Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: Rage Against the Hill and Joe Hill

Rage Against the Machine is a fascinating bunch of guys. Take guitarist Tom Morello, for example. He says his favourite guitarist of all time is Joe Hill.

Joe was a Swedish-born singer-songwriter and union organizer who was executed after being convicted of murder in 1914. No recordings of Joe Hill exist, but that doesn’t matter to Tom. He’s inspired by Joe’s never-say-die, in-your-face attitude. Joe united workers of different backgrounds through music, and that’s what Tom tries to do with Rage Against the Machine and all of their related projects.

Tom and Rage have lent their support to imprisoned American Indian Movement leader Leonard Pelltier as well as the Zapatista rebels in Mexico among many others.

Friday’s post was about a real Champagne supernova.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39159 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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