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Occupy Gets Its Anthem

Occupy Gets Its Anthem
Thu, 9/27/2012
This article originally appeared on Rolling Stone

Click to listen to Tom Morello, Tim McIlrath, Serj Tankian and Occupy Wall Street's 'We Are the 99 Percent'

Since last fall's protestor-led occupation of Zuccotti Park, Tom Morello has been an active and vocal supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The guitarist has regularly gigged at rallies under the guise of his workingman alter-ego, the Nightwatchman, and most recently performed at a commemorative gathering in lower Manhattan to mark the one-year anniversary of the movement's formation.

However, this hasn't seemed like enough of a contribution to Morello; he tells Rolling Stone that he felt the Occupy canon – largely comprised of "earnest folk songs" – was missing a true rock anthem. "It's our gift to the movement," he says of "We Are the 99 Percent," a fists-against-the-wall riff-riot that Morello penned with his "brothers in arms," Rise Against singer Tim McIlrath and System of a Down singer Serj Tankian. The track is now available to stream exclusively on RollingStone.com; starting tomorrow, it will be available for free download on Morello and Tankian's Axis of Justice website.

"I wanted to do a huge riff-rock anthem," Morello says of the track, which was recorded at his own Veritas Studio in Los Angeles, and to which McIlrath and Tankian contributed by remote. "It would feel like the excitement of the global Occupy Wall Street movement."

Morello says the idea to record an Occupy anthem came to him several months ago; however, he only got the ball rolling after last week's "re-energizing" anniversary performance. The song, anchored by Black Sabbath-worthy riffing, is a hard-charging behemoth; it's a call to action for the oppressed. ("If you feel the wave crashing down/ Don't just sit there and drown/ Fight back!" McIlrath roars.) In addition to the three musicians, it also features field recordings of Occupy protestors in Zuccotti Park and Liberty Square.

The success of Occupy Wall Street, Morello believes, has hinged on its ability to "inject into the global dialogue the horrific economic inequality that plagues the planet" and highlight the "grotesque global poverty and the growing inequality in our country." Morello says that he sees evidence of the movement's success in the current presidential campaign. "When is the last time when a Republican candidate for president has had his feet held to the fire because he's too rich?" he says.

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Article Tabs

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Journalists have a responsibility to plainly tell the truth about how truly different the Democrats and the Republicans are today, especially with both democracy and the rule of law at stake this November.

From Hungary and Poland to Italy and Spain, today's anti-abortionist movements are feeding one another—while also driving a growing counter-movement.

Agriculture, the service economy, sexual exploitation, manufacturing, construction and domestic work drive today's enslavement around the world.

Thanks to the Electoral College, leftists have perhaps the final say this November over whether democracy can hold on for at least another four years, or if fascism will take root and infect all facets of the federal government for decades to come.

History shows there are no “one-day” dictatorships. When democracies fall, they typically fall completely.

Thanks to the Electoral College, leftists have perhaps the final say this November over whether democracy can hold on for at least another four years, or if fascism will take root and infect all facets of the federal government for decades to come.

Posted 4 weeks 6 hours ago

What remains unknown is whether post-truth Republicans will succeed in 2024 as the Nazis did in 1933.

Posted 1 month 3 weeks ago

Agriculture, the service economy, sexual exploitation, manufacturing, construction and domestic work drive today's enslavement around the world.

Posted 3 weeks 4 hours ago

History shows there are no “one-day” dictatorships. When democracies fall, they typically fall completely.

Posted 1 month 6 hours ago

Journalists have a responsibility to plainly tell the truth about how truly different the Democrats and the Republicans are today, especially with both democracy and the rule of law at stake this November.

Posted 1 week 13 hours ago

Agriculture, the service economy, sexual exploitation, manufacturing, construction and domestic work drive today's enslavement around the world.