An icon in the world of punk rock, Henry Rollins has never been one to mince words. For good or for worse. As the living representation of 1980s American radical punk, it only makes sense that Rollins has quite a few favorite political records. And he’s been kind enough in the past to share his top picks. Let’s take a look at just a couple of Henry Rollins’ top political records!
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1. ‘The Clash’ by The Clash
A revered classic for a reason, The Clash’s 1976 self-titled debut album arrived at the onset of British punk rock. Few bands from across the ponds are as closely associated with the rise of punk rock as The Clash. Rollins has spoken about how that particular record affected him in a big way, beyond musical inspiration.
“It was really that Clash record that really made me question authority, question any established structure,” said Rollins of The Clash. “I was in high school when I heard that, and that record, I was going to a prep school with a uniform and a bunch of ex-military yelling at me every day: ‘Get up!’ I’d stand up. Your parents paid good money to have teachers yell at you for all of high school, and that’s what I went through. I was terrified of them, and I was kind of submissive in the face of yelling power. Once Professor Joe Strummer got to me, I started going to Saturday detention, because I started pushing back.”
2. ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ by Dead Kennedys
Henry Rollins’ top records often feature contributions from his contemporaries. It’s not exactly surprising that the 1980 punk record Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys is in his collection. In fact, Rollins even said that Dead Kennedys scared him a bit when he first listened to them.
“That record hit me, like, it kind of scared me, because I knew [Jello Biafra],” said Rollins of Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables. “[…] He tripped me out with that record, and it kind of blew my mind. It was like politics with a fuse that you’re supposed to light, and I didn’t want to light it. It was a bit much for my young mind to get itself around. Jello is like an intellectual terrorist, and he was one of the first people who made me understand the power of an idea.”
3. ‘The Feeding Of 5000’ by Crass
Another contemporary of Henry Rollins on our list of his top political records, Crass’ 1979 album The Feeding Of The 5000 was one of several records that radicalized Rollins at a young age. Specifically, this anarcho-punk record opened up Rollins’ young mind to what anarchism actually was.
“My best friend, Ian McKay [of Minor Threat and Fugazi], his younger brother, Alec McKay, had this record and played it all the time,” said Rollins of The Feeding Of The 5000. “[…] I read that massive, football-field-sized foldout book thing, and I started to understand where these anarchists are coming from. They’re into a Thatcher-Reagan anger, really speaking to what’s going on in Britain, which was very bleak. It’s enough punk rock and enough anger and futility expressed in it where I saw myself in it.”
Photo by Lindsay Brice/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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