Who's the best rock dude / intellectual?

[bairfoot]

It strikes me as funny when hard rock types fancy themselves as Philosophers. The one that immediately comes to mind is Henry Rollins. He likes to hear himself talk quite a bit. No one can refrute him as a hard-rock/ punk icon but, try as I may, I can't listen to him once he stops singing. In my opinion Andrew W.K. pulls off the rock god / intellectual thing more convincingly. He's pretty out there...but he gets my vote.

I am not talking about their political leanings. I'm asking who's the best rocker / intellectual.

note: I'm especially interested in hearing some opinions from the TriCoast guys. They are quasi rock-god intellectual types themselves.

[rab3rd]

Henry can rant like no other, sometimes he has some pretty interesting things to say. By far one of the best live entertainers I have ever seen. Saw him in the 90's at a standing only 200-300 person venue in the heights. Intense show...

[bairfoot]

rab3rd. That was after Black Flag. That must have been when Rollins Band was pretty new. I think the song "Liar" came out about that time. Did he talk much between songs? Thanks for your two cents. I assume your vote is for Mr. Rollins.

[Mosephus]

Dexter Holland of the offspring has a Master's degree in Molecular Biology, and is a certified flight instructor and has flown around the world in ten days.

[SpeedRacerSlots]

Several of them are brilliant in their own right outside of their rock persona.
- Gene Simmons
- Ted Nugent
- Dee Snyder

[janikphoto]

I shot henry in concert for the news and he scared me quite a bit. I was the only one in the photo pit and I was literally inches away from him. He looked like a pacing tiger, ready to pounce on his prey... and I was the closest prey!

[SCone]

And what about Alice? Anyone that can carry a 4 handicap has to have something going for him after all these years.

[Hanky]

The dude that founded Boston, big hitter at Polaroid also dude from Iron Butterfly was mega defense engineer. Somebody tell Bono to shutup.

[rab3rd]

Originally Posted by bairfoot

rab3rd. That was after Black Flag. That must have been when Rollins Band was pretty new. I think the song "Liar" came out about that time. Did he talk much between songs? Thanks for your two cents. I assume your vote is for Mr. Rollins.

Yes defo after black flag, the rollins band was brand new. The tour was for the release of the "End of Silence" CD. Not much talking between songs they went pretty much straight through. He did stop once that I remember to define his space on the stage and told the stage divers if they violated that space he was gonna kick their asses.

I have listen to a few of his spoken word recordings. I am sure there are smarter rockers out there than him, I just havent really heard them. What I like about Henry is that he is in your face and doesnt hold any punches. After you listen to him there is no doubt in your mind where he stands. I wish more people in the world were like that.

[ST77]

David Draiman from Disturbed comes to mind, triple majored in Business Administration, Philosophy and Political Science.

[CallMeAl]

Don't forget Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. Currently he has been working as a defense consultant and chairs a Congressional Advisory Board on missile defense.

Also, Brian May, guitarist from Queen, has an earned doctorate degree in Astrophysics and I believe is a Dean at a college in England currently.

[bairfoot]

Whoa. These responses are way better that I could have imagined. I thought I knew quite a bit about rock music. I really didn't think that Dee Snider would get mentioned, but now that his name was brought up I do remember him testifying (was it to Congress?) about censorship and he just caught people completely by surprise with his intellegence. Also, janikphoto's experience shooting Rollins sounds intense.

If I could be any type of Photographer in the world, I'd shoot live music (any genre) all day every day.

Thank you all again for your replies. -Brian

[Steelsun]

Neal Peart - Drummer / Lyricist for Rush
Read some of those lyrics, analyze the depths. Amazing
He's also written a couple of books.
His life story & tragedies over the last 10 years are also inspiring (losing his wife to cancer then his only child in an auto accident within a year)

[crackhead]

Matt Kadane from the 90s band Bedhead is a college professor;:

HWS: Faculty Information

[Richard-SSV]

Originally Posted by Hanky

The dude that founded Boston, big hitter at Polaroid also dude from Iron Butterfly was mega defense engineer. Somebody tell Bono to shutup.

His name is Tom Scholz. He was an MIT grad and he invented some type of sound/reverb machine that is still used today in the recording industry. While extremely smart, I don't think I would classify him as philosophical.

Neil Pert on the other hand, I think he has great insight into human sociology. He's an extremely introverted person and often writes about his struggles with fame while wanting his privacy (ex. his song The Limelight).

There's a documentary on Rush called "Behind The Lighted Stage". If you're a fan I highly recommend giving it a look.