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Black Coffee Blues #3
Smile You're Travelling
This is the first UK publication for a cult classic. Using his trademark wit, insight and verve, icon Henry Rollins shares journals from his gruelling world tours of 1997 and 1998, as well as a record of the fulfilment of his longstanding dream to journey through Africa. He takes us on a rollercoaster of highs and lows, frustrations and exhilaration - from roving gangs of baboons in Kenya to haggling with immigration officials in Madagascar and his thoughts on meeting his childhood heroes, Black Sabbath - and finds a way to make his unique experiences accessible and meaningful to us all.
246 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
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763 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 28, 2014
Henry Rollins’s Smile, You’re Traveling covers familiar ground. He keeps a journal about gigs, touring, loneliness, lifting weights, and getting recognized, much to his annoyance, on the street. He writes about Ian McKaye, hotel coffee, and the occasional foray home to California. If you’ve read other Rollins books, and you like his (somewhat repetitive) style, you’ll like this Smile, You’re Traveling. The material unique to Smile, You’re Traveling, while not revelatory, kept my attention. Rollins hangs out for the Black Sabbath reunion rehearsals and gigs. He travels to Madagascar and western Africa, where he lands on what sounds like a tourist-y safari experience. I would have loved to see Mr. R. in the breakfast room surrounded by retirees, harried parents, and their hungry children. The book’s best entries, however, address Rollins’s last days with the Rollins Band. Fewer fans show up for the concerts, the festivals place the band lower on the bill, and maintaining his voice is a struggle. He grapples with aging and fading popularity. I don’t want to sound like I’m underselling Mr. R.; he’s an important, consistent voice, and this is the fourth (I think?) Rollins book I’ve read. His consistency, however, probably sounds broken-recordy to his detractors. I don’t mind. It’s Rollins. He’s been holding the line since before I could drive. I admire his discipline. Smile, You’re Traveling maintains the author’s workmanlike, painfully honest standard. I promise not to bug him if I ever see him on the street.
July 13, 2010
I’ve read a lot of Rollins lately and a few things have occurred to me. The main thing is, it sounds like Rollins is trying to talk himself into certain things. Mostly, this tendency relates to the idea that being alone and avoiding relationships is the better course for him. Whether that path is, in fact, better for him, he doesn’t seem convinced and reinforces it often.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that Rollins slips into what I think of as “juvenilisms.” These aren’t direct quotes, but it’s things like, “That was awesome,” or “Totally rad.” This isn’t criticism, but it does read weird. I can’t say much, though, because I do the same thing. In some ways, it’s charming to see that kind of giddy enthusiasm in this guy.
None of this takes away from my enjoyment of Rollin’s writing. I still don’t go for his poetry or prose but these journals and diaries are always interesting to me. I get a strong sense that Rollins never, ever writes for anyone but himself. It never seems like he’s writing with the intent of publishing any of it, never writes to a reader or audience. That alone makes his writing more interesting to me.
Smile, You’re Traveling includes Rollins' coverage of the Black Sabbath reunion, goes through vacations in Africa, Madagascar, etc. and a lot of tour diary action. A big topic for Rollins is the idea that he or his band or his band’s music have little time left to live in the music scene due to flagging ticket sales. Rollins would go on to form a new Rollins band and rejuvenate his music career, but there is a sadness and disappointment in the writing as Rollins contemplates this being his last tour.
These diary type Rollins books continue to intrigue me and inspire me. While I can’t relate to everything that comes out of his mouth (or laptop), I do find that I identify with a lot of what he deals with and does about it. I’m looking forward to reading more.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that Rollins slips into what I think of as “juvenilisms.” These aren’t direct quotes, but it’s things like, “That was awesome,” or “Totally rad.” This isn’t criticism, but it does read weird. I can’t say much, though, because I do the same thing. In some ways, it’s charming to see that kind of giddy enthusiasm in this guy.
None of this takes away from my enjoyment of Rollin’s writing. I still don’t go for his poetry or prose but these journals and diaries are always interesting to me. I get a strong sense that Rollins never, ever writes for anyone but himself. It never seems like he’s writing with the intent of publishing any of it, never writes to a reader or audience. That alone makes his writing more interesting to me.
Smile, You’re Traveling includes Rollins' coverage of the Black Sabbath reunion, goes through vacations in Africa, Madagascar, etc. and a lot of tour diary action. A big topic for Rollins is the idea that he or his band or his band’s music have little time left to live in the music scene due to flagging ticket sales. Rollins would go on to form a new Rollins band and rejuvenate his music career, but there is a sadness and disappointment in the writing as Rollins contemplates this being his last tour.
These diary type Rollins books continue to intrigue me and inspire me. While I can’t relate to everything that comes out of his mouth (or laptop), I do find that I identify with a lot of what he deals with and does about it. I’m looking forward to reading more.
November 6, 2011
“Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself. How about that for a bold idea? Throw out the notion of referencing yourself against others. It would be so easy to compare and put yourself down. You can all too easily waste time and obscure your own potential by trying to match someone else's. I figure that the great ones thought differently and let their truths guide them no matter the cost. At the end of the day, you can't fuck with it. When you compare, you immediately ensnare yourself with a ton of variables and assumptions that can pull you off the trail. Anyone who thinks for themselves and acts upon these thoughts stands a chance. One can be met with resistance and scorn. 'I really can't stand your music.' That may be, but can you stop me?”
October 17, 2019
Henry Rollins catches a lot of shit. Punks act like he is pop punk because he is too well known, and the alterna/indie kids think he is too abrasive. They're missing out.
Smile, You're Traveling covers Henry's time in the air cashing in on frequent flyer miles. There are cool insights about baboons, love, and opening one's perspective through the experience of other cultures. This book, like his others, encourage the reader to be a better person, to be more sincere, and more intense.
Smile, You're Traveling covers Henry's time in the air cashing in on frequent flyer miles. There are cool insights about baboons, love, and opening one's perspective through the experience of other cultures. This book, like his others, encourage the reader to be a better person, to be more sincere, and more intense.
January 20, 2018
Of all the books I've read by Henry Rollins, this has been my least favorite thus far. It was written during the time that the Rollins Band was losing popularity and he is depressed and contemplating his future. True to his nature, when he is feeling insecure and vulnerable, Mr. Rollins becomes bitter and lashes out at others. This bitterness overwhelms the details of his travels and tour experiences and detracts from this volume of the Black Coffee Blues series.
May 15, 2023
I am not sure if Henry Rollins is a very complex, nuanced individual, a loveable curmudgeon or just annoying and hypocritical. I love his Spoken Word albums and live shows, though I will admit I was never much a fan of Black Flag, or even the Henry Rollins band.
He writes as if he was burnt out on life. On people. He writes as if he hated the company of people and women, yet he constantly longs for them.
He does spew a few pears here and there, though. I am never 100% in agreement with him, but I can at least relate somewhat to the man, even if no one is ever really up to his standards, at least he walks a path he believes in with conviction.
It's hard to say that I enjoyed this book, which I did, but often felt it dragged on, mostly due to its journal-style of story telling. There are things he enjoys doing and things he absolutely loathes. He makes no apologies for the way he lives his life, only to contradict himself two paragraphs later.
If you're a fan of Rollins, else, stay away.
He writes as if he was burnt out on life. On people. He writes as if he hated the company of people and women, yet he constantly longs for them.
He does spew a few pears here and there, though. I am never 100% in agreement with him, but I can at least relate somewhat to the man, even if no one is ever really up to his standards, at least he walks a path he believes in with conviction.
It's hard to say that I enjoyed this book, which I did, but often felt it dragged on, mostly due to its journal-style of story telling. There are things he enjoys doing and things he absolutely loathes. He makes no apologies for the way he lives his life, only to contradict himself two paragraphs later.
If you're a fan of Rollins, else, stay away.
March 14, 2020
Vintage Rollins
You either like Rollins or you don’t. And his particular worldview can be an acquired taste, but this is vintage Rollins as well as a refreshing, if warped, lens to view the halcyon days of the mid-90s. I like Rollins, and I enjoyed this book. It’s a good airport book. So much of it is about travel and so much of it is relatable to people who travel a lot for work or for other reasons.
You either like Rollins or you don’t. And his particular worldview can be an acquired taste, but this is vintage Rollins as well as a refreshing, if warped, lens to view the halcyon days of the mid-90s. I like Rollins, and I enjoyed this book. It’s a good airport book. So much of it is about travel and so much of it is relatable to people who travel a lot for work or for other reasons.
April 21, 2020
An interesting read from a rock pioneer.
October 13, 2020
a diary of a couple years of traveling and doing shows. A little depressing when his band goes down but fun to see the pessimism on vacation.
March 3, 2025
As usualy with Henry Rollins, this is a crisp and clear misanthropic look at the world. Dark, depressing, enraging at times, hilarious at others. I wish Henry wrote more books!
December 13, 2024
This hits at an interesting time in Rollins' career. The writing is his usual terse and brutally honest offering. But, this is clearly a person in who is deeply confused about where they are in life. Contradictions abound as he struggles with being on the "way down" in his career, playing smaller crowds, feeling stagnant in his musical endeavors, enmeshed in a lawsuit with Imago (his former label). What's unfortunate is that this tour is in support of what I would consider Rollins Band's best album, Come in and Burn. He hates the fans, but he loves the fans. He hates the music industry, but wants to success in the music industry. He wants to be close to someone, he wants to be alone. He hates when artists don't retire and instead play their greatest hits, yet he fanboys out when Black Sabbath reunites and plays their greatest hits.
The silver lining, in reading this 25 years after it was written, is that his career and life actually continue on pretty well. I've seen several of his live shows in the interim years and he's grown and matured considerably while still retaining the edge and humor that make him great. It will be revealing to read the subsequent works to see how his perspective changes over the years. Broken Summers is next on my list of his works.
The silver lining, in reading this 25 years after it was written, is that his career and life actually continue on pretty well. I've seen several of his live shows in the interim years and he's grown and matured considerably while still retaining the edge and humor that make him great. It will be revealing to read the subsequent works to see how his perspective changes over the years. Broken Summers is next on my list of his works.
April 2, 2012
Smile you're Travelling by Henry Rollins
It's been a while since I last read a book by
Henry Rollins and I have to say I wasn't
prepared for just how much Moaning Henry does in
this book of tour and road diaries for the
period 1997/8. Henry has a good bitch about how
many interviews he has to give and how stupid
most interviewers are, about how he hates most
of the other bands his band either supports or
are supported by. His own band is coming to its
end and the crowds are dwindling and he seems to
be almost jealous of the less uptight folks who
managed to drink and drug and fuck and socialise
all things that he denies himself prefering
solitude and his weightlifting, but while he
bitches away he also gives a portrait of the
montony of touring with a band going through the
same routines endlessly to get to the good bit
the time on stage.
It's a good enough read but unless your already
a fan of Henry Rollins books I wouldn't have
said it was essential reading like say Get In
The van is.
It's been a while since I last read a book by
Henry Rollins and I have to say I wasn't
prepared for just how much Moaning Henry does in
this book of tour and road diaries for the
period 1997/8. Henry has a good bitch about how
many interviews he has to give and how stupid
most interviewers are, about how he hates most
of the other bands his band either supports or
are supported by. His own band is coming to its
end and the crowds are dwindling and he seems to
be almost jealous of the less uptight folks who
managed to drink and drug and fuck and socialise
all things that he denies himself prefering
solitude and his weightlifting, but while he
bitches away he also gives a portrait of the
montony of touring with a band going through the
same routines endlessly to get to the good bit
the time on stage.
It's a good enough read but unless your already
a fan of Henry Rollins books I wouldn't have
said it was essential reading like say Get In
The van is.
September 7, 2008
When I began reading this book, I expected much more journals from the African bush but since Hank completes that in forty pages with fifteen of those being Black Sabbath coverage I was rather disappointed.
The rest is the standard Henry Rollins fist pump of an emotional speech encouraging strength and grabbing the iron. His writings focus on loneliness on the road and how he enjoys pushing himself to his limits by staying out on the road. A paragraph he wrote on love and passion may be one of the best snippets of writing that I've ever read of his.
Humor and great stories aplenty, this one is worth reading but if you are just getting into Henry's writings I would recommend the Portable Rollins for a well-rounded introduction (poetry, journals, short stories) or Get in the Van for the focused journal/logs introduction.
The rest is the standard Henry Rollins fist pump of an emotional speech encouraging strength and grabbing the iron. His writings focus on loneliness on the road and how he enjoys pushing himself to his limits by staying out on the road. A paragraph he wrote on love and passion may be one of the best snippets of writing that I've ever read of his.
Humor and great stories aplenty, this one is worth reading but if you are just getting into Henry's writings I would recommend the Portable Rollins for a well-rounded introduction (poetry, journals, short stories) or Get in the Van for the focused journal/logs introduction.
June 29, 2011
Henry Rollins is quite a character. I found most of the reading filled with lovely sarcasm and anger towards the mediocre world entertaining, but halfway down the book the story just begins to repeat itself, and becomes almost a depressing description of his loneliness and sort of fragile mental state.
Interesting to read in the sense that it does offer a peek to the mind of a brilliant artist/writer/stand-up guy, who is very perceptive and has strong opinions about absolutely everything. But it certainly does not make happy reading.
Interesting to read in the sense that it does offer a peek to the mind of a brilliant artist/writer/stand-up guy, who is very perceptive and has strong opinions about absolutely everything. But it certainly does not make happy reading.
September 18, 2007
Sometimes, Henry Rollins can be really whiny. He often will go on for pages about how people are weak and stupid and only out to drain the life from you and leave you to die and how HE is above all these things. You will want to skip these bits, for they are annoying. Instead, focuse on the parts about his trip to Africa, and his skewering of the tourist culture. Read the funny parts--they're much better.
December 22, 2008
One of Rollins books starts out with the disjointed journal entries of almost twenty year span of birthdays; okay, i'm mythologizing here, but seriously, the guy is bonkers.
like all musuicians, his early stuff is his best. but this book is fascinating as a diary of loneliness; the desires, and the dangers (oooooooooo!)
This book is haunted, though. Try the other one, the early one. Awww. Whatever it called.
like all musuicians, his early stuff is his best. but this book is fascinating as a diary of loneliness; the desires, and the dangers (oooooooooo!)
This book is haunted, though. Try the other one, the early one. Awww. Whatever it called.
August 5, 2011
i go back and forth with rollins. he's got this sage like advice that you will take with you to the darkest corners of your road. the iron will of a war hero. but sometimes these same things can wear on you a little bit, and some of his stuff comes across a little heavy handed. i do see a lot of some of his hangups that he has of himself in myself, though, so when i feel he's being overboard about things that i myself have done, i get down to shake off the hypocrisy.
June 29, 2012
If you ever wanted to know what its like to be in a band and what touring whilst dealing with the brutal machine that is the music industry is like....then this is a book for you. Rollins' intelligent and honest depiction of life on the road is ernest, true and amusing. It is also surprising how endeering the tattooed man mountain of agression can be through words, especially when dealing with the repetition of life and enduring fools.
April 6, 2012
This book ruled me for the simple fact that I love Henry rollins. I have been a fan of everything he has done. The fact that this book leads up to the creation of my favorite album they put out is special to read to me. I enjoy hearing about his travel and his rants about things that bother him. It's a fun read in a funny way, we are basically reading a journal.
Want to read
July 12, 2015Henry Rollins's thought-provoking pieces about the life and times of a world-traveling entertainer are always intense and often humorous. In this book he chronicles a year spent rehearsing, recording, and touring for the Rollins Band's last-ever album, Come in and Burn, and shares travel stories from his trip around the world.
January 13, 2008
Easily my favorite Rollins book to date. Perhaps I'm jaded because I like Rollins, but it would be difficult to argue that he doesn't have a way with words. Love him or hate him (he won't care), you'll still enjoy this book.
April 11, 2008
I actually got to catch his Provoked Tour in Chicago (Oct. '07) and he signed the copy for me! He told me a story about the picture on the back and how it was the first book that had pictures that he took in it.
I love Mr. Rollins' work. I would reccomend this to anyone, really.
I love Mr. Rollins' work. I would reccomend this to anyone, really.
May 11, 2008
I kept thinking of a shot game involving repetition of the word "weak" in this book. Rollins is funny and smart, but here his writing reads like a depressive's journal...it isn't that great. He was still learning to write here.
December 28, 2008
This was ok. It was kind of cool to read about Rollins' travels around the world to exotic places and see them through his eyes, but it became very redundant half way through. I skipped a bunch of entries just to get through with it.
May 28, 2013
One of my favs. Hank leads my dream life, and in this book he gets to rock out with Black Sabbath, and visits Madagascar and Russia. Plus he's extremely angry in this one, which is always really funny.
July 23, 2007
Henry's description of Africa, and his other travels makes you want to grab your backpack and head out.
January 8, 2008
F'in entertaining for sure.
January 15, 2008
baboon ass... need i say more?!
August 21, 2008
My boy Brett gave me this autographed copy of one of Henry's best books.
October 23, 2008
Hank is one of my favorites. Really excellent travel writings
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews