WATCH: Tom Morello's Occupy 'Guitarmy'

An army of guitarists took to the streets of New York City earlier this month as part of Occupy Wall Street's May Day resurgence. Led by former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, the 'guitarmy' marched peacefully while strumming protest songs including Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land and Morello's own World Wide Rebel Song. The foot soldiers of the guitarmy ranged from seasoned activists and Zuccotti occupiers to high school students at their first protest march. We put together this short video documenting the event.

Morello was the sole guest on last weekend's Moyers & Company, opening up about his music, mission and message.

Moyers & Company airs weekly on public television. Learn more at BillMoyers.com.

 

 

 

 

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Comments

[sherlockhemlock]

06:29 AM on 05/22/2012

I don't think music by itself can ever really change anything, but when the songwriting itself is good it sure gets an idea across, and a little walking music can make a long trek through the land of Greed vs. Hunger a lot pleasanter. We are going to need this.

[Jill Press]

01:01 PM on 05/22/2012

I usually agree with you, Sherlock, but not this time.

Rock and Roll changed everything. The children of racists started listening to blacks and the children of thumpers started dancing to the devil's music.

In authoritarian regimes, people march in lockstep. Because of RNR, people can do their own thing, or engage in foreplay standing up and in public.

[sherlockhemlock]

07:02 AM on 05/23/2012

I wouldn't disagree with any of that, actually, contradictory as it may seem. (Jazz did a lot of what you're talking about long before rock and roll came along.) But music alone doesn't get people to write and pass legislation, or raise wages, or end military actions--at best it's the message the music conveys and how it can infect people with that message, and great music conveys any message better . . . .