Some of you may acuse me of living under a rock. That's fine. But tonight, my eyes were opened. And so were my ears, for that matter. My wife and I had checked the Michael Moore documentary "SICKO", out of the library. It was an incredibly informative movie, revealing how corrupt and disfunctional our nation's health care is. But, I am not here to talk about that....
...I'm here to talk about a song that I heard in the movie. It played quietly in the background, towards the beginning of the movie. I made a comment to my wife that it sounded like some of the recent work of Mark Knopfler, former frontman of Dire Straits. Similar... but NOT Mark. I didn't think much about it for the remainder of the movie, until the final credits started rolling. First up was a catchy song by Cat Stevens. Go figure, a free-thinking, peace lover being featured in a Michael Moore film. Anyhow, I decided to sit and wait for the song credits, to see if the Cat Stevens song was on the "greatest hits" compilation, that I am not too familiar with. It wasn't. But, that's not what I am here to talk about...
After the Cat Stevens song, this same Knopfleresque song came on... this time as a featured song. Can I pause for just a moment to mention how ironic it is, that this blogging program "corrects" me (via it's "spell check" program) for saying words like "didn't" (it doesn't like conjunctions, apparently), but I can write a word like "Knopfleresque", and it doesn't say a word. Crazy. But once again, that's not what I am here to talk about...
Yes... the song. The song that sounded like it could be Mark Knopfler (have I beaten THAT fact into your head?)... while it's playing, it says that the song, "ALONE WITHOUT YOU" was by a group/artist called "THE NIGHTWATCHMAN", and that it was written by Tom Morello. THE Tom Morello, I asked? I rewound it... listened to it again...trying to hear any trademark Tom Morello sounds. None. (Oh, let me point out for those of you who are living under neighboring rocks, that Tom Morello is the renowned guitarist for the bands RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE. He was also extensively featured in the video game, GUITAR HERO 3. The only thing I could do, at this point, was do a Google search. I was directed to the Wikipedia reference, and sure enough... it's THE Tom Morello.
Little did I know that one of the most innovative guitarists also has a Folk alter-ego. In the coming weeks, I will undoubtedly pick up this album... but in the meantime, I am going to share the video, complete with footage from "SICKO". It is amazing to me, to see the video start off, featuring Tom on the mandolin. The song has some amazing production, and I am definitely excited to hear more.
It should be pointed out that this song was written after Tom Morello had seen a rough cut of "SICKO". He was so moved by what he saw, that he wrote this song. So, if this is your first exposure to THE NIGHTWATCHMAN, be prepared... if not, enjoy it again, as if it's the first time you heard it.
...I'm here to talk about a song that I heard in the movie. It played quietly in the background, towards the beginning of the movie. I made a comment to my wife that it sounded like some of the recent work of Mark Knopfler, former frontman of Dire Straits. Similar... but NOT Mark. I didn't think much about it for the remainder of the movie, until the final credits started rolling. First up was a catchy song by Cat Stevens. Go figure, a free-thinking, peace lover being featured in a Michael Moore film. Anyhow, I decided to sit and wait for the song credits, to see if the Cat Stevens song was on the "greatest hits" compilation, that I am not too familiar with. It wasn't. But, that's not what I am here to talk about...
After the Cat Stevens song, this same Knopfleresque song came on... this time as a featured song. Can I pause for just a moment to mention how ironic it is, that this blogging program "corrects" me (via it's "spell check" program) for saying words like "didn't" (it doesn't like conjunctions, apparently), but I can write a word like "Knopfleresque", and it doesn't say a word. Crazy. But once again, that's not what I am here to talk about...
Yes... the song. The song that sounded like it could be Mark Knopfler (have I beaten THAT fact into your head?)... while it's playing, it says that the song, "ALONE WITHOUT YOU" was by a group/artist called "THE NIGHTWATCHMAN", and that it was written by Tom Morello. THE Tom Morello, I asked? I rewound it... listened to it again...trying to hear any trademark Tom Morello sounds. None. (Oh, let me point out for those of you who are living under neighboring rocks, that Tom Morello is the renowned guitarist for the bands RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE. He was also extensively featured in the video game, GUITAR HERO 3. The only thing I could do, at this point, was do a Google search. I was directed to the Wikipedia reference, and sure enough... it's THE Tom Morello.
Little did I know that one of the most innovative guitarists also has a Folk alter-ego. In the coming weeks, I will undoubtedly pick up this album... but in the meantime, I am going to share the video, complete with footage from "SICKO". It is amazing to me, to see the video start off, featuring Tom on the mandolin. The song has some amazing production, and I am definitely excited to hear more.
It should be pointed out that this song was written after Tom Morello had seen a rough cut of "SICKO". He was so moved by what he saw, that he wrote this song. So, if this is your first exposure to THE NIGHTWATCHMAN, be prepared... if not, enjoy it again, as if it's the first time you heard it.
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