Unlike The Times Before, From Yesterday Comes Tomorrow
20 years ago, October of 2000, Rage Against The Machine hit a pause with Zack de la Rocha announcing his departure. Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk go their own way, and with a little help from Rick Rubin, time perfectly with a voice of a generation and artist for all time.
Morello, Commerford and Wilk escape secretly in the middle of the night to an empty warehouse. They rig the elevator, inhale and exhale deeply, and then ride to the top floor. Pounding their feet, they meet the piercing eyes of man who also has something to say. His head is tilted down, both hands grip a microphone with force as he kicks and shakes his head to the same beat. Hearts beat with the kick if Wilk’s drum, Morello gets the motor running….
“Well, I’ve been watching, while you’ve been coughing, I’ve been drinking life, while you’ve been nauseous.”
Audioslave.
From that very first lyric, it can be said – Audioslave was immediately potent, relevant and ahead of its time. Somehow it was the captured Rage mission of voice combining with the rhythmic yet off-beat patterns of Soundgarden that made this an explosive match made in heaven.
Today, from my home, I find myself pressing play on Audioslave quite often. What a year it has been… with much still to be done. Sometimes you need an army – brothers and sisters to connect to your midnight escape plan. And other times, you need to be alone, curled up sparking just a single match to illuminate your way so that you can write you’re own “Last Remaining Light”.
As I meld into the catalog of Audioslave, I realize – so many of their messages are speaking to right here, right now. So, if you will – may you join me atop the scaffolding for a minute. With this music as our backdrop, let’s set it off with some fireworks as we steer towards the second half of October and early November.
photo by: Sean Ricigliano
“Like A Stone”
“In your house I long to be….” aside from my own house, I’ve only been in my parents house since March. Room by room, patiently, I wait like a stone… from quarantine, to isolation, there’s been so many times of feeling alone (alone together and alone on an island). I will wander on….
“Light My Way”
And in this state of mind – I’m willing to listen to your answers and I’m not afraid to tell you I need you today.
“Show Me How To Live”
“Nail in my head from my creator, you gave me life now show me how to live.” I often give the same answer that is given to me, “I don’t know!” How do you do this?
“The Last Remaining Light”
“Down your winter and underneath your waves where you watch and you wait and pray for the day.” There are so many themes of light in Audioslave’s catalog. Sometimes you start to feel the fight deep within you.
photo by: Sean Ricigliano
“Yesterday To Tomorrow”
“And unlike the times before, from yesterday comes tomorrow. When life comes alive, the past moves aside, no regrets and no remorse.” I take this in two ways… Time is quickly moving so slow. Or is it slowly moving quickly? It’s Thursday then the next thing you know it’s Wednesday of the following week only to then be Tuesday of the next week. But… for the future, all the answers will be found in the mistakes that we have made.
“#1 Zero”
“Just when you think you’ve left me blind, I will be creeping right up behind. ‘Cause baby if I need to, yeah I will keep you in the corner of my eye.” There are moments when you realize that though your strength is being tested, you have it. You’re a fighter and you’ll still be standing here. Furthermore, with regard to all of the injustices we are facing… enough is enough.
“Be Yourself”
“And to be yourself is all that you can do.” Because it is. Speak your truth, pursue your strengths and your beliefs with everything you have. Vote.
photo by: Sean Ricigliano
“Somedays”
“Wake up, look around just before your feet hit the ground. Somedays just ain’t so easy.” Does anyone else feel completely different every single day? Up and down and all around. There are lows, there are highs and there are days where the two mix together to create a color of their own. Somedays I watch the rain drip down the windows and it simply looks like the earth is crying. Other days I sit alone at dawn with a cup of coffee and feel the power of us rising.
“Wide Awake”
“So come pull a sheet over my eyes, so I can sleep tonight, despite what I’ve seen today.” Say for example, hmm… September 29, 2020… the first presidential debate.
“Shape Of Things To Come”
“The future’s coming on sweet and strong. And no-one’s gonna hold it back for long. There are new dreams crowding out old realities. There’s revolution sweeping in like a fresh new breeze.”
photo by: Sean Ricigliano
If you read the lyrics quoted in each song in the order in which they are displayed, it reads like a poem. With Cornell hovering over top of the force that continues to be – Audioslave. All sounds made by guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
all photos by Sean Ricigliano
For Jeff Gorra’s Audioslave catalog Click Here:
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