TOM MORELLO PICKS

Best Contemporary Protest Song: Arcade Fire, "Intervention"

It's pretty phenomenal. I definitely get the protest vibe out of it. There's that great line about if you're so used to being on bended knee. [The verse is: "I can taste your fear/It's gonna lift you up and take you out of here/And the bone shall never heal/I care not if you kneel"] That's actually what drew me to Arcade Fire. I kind of came late to that party. They played that song on Saturday Night Live, and they played it with such great conviction. Like, who is this great new protest band? I have to know more!