Ever the reactionary and revolutionary, Tom Morello isn't one to shy away from making controversial statements. This holds true for music as much as politics.
Speaking at Jane's Addiction's induction ceremony to the Guitar Center RockWalk in Hollywood last week, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist made the bold claim that it was not Nirvana that killed hair metal, but rather Jane's Addiction.
"Nirvana often gets credit for being the first 'alternative' band to break through, the band that changed music," Morello said. "That's just not true. It was Jane's Addiction: inspiring, intelligent, furiously rocking and artistically deep."
Reacting to Morello's speach, Jane's frontman Perry Farrell stated: "That speech made me sound so damn good, I don't need to look in the mirror ever again. Just play that over and over every morning."
Jane's Addiction are finishing up work on their new studio album, The Great Escape Artist.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
“You don’t want the soul to be detached from things because you’ll just have gratuitous shredding”: Marcus King on the current state of the guitar scene – and why there's hope for the future
“I'd try to bust out my best hot and fastest licks, and Joe would always be so helpful. He'd say, ‘All those licks are cool. But just slow it down, man. Tell a story’”: Lionel Richie guitarist Greg Suran shares the solo advice he received from Joe Walsh