For a time Rage Against The Machine ruled my life. I got into my first car accident while listening to “Killing In The Name Of.” Had to stash the driver’s bong before the police showed up…

Then Audioslave happened. Yep. Kinda ground my teeth through that one.

All the while vocalist Zach De La Rocha was working on his seemingly never to be released solo album.

Rage fans ready to be stoked? The wait is over with the announcement of…no, not the solo album, but an EP from the new band One Day As A Lion, featuring De La Rocha and Jon Theodore, formerly of Mars Volta.
Seems like a good match. On 7/22, the One Day As a Lion EP will be available on Anti- Records.

From Artist Direct:

The endless wait for Zack De La Rocha’s solo album will finally come to a pseudo halt on July 22 with the release of One Day As a Lion’s debut EP. A collaboration between De La Rocha and ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore, the duo has completed five songs for their self-titled disc. None of which feature DJ Shadow, Trent Reznor, or ?uestlove of The Roots—artists that have been tied to De La Rocha’s long-rumored solo recordings.

“It’s a sonic reflection of the visceral tension between a picturesque fabricated cultural landscape, and the brutal socioeconomic realities it attempts to mask,” the group explained in a statement.

In other De La Rocha news, Rage Against the Machine has seven festival dates lined up for this summer, including an appearance at Lollapalooza on August 2.

One Day As a Lion:

1. Wild International
2. Ocean View
3. Last Letter
4. If You Fear Dying
5. One Day As a Lion

For cryptic info on the band, check out their (currently music-less) MySpace profile.

Fans of soul-master Al Green are in for a treat with his latest release, Lay It Down, produced by ?uestlove of The Roots. Al may not have the shrill range that he once did, but he can still bring it, rest assured. Give a listen to some tracks here, and while you’re at it, check out Synthesis’ Al Green interview from last fall.

Photo: Al Green and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson
Photo credit: Ginny Suss

Right now I am clenching my fist and slowly pulling it into my chest, releasing a slow hissing “yesssssssss.” We all know The Rev Al Green lays it down and writes the songs that make the young girls writhe, the cats jive and love thrive, but it’s been a while. However, on May 27th Al Green will release “Lay It Down.” I couldn’t be more ready.

In the video clips, featured guest musicians Corinne Bailey Rae, John legend, Anthony Hamilton, The Dap Kings Horns Section and ?uestLove (who co-produced the album) talk of Mr. Green’s superb vocal and arrangement skills, and from the soundtrack featured in the vid, I’m taking a guess that this will be about A MILLION TIMES BETTER than that overrated Santana record with people like Rob Thomas helping him write material that sounds fresh, yet still retains its classic characteristics…

Conceived as a collaboration between the soul legend and a handful of gifted young admirers from the worlds of contemporary R&B and hip hop, the album is drawn from a series of inspired sessions that yielded the most high-spirited, funky and often lushly romantic songs of Green’s latter-day career….

Al admits, “That’s the only way I know how to work, that’s what I’ve done all my life. You just write it from here.” He taps his heart. “That’s what we do every Sunday. We never write a sermon now. If you can’t preach out of here”–tapping his chest again–”you have nothing to say anyway. It’s all from the heart, this whole album, from start to finish.”

What you just heard was my heart recreating the big bang theory. Eff yes. Check out the video clips if you’re tired of being alone.

Windows Media Player
Quicktime

On the heels of the much ballyhooed Rage Against the Machine reunion, Billboard.com announced yesterday that Zack de la Rocha has completed the recording of his first solo album. It’s rumored that work for the record began back in 2000 when Rage originally called it quits, and in that time, de la Rocha has recorded with Trent Reznor, ?uestlove and others, but it’s unclear as to whether those tracks will appear on the album. It has been confirmed that ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore will appear as a contributor. Though there aren’t a lot of details yet available on the project, you can rest assured the finished product is going to be full of ANGER… It’s a gift.