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The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

Tom Morello | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

Billy Corgan

Music, Arts, Performing Arts

4.6731 Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2025

⏱️ 79 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Billy Corgan sits down with Rage Against the Machine co-founder Tom Morello to trace the path from Tom’s earliest days as a KISS-obsessed comic-book devotee to his rise as a musical agitator on the biggest stages in rock. Tom reveals how dropping into the Sunset Strip glam scene led to a short-lived major-label deal that taught him never to compromise his artistry. He recalls the explosive formation of RATM, “a ring of power that drives men mad”—and dives deep into why Rage’s politically charged fusion shook the world. You’ll also hear about his boundary-pushing work in Audioslave alongside Chris Cornell’s transcendent vocals, plus his acoustic alter ego, The Nightwatchman, born of a hunger for unfiltered activism. But there’s more to Tom than riffs and revolution: he’s a proud father, film producer, and fierce defender of the unsung heroes of heavy metal, Judas Priest. Balancing a hardwired passion for justice with family life, Tom Morello offers a master class in remaining unapologetically true to yourself—even when that truth demands you stand front and center with a guitar in one hand and a protest sign in the other. If you’ve ever wondered how an avowed political rebel and virtuoso shredder finds his place in an ever-changing music industry—and in a world still hungry for change—this conversation is a must-listen. Watch The Magnificent Others on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BillyCorganTMO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

You know, I can't be like the one black kid in town, the only person to get into Harvard,

0:03.5

who then comes home without a degree.

0:05.9

So I get that.

0:08.6

What is a non-sectarian socialist?

0:12.1

It's an answer you have to give to a guitar world when they try to hem you in.

0:16.0

Well, were you attracted to women in Renaissance scar.

0:18.7

Much more so than in real life.

0:20.8

Ray Jans machine is like the ring in Lord of the Rings.

0:23.3

It drives men mad.

0:25.9

It drives men mad.

0:30.7

All right.

0:32.0

We're going to jump right into the deep end.

0:34.0

By all means.

0:35.2

Do you view the entire world through the prism of star trek like many trekkies do uh no no

0:41.4

no i would say that the that star trek uh harmonized with suspicions that i already had

0:48.0

about how the world might one day be you know how the trekkies are yeah yeah sure sure sure sure

0:53.1

that everything so i can ask you one of these cheesy kind of questions.

0:56.4

Yeah, yeah.

0:57.2

Who was the character on the OG Star Trek that you were most attracted to?

1:00.9

Because we do kind of define ourselves that.

1:02.6

Sure, sure.

1:04.3

Probably Sulu in a way.

...

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