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Art to Choke Hearts and Pissing in the Gene Pool
1st edition! Previously published as two seperate books.
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
9 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Henry Rollins
107 books1,714 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 9, 2020
Has anyone every hated cops as much as Henry Rollins? Good lord there’s a lot of cop hating here. This is actually two books that were initially published separately. Pissing in the Gene Pool, which comes first despite the title, covers Rollins life from 1985 to 1986 and Art to Choke Hearts picks up from there and goes to early 1987. That’s what attracted me to this book because it overlaps with the period of time when Black Flag came to an end. In Get in the Van, Rollins simply reports on the things that happened while he was on tour. Black Flag ends and the Rollins Band pick up immediately after with zero reflection. This book, and others like it, go deep into his psyche and I was curious to read his innermost thoughts about the end of the band he gave more than five years of his life to.
But Rollins doesn’t process his emotions: he plunges into them in a fantastical way with intense scenes of murder and suicide. There are brief moments of tenderness, like when he’s reflecting on his childhood in Washington, D.C. but most pages are full of violence and misogyny. Rollins is an equal opportunity extremist: everyone gets it, no one more so than himself. It’s not quite Jim Goad-level of transgressive writing; Rollins’ trip is more inwardly directed, but he’s just not equipped to reflect on how he feels on an emotional level.
What’s fascinating to me is that immediately after Black Flag ends, the ultra-violent scenes go away for a while. There’s still a lot of misanthropic energy but now it’s more observational as he focuses his attention on the scenes outside his apartment window in Venice Beach. It’s almost as if the source of his anger and frustration has been taken away. There’s even some humor where Rollins riffs in the style of a spoken word performer, a genre in which he had an even greater impact than he did punk rock, which is saying something.
Eventually the bloodshed returns to the page and when it does Rollins directs a lot of it at the police. It’s the most consistent theme across all 250 pages of these books. The last line reads, “It’s time to kill some pigs and party down.” So if nothing else it’s timely.
But Rollins doesn’t process his emotions: he plunges into them in a fantastical way with intense scenes of murder and suicide. There are brief moments of tenderness, like when he’s reflecting on his childhood in Washington, D.C. but most pages are full of violence and misogyny. Rollins is an equal opportunity extremist: everyone gets it, no one more so than himself. It’s not quite Jim Goad-level of transgressive writing; Rollins’ trip is more inwardly directed, but he’s just not equipped to reflect on how he feels on an emotional level.
What’s fascinating to me is that immediately after Black Flag ends, the ultra-violent scenes go away for a while. There’s still a lot of misanthropic energy but now it’s more observational as he focuses his attention on the scenes outside his apartment window in Venice Beach. It’s almost as if the source of his anger and frustration has been taken away. There’s even some humor where Rollins riffs in the style of a spoken word performer, a genre in which he had an even greater impact than he did punk rock, which is saying something.
Eventually the bloodshed returns to the page and when it does Rollins directs a lot of it at the police. It’s the most consistent theme across all 250 pages of these books. The last line reads, “It’s time to kill some pigs and party down.” So if nothing else it’s timely.
May 22, 2024
fun read EHEHEHEEHHEHEHEHEHEEHEHE.
October 18, 2025
I stole this book off of my dad’s bookshelf when I was FAR too young to read it, but how visceral it was stayed with me, even 15 years later.
And more importantly the reflective state that depression looks like sadness in some and rage in others. It was the first time I had ever heard someone discuss that anger, and even to this day, one of the only times I felt like it wasn’t such a societal offset to be angry constantly.
Maybe it just left a pivotal impact on me and my rating is based on pure hysteria and nostalgia, but it stays in my top 5.
And more importantly the reflective state that depression looks like sadness in some and rage in others. It was the first time I had ever heard someone discuss that anger, and even to this day, one of the only times I felt like it wasn’t such a societal offset to be angry constantly.
Maybe it just left a pivotal impact on me and my rating is based on pure hysteria and nostalgia, but it stays in my top 5.
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February 27, 2015I bought this book at a library sale after seeing it for years and years stocked on the shelves in record shops i loved. I made it most of the way through Pissing in the Gene Pool before i gave up.
If you're an enormous fan of Henry Rollins and his Black Flag years, it may be something you dig. It's selections from his journals at the time, very stream of consciousness, white punk guy struggles with life on the road and contemplates life. Fine, but i think i would have liked it more if it had a clearer editorial intent in the material presented. Instead it's very hit or miss, some sections vital and interesting while others felt like they could have been completely left out and the book would've been the better for it.
Again, if you are a massive Rollins fan or are...i dunno, writing a thesis on Big Black or something, definitely read this. And if you were a disaffected white punk guy in the 1980s, it clearly will be full of a lot of nostalgia-factor value for you. I was a disaffected white riot grrl, so after a few too many times of my younger self popping up and saying, "Oh boo hoo, dude, sorry about your penis--here's a quarter, call someone who cares," I stopped reading.
If you're an enormous fan of Henry Rollins and his Black Flag years, it may be something you dig. It's selections from his journals at the time, very stream of consciousness, white punk guy struggles with life on the road and contemplates life. Fine, but i think i would have liked it more if it had a clearer editorial intent in the material presented. Instead it's very hit or miss, some sections vital and interesting while others felt like they could have been completely left out and the book would've been the better for it.
Again, if you are a massive Rollins fan or are...i dunno, writing a thesis on Big Black or something, definitely read this. And if you were a disaffected white punk guy in the 1980s, it clearly will be full of a lot of nostalgia-factor value for you. I was a disaffected white riot grrl, so after a few too many times of my younger self popping up and saying, "Oh boo hoo, dude, sorry about your penis--here's a quarter, call someone who cares," I stopped reading.
June 25, 2008
again, i'm simply a fan of hank.
August 31, 2008
Angry.
October 8, 2008
how can you pass up a book with this title?
January 14, 2009
I'm a little biased. All Rollins appeals to me.
July 9, 2009
just absolutely moving in every sense.
September 10, 2009
Henry Rollins is not only brilliant as a frontman of the legendary punk band, Black Flag, he's brilliant as a writer too!
December 29, 2010
Juvenile in the best way. Brutal, uncompromising, and thoroughly honest. Rollins was kind of a prick back then, but it's good reading for bad moods.
September 1, 2014
Awesome collection of two of Hanks best works. Check out my reviews on each individual book for more info.
April 10, 2016
Read it through because I am a Rollins spoken word fan. Too dark, too fragmented and without a consistent story.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews