Tom Morello Explains Anti-ICE Collaboration With Serj Tankian: “We Want To Get Rid Of The Rising Tide Of Fascism”

A newly released collaborative track from Tom Morello, his son Roman Morello, and Serj Tankian is drawing attention for its politically charged message.

The song, “ADJOURN IT,” arrived recently and serves as the latest musical partnership between Morello and Tankian, whose shared history of activism stretches back decades. Speaking in a new interview about the track’s origins, Morello explained that the song was inspired by recent immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles.

“The idea to create a song like this came up during the DHS and ICE raids in Los Angeles, when the streets of L.A. were being terrorized by Gestapo-like tactics, people combing through the neighborhoods, businesses having to shut down, children being abducted from school — an absolute reign of terror on our city. And I thought, ‘We have to do what we can while we can with what we can.’ And with us, that’s making music.”

Morello has been outspoken in his criticism of immigration enforcement policies under the current administration and has participated in demonstrations related to DHS and ICE activities over the past year.

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Tankian echoed those concerns while discussing the motivation behind the song.

“Like [Tom] said, we’ve done a lot of songs together, a lot of projects, and been friends for a long time. And this disturbed all of us. It’s still disturbing all of us, the kind of tactics that have been used by the administration in cracking down on families, separating families, and children without parents.”

“I mean, I read that there’s 27,000 children whose parents have been deported. And it’s really a trauma for this country. And we have to learn how to deal with these things the right way. We have to learn how to stand up to fascism in the right way. And so this is a great way for us to do [it]. This is what we do. We do music.”

Morello later expanded on the meaning behind the title of the song, explaining that the phrase is intended as a call to reject what he sees as growing political and social threats.

“I think the idea of ‘ADJOURN IT’ is one that is… it means to end something, to dismiss something, to get rid of something. And so, in this day and age, we want to get rid of the rising tide of fascism. We want to get rid of these horrible Gestapo tactics. We want to get rid of this rule of billionaires. We want to get rid of this white supremacy, which is this terrible fog that’s choking us all right now. We want to adjourn it, adjourn it, adjourn it.”

“And I think that’s a brilliant lyric to go with Roman’s kickass riff.”

Tankian also noted that the title carries an additional meaning tied to immigration court proceedings.

“It’s also adjourning a lot of those court trials — people were showing up to court, and they were getting handcuffed and taken away, not allowing the judges to actually adjourn their case. So it’s almost like, adjourn it. Let’s let these people who have been living in the country for so long, contributing to our society — culturally, morally, financially — stay.”

For Morello, the track is another entry in a career-long catalog of politically motivated music.

“‘ADJOURN IT’ is a song to rile up our base. It’s to rile up people who are willing to stand up for justice. This is a song which is the next single from my upcoming solo rock record. It will be my 22nd record that I’ve made. And it’s 22 records of riling up the base, doing what we can, while we can, with what we’ve got, and we’ve got quite a lot.”

The friendship and activist partnership between Tankian and Morello predates the song by decades. In 2002, the pair launched the Axis of Justice initiative, which focuses on social justice awareness, grassroots activism, and community engagement within the rock and metal scenes.

Both musicians are also set to appear at the upcoming Power To The People Festival, scheduled for October 3 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion and organized by Morello.

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[Via Blabbermouth]