Well, it seems that very soon, Henry Rollins will again unwittingly betray his hidden envy/jealousy/affinity for Morrissey. I am responding to a report that Dearest Henry has recently finished recording his next attempt at an entertainment "special". According to the report, the "special" will be broadcast on Comedy Central sometime in August & will contain some remarks by Mr. Rollins regarding his feelings about Moz. Since the report does not detail the nature of Henry's remarks, I will assume that we should expect the usual. He will probably use this venue to complain again about how Morrissey should cheer up or lighten up. (It is once again all too apparent that the pot has missed the kettle's point.) Maybe he will make some more ignorant comments/generalizations about how Smiths/Morrissey fans need to get more vitamin C or go outside in the sun more often. He will almost certainly miss another opportunity to publicly come to terms with his obvious fascination & (less obvious) affinity for Morrissey as an Artist. I don't wish to allude to any physical or latent sexual attraction between the two men (though various comments made by each might invite speculation). Hank's constant (& overtly aggressive) verbal abuse of Morrissey speaks volumes. Mr. Rollins can't seem to keep his mouth shut when it comes to Moz. His compulsion to talk trash about the Smiths/Morrissey indicates that Henry has spent more than a little time in denial of his obvious admiration. I'm not suggesting that Henry Rollins secretly enjoys watching Morrissey videos. On the contrary, I believe that Henry is tortured by his refusal/inability to accept that he is deeply moved by Morrissey's lyrics. Whether the emotions Morrissey evokes in him are welcome or unwelcome is beside the point. Rollins can't tolerate being moved to such extreme emotion by an Artist who he considers his nemesis. In reality, there are some parallels which can be (and have been) drawn between the ideologies of these two men. Of course, there are also many MAJOR differences. Ironically, it is pride & cynicism (strong traits in both men) which drive Henry to concentrate on the differences rather than to graciously acknowledge any parallels. I know that Rollins works very hard to express himself musically and he certainly deserves an A for effort. I can't say that I've ever enjoyed a song by The Rollins Band but I appreciate how hard he tries to reach people. In many ways, an Artist's success lies in the creation and the expression. Some Artists are just innately more musically inclined than others. Morrissey's ability to reach people in such deeply personal and important ways understandably drives Hank a little crazy. I have heard Henry speak and find him to be fairly intelligent and insightful. However, he possesses only a small fraction of Morrissey's talents of perception & expression. Neither does he have Morrissey's command of the written word. This makes Rollins furious. Can't we all just get along? I suppose not. Anyway, what fun would that be? But I would like to give both of these Artists a big kiss on the lips. I hope they will both continue to 'sing their life'. Just remember, "It's so easy to laugh. It's so easy to hate. It takes guts to be gentle & kind."

Viva Love,
XOXOXO

I saw Rollins play on friday and I liked it. a lot. nobody got hurt.