Tom Morello - "Marching On Ferguson"

So I promised Rory and Steve I would keep my political rantings to a minimum on this blog.  I saw this video a few weeks back, and decided not to immediately post about it, because I still was so enraged by what I saw happening in Ferguson, that I don't think I could have kept my political thoughts in check.  Now that the situation has died down, I feel I can share this video.

I won't get into my own personal feelings about Ferguson.  Whether or not it was a young, unarmed man gunned down by prejudice and trigger-happy cop, or whether or not this was a criminal, who attacked a cop and was justly killed by a cop doing his job, this blog is neither the time or place to discuss it, and no one here knows for sure, so let's just let the grand jury do their job with the evidence that's presented.

So, Tom Morello and his band the Night Watchmen wrote this song about the situation in Ferguson, and this was the best copy I can find.  The lyrics are pretty hard to understand, and even still the song barely clocks in at 2 minutes with a large part of that being instrumental.  But it's not a shocker at all to see that Morello sides with the rioters in Ferguson and their cause.  He has a history of taking part in political causes that seem to start with good intentions, but then are just taken over by opportunists who don't care about the cause and ruin the message (most notably Occupy Wall St.).  And, of course, his signature guitar, with his "arm the homeless" written on it.  Until you remember that most homeless people are mentally ill, and the exact people we should keep guns out of the hands of.

I'm still torn about how I feel about Tom Morello in the E Street band.  Musically he's been great, and a breath of fresh air.  He's fit in very well, and been very well received by the Bruce's fans.  However, personally I still think he's kind of a jackass, and get annoyed every time I hear him talk.  Unless he's inducting Kiss into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.  Then he's awesome.