Street Sweeper Social Club Bring the Revolution to Spinner Headquarters

Posted on May 14th 2009 4:00PM by Simon Mullin
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A few days after rocking the cell walls of New York's Sing Sing Prison, Street Sweeper Social Club dropped by our office to play some tracks off their self-titled debut album. Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) and Boots Riley (the Coup) have come together to re-create and redefine the nearly extinct genre of rap-rock with a twist of political and social commentary.

It's clear that Morello is back from the depths after listening only a few seconds into the single '100 Little Curses.' His signature guitar sound shreds into the forefront, only to be overpowered by Riley's galvanizing, revolutionary libretto. "Now just imagine that at Sing Sing Prison!" Morello yelled to the Spinner staff over the ear-popping bass.

The project started when the technologically challenged Morello, needing an outlet for his music after Audioslave disbanded, recorded 24 songs onto cassette tape. Riley heard the tracks and knew immediately that they would collaborate to form SSSC. "We're gonna make music for the revolution," Riley told us. "Music is our weapon."

"It's revolutionary party jams," said Morello. "It's got huge steamroller riffs combined with depth-charge funk while Boots unloads clip after clip of incendiary rhymes rich with satire and venom."

Riley adds, "This is a time when the working class is being fleeced left and right. More families will be homeless and more people will be jobless. They'll need something to listen to on their iPods while storming Wall Street."

If you want to catch them live, SSSC are currently the opener on the NIN/JA tour, where Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction are sharing the stage for the first time since the 1991 Lollapalooza. With Street Sweeper among the lineup, it's guaranteed to be one gut-wrenching tour.

You can expect more from these guys down the road, as the album is due out June 16th. As Morello commanded the Spinner staff, "Remember to play it loud."

Download Street Sweeper Social Club Songs