Rage Against The Machine are both sonic and ideological pioneers, pushing the musical boundaries of hard-hitting alt-metal and lyrically, what band could stand for. Tom Morello, the pulsating genius behind the scathing social critiques and mind-blowing guitar work recently shed light on the topic of ‘separating art from the artist’, a topic of much discussion as of late.
In wake of recent events regarding the music industry watershed of underlying harassment reveals, there are probably plenty of you out there pondering whether it’s still okay to croon along with The Smiths after Morrisey’s defense of Harvey Weinstein or to indulge in a Brand New induced cry-fest.
Morello, like always shared some very sensible and balanced advice on the issue, elucidating his love for ‘misogynistic’ and ‘devil worshipping’ AC/DC and Motley Crue.
“I was a huge fan of bands like Mötley Crüe and AC/DC, and the lyrical content was super misogynist on the one hand and sort of quasi-devil-worshipping on the other, and I was neither down with women-hating or the devil, and yet I loved those bands; they were super rocking.”
He also went on to muse on his friendship with famed conservatives, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock
“I’m a fan of Ted Nugent’s music and Kid Rock’s music and I like both of them as people; I consider them both friends,” Morello told HardDrive Radio. “They’re people I may not agree with, if we had a checklist of stuff, but they’re both good, decent people and I’m proud to be friends with both of them.”
Further in the interview, he mused on how rock music acts as the perfect platform for conveying strong political ideas.
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“This is not a college culture. I love Noam Chomsky, but I don’t wanna mosh to him. So the first we have to do is make records that kick your ass, play shows that kick your ass, and then some of those in that audience may respond to the lyrical content or what the band’s ideology is.”
