December 22, 2009

• Music of My Life- Rage Against the Machine

  Rage Against the Machine is a band that formed in 1991 and the album that has influenced me is their 1992, self-titled album "Rage Against the Machine".

  

  This album is the debut album from Rage Against the Machine(henceforth in this review referred to as RATM unless speaking of album title).  RATM consists of Zach de la Rocha on vocals, Tom Morello on guitar, Brad Wilk on drums and Tim Commerford on bass.

  Tom Morello was in a Los Angeles based band Lock Up and became disillusioned with the direction of the band.  One evening he heard Zach de la Rocha doing a freestyle rap and was quite impressed.  Morello asked Zach to start a band.  Morello then got Wilk to play drums because he remembered him auditioning for Lock Up and Commerford was brought on board because he was a childhood friend of de la Rocha's.  The band got together and worked on material most of which was written by de la Rocha.  Their first performance was at a house party and soon after they made a demo tape which consisted of 12 songs, 2 of which were dropped from the final product but later released as B-sides.

  The songs are heavily political.  RATM were very political and in the liner notes they also had information about political activists such as Bobby Sands, Huey Newton, and Leonard Peltier.  It's no wonder they are political given their name meaning that we should be raging against the government.  This may have gotten them in trouble when FOX News got a hold of one of Zach's speeches that said that the Bush administration should be shot.  Of course A. Cuntsworth Shitty Writer(Anne Coulter) said the band and their fans were losers and this was just another example of left-wing violence.  The only level-headed person at FOX News, Alan Colmes, pulled out one of Cuntsworth's quotes about Clinton, "The only issue is whether to impeach or assassinate."  And if there was any doubt about the political message of RATM, one should check out the cover of this album.  The cover is a famous photo of Buddhist monk, Thích Quảng Đức, self-immolating himself to protest the oppression of Buddhists in Vietnam.  The photo was posted in American newspapers urging President Kennedy to withdraw troops and sever relations with the Vietnamese government.

  "Rage Against the Machine" was a smash hit and was certified as triple platinum(sold three million copies).  RATM bascially invented a new sound with this album that was called "nu metal". It was heavy metal music but wasn't quite like the heavy metal music that people had experienced in the 80s.  The album also has high production values.  Tom Morello's guitar stylings are incredible and this album has placed him among the pantheon of rock god guitarists.  I love how in the album liner they have a note that says that all effects were created with guitars and there were no sound effects, keyboards, or synthesizers used.  Q Magazine listed that "Rage Against the Machine" is the Heaviest Album of All-time.  The album is also included in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.  Rolling Stone places "Rage Against the Machine" at #368 of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

  RATM garnered a cult following and they released 3 other studio albums.  Zach parted ways with the band to focus on his poetry and rapping.  Tom, Brad, and Tim formed a new band with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden called Audioslave.  RATM have reunited several times for performances and protests.  One of their most heated reunions was at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN.  They were not given a license to perform at a protest held a block from the convention so they walked amongst the protesters singing on megaphones.  Tom Morello later said of the convention performance: ""Imagine if in Beijing during the Olympics a Chinese band whose songs were critical of the government was told they'd be arrested if they attempted to sing those songs in a public forum—there would have been an international human rights outcry. But that's exactly what happened in Minnesota. But this is a band that has made a living singing a song that goes 'fuck you, I won't do what you tell me,' so we weren't about to go back to the hotel with our tails between our legs. So we out-flanked the police line and went into the middle of the crowd, and played a couple of songs passing a bull horn back and forth, and it seemed to go over pretty well."  And so you think they just aren't against Republicans, RATM performed at the 2000 national Democratic Convention.  The city of L.A. refused to allow them to perform but RATM sued and a U.S. district judge allowed them to play outside the DNC but police surrounded the performance with a 12 foot high fence and patrolled on horses and motorcycles and wore riot gear.

  RATM have joined in a tour with Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, The Roots, and R.E.M. called Rage Against Torture.  These bands are campaigning for the closure of the Guantanamo Prison and are protesting that their music has been used to torture prisoners.

  Track Listing:
  1.  Bombtrack  This song is about social inequality and has been featured in the Oliver Stone movie Natural Born Killers.  The music video is about the Shining Path Maoist group in Peru who are fighting for a new cultural revolution because the democracy in their country has brought about dictatorship.
  2.  Killing in the Name  This song was the lead single for the album.  The song is about how in the southern United States, many police officers have been linked to the Ku Klux Klan.  Despite receiving no radio play or tv airtime, this song has become RATM's signature song.  It is featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Jim Rome often uses it for bumper music on his talk show.  The song has been cleaned up for Guitar Hero.  It was covered by the greatest Lutheran cover band ever assembled, Refurbishing Cabbage.
  3.  Take the Power Back  I often use this song to test my speakers and amps to see if they are working.  The basic meaning behind this song is that in order for us to get the power back from the government we have to better educate ourselves instead of being ignorant and just bitching,  PICK UP A FUCKING BOOK!  Oh and this song is also used in Natural Born Killers.
  4.  Settle for Nothing  There are rumors abou this song and how it is about Zach de la Rocha's childhood and gang affiliation.  To me, it sounds like the plight of many inner-city youth and how they don't know their fathers because they are in jail or dead and they are doomed to repeat the same things as their fathers
  5.  Bullet in the Head  The song is about how the government controls the media to control the population thus making no difference between the free and the prisoner.  I love this song for Morello's use of the whammy bar and wah-wah pedal.
  6.  Know Your Enemy  This is one of the few RATM songs that features vocals from some one other than de la Rocha.  Maynard James Keenan of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle lends his voice.  Morello used a special switch on his guitar that turned on a special pick-up to make it sound like a synthesizer.  It's interesting how much this borrows from the riff of Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein"
  7.  Wake Up  This song was featured in the movie The Matrix and has been in several video games.  This song was never released as a single but it has been a staple for live shows usually played as the last song.  The message is simple: we need to wake up as a society.  The song deals with racism.  The spoken portion of this song is actually a direct quote from Herbert Hoover in how he suggests to supress black nationalism that the leaders such as King and Malcolm X be neutralized and the last lyrics are quotes of Martin Luther King Jr.  During the live performances, Zach de la Rocha usually delivers political speeches during this song.
  8.  Fistful of Steel  From Tom Morello's website "This song definately shows that Zack is great as an MC - and is generally dedicated to women in the audience as a sign of respect - not romantic affection."
  9.  Township Rebellion  From Tom Morello's website "This song relates human freedom to the situation in South Africa. "Freedom should be fundamental: In Johannesburg, or South Central.""
  10.  Freedom  This is my favorite track on the album.  Zach's vocals are just amazing when he is singing and screaming, I get goosebumps, and because of the intensity is usually the last song that they would play when they toured this album.  The song focuses on Leonard Peltier and the video examines the case the government brought against Peltier.  The video also features a re-enactment of the incident on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  If you watch the video you will see something odd.  Drummer Brad Wilk is facing away from the audience.  He had a habit of doing this.  He liked facing the direction the audience was facing and he would have mirrors in front of him so he could see the audience as well.

  
  Brad Wilk, Zach de la Rocha, Tim Commerford, Tom Morello

  "Killing in the Name" has come to news recently in that a man in Great Britian so upset with their talent show promoted by Simon Cowell called X-Factor, started a facebook group asking Brits to vote for this song.  Currently "Killing in the Name" is the number one song in the UK, a spot which has been usually reserved for the winner of Cowell's X-Factor.

  Also if you want to hear more music check out my special Christmas edition of my mash-up post. 

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