" ... Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me.""
The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen
100,000 strong in Wisconsin and huge groups across the country protesting the Wisconsin governor's (and by extension the Republican Party) attempt to bust public unions. No matter what they say, it's not about the budget. It's about the rich of one party (Koch brothers and the Republicans) breaking up the biggest funding source of the other party (unions and the Democrats). Remove their funding and the ability of the common man to organize and you will have a self-perpetuating Republican majority that can't be stopped.
But, maybe ... just maybe, the Republicans shot their load too soon. Underestimating the resolve of 14 brave state senators and countless people across the country that make up the backbone of the working class (teachers, firemen, cops and your average private union worker).
Those that are trying to sell you "liberty" and "freedom" are encouraging the exact opposite ... a government funded and dictated to by a small group of huge corporations whose goal this week may be fiscal in nature. But next week, when they have effective control, it will be the removing of environmental and civil rights protections.
We have a choice.
"Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future of Labor is the future of America." -- John L. Lewis(President of the UMWA from 1920-1960)
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:
