Okay, so there’s this NY Times article about the life of U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R. – Wisconsin) in which it was noted with some irony that the hard-right conservative counts Rage Against the Machine as one of his favorite bands.

The irony is not lost on former Rage guitarist, Tom Morello. In a Rolling Stone piece, Morello sounds off about Ryan and the many reasons why Rage Against the Machine is “antithetical to the message of Rage.”

As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deal for August 2012, Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman‘s World Wide Rebel Songs is on sale for only $5. If you would like a physical copy of World Wide Rebel Songs, the CD is available for only $11.00.

The Nightwatchman is the alter ego of former Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello. He created the moniker back in 2003 as an outlet for his political activism. World Wide Rebel Songs is his fourth album and features the protest songs he’s played live in support of many causes for the common man such as the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy LA movements, and the unions protesting anti-bargaining laws in Wisconsin.

Browse all 1,000 albums on sale this month for only $5 each, as well as several albums on sale this week for only $2.99 each.

As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deals, the self-titled debut album by Audioslave is on sale for only $5. If you would like a physical copy of Audioslave, the CD is available for only $6.99.

Audioslave was the short-lived band comprised of former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk. Hard to believe this album is already ten years old. It seems like only yesterday my local rock station was spinning “Cochise,” “Show Me How to Live,” and “I Am the Highway” in heavy rotation. Audioslave is still a great album and totally worth five bucks just to give you something cool to sing/growl/screech in the shower.

Browse all 100 albums on sale this month for only $5 each, as well as several albums on sale this week for only $2.99.

Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Digital are currently offering a “Rock & Roll” Sale with collections and 99-cent single issues of Tom Morello‘s Orchid and Gerard Way‘s The Umbrella Academy.

Dark Horse is having a nice weekend of sales, huh? Well, following their Star Wars Mega Bundle Sale, the publishing company is offering us a rock & roll sale that features former Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello’s brand new Orchid comic book and My Chemical Romance lead vocalist Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy, and you can get every single issue from these comics for a mere 99 cents each.

Orchid #2
Written by Tom Morello
Art by Scott Hepburn
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 9, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Orchid #2 appears to reiterate a bit of the information that we learned in the first issue, but goes a bit deeper into the background of why things are the way they are. Writer Tom Morello obviously has a grander vision than I first imagined. I find myself interested in the history of this future Earth. Hopefully more on that front as the series progresses.

We find Orchid in the slave pits this issue, still resigned to her fate. With her younger brother in tow, she tries to avoid Simon as he rants like a madman. Simon, though, has other plans. Plotting an escape, he manages to arrange their sale to a wealthy buyer. Once started, they cannot turn back no matter how dangerous things get. A surprise twist at the end involving the Mask of General China sets up the next issue quite nicely.