Henry Rollins… where to start?

This guy has been around the block, starting out  as vocalist for Black Flag in the early 80’s, and promiscuously hopping between all sorts of occupations, bringing his intense gaze along for the ride. In no particular order Rollins has fulfilled the rolls of a journalist, activist and even a TV/film actor. If you are a Sons Of Anarchy fan such as myself, you might know him from  season two as the incredibly intimidating white supremacist  AJ Weston.

He’s currently hosting his own radio show on KCRW (in the States), and the outspoken icon sat down for a brief interview with Rolling Stone to talk about music. He took a couple shots at RS for their poor choice in coverage, and he has some pretty insightful things to say on the topic of music.

Did you pay attention to any new music this year?
Absolutely. I can’t keep up with all the records I buy. I get letters, like, “Dude, music sucks now.” Not on my show, not on my stereo. I finally, forensically listened to the new David Bowie record. I put in a pair of good earphones and really sat down with that record on a day off.

You loved it?
It’s way better than I thought it was the first time around. I don’t know why he uses those heavy-handed studio drummers for everything, but the songs are pretty amazing lyrically and there’s a lot of great backing vocals and some really smart overdubs. It took me a long time to get into modern David Bowie. I was such a fan. I got up really early this morning and listened to Station to Station and just went aw. Those records, those Bowie records to me are just about as good as a record can get.

Anyways, the new Marnie Stern record, Chronicles of Marnia — I love that new one. Ty Segall is a huge part of my radio show, and I play a lot of Ty. I’m a big supporter of labels. Like, when I watch a movie, I watch it for the director. When I buy a record, it’s usually a label thing. I’m into artists, certainly, but there’s labels I support, like Castle Face, John Dwyer and his band Thee Oh Sees. And I buy one of everything from Johnny. Anything Castle Face puts out. I have one LP and one CD of it. You know, CD for the radio show and portability’s sake and the LP to listen to.

Did you follow any of the bigger things, like Daft Punk or “Blurred Lines”?
I’ve never heard Daft Punk; I’ve never heard a track of theirs in my life. They’re the two guys with motorcycle helmets on?

Click here for the whole thing.

[ Source: RollingStone ]