Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song

Words + Music, Vol. 5

De: Tom Morello

Narrado por: Tom Morello

"Can music change the world? Of course it can, it does every day. Music sure as hell changed me." (Tom Morello)

Rock god. Justice fighter. Rabble-rouser. Ivy Leaguer. An American renegade and fearless truth teller. Rage Against the Machine’s guitar virtuoso, Tom Morello, is many things; but perhaps, he himself, sums it up best: a one-man revolution. For the first time ever, hear Morello fuse the deeply personal with the political in a rapturous, badass, one-man show that skillfully balances soul-bearing stories with spellbinding guitar fury: Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song by Tom Morello.

Executive produced by the legendary, multi-Grammy winning producer and composer T Bone Burnett, Morello’s performance adds to a growing list of iconic talent (Patti Smith, James Taylor, Common) who give voice to Audible’s Words and Music series: a new type of audio-only memoir that blends storytelling, music, and performance to create a one-of-a-kind listening experience.

Morello begins at the beginning, opening up about his tumultuous childhood in small-town Illinois, his grappling with sense of identity and ultimate artistic purpose. "I was the only black kid in an all-white town, the only anarchist at a conservative high school, the only heavy metal shredding guitar player at Harvard University, and the only Ivy League Star Trek loving nerd in the world’s biggest political rock rap band.” As Morello takes us thru poignant moments of an astounding and meaningful career (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman, Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Prophets of Rage, The Atlas Underground) we hear firsthand of the triumphs and tragedies, riffs and rebellions that mark a life in shattering artistic bounds, confronting the establishment, and creating/collaborating on music that matters.

By the time Tom closes out the show by leading a palpably super-charged audience through a banging version of “Killing in the Name Of”, Lennon’s working-class anthem “Power to the People”, and, finally, a spirited and wholly sincere “This Land Is Your Land”, a piercing truth resounds: Tom Morello is a singular force and a most essential type of artist: the kind who not only inspires but empowers. In the words of T Bone Burnett, who provides a tender lead-in to the rare performance, “There is no more articulate or intelligent musician today than Tom Morello. He is a magical guitarist and a deep storyteller whose life and artistry reflect and challenge the time we live in.”

©2019 Tom Morello (P)2020 AO Media LLC

Loved it!

I don’t know how I missed RATM (stuck in “classic” rock mode too long, I suppose) but I am definitely now a fan of Tom Morello. He’s smart, witty, eloquent and I love that he’s not afraid to stand up to injustice or stupidity in TPTB. Adding Rage to my Pandora feed. Let’s see where it takes me.

Love this gem!

Only 20 minutes in and already completely digging Morello’s performance. Amazingly talented guitarist and his intelligence exceeds that talent!

Tim Morello is a fascinating human

I’m a huge fan on Tom’s Morello’s One Man Revolution on Sirius XM. His life stories read of beautiful poetry. His tone is firm, yet quite endearing. This was an enjoyable listen.

I want Tom Morello to be my best friend!!!!

Geeze, what an honest, cool, humble guy. If you didn’t KNOW, you’d never know that he’s a rock superstar. Wish there were more people like him in the world. I’m going to listen to this over and over. Thanks, Tom, for sharing your words, your music and yourself!!!

A F'ing Mazing

Amazing and amazingly relevant... I highly recommend. Amazing from beginning to end. Tom's stories are engaging and entertaining and his music as always great!

awsome

This book was great and its thought provoking. I will be telling people I know to lesson to this book.

As good as it gets

I didn’t have to agree with all of Tom’s opinions to appreciate him speaking from his heart and through his music. As good an Audible presentation in all aspects as I ever listened to. Audible at it’s best.

Soundtrack to the awakening

Great story and music. Rage against the machine was for me a band that woke me up a bit to the oppression happening outside my white person's bubble as a teenager. It fueled my righteous indignation to authority and all the messed up things in our system, some of which I couldn't name at the time. This audiobook is a great autobiography of one of the greatest leaders of the Civil rights movement and it fired me up just as much as my first rage against the machine CD. I went straight on to listening to that cd after finishing this audiobook. Enjoy!

Amazing Guitarist

Loved this performance and his stories. Although I don’t always agree with his politics, I appreciated getting to know the stories behind a guitarist that I’ve loved in Rage Against the Machine and AudioSlave.

Very inspiring! Powerful message.

This was awesome! Very inspiring. The way he infused the music into the story was great.