Sunday, October 5, 2008

Axis of Justice | "Alice in My Fantasies"

  


The Axis of Justice supergroup is comprised of Tom Morello and Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave, on guitar and drums, respectively), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers, bass), Pete Yorn (guitar), and Serj Tankian (System of a Down, vocals/keyboards.) This incarnation of the band is the brainchild of Morello and Tankian, who founded the Axis of Justice non-profit, "to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice."

"Alice in My Fantasies" hails from their live album and DVD Concert Series Volume 1. Knowing Morello and Flea's predilection for vicious riffs and hardcore funk, it is no surprise they chose this filthy (in the best sense possible) Funkadelic song to cover. The influence Funkadelic's main verse riff has had on Morello and Flea in their own bands is palatable, like Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude to Rushdie's Midnight's Children, a wise ancestor laying the foundation for future generations. Morello and Flea clearly know what's up. They are deep in the pocket, grooving with and against the riff, while Wilk and Tankian are out of step with the song. Espeically Tankian. Unlike George Clinton in the original, Tankian doesn't relish the nastiness, his adlibs are far from funky, and he only sings one line from the lyrics. Here is the original.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hiya


just signed up and wanted to say hello while I read through the posts


hopefully this is just what im looking for looks like i have a lot to read.