Any hope of a reunited Rage Against the Machine heading back into the studio after last year’s wildly-successful tour were dashed by the band’s guitarist, Tom Morello, on Friday. Speaking to Billboard.com, Morello insisted that he plans to focus on his solo career as the Nightwatchman for, well, “the remainder of [his] life.” Which is a shame, since the Nightwatchman leaves much to be desired. “From the earliest days of playing open mic nights at coffee houses, it was apparent to me that [the Nightwatchman] was as important to me as any music I’ve ever been involved in. It really encapsulates everything I want to do as an artist," he said. Next time Morello heads back to the studio to follow up this year’s The Fabled City, he may also be taking along his touring band, the Freedom Fighter Orchestra. And Morello also has a collaboration in the works with his touring partner, Boots Riley of The Coup.
But enough about the Nightwatchman, what about Obama? Morello noted the “eerie similarities” between the two: both have Kenyan fathers and white Midwestern mothers, both graduated from Harvard, and yes, both are “devastatingly handsome.” As for the election, "On one hand I’m hopeful a new day has dawned," Morello told Billboard. “But on the other hand I really do believe that the system under which we live is fundamentally a one corporate party state with two right wings. We still have two unjust wars, a horrendous financial crisis, a gross disparity between rich and poor and the environment sliding into the abyss.” So wouldn’t it be time to rage against the machine once again? Nah. “It’s important for us to address those issues and continue the struggle, which the Nightwatchman will certainly do.”
