Author: Henry Rollins
Title: Smile, You’re Traveling
Publisher: 2.13.61
‘Smile, You’re Traveling’ is the third instalment of a
series of works by Rollins; ‘Black Coffee Blues’.
Preceded by ‘Black Coffee Blues’ and ’Do I Come Here Often?;
this volume documents both his lonesome travels,
and the 1997 world tour with the band in support of their new record ‘Come in
And Burn’ .
Rollins continues to write, with subjective fervour, about
loneliness and the human condition; finding his tolerance for others waning,
and his need for self imposed solitude increasing.
From his tour diaries, to his expeditions in Africa, Rollins
finds solace, almost enjoyment in his antagonistic sarcasm; a perfect foil for
his all consuming passive aggressiveness.
There is sadness throughout, as the realisation that the Rollins
Band are no longer a force slowly dawning on Rollins; with dwindling sales and
poorly attended concerts.
Rollins has often dismissed this MTV led level of fame and
fortune as fickle, and derides others for their open desire to become part of
the cycle. However, hidden between the abject cynicism and bitterness, there is
a tenderness as he subtly alludes to the impending dissolution of this
incarnation of Rollins Band.
A band which experienced commercial and critical success
only 4 or 5 years earlier were now fast approaching the end of the curve, with
Rollins asserting that he has perhaps now become too old and jaded for the
music industry.
Delivered with humour, his confrontational and forthright
prose echoes Fante, or Hemmingway at his least romantic.
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