Henry Rollins
Overview
Henry Rollins is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, spoken word artist, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

, publisher, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, and radio DJ.

After performing for the short-lived Washington D.C.-based band State of Alert
State of Alert
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980, and disbanded in 1981.-History:State of Alert were fronted by Henry Garfield, who would later rise to fame as Henry Rollins. They formed in October 1980 and disbanded in July 1981...

 in 1980, Rollins fronted the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 band Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...

 from August 1981 until mid-1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 and publishing company 2.13.61
2.13.61
2.13.61, Inc. is a publisher and record company founded by musician Henry Rollins and named after his birthday . The company has released albums by the Rollins Band, all of Rollins's spoken-word work, and numerous books....

 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins.They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early 1990s...

, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 until 2003, and during 2006.

Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media.
Quotations

"It is no surprise to me that hardly anyone tells the truth about how they feel. The smart ones keep themselves 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 than close to them? It's so painful to be next to someone you feel strongly about and know you can't say the things you want to."

Solipsist (1998)

"I must tell you that I was always afraid of the fury with which I loved you. It overwhelmed me. I thought it beyond comprehension, therefore my silence."

Solipsist (1998)

"I will never say the things that I want to say to you. I know the damage it would do. I love you more than I hate my loneliness and pain."

Solipsist (1998)

"They say true love only comes around once and you have to hold out and be strong until then. I have been waiting. I have been searching. I am a man under the moon, walking the streets of earth until dawn. There's got to be someone for me. It's not too much to ask. Just someone to be with. Someone to love. Someone to give everything to. Someone."

Solipsist (1998)

"Thank you for touching me. Some of the only moments worth living were spent with you. Not you especially, the collective you."

Solipsist (1998)

"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."

Solipsist (1998)

"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."

Solipsist (1998)

"If I was gay, there would be no closet, you would never see the closet I came out of. Why? I would have burned it for kindling by the time I was 12. Because I know with all certainty in my mind, there is nothing wrong with being gay, and you know it."

Think Tank (1998)

"You always know the mark of a coward. A coward hides behind freedom. A brave person stands in front of freedom and defends it for others."

Talk is Cheap Volume 1 (1998)

"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!'"

Talk is Cheap Volume 1 (1998)

 
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