Songs.

Song

Band

Made

For Me, Jazz Will Always Be The Soundtrack Of The Civil Rights Movement.

Rights

Movement

Jazz

Rarely Do I Do Film Press Because I'm So Low On The Food Chain Of The Movie, And For Me It's Just This Thing I Did For Four Weeks Before The Next Tour Started.

Four

Film

As A Young Person, I Wanted Everyone To Agree With Me.

Young

Wanted

Agree

In The City Of Pyongyang, You Don't Have To Look Very Far To See An Image Of The Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. They Love The Guy. He Is Responsible For The Wonder That Is North Korea.

Korea

Cities

Guy

Amy Winehouse Was Not A Person I Ever Met, And I Can't Say That I Am Overly Conversant In All Of Her Music. I Do Have Her Albums, And Years Ago, When I First Heard Her Sing, I Thought She Was Extraordinary. The Tone Of Her Voice, Her Phrasing, Her Raw Appearance - These Qualities Were Extremely Captivating To Me.

Voice

Years

Quality

Friends Come And Go But 200lbs Is Always 200lbs.

Bodybuilding

Friends Come And Go

Comes And Goes

Basically, Men Are Afraid Of Women And Can’t Handle The Fact That They Came Out Of The Same Thing They Spend The Rest Of Their Lives Trying To Get Back Into.

Men

Trying

Facts

Every Year, August Lashes Out In Volcanic Fury, Rising With The Din Of Morning Traffic, Its Great Metallic Wings Smashing Against The Ground, Heating The Air With Ever-increasing Intensity.

Morning

Air

August

The Blues Is Losing Someone You Love And Not Having Enough Money To Immerse Yourself In Drink.

Love

Money

Losing Someone

I Always Start Tours With A Great Deal Of Anticipation.

Anticipation

Deals

I Have Not The Smarts Or Patience For Political Office.

Patience

Smart

Office

The Music Kind Of Takes Care Of Itself Because We've Done All That As Preproduction In The Practice Room. So By The Time It Gets Onstage, Each Song Has About One Hundred Hours Of Way Too Much Mothering Gone Into It. So When You See Us Play Live, That Is The Product Of Ninety Days Of Practice, Over A Year Of Writing, Listening To Demos On The Weekends After Practice.

Song

Writing

Weekend

If You Really Want To Rebel Against Your Parents: Outearn Them, Outlive Them, And Know More Than They Do.

Parent

Rebel

Want

If I Was A Woman These Days, I'd Be Killing Motherfuckers. My Handgun Would Never Cool And My Hands Would Be Covered In Testicular Blood. I Would Have A Horrible Reputation With A Lot Of Men Because I Would Be Calling Them On Their Weak Bullshit Left And Right.

Men

Blood

Hands

Nietzsche, Who You Don't Spend Too Much Time With After The Age Of Seventeen, Did Have That One Great Line About "he Who Stares Into The Abyss Must Know That The Abyss Also Stares Into Him" And I Never Really Understood That Until My Friend Got Killed And You Really Get Your Head Around The Idea Of What Horror Means. It's A Truly Awful Thing, To Really, Kind Of Have That Understanding Of Things And When You Really Peer Into That.

Mean

Ideas

Understanding

I'd Like To Rid Myself Of Writing, To Surrender, To Release The Venom. And Hopefully At Some Point, I'll Be A Happy, Well-adjusted Guy And I'll Have No Need For All That 'art.'

Art

Writing

Guy

Don't Go To Summer Camp. Bury Your Parents In The Backyard And Have The Place To Yourself.

Summer

Parent

Independence

Maybe Some Things Are Better Left Broken And Scattered Veiled In Darkness, Secret Bitterness And Self-doubt I Should Have Known Better Than To Start Something That I Couldn't Finish That I Couldn't Care About That I Couldn't Remember Starting In The First Place I Don't Want To Know You You Went Years Without Me You Might As Well Keep Going.

Self

Should Have

Years

Before The Civil War, The Southern States Were Selling A Lot Of Cotton To England And Didn't Seem To Mind British Occupation. By And Large, The Revolutionary War Wasn't At All Great For Business.

War

Southern

Mind

Everyone Who Knows Me Knows That I'm A Hopeless Romantic Who Listens To Love Ballads And Doo-wop Songs All The Time.

Romantic

Song

Hopeless

Whenever I Write Lyrics, In The Back Of My Mind I Always See A Guy Driving To Work, Driving To A Really Bad Job, One Of Those Horrible Institutions, Or One Of Those Low Squat Buildings In Los Angeles. I Write With That Person In My Mind.

Jobs

Writing

Guy

I Forged Myself Out Of A Vacuum. I Crawl Along The Highway On Hacked Off Stumps Year After Year. Some Wonder How And Why. I Never Do.

Years

Vacuums

Wonder

When I Read That Malaysia Airlines Flight Mh370 Had Disappeared - A State-of-the-art Boeing 777, Said To Be An Incredibly Safe Way To Travel - I Waited Patiently For The Chance To Learn What Happened.

Art

Safe

Boeing

There Is Not One Single Police Officer In America That I Am Not Afraid Of And Not One That I Would Trust To Tell The Truth Or Obey The Laws They Are Sworn To Uphold. I Do Not Believe They Protect Me In Any Way.

Believe

America

Law

Giving A Good Performance, Giving It All Is What It's All About. I Love To Perform.

Giving

Giving It All

Performances

And I Love The Hate Mail I Get, The Unsigned, Misspelled Letters I Get Telling Me To Go Back To Russia Or Wherever.

Hate

Russia

Letters

There Is No Way You Are Going To Be Forgiven For Blowing Up A Village And Killing A Bunch Of People.

People

Village

Way

I Write What I Can. I Think Being Able To Write Like Michael Connelly And Have A Character That Goes From Novel To Novel, Or To Dramatize History Like Vidal Or Ellroy, Or Have An Explosively Inventive Mind Like Bulgakov, Would Be An Incredible Thing. I Don't Have That. I Only Have What I Have.

Writing

Character

Thinking

I Try To Get Myself Up And Moving As Early As Possible. Optimum Is To Be On The Treadmill While It Is Still Dark Outside.

Moving

Dark

Trying

When You Have To Work With And Exist Amongst Cynical, Burned-out Personnel On A Set, It Doesn't Matter What You're Shooting Or How Much You're Being Paid - It's Not Worth It.

Cynical

Shooting

Matter

Songs Sung Under Duress Are Often Very Powerful.

Song

Powerful

Duress

I'm Most In My Element On Tour, With A Gig That Day, Like Today. I'm On The Road Where I Am Supposed To Be. I Will Be Where I'm Supposed To Be At Nighttime, On Stage, In Front Of People, Doing My Thing.

People

Elements

Gigs

Rush Limbaugh Makes Money Getting Simpleminded People To Feel Good About Their Intellectually Undernourished Brain Spasms. He's Very Good At It, And I Scarcely Believe A Fraction Of What He Says.

Believe

People

Feel Good

After Having Read A Lot Of Fiction, Literature, Whatever You Want To Call It, From Wolfe To Houellebecq, I Think You Have To Have An Understanding And Insight Of The Human Condition That Is Informed And Motivated By A Desire To Immerse Yourself In The Human World And Bring These Stories To Bear.

Thinking

Understanding

Desire

I Have Been An Xl Fan Of Devo Since I Was In High School In The 1970s. Their Records Only Sound Better With Time.

School

Sound

Fans

I Wonder What It's Like To Be From A State That Is Spread Across A Few Islands Way Out In The Pacific Ocean, Only Added To The United States In 1959. Not Only That But To Be The Birthplace Of America's First Black President? Pretty Cool, I Bet.

Ocean

Birth Place

America

I Think It's Fantastic When The Young Enrage Their Elders. I Really Do Believe That If It's Too Loud, You Are Indeed Too Old, And That If It Has Been Standing For Too Long, It Needs A Thorough Inspection.

Believe

Thinking

Long

George Zimmerman Is A Foot Soldier In A Rapidly Privatizing Country. He Is A New Centurion Of 21st-century America. Law Enforcement Is Tied Down By The Strictures Of, Well, The Law. There Is Only 'so Much They Can Do' To Take Care Of The 'problem.'

Country

Law

Feet

Being Unique Is Never Easy, And Often, By The Time Culture Catches Up With You, There Are Only A Few People Who Notice.

Unique

People

Culture

This Sounds Really Corny, But I Am A Slave To My Work, A Workaholic, And Glad Of It. I Like What I Do; This Is My Place, My Little Universe, One Of Them.

Sound

Littles

Workaholic

Shirley Sherrod Seems Like A Good And Dedicated Person.

Dedicated

Persons

Seems

We Americans Are Hard On Almost Everything. We Are Hard On Our Vehicles, Our Marriages And Our Heroes. Mostly, However, We Are Hard On Ourselves.

Hero

Vehicle

Hard

I Always Took Quite Seriously The Things That Chuck D. Of Public Enemy Had To Say. He's Always Been Someone I've Learned Quite A Bit From And Someone I Pay A Great Deal Of Attention To.

Enemy

Attention

Pay

I Lay Off A Lot Modern Fiction And Only Rely On Living Writers For Non-fiction Work.

Fiction

Modern

Rely

Will Punk Rock Ever Die? Pal, If You Have To Ask It's Dead To You.

Rocks

Pals

Punk

I Was Very Lucky To Have Had The Opportunity To Tour With The Beastie Boys And Watched Almost Every Set They Played On All Those Dates. Why Not? You Do Your Set And Then You Get To See The Beasties Play? Best Deal In Town.

Boys

Opportunity

Play

I Don't Know If You Have Ever Seen The Woody Allen Film 'annie Hall,' But It Is, In A Way, To Los Angeles And 'hollywood' What 'this Is Spinal Tap' Is To Many Musicians.

Spinal Tap

Annie Hall

Way

I Think, To A Great Degree, We Humans Still Divide Ourselves Into Two Species, Even Though We Are Monotypic. There Are Males And Females. We See Them As Different And Not Equal.

Thinking

Two

Males

Hating Someone Is Giving Them Too Much, Just Leave Them Alone.

Hate

Giving

Too Much

Think About It: No Matter Who You Are, The Past Plays A Large Part In Your Life. I Am All About Living In The Present As Best As I Can. Try As I Might, There Is Only So Much I Am Able To Achieve On This Front.

Thinking

Past

Play

I Consider Any Gun That Can Chamber A Round And Send A Projectile Down Its Barrel At A High Rate Of Speed Into My Body - Causing Me Injury Or Death - To Be An Assault Weapon.

Gun

Assault Weapons

Body

Guns Are Part Of The American Identity.

Gun

Identity

American Identity

I Guess I Am Famous In A Way. I Would Rather Consider It Recognizable - I Think That Is More Logical. I Don't Feel Famous.

Thinking

Way

Logical

There're Some Places That Are More Difficult Or Dangerous To Navigate And I Wouldn't Look Forward To Going Back. Like I'd Much Rather Go Back To Afghanistan - Which Fascinates Me - Quicker Than I'd Go Back To Spend A Week Walking Around Nairobi, Kenya, Which Is A Great And Easy Way To Get Yourself Killed.

Way

Looks

Kenya

Scar Tissue Is Stronger Than Regular Tissue. Realize The Strength, Move On.

Life

Stay Strong

Moving

I Have Never Experienced Anything Like Walking Out Onto The Stage Of An Oversold Venue And, Before The First Note Is Struck, Realizing That There Is Not Going To Be Enough Oxygen For All Of Us.

Oxygen

Firsts

Realizing

My First Visit To West Berlin Was In February 1983. The Drive Through East Berlin, The Fact That West Berlin Was Surrounded By A Wall That Was More Than 100 Miles Long - The Absurdity And Intensity Of It Really Knocked Me Out.

Wall

East Berlin

Long

When I See The Hatred Exacted At Mr. Obama - You Know, He Lowered Your Taxes, Killed Your Number One Bad Guy And Got Your Guys Out Of Iraq - I Don't Understand Why He Seems To Inflame People So Much. You Know, Unless, Unless There's A Race Problem.

Iraq

Numbers

Race

You Know, We Are One Nation Under A God. Yes, You Were Right. An Angry, Crack Slinging God Who Decorates With Bullets And Spent Condoms.

Cracks

Bullets

Condom

While They Flail About, You Will Remain Calm In The Knowledge That You Possess Strength From Within.

Life

Calm

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

Trending Author

Frederick William Robertson