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Black Coffee Blues #1
Black Coffee Blues
"If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will write in blood on forgotten walls. I will write always. I will capture nights all over the world and bring them to you." Henry Rollins, renowned spoken word performer, musician, actor and author of several books, has a unique, hard edged view of the world. This collection of writings from 1989-1991 is the classic Rollins book.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Henry Rollins
102 books1,662 followersHenry Rollins (born Henry Lawrence Garfield; often referred to simply as Rollins) is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, author, actor and publisher.
After joining the short-lived Washington, D.C. band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the Californian hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups until 2003 and during 2006.
Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as The Henry Rollins Show and Harmony In My Head, and television shows, such as MTV's 120 Minutes and Jackass, along with roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for human rights in the United States, promoting gay rights in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops.
After joining the short-lived Washington, D.C. band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the Californian hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups until 2003 and during 2006.
Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as The Henry Rollins Show and Harmony In My Head, and television shows, such as MTV's 120 Minutes and Jackass, along with roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for human rights in the United States, promoting gay rights in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
May 7, 2009
Henry Rollins is depressed and angry, drinks a lot of coffee, has girl problems, and i love him
March 22, 2019
#1: I have to get myself in a certain kind of mood to read Henry Rollins. Then I have to get myself in another certain kind of mood to review him. Dude is challenging on the best of days.
#2: Look, I get it. Rollins was abused as a child. He was the product of a broken marriage and never bonded in any way with his parents. He has suffered and probably still does suffer from deep depressions. That shit is not to joke about. I have too many people in my life who have to deal with depression on a daily basis, and I know first hand how devastating it can be.
#3: That said, Henry Rollins can still manage to be quite an ass sometimes.
#4: What makes that so frustrating is that he KNOWS that he can often be an ass. It’s impossible to really hate on someone like that. All you can really do is observe and try to understand what the person who is being a conscious ass is trying to say. I mean he doesn’t have the social skills to say what he wants or needs to say without frequently being an ass.
#5: The first part of this book is perhaps the most frustrating. I’m doing my best to mimic his formatting just because I sometimes like to do that. It may be the only real way that I can relate to his work. “124 Worlds” comprises the first section of the book, and it’s an imposing train ride through Rollin’s mind. Madness. Violence. Suicide. I’m certain that some of these tidbits have more than a grain of truth about them. Loneliness. The inability to relate one on one to other human beings. It’s 124 vignettes of pain and isolation geared to provoke a response. I kinda got deadened to it after about 75-80 entries in.
#6: “Black Coffee Blues” is the first book in a trilogy. It has a reputation as being one of the quintessential Rollins books. I guess that it might be.
#7: Look, man. I’ve dealt with pain and depression a bit myself. I know some of these things. I have cancer. I’ve been handling chemo and various other treatments for two and a-half years now, since I was diagnosed. I can’t even begin to convey to you what all of this feels like from an emotional or physical point of view. Only those who have experienced something similar can or would be able to relate to what I would have to say.
#8: This is what makes writing about depression particularly tough. People who are not clinically depressed often look at this sort of thing and poo-poo it. They don’t know. They can’t place it in proper context. This is understandable.
#9: My boy could have chopped this section by at least 25-30 entries.
Next up is “Invisible Woman Blues,” a screed on how difficult Rollins finds the opposite sex. Fact: Rollins has not carried on a personal relationship with a woman since his twenties. He’s almost sixty now. I dig, brother. The secret of relationships is that you have to give of yourself, open yourself up in ways that will invariably be painful. Henry seems to never have been able to adapt himself to that pain. It’s okay. We’re not all cut out for that. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
“Exhaustion Blues” is the next part. Henry details his battles on the road with the sheer effort that it takes to sustain such a lifestyle. This book was written when Henry was still doing active touring with The Rollins Band while also maintaining a grueling schedule of spoken word performances.
“Black Coffee Blues” is a section that reads much like the tour diaries that can be found in “Get In The Van,” Rollin’s seminal book of life on the road with Black Flag. This is probably, no, it IS, the most easily digestible portion of the entire screed. Henry loves him some coffee, man. I dig that. I’ve been an addict since my early teens. Lots of this section is from European tours. Rollins has a real love/hate thing for Europe. He is still pretty popular over there. Black Flag and The Rollins Band were both arguably more popular across the pond than they were here in the States. I grooved on this part of the book. Rollins tunes into a different beat on the road. He can’t be caged for long. His instinct is to move forward at all times. It’s really not a bad philosophy of life when you get down to it. Our pasts haunt us all. Better to leave things behind and focus on the NOW.
“61 Dreams 1986-1989” reads a lot like the first section of the book. I found it interesting that Rollins seems to dream about his old Black Flag band mates a lot. I never did understand why Greg Ginn got such a burr up his ass where Chuck Dukowsky was concerned. Rollins seems not to, either.
“I Know You” is free verse, Rollins style. It’s okay. I’m less a fan of the poetic Rollins than I am of the prose Rollins. For the record, I feel the same way where Charles Bukowski is concerned. Rollins and Bukowski work some of the same territory for me. They both navigate life with such a raw passion, such a fierceness for grubbing down into that gutter of empty pain and fear and loathing. Except that Bukowski may have actually been more cheerful than Rollins. Strap that on and carry that around in your head for a while. I’ll wait. That said, this is the most organized and truly thematic piece in the entire book. I think we all know a little bit about that guy you know, Henry. This may be the most universally conscious thing that you have ever written.
#10: Look, no matter how I slice it, this is essential Rollins material. You’ll never have a chance of trying to understand him thoroughly until you read some of this stuff. You have to be able to totally contextualize the man to know where he stands on things. No half-assed measures for Rollins or for you. The truth is that I like Rollins quite a bit, even though he tries his dead level best to alienate everyone around him, even his readers. Which, in fairness, is a core part of his appeal to his fervent fan base. But goddamn, man…….
#11: If I ever pass Rollins on the street I’ll do just as he says and nod politely and keep on walking. There is no need for true contact. This will be as close as you will ever get to Rollins. He won’t let you get any nearer. And that’s fine. You don’t wanna be all dickly to the guy, or have him be dickly to you. Just pass on by with a slight tip of your head and a slightly raised eyebrow. You’ll both appreciate it, believe me.
#2: Look, I get it. Rollins was abused as a child. He was the product of a broken marriage and never bonded in any way with his parents. He has suffered and probably still does suffer from deep depressions. That shit is not to joke about. I have too many people in my life who have to deal with depression on a daily basis, and I know first hand how devastating it can be.
#3: That said, Henry Rollins can still manage to be quite an ass sometimes.
#4: What makes that so frustrating is that he KNOWS that he can often be an ass. It’s impossible to really hate on someone like that. All you can really do is observe and try to understand what the person who is being a conscious ass is trying to say. I mean he doesn’t have the social skills to say what he wants or needs to say without frequently being an ass.
#5: The first part of this book is perhaps the most frustrating. I’m doing my best to mimic his formatting just because I sometimes like to do that. It may be the only real way that I can relate to his work. “124 Worlds” comprises the first section of the book, and it’s an imposing train ride through Rollin’s mind. Madness. Violence. Suicide. I’m certain that some of these tidbits have more than a grain of truth about them. Loneliness. The inability to relate one on one to other human beings. It’s 124 vignettes of pain and isolation geared to provoke a response. I kinda got deadened to it after about 75-80 entries in.
#6: “Black Coffee Blues” is the first book in a trilogy. It has a reputation as being one of the quintessential Rollins books. I guess that it might be.
#7: Look, man. I’ve dealt with pain and depression a bit myself. I know some of these things. I have cancer. I’ve been handling chemo and various other treatments for two and a-half years now, since I was diagnosed. I can’t even begin to convey to you what all of this feels like from an emotional or physical point of view. Only those who have experienced something similar can or would be able to relate to what I would have to say.
#8: This is what makes writing about depression particularly tough. People who are not clinically depressed often look at this sort of thing and poo-poo it. They don’t know. They can’t place it in proper context. This is understandable.
#9: My boy could have chopped this section by at least 25-30 entries.
Next up is “Invisible Woman Blues,” a screed on how difficult Rollins finds the opposite sex. Fact: Rollins has not carried on a personal relationship with a woman since his twenties. He’s almost sixty now. I dig, brother. The secret of relationships is that you have to give of yourself, open yourself up in ways that will invariably be painful. Henry seems to never have been able to adapt himself to that pain. It’s okay. We’re not all cut out for that. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
“Exhaustion Blues” is the next part. Henry details his battles on the road with the sheer effort that it takes to sustain such a lifestyle. This book was written when Henry was still doing active touring with The Rollins Band while also maintaining a grueling schedule of spoken word performances.
“Black Coffee Blues” is a section that reads much like the tour diaries that can be found in “Get In The Van,” Rollin’s seminal book of life on the road with Black Flag. This is probably, no, it IS, the most easily digestible portion of the entire screed. Henry loves him some coffee, man. I dig that. I’ve been an addict since my early teens. Lots of this section is from European tours. Rollins has a real love/hate thing for Europe. He is still pretty popular over there. Black Flag and The Rollins Band were both arguably more popular across the pond than they were here in the States. I grooved on this part of the book. Rollins tunes into a different beat on the road. He can’t be caged for long. His instinct is to move forward at all times. It’s really not a bad philosophy of life when you get down to it. Our pasts haunt us all. Better to leave things behind and focus on the NOW.
“61 Dreams 1986-1989” reads a lot like the first section of the book. I found it interesting that Rollins seems to dream about his old Black Flag band mates a lot. I never did understand why Greg Ginn got such a burr up his ass where Chuck Dukowsky was concerned. Rollins seems not to, either.
“I Know You” is free verse, Rollins style. It’s okay. I’m less a fan of the poetic Rollins than I am of the prose Rollins. For the record, I feel the same way where Charles Bukowski is concerned. Rollins and Bukowski work some of the same territory for me. They both navigate life with such a raw passion, such a fierceness for grubbing down into that gutter of empty pain and fear and loathing. Except that Bukowski may have actually been more cheerful than Rollins. Strap that on and carry that around in your head for a while. I’ll wait. That said, this is the most organized and truly thematic piece in the entire book. I think we all know a little bit about that guy you know, Henry. This may be the most universally conscious thing that you have ever written.
#10: Look, no matter how I slice it, this is essential Rollins material. You’ll never have a chance of trying to understand him thoroughly until you read some of this stuff. You have to be able to totally contextualize the man to know where he stands on things. No half-assed measures for Rollins or for you. The truth is that I like Rollins quite a bit, even though he tries his dead level best to alienate everyone around him, even his readers. Which, in fairness, is a core part of his appeal to his fervent fan base. But goddamn, man…….
#11: If I ever pass Rollins on the street I’ll do just as he says and nod politely and keep on walking. There is no need for true contact. This will be as close as you will ever get to Rollins. He won’t let you get any nearer. And that’s fine. You don’t wanna be all dickly to the guy, or have him be dickly to you. Just pass on by with a slight tip of your head and a slightly raised eyebrow. You’ll both appreciate it, believe me.
August 8, 2015
This is my favorite of all of Henry Rollins' books. Especially good is the first section "124 Worlds". Very dark and provocative yet not without its flashing moments of humor. Rollins at the top of his game, an awesome thing to behold. He and Andrew Vachss are two of my favorite artists. Never met them (saw Black Flag in '85, but you know what I mean) and both Rollins and Vachss intimidate me in a weird, indefinable way, but they are men I hold in the highest regard.They have never disappointed me, always challenged, enlightened and entertained me. Read some Rollins. Start here.
July 17, 2019
World #44
His struggle was long and well documented. A lot of people passed through his life. There were long stretches of brightness, times when I thought he wasn’t human. The way he could keep going when it made me tired just to watch. His grip was at times, unbelievable. His rise was a lesson to all. A slap to the face of anyone who ever doubted him. His ascension was like an iron fist punching through the sky. His driving force was rage. When he achieved anything, he would think to himself that he had beaten them again—he had proven himself to them all. When he was low on inspiration, he would think of them and his desire to utterly destroy them, and a surge of energy that he could barely contain would shoot through him. At times he felt absolutely electric—incredibly strong. There was a dangerous and negative after-effect to all this. He suffered periods of depression that made it hard to breathe. At times he thought that he would kill himself. For years he had tried to relate to women. He was always unsuccessful. No matter whom he met, after a short time, he felt distant and alienated. They never understood his need to confront. His need to challenge. When he would tell them that he wanted to die all the time, that there was beauty in pain, they never understood. In his mind, there was only truth. He ignored any suggestion that was ever offered him. He prided himself in being able to take the punishment year after year. The secret was that he had no fear of death. He was truly ready to die at all times. He hated life. He had pure contempt for it. His conduct bordered on violent paranoia. No one understood what he was after. You should have heard all the bullshit that dropped out of their mouths when they talked about him. Like they could ever last a minute in his shoes. Like they ever could experience the pain thresholds that he had. He knew things they never would.
There was a time in my early 20s when I would have framed this and hung it on my wall. Looking at it today, I remember what that time was like. It was hard, but there was some pride in being uncompromising. It would be easy to write off Rollins' isolationist self-reliance as a postadolescent philosophy that appeals to post-adolescents, but I don't think that's true. It's more accurate to say that Rollins constructed a belief system that is different than the one I ultimately chose.
April 24, 2018
'Monster' was my favorite part.
'I torture myself with life. I exercise my body merely to taunt it, to cause it pain and make it hurt. To make it scream.'
'I've tried some stupid things in my time. Gone to extremes to try and get away from things in my head that I knew were trying to kill me. Hard to swallow when you see yourself as the enemy.'
'The monster stalks the streets in search of itself. Regret, fuck that guy. Despair, shoot him. Lonliness, come forward. I want to disfigure you. I want to turn you on yourself and make you see what you do to people. I want you to see the blood and the anger. I want you to feel the sullen lump that finds itself in my throat when you come in. I want to lock you up in solitary and watch you destroy yourself. I'm going to make sure you go as slow as possible. I want you to taste every drop. You're going to find out what hell is like. You're going to see that it's You.'
'I torture myself with life. I exercise my body merely to taunt it, to cause it pain and make it hurt. To make it scream.'
'I've tried some stupid things in my time. Gone to extremes to try and get away from things in my head that I knew were trying to kill me. Hard to swallow when you see yourself as the enemy.'
'The monster stalks the streets in search of itself. Regret, fuck that guy. Despair, shoot him. Lonliness, come forward. I want to disfigure you. I want to turn you on yourself and make you see what you do to people. I want you to see the blood and the anger. I want you to feel the sullen lump that finds itself in my throat when you come in. I want to lock you up in solitary and watch you destroy yourself. I'm going to make sure you go as slow as possible. I want you to taste every drop. You're going to find out what hell is like. You're going to see that it's You.'
October 22, 2007
Hank may have ruled when he was singing songs about fuckin shit up in the early to mid 80s, but his poetry is fuckin LAME. LAME LAME LAME LAME LAME.
There's this one poem in the back that's like "Hey you. Hangin out in the library with your unfashionable clothes.
I know you.
Hey you, sittin around
listening to music your classmates CANT UNDERSTAND
I know you.
I feel your pain.
Hey
hey you
hangin out on friday night alone at home
pettin your cats and stuff
watchin a lifetime channel original movie
I know you."
or some lame shit like that, HEY HANK I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD A LIVEJOURNAL
Seriously if you're a big fan of rollins era black flag and you read this, either you totally didn't get black flag, or you're gonna stop liking them.
There's this one poem in the back that's like "Hey you. Hangin out in the library with your unfashionable clothes.
I know you.
Hey you, sittin around
listening to music your classmates CANT UNDERSTAND
I know you.
I feel your pain.
Hey
hey you
hangin out on friday night alone at home
pettin your cats and stuff
watchin a lifetime channel original movie
I know you."
or some lame shit like that, HEY HANK I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD A LIVEJOURNAL
Seriously if you're a big fan of rollins era black flag and you read this, either you totally didn't get black flag, or you're gonna stop liking them.
December 18, 2011
Reason why I decided to read books of Henry Rollins was that I felt his philosophi is similary like mine. So I didn´t expect I would have found out any new information for me. And I didn´t.
But It was really pleasing to read short stories that can be just invented, taken over from neighborhoods or Henry´s himself. To have seen the subtext that says that there are the other ways of life. That satisfaction is not only in married life or in childern. Henry show us his world that can be so copious for experience or feelings than live of anyone from that ordinary people.
As well the book serves as personal autotherapy - I can see how Henry needed puke out his interal demons about growing up. In every contribution you can feel his screwed up childhood, father who fucked up on him and mother who wasn´t better than his father. Neverthless I don´t percieve that like disadvatage. I believe if it hadn´t been the feelings that boiled in Henry in his childhood, it wouldn´t have created his personality that kind of we know these days. And we wouldn´t have had the book that is so great and rich for exploring.
So, if you want to read something what make you to have a think about life and maybe give you something what you take from, I recommend books of Henry Rollins. Just try it ;)
But It was really pleasing to read short stories that can be just invented, taken over from neighborhoods or Henry´s himself. To have seen the subtext that says that there are the other ways of life. That satisfaction is not only in married life or in childern. Henry show us his world that can be so copious for experience or feelings than live of anyone from that ordinary people.
As well the book serves as personal autotherapy - I can see how Henry needed puke out his interal demons about growing up. In every contribution you can feel his screwed up childhood, father who fucked up on him and mother who wasn´t better than his father. Neverthless I don´t percieve that like disadvatage. I believe if it hadn´t been the feelings that boiled in Henry in his childhood, it wouldn´t have created his personality that kind of we know these days. And we wouldn´t have had the book that is so great and rich for exploring.
So, if you want to read something what make you to have a think about life and maybe give you something what you take from, I recommend books of Henry Rollins. Just try it ;)
May 29, 2007
The problem with this book - the reason it's not the success it so badly wants to be - is not that there aren't moments of depth and prescience here. It's that those moments are hidden beneath layer upon layer of bombast verging on whining. Rollins has the charisma to carry us through and laugh with and at that in his exhilerating performances. Here, naked on the page, the pieces in this collection simply wail like a teenager at a hardcore show, but without the crowd, the music, or the sheltering haze.
December 15, 2017
Oh, Henry. The ladies love ya. The dweebs wanna be ya. All you need is a Nudie suit, cowboy boots and some lounge-singer crooning lessons, you could rip up Las Vegas!
I can't be objective about Henry, and I have no idea about the artistic merit of this book at this point. It's just Henry, and Henry has been part of my life too long not to love it.
I can't be objective about Henry, and I have no idea about the artistic merit of this book at this point. It's just Henry, and Henry has been part of my life too long not to love it.
November 17, 2019
I love Rollins' music, talking shows, his work ethic, and his admirable integrity; however, a lot of this book was just Henry moping like Henry sometimes does. The vignettes that cover half the book were interesting (much like he wrote in EYE SCREAM), but I found the tour diary bits as well as the dreams (61 Dreams) much more entertaining. Not the best example of what Rollins can offer. GET IN THE VAN and BROKEN SUMMERS on the other hand were great.
April 18, 2013
I dare you to read the "124 Worlds" chapter without bursting out laughing.
December 7, 2022
Audio CD
October 21, 2021
"Už se svou myslí nechci bojovat. Naposledy to bylo moc ostrý a já jsem prohrál. Chci kráčet, dokud nezmizím do nicoty. Kde je nikde? Jak se tam dostanu? Mohu to najít v noci? Jestli to někde je, je to v noci, někde v noci." <3
November 3, 2012
"#91: They took him underneath the stairs. He pleaded with them. One of them punched him in the mouth and told him that he was going to die if he didnt do what they told him to do. He sucked all their dicks. They beat the shit out of him and left. He vomited and somehow got home. It was his fourth week as a police officer. He was found a month later in the same place with a screwdriver in the side of his head and his severed cock in his mouth. He was one of thirteen cops that were killed in that county that summer. No one was ever caught."
I had tried previously to get into Black Flag and the Rollins Band back in the 80's but it's not my thing. However, I'd always had a degree of respect for the total public honesty and nihilism of Henry Rollins. Black Coffee Blues is my first try at his written work and it was a treat. This collection is made up of 124 small pieces like #91 quoted above. It takes a special kind of genius to write prose like that so hence why I picked it out.
Additionally there's a tour journal, other articles and poems. It's only 148 pages long but I enjoyed his special brand of utter bleak narrative. This is recommended and I'll be reading more of his written work in the future.
I had tried previously to get into Black Flag and the Rollins Band back in the 80's but it's not my thing. However, I'd always had a degree of respect for the total public honesty and nihilism of Henry Rollins. Black Coffee Blues is my first try at his written work and it was a treat. This collection is made up of 124 small pieces like #91 quoted above. It takes a special kind of genius to write prose like that so hence why I picked it out.
Additionally there's a tour journal, other articles and poems. It's only 148 pages long but I enjoyed his special brand of utter bleak narrative. This is recommended and I'll be reading more of his written work in the future.
March 17, 2008
You know how everyone who loves to read has that one book that they talk about that was basically their "gateway drug" into reading? This was that book for me. Rollins is one of the unlikely thought-leader of our time, and this is one of his masterpieces. If you ever get a chance to go to one of his talking shows, don't pass it up!
April 16, 2024
Första delen innehåller 124 (!!!) väldigt korta berättelser från samhällets skuggsidor. Polishatare, kvinnomisshandlare, narkomaner och allmän olycka. Del två är mer delar ur Henrys väldigt personliga (hårde Henry har varit kär, tro det eller ej) dagbok.
En stark samling texter!
En stark samling texter!
March 6, 2021
Not sure what to think of this - the first third are small violent short stories, closest I reckon to Pahlaniuk's writing, these didn't really do it for me. The later parts are autobiographical essays, mostly self-reflection, very honest, good stuff.
June 9, 2013
Just re-read this this month. Undeniably easy to identify with the quiet strength of this punk icon. His insomnia, the anger that fules him is the same that used to fuel me. The observations on humanity show his voice and take on society in such a gritty purity. A filthy, bukowski-esque world that he does find ways to love. Or at least a soundtrack to love over it all.
February 23, 2016
I love rollins, black flag and everything else about him and probably because of that I had really really high hopes for this book.
From some other person it would be more than ok, but for henry it's just not enough.
From some other person it would be more than ok, but for henry it's just not enough.
February 1, 2017
Beautiful and powerful, like a modern noir book of poetry. To me, Henry Rollins feels more real and natural than Bukowski.
February 27, 2024
Black Coffee Blues (1992) by Henry Rollins is a book of Rollins’ short works.
#1 It has a series of 124 paragraph to page long stories to start followed by works that are several pages long on women and being exhausted on the road. It ends with ‘I Know You’ a powerful poem by Rollins.
#2 It is relentless. Especially the first short stories where things do not bode well for the protagonists as Rollins pushes his dark, sometimes funny, take on the world.
#3 It is overly repetitive.
The last time I read this book I was living and working in Sweden in my twenties. Rollins still has a kind of therapeutic value like a sort of Punk Rock therapist. For many young people, primarily men, he is both worth reading and can help.
I’ve seen Rollins, his spoken word is really good. I saw him Baltimore and after the show my friend and I got lost if dodgy parts of Baltimore, which was an ideal sort of end to a Rollins concert in a way. We saw parts of a scary world that Rollins likes to describe.
Taking advice and solace from Rollins all the time is a bad idea. Listening to what he has sometimes can help. His spoken word and music is better than his writing, but if you really like Rollins the books can be a useful addition.
Black Coffee Blues is stark, bleak and entertaining in it’s own way. Some people will hate it, some appreciate it and Rollins fans may love it.
#1 It has a series of 124 paragraph to page long stories to start followed by works that are several pages long on women and being exhausted on the road. It ends with ‘I Know You’ a powerful poem by Rollins.
#2 It is relentless. Especially the first short stories where things do not bode well for the protagonists as Rollins pushes his dark, sometimes funny, take on the world.
#3 It is overly repetitive.
The last time I read this book I was living and working in Sweden in my twenties. Rollins still has a kind of therapeutic value like a sort of Punk Rock therapist. For many young people, primarily men, he is both worth reading and can help.
I’ve seen Rollins, his spoken word is really good. I saw him Baltimore and after the show my friend and I got lost if dodgy parts of Baltimore, which was an ideal sort of end to a Rollins concert in a way. We saw parts of a scary world that Rollins likes to describe.
Taking advice and solace from Rollins all the time is a bad idea. Listening to what he has sometimes can help. His spoken word and music is better than his writing, but if you really like Rollins the books can be a useful addition.
Black Coffee Blues is stark, bleak and entertaining in it’s own way. Some people will hate it, some appreciate it and Rollins fans may love it.
July 24, 2023
I first got to know and cane to like Henry Rollins though the Rollins Band and his post-2000 spoken word. Fortunately. What a frustrated, frustrating young man we have in this journal! I don't think Black Coffee Blues would have been a very good first exposure for me. I'm happy to see there has been some personal growth since then.
November 20, 2023
My favorite of Henry's books. I know you feels like he wrote it for me.
December 28, 2023
I think I would have appreciated this more when I was younger. I was a big Rollins fan in the '90s (still am, for that matter), and I related a lot more to his point of view back then. Now, though, it's a little tiresome. From what I know of Rollins, though. I think he might feel the same way.
His spoken word stuff is more interesting, since it's more conversational and less reading what he's written.
His spoken word stuff is more interesting, since it's more conversational and less reading what he's written.
March 31, 2021
Rollins' music has never been my bag but I've always been a big fan of his spoken word and columns, so in delving into his books, I thought it best to start at the beginning.
Bad move.
His first volume of journal entries, while as raw and honest as you'd expect, are just too adolescent too much of the time.
The first half of the book is taken up by a series of vignettes called 124 Worlds, which is basically dispensable. It has a couple of moments but it mostly sounds like Holden Caulfield, which is definitely not a compliment.
The second half is a big improvement, but despite it containing the free verse poem I Know You which literally changed my life, I'm being generous with two stars here. Better to dip in where he has matured as a writer and thinker.
Bad move.
His first volume of journal entries, while as raw and honest as you'd expect, are just too adolescent too much of the time.
The first half of the book is taken up by a series of vignettes called 124 Worlds, which is basically dispensable. It has a couple of moments but it mostly sounds like Holden Caulfield, which is definitely not a compliment.
The second half is a big improvement, but despite it containing the free verse poem I Know You which literally changed my life, I'm being generous with two stars here. Better to dip in where he has matured as a writer and thinker.
February 3, 2022
Like looking in a mirror that reveals internalized, gut-wrenching realities which are seldomly spoken. Provacative, yet human. A glimpse into the perpetual loneliness and self-hatred that inevitably comes with fame.
January 11, 2014
“Black Coffee Blues” is the first published book of Henry Rollins. It’s a great little collection of poetry and journal entries from Rollins’ days in the 80’s touring with his band, Black Flag. I loved the hell out of this book and often come back to it just because the writings are so quick and easy to jump in to. The themes of depressing urban life, aloneness and exhaustion are very well crafted and fun to read about even if, like me, you can’t really relate to it most of the time.
If you’re a reader of Rollins, this book becomes even more interesting on subsequent read-throughs because you can really see how much his attitude and views have progressed or solidified from this starting point. I’d say it’s pretty much necessary to go ahead and read the rest of the Black Coffee Blues trilogy if you enjoyed this one even slightly.
The way Rollins writes the entries and poems is so visceral and tangible that you can just paint the perfect mental image of what is going on around the author as he writes the things. From coffee shops in cold, Northern-European countries to smoggy and decrepit DC city apartments, you’re able to get an image and feel for it all as if you were actually with him writing the entries.
I can see why a lot of people aren’t fans of the book, seeing as how some of the poems can be really depressing or seemingly devoid of any meaning, but I found a lot of redeeming qualities in “Black Coffee Blues” and I think its content just makes it accessible to so many kinds of people that it’s really hard not to recommend. Overall, it’s a fantastic collection of poems and musings from one of the most interesting writers ever. If you’re even a little interested, pick it up and finish it in a day; I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
If you’re a reader of Rollins, this book becomes even more interesting on subsequent read-throughs because you can really see how much his attitude and views have progressed or solidified from this starting point. I’d say it’s pretty much necessary to go ahead and read the rest of the Black Coffee Blues trilogy if you enjoyed this one even slightly.
The way Rollins writes the entries and poems is so visceral and tangible that you can just paint the perfect mental image of what is going on around the author as he writes the things. From coffee shops in cold, Northern-European countries to smoggy and decrepit DC city apartments, you’re able to get an image and feel for it all as if you were actually with him writing the entries.
I can see why a lot of people aren’t fans of the book, seeing as how some of the poems can be really depressing or seemingly devoid of any meaning, but I found a lot of redeeming qualities in “Black Coffee Blues” and I think its content just makes it accessible to so many kinds of people that it’s really hard not to recommend. Overall, it’s a fantastic collection of poems and musings from one of the most interesting writers ever. If you’re even a little interested, pick it up and finish it in a day; I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
April 26, 2014
A friend who is a huge Henry Rollins fan suggested this book. He absolutely loved it and even referred to it as one of his "favorite books." I took it and was going to read it without much expectation - I mean, I am not the fan that he is and thought his love for the book was more from the point of view of a glassy eyed fan. I was pleasantly surprised...
I truly enjoyed this book and really love Rollins words, his thoughts, and his brutal honesty. I felt I was taken into the darkest corners of his mind and through the rotting holes of his heart. I couldn't put the book down - I absolutely was taken.
Great read; really. I am now a Henry Rollins, author, fan. :)
I truly enjoyed this book and really love Rollins words, his thoughts, and his brutal honesty. I felt I was taken into the darkest corners of his mind and through the rotting holes of his heart. I couldn't put the book down - I absolutely was taken.
Great read; really. I am now a Henry Rollins, author, fan. :)
January 22, 2013
this book changed my life ok
henry rollins is a great man
don't go into reading with expectations with what its going to be like
format is kind of weird i didnt really get what the first part was at first... was it flashbacks from his life? random stories? still not really sure what they are but it doesnt matter because they're great.
the poem at the end, i know you, is one of my favourites.
henry writes like how he talks; no bullshit, no flouncy language just straight, to the point, honest and passionate.
10/10 v good
henry rollins is a great man
don't go into reading with expectations with what its going to be like
format is kind of weird i didnt really get what the first part was at first... was it flashbacks from his life? random stories? still not really sure what they are but it doesnt matter because they're great.
the poem at the end, i know you, is one of my favourites.
henry writes like how he talks; no bullshit, no flouncy language just straight, to the point, honest and passionate.
10/10 v good
May 7, 2016
I owned this book close to a year or two before I ever cracked its pages. Having finally jumped in and delved into Rollins' work, I'm impressed by his hard-edged perspective. At times, this book is bleak and as dark as it gets, but poignant and insightful at the same time. I really enjoyed this book and would suggest it to anyone who doesn't mind mild cursing, dark themes and books about music. It's a very worthwhile read for anyone that's a music fan... and even for those that aren't.
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