So yesterday I went to a Henry Rollins book signing at a record store in the city.  The line wasn’t long, but it was taking a while.  Turns out that Henry was taking the time to talk to everyone and people walking away had big smiles on their faces, a few of them even exclaiming “what a nice guy!” as they left.

So I had to ask him something.  I scanned the walls of new CDs and came across one of those dumb “Very Best of…” Thin Lizzy compilation CDs.  They left off a ton of good songs, which was probably inevitable since Thin Lizzy was one of the best rock and roll bands ever.

I knew Henry Rollins liked them.  I think he even wrote about them once, but I knew without a doubt that he liked them.

So after he shook my hand and signed my copy of Get In The Van, I asked him what his favorite Thin Lizzy song was.

“That’s a good question.”  And then he stared off for maybe five seconds, which I delighted in.  I couldn’t ask for more, he was actually thinking about my silly question.

“Well, ‘Jailbreak’ is just a great song.  But for me, it’s all about the ballads,” because that’s where Phil Lynott really shined.  I agreed.

He went on to say that his favorite Thin Lizzy song was “Wild One” from 1975’s Fighting album.  He said that everytime he broke up with a girlfriend he would put on that song and lament how that one got away.

Although he didn’t ask me, my favorite Thin Lizzy song is “Hollywood (Down On Your Luck).”