Street Sweeper Social Club: RATM Leftovers

It seems like every mainstream band with 2 or 3 hit records goes through "the project" phase.  I'm going on record to say, "Just stick to what you've already done well."

As I was driving home tonight I caught the tail end of Love Line and the guests were the "new" band Street Sweeper Social Club (Tom Morello and Boots Riley).  They played a track on the air called the "The Oath" and (in my best Simon Cowell voice) it was forgettable at best.  It is basically the hard charging guitar riffs of Rage Against the Machine with the same rock/rap style but sans De La Rocha. Ironically enough the band has nothing to do with the rage against the machines that clean the streets or the the kick ass shotguns and I'm not entirely sure why they picked that name and used mini guns on their album cover.  Mini Gun Social Club?  I like that, very catchy...

I've enjoyed listening to Rage for many years and I've had to watch several projects that all missed the mark.  Remember Morello's crazy political rant fueled funky music, The Night Watchman?  Or perhaps you recall the De La Rocha's group, One Day As A Lion (think RATM with a different guitarist)?  The only spin off project that was worth a damn was Audio Slave because of Cornell's raw voice and Morello's kick ass guitar riffs. 

Listen folks, all these projects end the same way... One maybe two albums and everyone forgets about these hiccups ever exsisted.  They are a poor imitation of the originals and quite frankly, as a fan of 90's music, just stick to what you're good at!  There was a reason RATM made money and got a ton of radio play... Because the fans liked it!  We don't care about your political message, just play the damn music that makes me want to lift weights and pick a fight with a walrus.  The little side projects are second rate and I'm asking as a concerned fan: Can we just have Rage back?

Feel free to give Street Sweeper Social Club a listen on their MySpace page (see myspace is still good for something!) but I wouldn't recommend rushing right out and picking up the album.