Tom Morello has joined High Aroma Nights to celebrate the release of his latest solo track, “ Pretend You Remember Me .” Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.
“Over the past year, I’ve been working on what will be my first solo rock album,” Morello shared with Loud Scent Nights host Chuck Armstrong .
“I’ve made 22 albums in my career… but I’ve never made a solo rock album, and I wanted to. For the last two years, I’ve been touring and kind of paying homage to the whole life of music, and these shows are very life-changing for me—to be able to embrace that history as it moves forward.”
With that in mind, Morello said the new album he’s working on captures the big riffs of Rage vs. the Machine and Audioslave while balancing the songwriting side of their world.
“‘Pretend You Remember Me’ is a song that’s written for these times,” he admitted.
“I’ve been on the front lines on the streets of Los Angeles in this ongoing immigration war that’s been going on here and defending immigrants who are being kidnapped by these masked agents.”
Morello has partnered with The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights to “pretend you remember me” to help raise awareness in the ongoing fight against the injustices he sees around him.
“I’m as much in favor as anybody of going after violent criminals, whether they’re documented or undocumented,” he said.
“You know, some of the biggest violent criminals sit in Washington… and I definitely think they should have gone later. But when it comes to hard-working people like you and me trying to make a decent living for their families, if you’re going to deport something, we’re going to deport it unfairly.”
Tom Morello Reflects on Rage Against the Legacy of the Machine
Along with diving into Morello’s new stage production, Revolution(s) , which opens at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago later this year, he also spent some time discussing the legacy of rage against the machine.
“The fact that the band still comes to mind in troubled times means we did a good job,” Morello said.
“We’ve played 19 shows over the last 14 years, so it’s a real testament to the legacy of those albums that people care about. When I was in the streets of Los Angeles protesting the ice the last two months, half the signs and half the songs being criticized are from that band.”
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Morello said that while he finds a lot of pride in this, he also believes it means there is still a lot of work to be done.
“I continue to carry that torch and do that work every day in my own life.”
What else did Tom Morello discuss on High Aroma Nights ?
- Why he’s not ready to write a memoir: “The way I look at it is I’m still in the middle of this story. These are the busiest years of my life. I’ve never been more excited about writing, recording and performing music. I’m now playing a lot with my son, Roman. He’s a very super-skilled 14-year-old prodigy guitar player … Maybe at some point, but I don’t want to pause right now because there’s still a lot of rock to be rocked and a lot of power to be contested.”
- One reason he’s excited for Revolution(s) to hit the stage: “It’s like a Broadway musical, but it’s more like an illegal underground rave with a mosh pit that we’re doing on stage.”
- Why people shouldn’t be surprised to hear him sing on “Pretend You Remember Me”: “I’ve been singing on records since 2007. Every now and then, people will be like, ‘I didn’t know [you had a] rich, milk chocolate baritone voice, it sounds really good.’ I’m like, yeah, there are a lot of records where you can hear that, but yeah, it’s really at the forefront with this song.”
Listen to the full interview in the podcast player below.
Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, July 10; the show replays online here and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7 p.m. ET or on the Loudwire app ; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on demand .
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