Tom Morello: Legendary Renegade of Rock Guitar—The Daily Earworm
When you think about rebels in the entertainment world, you think of names like Steve McQueen and James Dean. When you think about the renegades of rock and roll, names like Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, the Sex Pistols, and Dee Snider come to mind. Arguably, though, there were no bigger rock and roll revolutionaries (in the literal sense) than Rage Against the Machine.
Rage’s trademark guitar sound was crafted by, perhaps, the most creative guitar mind of a generation, Tom Morello. Morello later went on to bring that same power, angst, artistry, and innovation to Audioslave, Prophets of Rage, and other musical projects. In today’s Daily Earworm, we pay tribute to the guitar master and take a look at some of his finest handiwork, musically and otherwise.
The Incubation of a Rock Legend
Rock musicians often get stereotyped as dropouts and stoners, but you need look no further than Brian May of Queen (PhD in Astrophysics), Dexter Holland of the Offspring (PhD in Molecular Biology), or Tom Scholz of Boston (Master’s in Mechanical Engineering) to realize that there are slackers and overachievers in any profession. Morello was a high school honors student who went on to Harvard. While there, his band, Bored with Education, won the Ivy League Battle of the Bands in 1986 with a lineup that featured 2022 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry Carolyn Bertozzi on keyboards.
Morello graduated with a BA in Political Science and worked various jobs to make ends meet, including being the Scheduling Secretary for U.S. Senator Alan Cranston from 1987 to 1988. It was that job that allowed him to buy his famous “Arm the Homeless” guitar. It was also that job that soured him on politics.
Morello came from a long line of politicians. His father was Kenya’s first ambassador to the United Nations. His great uncle was the first elected president of Kenya. His aunt was the first woman to serve in the legislature of Kenya, and his uncle was a Kenyan cabinet minister and member of parliament. Politics may have been in his blood, but he learned quickly that it was not in his heart. Down deep in his soul, he was a musician and a rebel. Both of those would be amplified when he started Rage Against the Machine with Zack de la Rocha, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk. That was where the real magic began.
The Solos and the Effects
Once in RATM, there was no stopping Morello. His heavy riffs, stellar effects, incredible technique, and mercurial solos were the stuff of legend. Whether it was playing his guitar like he was an old school rap DJ scratching records on a turntable in his “Bulls on Parade” solo, or his blistering solo on “Guerilla Radio” that sounded like a fuzzy synthesized harmonica on hip-hop steroids, Morello crafted some of the coolest sounds to come out of a guitar since Eddie Van Halen. His innovation of the “Killswitch” guitar method, his pioneering work with the harmonizing and octave capabilities of pitch shifters, and his many other effects have opened new sonic landscapes in rock and heavy metal music.
That creativity continued after Rage Against the Machine disbanded. Solos like the one in Audioslave’s “Like a Stone” (below) set the bar high for other rock and metal guitarists. Morello’s collected works have become a masterclass for what musicians can do that don’t allow themselves limitations — so much so that he actually offers a masterclass.
Tom Morello: Activist
Morello and RATM’s message has always been about provoking social change. Whether it was in music or in protests, Morello and company spoke out against wars, poor treatment of immigrants and incarcerated criminals, authoritarianism, police brutality, bad governmental foreign policy, the repeal of Roe vs Wade, and more. Over the years, they have raised money for charities and activist causes through their concerts and raised awareness for their causes wherever they went.
Morello’s Legacy
From Hendrix to Van Halen to Morello, rock and roll has new standard bearers for each generation. There is no doubt that Morello has earned that accolade. At Rage Against the Machine’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2023, Morello made a point to say that Rage’s collective legacy was not just the music and innovation, but the message — that it was all about inspiring change and inspiring the next generation of rebels and renegades to carry out that mission. Morello’s legacy won’t just be the astounding sounds that emanated from his guitar, but the next generation of axe-wielders that he inspired to follow in his footsteps.
The Daily Earworm is a daily column that tells the stories, from the historic to the lesser-known, of some of the music industry’s greatest songs, albums, and artists. Here are some other music tales that you may find interesting:
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