Tom Morello Album Reviews

I'm a big Rage Against the Machine guy. I saw them in concert 3 or 4 times in their heyday and they were incredible. Anybody that knows my politics knows that I would like Rage for that aspect also.

When they broke up about 10 years ago, I was greatly disappointed and really missed having rock music with a message. System of a Down's albums and Green Day's American Idiot were certainly worthy efforts in that realm and I enjoy them immensely. But I still wish Rage was around. They'll reunite occasionally to play a festival but they have no intentions of a tour or any albums. All the players have moved on. The band minus singer Zack De la Rocha formed Audioslave with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, a band that was fairly successful commercially but was not political at all.

Guitarist Tom Morello has a long history of political activism has a BA with honors in Government from Harvard University. His father was the first Kenyan ambassador to the UN and his mother was a civil rights activist. He hadn't given up his long held political beliefs when he was in Audioslave. He just channeled them in another direction, his one man folk band, the Nightwatchman.

While still recording as Nightwatchman, Morello has just formed the band, Street Sweeper Social Club, with Boot Riley of the political rap group the Coup. I had previously reviewed them in concert, when they opened for Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction.

In the last couple of weeks, I picked up the debut albums by both of Morello's current bands. First up, Nightwatchman's One Man Revolution. This is bare bones, acoustic guitar playing. It reminds me a lot of Springsteen's Ghost of Tom Joad, which is not coincidental as Morello himself said he was inspired by Springsteen and Dylan. I sense a lot of inspiration from Pete Seeger in the subject matter, the poor and the downtrodden. The song highlights fro me are "Until the End" and "The Road I Must Travel". I'm really on a folk kick lately and have been listening to a lot of Woody Guthrie, Seeger, Dylan and Nightwatchman. Great stuff.

He's not a great singer, I grant you that. More of a "vocal stylist", like Leonard Cohen. That's what you call people that can't sing. I kid. I'm just saying that his voice is not the point. The words are. I like this album a lot and will be getting Nightwatchman's other album.

Morello's other band, Street Sweeper Social Club, just released their debut album. I like Street Sweeper well enough, but it does seem like it's trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Rage was one of those right-place, right-time, right people kind of things. Street Sweeper seems to be trying to reproduce that. Morello's Nightwatchman seems much more real to me. It's just him, his guitar and his beliefs.

I do appreciate the electric guitar playing of Morello on this album, but the political message just doesn't seem to have the same resonance of Rage or Nightwatchman. While Rage's lyrics could rightly be considered to have been delivered in a rap style, Street Sweeper removes any pretense. Having rapper Boots Riley as your singer will do that. When I first heard Rage, I wasn't sure if I liked de la Rocha's voice, but looking back, I prefer it to Boots Riley. It just seems much more appropriate for the anger and message of the songs. Street Sweeper sounds more like a funk party where you happen to be singing about politics. Rage was more like a bulldozer.

Speaking of Morello and Springsteen, check out this electric version of Ghost of Tom Joad by the two of them. It has an incredible solo by Morello:

Rage Against the Machine/RNC

... Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library
Line up to tha mind cemetary now ...

Bulls on Parade -- Rage Against the Machine

A standoff between rock fans and police led to 102 arrests Wednesday night when fired-up concertgoers took to the streets after a Rage Against the Machine show.

Several hundred fans of the band, whose songs include “Take the Power Back,” and “Bullet in the Head,” marched through downtown Minneapolis after the band finished its set at the Target Center arena.

The show ended at roughly the same time as the third night of the Republican convention across the Mississippi River in St. Paul. Fans of the politically radical band mixed with exuberant Republicans headed to exclusive parties where they toasted vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s speech.

As police in riot gear faced shirtless rock fans in the streets, Republicans looked on from the rooftop deck of the exclusive R. Norman’s steakhouse, where bigwigs like Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman pressed the flesh.

Many of those at the party were not impressed with the spectacle.

“They’ll claim police brutality, then sue and win and make enough money to come to the next convention,” one partygoer said.

“They can sit there all night because they don’t have jobs,” said another.

The protesters didn’t sit there all night, in fact. Police arrested 102 after they occupied an intersection and refused to leave, said Bill Palmer of the Joint Information Center.

Most were ticketed for presence at an unlawful assembly, but two were booked on assault and obstruction of legal process, Palmer said.

Notice their palpable disdain of the unwashed masses as they eat from a menu most normal people couldn't even sniff:


You don't really need any better indication of what today's Republican party really represents than their own statements:

"“They’ll claim police brutality" -- In their world, police brutality doesn't exist. Police and the military are never wrong.

"... sue and win and make enough money ..." -- They're always bitching about tort reform. Their precious polluting and worker abusing corporations cannot be slowed down by "frivolous" lawsuits.

"They can sit there all night because they don’t have jobs" -- Apparently, people who listen to Rage Against the Machine (liberals) don't have jobs. Somebody needs to tell these silver-spoon-in-your-mouth frat boys that living off your trust fund isn't considered "working".

Classic. They've managed to hit every single cliched conservative touchpoint. Republicans, the party of the "common man". Right.

I'm not saying that these protesters weren't raising some hell. If someone assaulted someone, they deserve to be arrested. My comment is more on the oh-so-typical response. And always assuming that police are in the right is a dangerous path, especially when they've, in effect, been given a free pass to bust some heads:

Organizers of the Republican convention were required by St. Paul, city officials to purchase a $10 million insurance policy to protect local police from false arrest and brutality lawsuits ...

... Traditionally, cities self-insure for claims, meaning they set aside a portion of the budget every year to pay for damages caused by lawsuits they lose or settle, he said.

But critics have questioned whether the insurance policies encourage police to be more aggressive in the knowledge that any damages collected through a potential misconduct lawsuit would be covered by insurance.

"It's an extraordinary agreement," Michelle Gross, who leads Communities United Against Police Brutality in Minneapolis, told the Associated Press. "Now the police have nothing to hold them back from egregious behavior."

I know it's largely anectdotal. But it's hard to argue that this scene does not show what the Republican party has come to represent. And it's difficult to see John McCain understanding the plight of the working man with his 7 houses and Cindy McCain with her huge inheritance and $300,000 outfits.

... As the polls close like a casket
On truth devoured
A Silent play in the shadow of power
A spectacle monopolized
The camera's eyes on choice disguised
Was it cast for the mass who burn and toil?
Or for the vultures who thirst for blood and oil?
Yes a spectacle monopolized
They hold the reins and stole your eyes
Or the fistagons
The bullets and bombs
Who stuff the banks
Who staff the party ranks ..

Guerilla Radio -- Rage Against the Machine

Iron Man

I don't water to oversell this movie, but I thought it was great. It was perfectly cast, combining the sarcastic humor of Robert Downey Jr and the luminous quality of Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow reminds of us of why we'd like her to do movies more often. Downey's role in the movie is one of those inspired bits of casting that you first think is completely wrong when you hear who is playing the role (like Michael Keaton in the first Batman). But then you see the movie and you can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Former Oscar-nominated actors Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard capably fill the two other main roles.

Downey plays Tony Stark, a brilliant inventor and owner of a company that produces high-tech weapons for the military, but not just American military. It covers ground that was explored in Nicholas Cage's movie of a few years back, Lord of War. It's disingenuous for companies or inventors to claim no responsibility for the illicit use of things they create. Stark is very much a carefree playboy who seems to believe exactly that. Iron Man movie explores his transformation both physically and psychologically. I won't ruin the movie by telling you exactly what causes that transformation.

This is the world in which we live where terms like "surgical strikes" and "smart bombs" are tossed around like we are talking about a video game and not people dying. You wonder why people are desensitized and ambivalent about the Iraq war ... it's because they truly don't experience the grittiness of real war. The people in the Middle East do - acutely.

Don't get me wrong, it's not as serious a movie as it may seem by my above description. I'm merely saying that below the surface, it's addressing some real issues. The strength of Jon Favreau's (Swingers, Elf) direction is that it doesn't beat you over the head with a message. Favreau is good at witty banter and coaxing very funny performances out of his actors. I've read that he took a Robert Altman tact towards directing (naturalistic and ad-libbed) and let Downey have a lot of input into his role.

The chemistry between Downey and Paltrow is natural and very enjoyable. Downey is very good at showing the flawed nature of his character, Tony Stark, because he is obviously a good actor but also because he's lived the role. Whether it's real or not, Downey's real life seems to inform this performance immensely.

Though action really hasn't been part of Favreau's repertoire before now, I think he does a good job. The special effects, by ILM, look good and not hokey.

Director Favreau cameos in the movie. Another interesting and oddly apropos cameo was Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine) as one of the militant Arabs.

I'd have to agree with Laura that the movie's primary purpose seemed to be to set up more movies. Well, if Downey continues to play the role, you've got me hooked. Grade: A

********************UPDATE************************

Please check out Wunelle's outstanding review of Iron Man:

Bionicle-Transformer-Thingie-Dude

and Reel Fanatic's:

Finally, the word on Iron Man ...

Some of those that work forces ...

"Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses ..." -- "Killing in the Name of" - Rage Against the Machine

From the Arizona Republic:

Mesa police plan to discipline an officer who admitted making an obscene gesture as he drove past pro-immigrant protesters Wednesday in a marked police vehicle.

Sgt. Mike Doherty, a 20-year veteran, admitted he made obscene gestures "due to his general distaste for protesters," according to Holly Hosac, a Mesa police spokeswoman.

Doherty was in uniform when he passed about 30 members of Immigrants Without Borders, an immigrant advocacy group that has protested in the past against crackdowns on undocumented immigrants by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The group was protesting peacefully at Alma School Road and Main Street. Several group members reported an officer displaying an obscene gesture twice as he drove past them. Information from witnesses led police to identify Doherty.

"While Doherty stated that he did not know what the demonstration was about, he acknowledged his actions were inappropriate and unprofessional," Hosac wrote in a press release.

Police Chief George Gascón said the department is required to respect the Constitutional rights of everyone, saying, "there is no justifiable reason for this type of behavior."

Police said disciplinary action against Doherty is pending but did not elaborate. He was working as a school resources officer for the past two weeks, but will be reassigned, police said.

I personally know several policemen and their intentions are noble and they seem to be in law enforcement for the right reasons. But civil service, whether it be police or politics, can also attract those that seek nothing but power. The goal of both should be to be the voice for those that don't have a voice.

This police officer should have been vigorously defending this group's right to protest. Instead, while in a position of authority, he let his inner-racist show.

Police/RATM

WTF is going on? My two favorite and long disbanded groups, the Police and Rage Against the Machine, reuniting?

Police reunion rumors reaching fever pitch

Rage Against the Machine will reunite for Coachella

July 4th

"... What? the land of the free?
Whoever told you that is your enemy?" -- Rage Against the Machine

July 4th reminds us of what was going on in the heads of our founders when they established this country. Like an independent judiciary:

Did Bush Commit War Crimes?

Those that love this country would respect the checks and balances supposedly inherent in our system. Not the Republicans. Senator Lindsey Graham feels the need to "rein it in" (Supreme Court). They feel that the Geneva Convention should not apply to the U.S.:

Gonzales, top Republicans anticipate law authorizing Gitmo military commissions

But it doesn't end with just crippling our judiciary and ignoring international law. It extends to the President consciously and openly ignoring our own laws:

Signing Away the Constitution

" ... more than 100 signing statements containing over 500 constitutional challenges President Bush has added to new laws passed by the Congress -- many times more than any of his predecessors.

While he has never vetoed a law, many constitutional scholars say the president is, in effect, exercising a "line item veto" by giving himself authority to waive parts of laws he doesn't like.

The practice has infuriated members of Congress in both parties because it threatens to diminish their power. They consider it an assault on the notion that the constitution establishes the United States' three branches of government -- legislative, judicial, and executive -- as co-equal ..."

Chris Durang has a great column on Huffington Post about how the right has hijacked July 4th and patriotism through history:

July 4th -- Now and in the '50's

"... Starting around the time of the Vietnam war, and the protests against that war, the flag was claimed by the conservative, pro-Vietnam war people as Their Flag. They hijacked that symbol so it represented their point of view. If you loved America and loved the flag, you supported your country whenever they said it was time to go to war. Criticizing the war was seen as disloyal ..."

Abraham Lincoln once said:

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."

Bush and this administration may be proud of America but America should not be proud of them. History will mark the true patriots of this generation as Jack Murtha, Cindy Sheehan, etc. and those that weren't afraid to speak up when they saw our flag being trampled on by those who don't respect the rights that this country were established on. These Mayberry Machiavellians in the administration are so worried about desecration of the flag that they forget what it actually represents.

What does it matter that we have these documents and these institutions if the government will just bypass them? We have a government that has mistaken nationionalism for patriotism, suppresion of rights for security. I'll fly my flag again when this country is not hijacked by the Right. When "one nation" has meaning again.

Rage Against the Machine

In my continuing series on my favorite "poltical bands":


Rage Against the Machine is arguably my favorite band of all time. They burned short but burned bright. They were a perfect synthesis of ideas, aggression and musicianship. Beginning in L.A. in the early 90's, they combined the disparate backgrounds of the members -- both musically and politically. Guitarist Tom Morello is the nephew of the first president of Kenya. His mother, Mary Morello, is the founder of Parents for Rock and Rap, an anti-censorship organization. Singer Zack de la Rocha is the son of Beto de la Rocha, a well-known chicano political artist.

The music of Rage Against the Machine is in-your-face. Even the cover of their first album lets you know exactly what you are getting ... uncompromising music and ideas:



This was not a band that was afraid to ruffle some feathers. All of their songs are political, so it's not too tough to pick some with meaning. But I'll pick five of my favorites:

Freedom (Rage Against the Machine, 1992) - This song refers to Leonard Peltier, a famous Native American rights activist who has been in prison for 27 years. He is considered to be a poltical prisoner by Amnesty International.

" ... What does the billboard say
Come and play, come and play
Forget about the movement

Anger is a gift"


Bulls on Parade (Evil Empire, 1996) - Bulls on Parade is about the military-industrial complex that oppresses and controls who they consider to be lesser peoples and how money feeds it to the detriment of everything else. "Five sided fist-a-gon" means Pentagon.

" ... Terror rains drenchin', quenchin' tha thirst of
Tha power dons
That five sided fist-a-gon ..."
" ... Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed tha war canibal animal ..."


Bullet in the Head (Rage Against the Machine, 1992) - Bullet in the Head talks about how jingoistic patriotism is really no different than blind nationalism ... like in Nazi Germany. And the media and government play it up to keep the masses in line.

" ... A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika
Nothin' proper about ya propaganda
Fools follow rules when the set commands ya ..."


Know Your Enemy (Rage Against the Machine, 1992) - Know Your Enemy is basically a song about rebellion and defiance. Don't believe everything that the system tells you. Think for yourself. Maynard Keenan of Tool has an awesome appearance on this song.

" ... Fight the war, fuck the norm
Now I got no patience
So sick of complacence
With the D the E the F the I the A the N the C the E
Mind of a revolutionary
So clear the lane
The finger to the land of the chains
What? The land of the free?
Whoever told you that is your enemy? ... "


Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine, 1992) - Another song of defiance. The line about crosses insinuates that many members of white supremacy organizations (like the KKK) are actually police. The beat of this song is infectious. It's hilarious to see this song played in dance clubs sometimes and to see a bunch of privileged frat boys yelling the chorus ... completely oblivious to the meaning of the song. Ah, ignorance is bliss.

" ... Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses ... "

" Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!"


Their acts of defiance and protest are as prominent as their music. On one occassion, the band stood onstage naked with tape over their mouths for 15 minutes to protest censorship and the PMRC. On another occasion, they were actually able to get the New York Stock Exchange to shut down. They were filming the video for "Sleep Now in the Fire", directed by none other than Michael Moore, outside the NYSE. The exchange shut down in the middle of the day because of fears of crowds gathering to watch the filming.

The band only released 3 original studio albums but their influence is still felt. They are arguably the most prominent political rock band of the last 20 years.

"Ghost of Tom Joad" -- RATM - lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

Man walks along the railroad track
He’s goin’ some place, there’s no turnin’ back
The highway patrol chopper comin’ up over the ridge
Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge
The shelter line stretchin’ around the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin’ in their cars out in the southwest
No job, no hope, no peace, no rest, no rest!

And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody’s foolin’ nobody is to where it goes
I’m sitting down here in the campfire light
Searchin’ for the ghost of tom joad

He pulls his prayer book out of a sleepin’ bag
The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
He’s waitin’ for the time when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box ’neath the underpass
With a one way ticket to the promised land
With a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Lookin’ for a pillow of solid rock
Bathin’ in the cities’ aqueducts

And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody’s foolin’ nobody is to where it goes
I’m sittin’ down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old tom joad

Now tom said; ma, whenever ya see a cop beatin’ a guy
Wherever a hungry new born baby cries
Whereever there’s a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me ma’
I’ll be there
Wherever somebodies stuglin’ for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helpin’ hand
Wherever somebody is strugglin’ to be free
Look in their eyes ma,
You’ll see me! (repeat 8 times)

And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody’s foolin’ nobody is to where it goes
I’m sittin’ down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of tom joad.

Rage Against the Machine - "Know Your Enemy"

"... Come on!
Yes I know my enemies
They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
All of which are american dreams ..."