Tom Morello, Rush Cameo in Graphic Future User Video
Rage Against the Machine bassist and current Future User frontman Tim Commerford turned an emergency back surgery into the perfect opportunity to rail against the American health care system in the new video for “Voodoo Juju.” In the clip, which was actually filmed during Commerford’s operation, his former band mate Tom Morello guest stars as Dr. Van Drusel, a medical professional set on squeezing every dollar out of Commerford’s ailment.
“I got the idea for the video after I ruptured a disc in my back and needed emergency surgery,” Commerford said in a statement. “As someone who often goes under the knife, I’ve always been a bit overwhelmed by the process, paperwork, approvals and costs. Luckily, I have insurance, but it got me thinking about all the people in this country who can’t afford medical treatment. I read an article recently that said there are over 40 million uninsured people living in the States, which is insane.”
As an added bonus, Commerford also recruited Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson to play a pair of Canadian doctors who pick up where Dr. Van Drusel’s operation hastily left off. As the prog-rockers explain to Commerford in the video, “our hospitals are not for profit.”
“I talked my doctor into letting me shoot the surgery, then explained the concept to Tom, who was totally into the idea,” Commerford said. “And of course, you can’t talk about universal health care without bringing Canada into the conversation, so I called Geddy and Alex and asked if they’d be part of it and was blown away when they said yes. And all that footage of my back being opened up is real, no joke.”
Future User’s previous cameo-heavy music videos for their new album #SteroidsOrHeroin have also seen tennis great John McEnroe subject himself to waterboarding and Lance Armstrong making an appearance in the steroid-fueled “Mountain Lion.”