Turned On

Rating:
Summary: I put it down several times ....
Review: ... but only to get up and slip another Black Flag cd into the stereo. This is a barnstormingly passionate celebration of music, so visceral you feel you're in the scummy clubs being battered by the serious sounds. Some of the writing is great, some is ludicrously florid, most of it is both. I had a great time.

Rating:
Summary: This book should be subtitled: A biography of Black Flag
Review: I bought this book thinking I would get more insight into Henry Rollins, not just a history of the DC punk scene, followed by a detailed history of Black Flag. There is very little said in this book about Rollins that a fan doesn't already know from attending his spoken word shows. You get about 20-30 pages of the time period covering 1961 to 1980, then ~230 pages covering 1980-1986, with the chapter last of the book glossing over 1986-1998. I felt the book rambled along at times and I was tempted to toss it aside. I thought after reading the other reviews that this book was going to be so much better than it was. The bottom line: I would spend my money on another Rollins spoken word DVD instead of buying this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great If You're Looking For Flag Coverage
Review: I personally have always been much more interested in Black Flag than in Rollins band, particularly post-1990, so the fact that this book is 70% Flag is just fine with me. I've also read every little thing I could get my hands on about Black Flag since 1985 or so, and I gained plenty of new insights through this book. Parker does overwrite here and there, sounding like a bit of a starstruck fan, but with a book that's mostly about a crazy rock band you shouldn't be expecting Tolstoy. To give this book one star is underrating it without question. Makes a fine companion piece to "Get In The Van".

Rating:
Summary: The bottom of the biography barrell.
Review: I resold TURNED ON shortly after reading it. When Parker's biography on Henry Rollins was only available in the UK I almost shelled out the extra bucks to have it imported. Having read Parker's lackluster prose I feel justified in having waited for its US release. The average Rollins fan (and I don't imagine many non-Rollins fans shelling out money for this book) will find little new here. A good portion of TURNED ON deals with Rollins' Black Flag days. The post-Black Flag era is broken down into very brief chapters. The only unknown tidbit I gathered was Rollins heroic intake of LSD. While I don't doubt Rollins took LSD during his younger years I have to question the sources. Many people that Rollins once associated with now dislike him, some are clearly jealous of his fame while others have their own personal reasons to discredit him. In other words one should take Rollins' drug period with a grain of salt. TURNED ON's worst asset is Parker's writing. I imagine fans of fly-by-night biographies and tabloid journalism wont take note of Parker's amatuer prose but I found his writing excruciatingly dull. TURNED ON is no more than a glorified fanzine.

Rating:
Summary: Medium Volume
Review: James Parker's Turned On: A Biography of Henry Rollins narrates the development of hardcore punk music and Henry Rollins' place within it. Yet, Rollins is presented more like a footnote than the focus of the book.

For example, Turned On is roughly 240 pages; however, only 50 pages are devoted to Rollins' career after Black Flag disbanded. This means that more than 20 years of Rollins' prolific creativity with music, film, and spoken word is simply glossed over--years which could be argued were/are his most productive and self-defining. This lack of detail leaves a lot of questions unanswered: How did Henry Rollins transition from underground punk to a multi-million dollar record deal with DreamWorks; how did he become an actor in mainstream Hollywood movies; how did he become a columnist for Details magazine?

For a biography, James Parker's coverage on Henry Rollins' years with Black Flag is impressive, but that is only a small chapter of Rollins' large life.

Rating:
Summary: Informed often brilliant look at Black Flag and Rollins
Review: This biography is a must for Rollins and Black Flag fans. Based on interviews, the book is peppered with quotes. This is not a fawning fan's account, although Parker is a fan he tells the story straight and shows the often negative ugly side of Rollins, his insight into the man and the music scene surrounding him can border on profound. A lot of time and detail is spent on the Black Flag years and reveals the personalities of the other band members making this a great companion to "Get In The Van", [a collection of photographs and Rollin's journal entries of those years]. Surprises are revealed, like a brief period of heavy LSD use by the straight-edge Rollins. If you ever wondered what made Rollins the unique intense person he is, this book will answer a lot of questions. A worthy often brilliant account of the early hardcore scene and its most fascinating survivor.

Rating:
Summary: Informed often brilliant look at Black Flag and Rollins
Review: This biography is a must for Rollins and Black Flag fans. Based on interviews, the book is peppered with quotes. This is not a fawning fan's account, although Parker is a fan he tells the story straight and shows the often negative ugly side of Rollins, his insight into the man and the music scene surrounding him can border on profound. A lot of time and detail is spent on the Black Flag years and reveals the personalities of the other band members making this a great companion to "Get In The Van", [a collection of photographs and Rollin's journal entries of those years]. Surprises are revealed, like a brief period of heavy LSD use by the straight-edge Rollins. If you ever wondered what made Rollins the unique intense person he is, this book will answer a lot of questions. A worthy often brilliant account of the early hardcore scene and its most fascinating survivor.

Rating:
Summary: turned off!
Review: This could have been pure class but the book tripped up and fell flat on its face. Basically this is a ask-peole-who-say-they-know-rollins-biography. Seems the people who were asked were from pre-Black Flag days and I would doubt if Rollins associates with them any more. The only cool moments were the drop-rollins-in-it parts about the man rolling around on the floor on glass shards and taking some dodgy chemicals cunningly stored in an eye-drops bottle... A part from that, there are no kicking-ass moments here. Unless you like the tedium of hearing the ins and outs of the long gone DC punk scene don't buy this. Instead, for some night-churning, fist clenching, manic depression, buy Black Coffee Blues (Part one) or Solipsist!

Rating:
Summary: LA Hardcore Memories
Review: This is a very interesting book. It's 3 am, and I just put it down. The author does a good job at describing what it was like back then. It's strange to think of Henry as a "punk godfather", since when he arrived on the scene, he was definately seen as an outsider. However, it is clear he is leading a very interesting life. One correction - the "punk crash pad" that Black Flag stayed at, the TC household, it did not stand for "totally connected". The TC were a small group of kids, who became like a family. Minor mistake, but I thought I'd mention it. By the way, the author makes it sound like there were no girls dancing in the pit. That's not true. There weren't very many, but we were there, and the guys slam dancing around us respected us and protected us.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Well Written Unique Insight into Rollins Life
Review: This is an extremely well written book and Parker is obviously a fan of Black Flag and Rollins Band music. It is, therefore, with greater impact that the contradictions in Rollins life are described. Henry's middle class, decently educated albeit dysfunctional childhood, while skimmed over to a degree, is in stark contrast with the extreme, intense later personality. Also the early DC 'straightedge' punk edict of no drink and drugs which Henry is described as a chief exponent of is ditched when touring with Black Flag a couple of years later as he throws himself into almost continuos LSD usage. Many of these type of details are missing from anything in Rollins own written work (notably 'Get in the Van') but Parker has had access to almost all the key people around Rollins through the years inspite of Rollins trying to ensure that Parker is not given access to press and interviews he gives himself. Is this because he is nurturing his public persona and wants to hide some of these glaring contradictions in his life. The Flag frontman willing to degrade himself on the floor of gigs as punters abuse his body, the 'art' performances where Rollins and cohort Lydia Lunch systematically abuse members of their audince in a tiny room one by one and the non-communicative, obnoxious Rollins of the final Flag days, are all in stark contrast to the lovable, funny guy Hank of '90s spoken word tours. Has this change been wrought by a mere coming to terms with his true self and inner demons or is it simply a mellowing with age from a man willing to appear in crass Hollywood movies to further his publishing business? I have always admired the guy for his intense honesty but this book throws up a lot of contradictions in the Rollins psyche. I guess in that respect he's no different from the rest of us. Incidentally, as a UK punk fan of the late '70s its interesting to note that DC hardcore and Black Flags main punk influences and early days are from and against a UK backdrop where punk had been over for at least 2 years (only cartoon punk bands like UKSubs, Damned - both thanked in 'Get in the Van' - Sham69 and Exploited were left and all were considered a total joke at the time).