Think Tank [Explicit]

Some folks in this world are blessed with a voice which is a pleasure to listen to. Just to hear 'em talk. They could sell ice to Eskimos. I'm not joking. I'm not exaggerating. They got it. They could sing the phonebook and you'd clap along. They tell a stupid story and it sounds like a parable. When I think of this kind of person, I think Joe Strummer. Now that was a talkin' voice if I ever heard one.
Now on the other hand, there's the folks who likes the sound of their OWN voice. Lots of 'em also suffer from Competitive Talk Disorder. I used to play softball with a fella who would interrupt any one of my fleeting nuggets of wisdom with a tale that was 10 times louder, if not 10 times better. He drank strictly Belgian Lambics, and only wore clothes made of lycra, if that tells ya anything about his tendencies.
Now to get to my point, Harry Rollins certainly falls into the category of somebody who loves the sound of his own voice. Quite frankly I'm tired of his talkin' and his ideas. Even though this is supposed to be funny, the basic premise is that everybody's an idiot and we all love the sound of his voice as much as he does. Well, he's got half of that one right because this sucker has sold a lot of CD's!

Henry Rollins wouldn't put out anything he thought wasn't worth your time. on "Think Tank" Rollins leaves his familiar realm of alternative punk rock music and divulges into the art he is ever-popularizing; spoken word. the points he makes on the album are valid, the observations he makes are funny and the stories he tells are both interesting and heart felt. definately a good buy. the only problem with "Think Tank" is the duration. as a double disc you think you are getting a lot of bang for your buck, however his performances on each cd are reatively short.

Henry Rollins is an angry man with a ton of rage built up towards people he identifies as "idiots". And it is friggin hilarious. A Henry Rollins rant is like a chainsaw tearing through a tree. He is intolerant when it comes to people's stupidity (listen to "Airport Hell" and "El Nino"). Yet he's also intolerant of people's misdirected intolerance ("The Gay Thing").

All in all this is side splitting material from a guy who is know for being a serious, no B.S. punk rock icon. I never would have guessed that a man who could be so angry could present it in such a manner. Think Denis Leary and Bill Hicks rolled into one. But at the same time completely unique and different.

For those Rollins fans that have already seen my previous review I will mix this up. The following tracks are a "must hear":

^Airport Hell
^World Peace
^El Nino
^Marius
and No One is Fax Exempt

Rollins with his self depracating wit once more says all of those things that any of us with one iota of intelligence are thinking!!!

Henry Rollins. The hulking frontman of Rollins Band, known for stripping to his shorts and stalking a stage while screaming and flexing. Most people don't realize that the ultra-aggressive alpha male seen onstage is, at heart, startlingly intelligent and insightful. Those who knew that from reading his books might have been shocked to discover what I discovered - he's hilarious!

This album was my first real introduction to Rollins as a spoken word artist. I was looking up comedy albums and came across Think Tank; I recall thinking at the time, "What? ROLLINS does comedy?" So I took a shot and got it . . . and now I have a new hero. Henry takes you through the adventures of touring (he once accidentally knocked himself out while performing!), his contempt for television, his take on gay people (he gets a little intense in this part - he's totally supportive of them and he's got some great observations, but many people get uncomfortable listening to him talk about it), and - my personal favorite - his bit about El Nino made me laugh until my sides hurt.

He also gets a bit poignant when he talks about the other side of the business . . . a true story about one of his fans - a young man named Marius - who had a terminal illness. It sounds like it'd be depressing but you'll end up smiling and admiring the strength Marius showed in the face of death.

In a nutshell, Henry Rollins uses Think Tank to take you on the rollercoaster of rage, frustration, sorrow, and awe that is life - and he'll make you laugh the whole time. If you like to learn something while you laugh, this is for you.