Henry Rollins: on the state of music today 

People who are too lazy to look for music say music is dead, Henry states the truth

I always dug Henry's views. Right or wrong he seems genuine to me.

Ultimately artists should be judged by their MUSIC, not how much money they have or how many fans they play to.

"Christian rock is there for you, if you lack courage and intellect" - Henry Rollins 2010

I like when he does the Eddie Vedder/Fuel/Creed noise… Yeeeaaawwrrrhhhh

I would listen to Henry Rollins talk about the state of peanut butter. He is so cool.

I love it when rockers I love throw out band names and I'm like "Oh my god! Who are they?" And I immediately get to go down a rabbit hole of great music that I just didn't know about.

I think this is what people fail to grasp. Yes, the popular music of today is shit, but popular music has almost always *been* shit. You can always find incredible music out there. And with the internet at your fingertips with thousands upon thousands of bands putting their shit online, there's no excuses besides pure laziness or stupidity for why you can't find good music.

Suicide was one of the first bands calling themselves "punk", and rightfully so. aaaaand they were electronic. Punk is an attitude, an approach. It's not punk just because you say it is. And just because it was once punk, doesn't mean it still is... cough cough

dear mr. rollins, as it often happened throughout your long career, you enlighten us. your words are refreshing and inspiring. we want more good music, better human beings, honest statements, true feelings.

ive been watching henry rollins interviews for like 3 hours this dude is the truth

I could listen to Henry talk about music all day.

Punk Rock has some of the most Intelligent and interesting and unique people in the world.

I grew up playing at 17 (52 now) and when Henry was doing his thing I never got into it at all. But I did recognize the importance of it, the relevance to the people that "felt" it. Over the years, I have watched the music scene deteriorate pathetically. I listen to Henry now, and am at the least glad I recognized him and his genre as something raw and pure. So much todays youth could learn from him.

his restaurant analogy is so true it hurts.

masterclass from Dr. Henry Rollins

i don't typically care for henry's domineering opinions over everything, but I liked this because i can relate to it.

Its jist quote after quote after quote. Love listening to Henry.

I can't believe how often I find myself coming back to this video of Henry. I do that each time I come across any new "smash hit song" and can't believe how garbage it is. It would be a dream come true to hand out with Henry and listen to records for an hour or two.

When Henry's record came out on Dischord it was so great that Jello Biafra bought half of the second pressing and was like a Johnny Punkinseed planting it all over N.America.I got mine after a DK's show in Sprigfield,Mass.in 1981.SOA was a hardcore manifesto.

pretty sure the multi-platinum singer he's talking about is Anthony Kiedis. i've heard so many musicians use him as an example of someone who can't sing but the studios make it sound like he can.

Couldn't agree more with this dude!

it's so great when you buy a record online and you get your cd-r with a postcard saying "how the fuck did you hear about us? i've never shipped a cd that far away" :)

Ok, who else thought he was going to blast the music of today!?

Henry Rollins is really intense, in his being, in everything he does. That’s why I like the man

Yes! Finally someone gets it! I've been trying to say this to people for years. Music isn't dead, it's not in danger or anything, it's just being released in a different way. The internet has had a tremendous effect on music today. You can't just turn on the radio and expect the radio to spoon feed you good music. You have to actually look for it. I know that's a pain in the ass sometimes, but if you really care about music, it's not going to be a problem to do it.

Those last five words really summed it up. I gave him my friends album in 97' I think. They were much like 80's punk. All mono and stereo recorded live tracks mixed on audacity or some shit and burned in the same computer. He's probably been given a million cd's. I wonder if he collects them or just listens to them and chucks them?

Gotta love this dude, I was expecting a diatribe against the state of modern music, so glad he has the vitality to see the goodness in the modern age. There will always be timeless music being made !

Mr. Rollins wins hands down with "Mi-aise-ma".

wow this always runs so deep, great video again!!! keep it going, don't stop the music!!!

Love him.

I watch this video every month to get refocused, thx

Henry's right, it's kinda going full circle.. he's describing Pink Floyd in the 60s and 70s, nobody knew what they looked like when Dark Side came out, they produced themselves, total originality and experimentation.. Henry's good with metaphors.

I don't know why because I'm a big fan of those HUGE metal festivals, but for some reason the idea of basement tours turns me on too!

Three provinces over! Hello from Toronto!

As someone who has been in the food industry for a decade and a half i love that reference and linguini and tuna fish sandwiches

I have a promo copy of what I believe is Suicide's first album? It is some F-ed up shit. Now I have to see if anyone has uploaded Frankie Teardrop to RU-vid.

Mr. Rollins is great. I love to hear him speak.

there is a whole scene that grew up out of the old amiga piracy pre-internet days of musicians, oddly enough every last one is categorised as 'industrial' or 'aggrotech' in some cases. the reason why i mention this is because the amiga and the floppy disk/bbs program exchanging network spanned the globe before anyone even heard the word 'internet', i remember when i got a cracked copy of deluxe paint 4, which was a beautiful piece of software, the installer proudly announced that the file had traveled across the atlantic (and then the indian, as is implied, since i was born and grew up in australia) actually, i think that particular one came straight across the pacific to someone in sydney. but it's the same pirate, fuck you anarchist innovative spirit. the kids who were my peers, most of them a little older than me, are now my musical idols, jan lehmkamper of x-fusion/noisuf-x and johan van roy of suicide commando. these two in particular BOTH started out making tracks on soundtracker or some other hacked derivative, and at that time, in the late 80s, i was 16 and i had an amiga 500 and i was trying my hand at making music and some of the pieces i was most proud of sounded very much the same, hey, at this time i had never even heard ministry. my music, that i made out of my desires and the sounds that turned me on had that same dark, ominous, cinematic incidental music, hard, relentless harsh sound, that i wanted to hear and tried to make for myself. with such fantastic tools available to anyone with a computer being sold new anywhere, you can make REAL shit. hell, who cares if you record it with a mobile phone mic. sadly, i never got out of the garage and showed it to many people and by that time the adult life was in full play and i've never been able to get back to it. simply because creativity needs a sense of almost limitless freedom, and i found myself in and made my own box more cosy than i meant to. well. that's life. but i am so glad to hear henry, who is an old hero of mine from precisely these times, affirming the almost invisible, highly ... well, i don't even know how to describe it... there is so freakin much good music going on these days even amongst genres that i generally hate or kinda feel is a bit over-played. it's always pleased me endlessly that henry has kept his edge although he's a lot more slick than he used to be now. i've never felt that he or my other and many others of those times jello biafra, ever have sold out. the one thing that i will say, however, is, that i think it's time for the edge to have another golden age. the punk/industrial/new wave days of the late 70s/early 80s have not yet been again re-reached. but i am optimistic, i think that we are in just exactly the kind of very dark, uncertain time that produces the kind of absolutely balls-out brazen got nothing to lose courage to spring forth. to me, music is central. to me, music is pre-linguistic, music is first emotion and second intellect. expression of emotions leads to resolution of problems through a period of disorder as people synchronise their emotional attachments to each other's inner worlds. this is why music is so important. music speaks to the inner child, even when nobody else is listening.

Viva DIY Punk. Viva Henry Rollins!

"Christian Rock is there for you. If you lack courage and intellect." Nice one Henry!

Henry I was impressed when you listed D.N.A. One of my favs for sure from back in the day.

I'm guessing he's referring to underground bands that could care less about "making it", bcuz they make music for the sake of music. Ppl go on about paying for mortgages, cars, insurance, etc.,& how it's silly that anyone would make music if they didn't want to get paid...well, I make music without expectations, but I also live on trash & don't have kids! I dumpster dive & groundscore everything I own, & I write songs just to get them out of my head-it took yrs just to be able to play in front of someone I know, let alone complete strangers. It's communication with the energy, & has nothing to do with impressing humans or gaining wealth. There's way too many ppl who seek fame & fortune, writing songs with only that goal in mind. That can go for anything though too, not just music! Once upon a time ppl had pride in what they did-money wasn't the only goal. There were ppl who wanted to make the best sandwich ever, & when I come across someone who really takes pride in their work, I thank them! Those are ppl who make a difference! Sure, there's a majority that could care less "welcome to blank, how may I help you?" just want my paycheck, but the rare exceptions bring hope-they also get picked on for it too, which is a shame bcuz it's almost like zombies trying to turn them into zombies too! I think I just now understand what the zombie thing is about...the sheeple! I didn't really "get it" before bcuz I thought zombies were boring, but that makes more sense now! Thanks Mr. Rollins! I now understand what the appeal to zombie movies & games is about!

He starts off by saying music of today is alive and well, but ends up talking about bands from the pre-internet era, using old technology and recording techniques, etc. which was better in my opinion. Having access to 100k + bands at your fingertips via internet has killed music. It’s killed the mystique and thirst for live music because there’s too much of it now.

thanks for this. It's a very encouraging video. Most of my studio has come from goodwill or salvation army stores.

My very first exposure to Henry Rollins was through his performance in Sons of Anarchy. Everytime I look at him, I see him as the neo nazi skin head he played in the show. It can't be unseen. Regardless, I think this fucking guy is awesome.

Every no and then, I go on Myspace and just search RANDOM WORDS and whatever band or song comes up, I listen to it. It's GREAT. and ENDLES!!!!!!

That's rich coming from someone who has had multiple videos on MTV, has music for sale on itunes and has been on numerous magazine covers.

Hahah WE PLAYED REALLY LOUD, YOU COULDVE LISTENED! his guy speaks gold

music is so f'n good today. lots to choose from

Henry, the great generaliser and recounter of conversations that didn’t ever happen.

Pitch correction. The ultimate destroyer.

Born 1965. My uncle , one block over from us , played Stones , Sabbath & Zeppelin to the 7 year old me. Then I came across Ramones , Clash & Pistols who led me to Minor threat , Dead kennedys & Black flag. Onward came Peppers , Nirvana & RATM. Now , as a 52 year old fart , I love seeking out theese underground bands , completely outside the regular music industry. I guess it's never to late.

wonder, if he's still listening to "einstuizende noibauden" ..

Thank you Henry Rollins for telling it like it is. Well said.

His opinion is a little biased considering his personality and background. He's going to almost always hate anything that is widely accepted and not underground. Not that he is wrong but I can see where people would disagree.

I agree Henry i just revisited Gun clubs, Fire of Love release I forgot how frikken bad ass it was the whole thing kills

I was into metal... Than I heard punk. I like tunes that are real burners.

that's what punk rock is about dude, he's a living legend

Love the Creed/Nickleback voice...cracked up. You know I/we love and live the DIY spirit, but Henry is not taking into account that "real" Bands cannot Afford to release CD-Rs and tour "basements" without having a Real job; one that would force music as a career out of one's life. Technology has made it cheaper but maintaining a band costs big money. If you want to be a pop/rock musician as an actual Career, you have to tour larger venues than basements and you have to get your music heard by more than cassette sharers. Love the idea, but any musician trying to make a living doing it knows this video is kinda bs. Yeah, Rollins can say these things now bc his name is now a brand. His whole argument is based on the benefits as a consumer of music as opposed to a producer of music. That's the conundrum regarding "the state of music today."

Haatbaard - Bloedsnor ...plugging my own band here... Thank you Henry!

Province? This video shot in Canada?

This have to be the best and most accurate interview by Henry Rollins : he's basically talking about all the movement that started back in those days on MySpace : it was awesome and was 100% punk and DIY mentality - lot of incredible bands and creativity , it was fantastic - i was there since second one with my label and my music project and i could witness it all - i was doing CD-r , then cassette and then we tried to make vinyl again - you can laugh very hard at me but beleive me : to make a vinyl in 2010 you had to be mad, cause no one was buying vinyl anymore, not at all - so vinyl start again : some years later, all the majors smell the buisness and they start repress vinyl again - and all the vinyl press got busy and vinyl had an huge, amazing comeback - and the rest is history

Everyuthing good died in the 90's/.

You just made Rollins point even more prominent.

I love Henry but U2's 80s output was great.

This still holds true to the date

This is why I roll my eyes every time a 14-year-old says "I hate my generation's music! I miss the good old days!"

Henry Rollins knows what's up. I thought there were no good new bands until I found out about the local punk scene here. Underground music is alive and well lots of places.

The music just sucks today I can't even listen to the radio but even searching internet knowing people who love same kind of music I like they say " ehh this band is good or okay" but far and few between. Even Rollins band would scare half the 20 year old college kids if they were playing at a bar. Maybe it's just a long dry spell . But since 2000 rock music of all types as far as new bands sounds soft.

"I Tried To Help" HA-HA THAT'S FREAKIN' HYSTERICAL !!!!!

i'm not a rock fan at all, but i saw a pretty big named rock band live recently and they all looked like fashion models! i literally thought to myself "is this what rock bands look like now?" the crowd loved them though, knew all the lyrics...he's dead on though, rock stars use to look like the anti-establishment, now they kinda look too clean!!

The people who say music is dead are talking about an industry that made celebrities for a long time, and they bemoan that they won’t make another star to make a fortune of. Music won’t go away.

the internets

Thank you Henry

LMAO the music industry is so in the toilet.

Thank you. Haven't seen Time Isn't On Your Side yet...I teared up man:)

WWHRD?

BLOODY WELL SAID MATE !

Nickelback is hands down the worst band to ever exist. Nothing is worse.

This was over 10 years ago and things have drastically changed.

when the electric guitar was introduced it was not considered real music, when punk came along it was not considered real music, leave my drugs and electronic music out of it henry. notpunk/10 although he was dead on the money about pearljam/creed

Get In The Van; huge impact/influence.

I respect Rollins ..but he comes across as a crotchety, "back in my day" dink in this clip.

Somewhat interesting, entirely exhausting

Christian rock lacking intellect? Audio Adrenaline's album Underdog is quintessentially the 90's rolled up in one fantastic album. I dare say there are anthems in that album that will be ignored solely based on the fact that IT IS Christian. I started to agree with Rollins up until he said the above then he lost me. I know non-Christians who loved that album because it was good! Does Rollins realize that in U2’s infancy the band were going to be missionaries? Songs like Streets With No Name is about Heaven. I don’t claim to know where Bono or the rest of the bands heart lay now but I can assure you of their past and it was most certainly Christian.

Henry Rollins is a fucking legend

Henry Rollins is an elitist and is not nearly as intelligent as he thinks he is. Similar to Maynard James Keenan.

Henry! You are channeling my mind.

Rollins is surprisingly naive about the state of the music business. His idea of music being "alive and well, doing really great" is bands making only 25 CDs of an album and encouraging people to make copies of those 25 CDs to give away to other people. How thoroughly childish. He talks like a man who has never heard of a mortgage payment or having to pay for food, clothing, transportation, etc. How does he expect members of any of these bands that are "doing really great" to live on the money they're making from their music careers? He says the current bands "don't hold FM radio or MTV in any esteem" as if it's something to be proud of, as if it's how he would run his band.The Rollins band got their videos on MTV as often as possible and got their music played on FM radio as much as they could. That's how he ran his band. What a hypocrite!

Right on, as always! I just wish more people could relate to Henry's honest observations. I feel this is an accurate snapshot.

If Henry Rolllins thinks the state of the music industry and rock music industry in general is "alive and well" he's deluded. We don't even make rock stars in America anymore! All the bands that can draw the biggest crowds at their concerts are the same bands that were the biggest bands of the 1970's and 1980's. What hard rock bands have come along since the 1980's can draw as big a crowd as Metallica or Guns 'n Roses? And those guys are in their 50's! It's next to impossible for musicians to even male a living as rock musicians anymore because the industry is on its ass.

Myself and everyone at The Music Mag supports Henry and his opinions. The internet has helped so many musicians get out there and be heard, rather than a label selecting a few that they want to be pushed. What I love about lesser known bands is that most of them love playing live, don't digitally edit their tracks too much, and just love the music!!

Rollins is absolutely ignorant about the internet's effect on music. Ever since the internet and the illegal downloading that has proliferated because the internet made it easy for even a child to do and get away with it, 95% of the record companies have gone bankrupt. The record companies that are left have no money for artist development. That means that if a band doesn't sell very well with their first or second album, they'll lose their contract and have to do something else besides being a musician for a living. If that had been the state of the music industry in the 1970's, do you realize how many great bands never would have made it? Today we wouldn't have the classic albums Pink Floyd made because Pink Floyd would have lost their record contract. They didn't start seeing well until The Dark Side Of The Moon album which was their seventh album! The same would have happened to Queen because they also didn't start selling a lot of albums until their sixth or seventh album. Pink Floyd and Queen are just a couple examples of bands that would never have made it if the music industry had been in as bad shape then as it is now. There are plenty more legendary, incredibly talented rock bands that also wouldn't have made it.

He says what he wants.. gotta love that..

Arrogant and judgmental.

Rollins here is waxing lyrical like Dr Cox! Genius.

Rollins is the original hipster. He pretends he's this super underground dude with a superior record collection. Yet his opinion on what makes a band 'better' has nothing to do with the sound of their music and everything to do with how many cassettes they made, what venues do they play, what label are they on, what 'things' do they do that make them cool. It's that 'scene' mentality. All that goes out the window, however, when talking about bands from 'his' era. Or when he has guests on his sofa. Then he acts like a fanboy. He should stop trying to be cool. People consume music the same way they consume food - if it tastes good it's going in. Cool or not. I think that's truer nowadays more than ever before. I think he knows his views are outdated. No wonder he's always passive aggressive.

What a day it has become.

Henry is pandering and imho, his music is terrible too. I don't see why people think he is a bright guy either.