Asif Khan Inc.

Tom on Tuesday

Tuesday mornings. Not exactly very worthwhile in the course of a regular week. No morning madness like Monday, nothing like the midweek respite of Wednesday, nor the revelrous debauchery of Friday. Office goers would swear at the tremendous amount of inertia to be overcome in order to set aside Tuesday morning ennui.

That energy came my way in the form of a baldie, whose B/W image, seated with a brotha in an Afro. Initial impressions though were those of indifferent ridicule, which is usually the result of unfamiliarity. You can’t really blame one’s mindset after having heard an album full of average indie shit, expecting to hear better. A name like ‘Street Sweeper Social Club’ doesn’t have the potential of overcoming that feeling either. What did reverse the entire feeling was a roadrolling coaster of a bass groove, which immediately set motor neurons in involuntary motion. A groove which possessed the stamp of a master guitarist, which immediately betrayed his identity as Tom Morello. You can’t blame me for not recognizing him without the hallmark of his cap. Blame it on Tuesday if you want.

But Tuesday saw the release of ’100 Little Curses’ as well. ‘Street Sweeper Social Club’, though sounds like an evening get together spot for khadi clad socialists, is what Morello has collaborated with Boots Riley (of ‘The Coup’, a politically vocal hip hop group – more on that maybe some other time) as another of his side project apart from ‘The Nightwatchman”. Currently having released 4 singles, all of which are up on their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/streetsweepersocialclub), the message is clear, crisp and uniform – that of a sardonic disdain for political and corporate systems alike. Much of this is visualized to an extremely fitting degree in their logo of gun barrels emerging out of the speakers of a retro hi-fi system. Not a stranger to such messages having worked with one of the most vocal bands we have known, Morello though has made a conscious effort to steer away from his earlier influence, yet stay close to it in a paradoxical way. While the guitar work reminds you of his earlier work with RATM, the angst which emerged from de la Rocha’s lungs is replaced by the sneering sarcasm of Boots’ word play.

Image - www.streetsweepersocialclub.com

Boots brings with him the qualities of a rapper possessing the finesse of a poet with a scathing incisiveness with words which conveys the message bang on spot, and leaves a sly smirk at the corner of your lips at the same time. In fact, ‘The Oath’ begins with his poetic ruminations which are full of vivid metaphors before progressing into a chorus which undeniably has the catchiest hook to have come out this year (alright muthafucka, fight muthafucka…), and fails to leave you even long after in the form of echoes in your head. Similar is the effect of ‘Clap for the Killers’, a biting diatribe which pokes fun at politicians and pseudos. ‘Fight, Smash, Win’ (which is currently streaming on their website www.streetsweepersocialclub.com) though does bring back memories of Morello’s time with Rage, though it would rather be better to say of his time with de la Rocha and his incendiary vocal attacks. No disrespect for Boots though. When one part of a historic group works in conjunction with someone out of the group, parallels are bound to be made. Its natural. The rousing anthem for the season though would remain ’100 Little Curses’, which with its march band drumming and rousing choruses rebukes everything from Ferrari’s to their chauffeurs to champagne and marble stairs, much in the way we used to cast nonsensical curses as kids in childlike banter. The banter may sound like fun as Boots speaks, the larger issues he points out aren’t as childlike though.

The debut album is scheduled to be out on 16th June. Check their MySpace profile, become fans on Facebook, spread the word around in the meantime. Tuesday assumes a different dimension as well now: 16th June is a Tuesday.