Massive Attack and Tom Waits Drop Rousing Anti-War Anthem & Video BOOTS ON THE GROUND
Protest against state authoritarianism
Bristol’s trip-hop kings, Massive Attack, have released a new music video and song in collaboration with Tom Waits: BOOTS ON THE GROUND, created with photography artist thefinaleye. The project comes in the aftermath of the No Kings rallies, the largest public protests in American history and focuses on opposition to ICE raids and the militarization of domestic forces. It’s a montage capturing the chaos and authoritarian rule Americans are experiencing under the Trump Regime, opening with the sound of labored breathing—as if a cluster-bomb of demons has knocked the wind out of a country that can’t catch its breath within a relentless barrage of flash bangs and tear gas.
The junkyard percussion Tom Waits is famous for resonates like the pulse of America’s heartbeat, desperately in need of a revolution, a symbolic beta-blocker, or perhaps simply a clean slate. Our pulse quickens at a haunting truth*: “We trim your hedges, we fight your wars | Wait in the trenches, and we fuck ‘til we’re sore | Boots on the ground | Boots on the ground…”
Ethical Distribution
BOOTS ON THE GROUND is released under the Play It Again Sam label. The release is also associated with the eco-conscious label Good Neighbor Music for “EcoSonic” vinyl pressing and will be available on 12” and select digital platforms like apple music and YouTube. The track is purposely withheld from Spotify due to Daniel Ek’s investments in AI military technology.
The video uses research from the ACLU.org, the American Immigration Council, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, freedomforimmigrants.org and veterans-aid.net as the places to start swinging back.
TomWaits.com | ANTI
*The hard truth: what Americans are experiencing is atrocious but nothing compared to the suffering of people in the countries the US has bombed under Trump. Since the end of World War II, the United States has conducted bombing campaigns, drone strikes, or supported aerial attacks in at least 30 different countries. Contact the Center on Conscience & War if you’re in the US military and want to seek discharge or reassignment as a Conscientious Objector HERE.
