- Rage Against the Machine -
- Unofficial -
- Frequently Asked Questions v3.2 -

Compiled + Maintained: Gavin <ragefaq@hotmail.com>
See [9-1] for contributor list
Update: December 2000

"I've seen a somewhat accurate annotation of the lyrics on a FAQ
somewhere on the Internet. We don't have any immediate plans to
release our own, so keep puzzling them out." - Tom Morello, 10/18/99

This is no longer an updated project. Please send all correspondence
to me at the above address. Please continue to observe all copyright
claims. "Not updated" does not mean "dead" or "forgotten."

Please note that much of the information contained herein is quickly
falling out of date and usefulness. This is bound to happen, so take
all info with a grain of salt.

If you would like to discuss the future of the project with me, go
ahead and send an email...

The purpose of the Rage Against the Machine Unofficial Frequently
Asked Questions (RATM FAQ) file is to provide a resource for
everyone who wants their questions about the band Rage Against
the Machine, its recordings, and its activities, answered cohesively
and reliably. Nothing here is guaranteed correct. It generally
follows the FAQ format-- questions people ask about the band.

See Section [9] for information on additions, changes, usage.

Enjoy, and send your comments.

- TABLE OF CONTENTS - Abbreviated to thhe highest levels for length.

[1] GENERAL RAGE INFORMATION
[1-1] What is Rage Against the Machine?
[1-2] -unavailable-
[1-3] -unavailable-
[1-4] What about friendships/collaborations?
[1-5] Isn't being on Sony's Epic label hypocritical?
[1-6] How can I contact Rage?
[1-7] Are Rage communists, or what?
[1-8] What does Rage have against sampling?
[1-9] What is the significance of the red star?
[1-10] I heard on the radio...
[1-11] Rage should go to China/Cuba/(other "communist" country)!
[1-12] What was Radio Free LA?
[1-13] Is that WWF theme a Rage song?
[1-14] What happened with...
[1-14-1] The naked performance
[1-14-2] Saturday Night Live
[1-14-3] The Gorge
[1-14-4] The Guess Protest
[1-14-5] Continental Arena Mumia benefit
[1-15] What awards or nominations have they earned?

[2] BAND INFORMATION
[2-1] The Guilty Parties
[2-1-1] Zack de La Rocha, vocals/lyrics
[2-1-2] Tom Morello, guitar
[2-1-3] Tim Commerford, bass
[2-1-4] Brad Wilk, drums
[2-1-5] Tattoos on the band
[2-2] What equipment does the band use?
[2-2-1] Zack de la Rocha, vocals
[2-2-2] Tom Morello, guitar
[2-2-3] Tim Commerford, bass
[2-2-4] Brad Wilk, drums
[2-3] What other bands would I like?

[3] RECORDINGS
[3-1] What does xxxx in the lyrics to xxxx mean?
[3-2] Rage Against the Machine
[3-2-1] What is going on with the monk on the cover?
[3-2-2] What is that I hear in "Wake Up"?
[3-2-3] How do I make that buzzing sound in "Bullet in the Head"?
[3-2-4] What are the lyrics to "Killing in the Name"?
[3-3] Evil Empire
[3-3-1] What does "Evil Empire" mean?
[3-3-2] Who is that kid on the cover?
[3-3-3] What are all those books in the liner notes?
[3-3-4] What is said at the beginning of "Bulls on Parade"?
[3-3-5] How do I make those cool sounds before "Revolver"?
[3-4] The Battle of Los Angeles
[3-4-1] Why does the cover look familiar?
[3-4-2] What does the title mean?
[3-4-3] What is said at the beginning of "Calm like a Bomb"?
[3-4-4] What is said during the chorus of "Mic Check"?
[3-4-5] What is that at the end of "Sleep Now in the Fire"?
[3-5] What singles are there?
[3-6] What about other stuff?
[3-7] Rage Against the Machine: Video

[4] MEDIA PROPAGANDA
[4-1] What is the significance of...
[4-2] What songs are music videos?
[4-3] What songs have appeared in movies?
[4-4] Are there any Rage bootlegs (rare and live recordings)?

[5] LIVE
[5-1] I heard a song I didn't recognize...
[5-1-1] Covers
[5-1-2] "Readings"
[5-1-3] Totally Unreleased
[5-1-4] Demo songs
[5-1-5] Other Non-Album
[5-2] Song xxxxx didn't sound the same when I heard it live...
[5-3] The Live Show

[6] POLITICAL
[6-1] Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional
[6-2] Mumia Abu-Jamal
[6-3] Leonard Peltier
[6-4] Supported Organizations

[7] LYRICAL REFERENCES
[7-1] Rage Against the Machine
[7-2] Evil Empire
[7-3] The Battle of Los Angeles
[7-4] Non-Album

[8] RAGE ON THE INTERNET
[8-1] Are Rage on the internet?
[8-2] Are there official homepages?
[8-3] What is with that e-mail address?
[8-4] Where can I talk to other fans?
[8-5] What about "fan pages?"
[8-6] Fan resource sites

[9] THE FAQ'S FAQ
[9-1] The Guilty Parties
[9-2] What about distribution?
[9-3] Updates and Changes


[1] GENERAL RAGE INFORMATION

[1-1] What is Rage Against the Machine?

Rage Against the Machine is a band who formed in 1991 in Los Angeles
whose stated purpose, in the words of lyricist/vocalist Zack de la
Rocha is: "...[to] bridge the gap between entertainment and
activism; first and foremost, that's our goal." Rage Against the
Machine would not exist were it not for their political awareness
and activism, and it is an integral part of the band.

Their first private performance was at a friend of Tim's living room
party, and they decided they had something. They took their name
from the title of Zack's previous band's unreleased second album.
They played a few shows, and were almost immediately contacted
by several labels. However, they all seemed to think the politics
were a gimmick, and Rage didn't bother with them. Their earliest
demos were recorded "before ever playing live" and were for sale
at their shows, and they made and sold about 5000 copies. They
signed with Epic after a short time, and their self-titled debut
album on Epic (a division of Sony) was released in November, 1992
(see C-2). They toured in support of various bands and gained more
and more recognition; their debut album went platinum; the rest is
history.

[1-4] What about friendships/collaborations?

[1-4-1] Tool

Brad and Tom played "Calling Dr. Love" on the KISS tribute album
with Maynard James Keenan (Tool) and Billy Gould (Faith No More).
They called themselves Shandi's Addiction. Maynard does the "I've
got no patience now..." interlude on RATM's "Know Your Enemy."
Tom Morello is thanked on Tool's "Opiate" EP, and Tool is thanked
on Rage's debut album. Tom and Adam Jones, the guitarist from Tool,
went to high school together in Libertyville, IL and played in a
garage band called Electric Sheep (with Adam on bass).

The only true collaboration between members of both bands occurred
in 1993, where they cut at least one demo of an untitled song. It
was to be included on the "Judgement Night" soundtrack, but the
bands couldn't work out the song to either of their satisfaction and
called it quits before creating a final mix. Someone released the
unfinished song via the internet and it can be found in various
places online. The second half of the song's music was worked, in
large part, into the song "New Millenium Homes," found on BOLA.

The best Tool homepage:
http://toolshed.down.net/

[1-4-2] Public Enemy

Chuck D, PE's "lead man," and the band are good friends. He has
come onstage at many Rage shows, to rap and to speak and hang out.
He also interviewed Zack, Tom, and Tim for Rip magazine. Musical
collaborations are always rumored. Rage has also partially
covered the Public Enemy song "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos".

The Public Enemy homepage:
http://www.public-enemy.com

[1-4-3] Stephen Perkins

Stephen Perkins, the drummer for Porno for Pyros played "trashcan
percussion" in the interlude to "Know Your Enemy" with Maynard James
Keenan from Tool, and also played with Zack, Tom and Flea from Red
Hot Chili Peppers during the Radio Free L.A. broadcast and with Tom
on the Pink Floyd cover on the "Small Soldiers" soundtrack.

[1-4-4] Wu-Tang Clan

Zack is a huge Wu fan and listened to them all through the 1996
tour, so they asked the enormous rap group to join them on their
1997 summer tour. On several occasions, they collaborated on stage.
The RZA and Rage's version of "My Country 'tis of Thee" as performed
on an early date in the tour was completely spontaneous, and they
did it from time to time. The Wu withdrew from the tour about
halfway through, citing "internal conflicts."

[1-4-5] Snoop Dogg

Tom, Tim and Brad redid Snoop's song "Snoop Bounce" in the studio,
for the Snoop single (not album) "Tha Doggfather." It is entitled
"Snoop Bounce (rock and roll remix)." Released December 1997.

[1-5] Isn't being on Epic hypocritical?

I believe Tom says it best:

"A lot of labels contacted us, and lots of them just didn't seem to
understand what we wanted to do. They kept talking about the
message of the music as a gimmick. They were interested in us just
because there was a buzz... They saw us as the latest local rock
band to be hyped. But Epic agreed to everything we asked--and
they've followed through... we never saw a conflict as long as we
maintained creative control. When you live in a capitalistic
society, the currency of the dissemination of information goes
through capitalistic channels. Would Noam Chomsky object to his
works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that's where people
buy their books. We're not interested in preaching to just the
converted. It's great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists,
but it's also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary
message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart."

[1-6] How can I contact Rage?

Rage Against the Machine
PO Box 2052
Los Angeles, CA 900069

email: RAGEemail@aol.com
http://www.ratm.com/

See Section [8-*] for more information.

[1-7] Are Rage communists, or what?

Being that the band is composed of four different individuals
with their own independent thoughts and beliefs, this is a question
that is impossible to answer in the way that it usually is asked.
Tom, however, provides a quick answer for himself, saying he is
"a socialist. I believe people should have meaningful control over
their society, which we don't have. And there should be democracy
in the workplace, as well as in politics."

[1-8] What does Rage have against sampling?

They don't have anything against sampling in the least. It is
commonly thought that because of the disclaimer in the liner notes
that they somehow disapprove of it. Not true. They are simply
proud of the fact that they can create those sounds without the use
of machinery aside from their instruments. Note that the disclaimer
changed slightly following the first album.

[1-9] What is the significance of the red star?

Rage Against the Machine uses the imagery of a red, five-pointed
star frequently in their merchandise, artwork, equipment, and even
on their clothes. A red star has been used through history and to
the current day to signify solidarity with leftist activism and
movements. The flag used by the Zapatista movement, for instance,
is "a black flag and a red star..."

[1-10] I heard on the radio...

Put no stock in news and rumors you hear over the radio unless its
coming from the mouth of a band member. Deejays love to sound
important by spreading rumors. Don't listen to them, listen to the
band and press releases.

[1-11] Rage should go to China/Cuba/(other "communist" country)!

Tom Morello says this best:

"I am enormously proud to be an American. I would say that the
things that our corporate-controlled government has done at best are
shameful and at worst genocidal--but there's an incredible and a
permanent culture of resistance in this country that I'm very proud
to be a part of. It's not the tradition of slave-owning founding
fathers, it's the tradition of the Frederick Douglasses, the
Underground Railroads, the Chief Josephs, the Joe Hills, and the
Huey P. Newtons. There's so much to be proud of when you're American
that's hidden from you. The incredible courage and bravery of the
union organizers in the late 1800's and early 1900's--that's amazing.
People get tricked into going overseas and fighting Uncle Sam's
Wall Street wars, but these are people who knew what they were
fighting for here at home. I think that that's so much more
courageous and brave."

[1-12] What was Radio Free LA?

RFLA was a project Tom put together and hosted to bring politics to
the forefront of commercial radio, at least for a little while. It
was made available free to any radio station interested in carrying
it, and was funded by Sony. It featured interviews with VERY
prominent world figures, such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, and
Subcommandante Marcos. Between the political talk was music; Zack,
Tom, Stephen Perkins and Flea collaborated to redo all the songs off
Evil Empire in their own unique style. Beck performed and spoke,
and a series of hilarious "edited" presidential speeches were aired.
Also, several young activists spoke on behalf of youth rights and
for the garment workers union; Michael Moore put forth some of his
own brand of political humor as well. It lasted a little over 2
hours, and was cut off in some areas because of this. Tom hopes to
put together another show in the future.

http://www.radiofreela.com/

[1-13] Is that WWF theme a Rage song?

NO! Rage has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[1-14] What happened with...

[1-14-1] The naked performance

At the 1993 Lollapalooza (see [1-3]) stop in Philadelphia, they got
up on stage naked with PMRC (one letter per person) painted across
their chests, electrical tape on their mouths and with the guitars
feeding back for fourteen minutes and just stood there in protest.
They played a free show a few days later to make up for not
performing their music. The PMRC is the Parents Musical Resource
Council, a group founded by Tipper Gore, that promotes music
censorship through stickers and ratings on albums and other such
means (see [2-1-2-1]). For those of you who just have to know, yes
they were completely naked. Tom wasn't even wearing his hat. It was
broad daylight; the audience got quite an eyeful. You can find
pictures around if you really must see for yourself.

[1-14-2] Saturday Night Live

This is more than you ever wanted to know about the incident, from
Rock Out Censorship's official statement, by Kenny Moore. I have
altered it slightly, as the call to action in the official statement
isn't really necessary three years later.

On April 10th, 1996 Rage was scheduled to perform two songs on the
NBC comedy variety show "Saturday Night Live." The show was hosted
that night by ex-Republican presidential candidate and billionaire
Steve Forbes. According to RATM guitarist Tom Morello, "RATM wanted
to stand in sharp juxtaposition to a billionaire telling jokes and
promoting his flat tax...by making our own statement."

To make that statement, RATM hung two upside-down American flags
from their amps. Seconds before they took the stage to perform
"Bulls on Parade", SNL and NBC sent stagehands in to pull the flags
down. The inverted flags, says Morello, represented "our
contention that American democracy is inverted when what passes
for democracy is an electoral choice between two representatives of
the privileged class. America's freedom of expression is inverted
when you're free to say anything you want to say until it upsets a
corporate sponsor. Finally, this was our way of expressing our
opinion of the show's host, Steve Forbes."

RATM first attempted to hang the flags during a pre-telecast
rehearsal on Thursday, SNL's producers "demanded that we take the
flags down," says Morello. "They said the sponsors would be upset,
and that because Steve Forbes was on, they had to run a 'tighter'
show." SNL also told the band it would mute objectionable lyrics in
"Bullet In The Head" (which was supposed to be RATM's second song).
SNL even insisted that the song be bleeped in the studio because
Forbes had friends and family there.

On show night, following the first performance, and the flags being
torn down, RATM were approached by SNL and NBC officials and ordered
to immediately leave the building. Upon hearing this, RATM bassist
Tim Bob reportedly stormed Forbes' dressing room, throwing shreds
from one of the torn down flags.

"SNL censored Rage, period. They could not have sucked up to the
billionaire more," said Morello. "The thing that's ironic is SNL is
supposedly this cutting edge show, but they proved they're
bootlickers to their corporate masters when it comes down to it.
They're cowards. It should come to no surprise that GE, which owns
NBC, would find 'Bullet' particularly offensive. GE is a major
manufacturer of US planes used to commit war crimes in the Gulf War,
and bombs from those jets destroyed hydroelectric dams which killed
thousands of civilians in Iraq." Morello noted that members of the
Saturday Night Live cast and crew, whom he declined to name,
"expressed solidarity with our actions, and a sense of shame that
their show had censored the performance."

[1-14-3] The Gorge

Rage was scheduled to perform at The Gorge, a George, Washington
concert venue on September 13, 1997, but Grant County Sheriff
William Weister filed a complaint with the courts trying to block
the performance. Court documents refer to the group as "militant,
radical and anti-establishment" and mention their allegedly
"violent and anti-law enforcement" themes. The banning attempt was
struck down, and the concert went on with a quadrupled police
presence. Rage started the night with "Fuck Tha Police," and
Zack spoke from the stage: "There ain't nothing more frightening
than a pig with political aspirations. We take it as an insult
that he calls us violent because everybody knows the police are out
of control."

[1-14-4] The Guess Protest

On December 13th, 1997, Tom Morello and 32 other protesters were
arrested outside the Santa Monica Place Mall. They were taking part
in a demonstration against clothes manufacturer Guess?, which has
a reputation for being a notorious labor-abuser. The demonstration
was organized by the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile
Employees. The protesters left an approved demonstration area and
blocked the entrance to the mall, and were taken into custody. They
received misdemeanor citations and were released.

[1-14-5] Continental Arena Mumia benefit

Taken in part from "Revolutionary Worker," January 31st, 1999:

On January 28th, 1999 Rage put on a concert to raise money for the
defense fund of Mumia Abu-Jamal, much like was done in Washington
D.C. in 1995. The Beastie Boys and Bad Religion were scheduled to
open, and it was to be held in New Jersey, just outside of New York
City. Radio shock-jock Howard Stern caught wind of the controversy
and started ranting on-air about this "concert for a cop-killer" that
was being advertised on his radio station. In the days following, a
tsunami wave of crude threats against the concert hit the airwaves
from reactionary tabloid columnists, the Fraternal Order of Police,
the New Jersey state troopers, numerous politicians and even the NJ
Governor herself, Christine Todd Whitman.

Tom Morello, along with Mumia's lead attorney Leonard Weinglass,
appeared on Stern's show in the following days to debate Maureen
Faulkner, the widow of the cop who Mumia is accused of killing, and
Hugh Burns from the Philadelphia DA's office. It was actually 2
against 4, counting Stern and his sidekick Robin ("We're a pro-cop
show!"). Faulkner, who was to turn up in the days following on TV
tabloid shows like "Extra" and "Hard Copy," performed in the role of
both weeping-widow and rabid political operative. The Philly DA
simply lied with abandon.

Tom was later quoted in the New York Times: "It's not the first time
that Rage Against the Machine has opened up a can of worms by
standing up for what we believed in. We've had the Ku Klux Klan
protest our shows, but I didn't expect this from the Governor of
New Jersey's office."

The politicians and cops called for cancelling the concert, but
they ran up against a recent court ruling involving this very same
venue and rocker Marilyn Manson. Manson had won on the grounds
that it was a First Amendment violation to ban their concert in
this public venue.

When the authorities couldn't shut down the concert, the NJ Governor
called on people to refuse to attend, and Ticketmaster made the
unprecedented move of offering customers their money back. Two days
later, the media reported that 2000 people had demanded their money
back, but all those tickets were quickly snapped up again.

As the concert was taking place, Rage themselves had been instructed
by arena management that they would not be allowed to distribute any
literature, either inside or outside the venue. The band's
management brought in 20,000 copies of their leaflet anyhow -
which listed 10 things to do about Mumia's case and reprinted "Who
is Mumia Abu-Jamal?" from the Refuse & Resist! Resource Guide.
They fought and won the right to have the flyer on tables staffed by
International Concerned Friends & Family of Mumia, Amnesty
International and other support groups. Arena security would not
allow any buttons or any political literature to be sold.

Zack de la Rocha, the lead singer of Rage, put the authorities'
threats into perspective at the press conference. A reporter asked,
"In doing a benefit like this, does it make you a marked band in
terms of law enforcement?" He answered, "I found it very
surprising that the attorney general and the governor of NJ would
denounce musicians who are doing a benefit for someone we consider
an innocent man. To me, it rung of them trying to create a climate
in which they would try to scare kids from coming to the show and
getting the information. The case against Mumia that they're
presenting is so thin that now they have to come after the
musicians, they're coming after radio stations who play those
musicians."

[1-15] What awards or nominations have they earned?

Grammy Awards, 1997:
Nominated, Best Hard Rock Band
Won, Best Metal Performance - Tire me
Grammy Awards, 1998:
Nominated, Best Hard Rock Performance - People of the Sun
Grammy Awards, 1999:
Nominated, Best Metal Performance - No Shelter

[2] The Guilty Parties

[2-1] Who are the members of Rage?

[2-1-1] Zack de La Rocha, vocals/lyrics

Zack was born January 12, 1970 in Long Beach, CA and is primarily
Chicano in descent. His parents separated when he was a child. His
father was an artist (see 2-1-1-1), and he grew up with his mother,
a teacher, in Irvine, California. Before Rage, Zack sang in a very
well-known hardcore band called Inside Out and played guitar in a
band called Hardstance. He writes and performs poetry and
organizes local shows in addition to his Rage-related activities.
He is also currently involved in building a community center
near his home.

[2-1-1-1] Is Zack related to Beto de la Rocha?

Beto is Zack's father. He was a founding member of Los Four, a
group of Chicano artists who created murals in Los Angeles and was
crucial to the early Chicano mural movement. He had a breakdown in
1983, during which he and a young Zack destroyed all of his work.
He then isolated himself in his house, becoming devoutly religious.
When Zack would visit him on the weekends he was forced to take part
in his fasting and other activities, generally very detrimental to a
young boy. It is speculated by many fans that the song "Born of a
Broken Man" deals directly with Zack's relationship with his father
during and following this time. Beto has since reemerged and runs
(or ran) an ice cream shop in LA and has performed poetry with Zack.
After experiencing his son's work, he has taken up painting and
writing once again.

Beto's ice cream is located, or at least used to be, at:

560 N. Westlake
Valencia, CA 90026
413-7861

[2-1-1-2] Does Zack speak Spanish?

No, but his pronunciation is perfect.

[1-4-6] Zack's Collaborations

* KRS-One: Zack and KRS-One performed the song "C.I.A. (Criminals
in Action)" on the double-LP released "Lyricist's Lounge," which was
a huge number of collaborations by rap and hip-hop artists. Released
May 1998.

* The Alkaholiks: Zack remixed a track for them for their album
"Contents Unda Pressure," and also played bass and drums on the
track "Liquidation." NOTE: Though this information was widely
spread, none of this was ever released. Its status is unknown.

[1-4-7] The Spitfire Tour

Zack was instrumental in the conception and creation of the Spitfire
Tour, a touring group of artists and entertainers who visit college
campuses and give lectures, speeches, and start dialogues with
students about social issues and creating change with their society.
The tour features such well-known people as Jello Biafra, Chuck D,
Woody Harrelson and Perry Farrel presenting information and
questions in a variety of ways. The tour visits campuses nationwide
and its stated purpose is to "educate, enlighten and entertain while
instigating action."

[2-1-2] Tom Morello, guitar

Tom Morello was born in Harlem, New York City on May 30th,
1964 and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville.
His father was a member of the Mau Mau guerrilla army which
freed Kenya from British colonial rule; see section [2-1-2-1]
for information on his mother. Tom graduated from Harvard in
1986 after "concentrating" (a Harvard term) in Social Studies,
which is an honors-only program. Before joining Rage, Tom played
guitar and wore a goofy leather vest in an LA band called Lock Up,
which released a weird album on Geffen.

[2-1-2-1] Tom's Mom

Tom's mom, Mary, is Italian and Irish and founded Parents For Rock &
Rap (see [6-4]), an anti-censorship organization, in 1987. She
recently won the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award for her work in
the organization in June of 1996. She traveled with Rage when they
were with Lollapalooza, and introduced them as "The best fucking
band on this tour." She still does this whenever she is at a show.

[2-1-2-2] The "commie" hat

For the many, many people who have asked: according to his mother,
he had these hats made. They have "commie" embroidered on the
front of them.

This is probably also a good place to say that underneath those
hats, Tom has no hair. He had a huge 'Fro in college, but went bald.

[1-4-7] Tom's Collaborations

* The Prodigy: Tom and Liam Howlett, who puts together most of The
Prodigy's material, collaborated to create "One Man Army" for the
"Spawn" soundtrack. Released summer 1997.

* The Indigo Girls: Tom remixed the song "Shed Your Skin," available
on the single. Amy Ray also participated in Radio Free LA. Released
1997.

* "Godzilla" soundtrack: Tom did bass for the remake of the Led
Zeppelin song "Kashmir," by Jimmy Page and Puff Daddy. Uncredited.
He also remixed a version of the song, renamed "Come Wit Me," for
the single. Released summer 1998.

* "The Faculty" soundtrack: Tom, Layne Staley (Alice in Chains),
Steven Perkins and Martyn LeNoble (Porno for Pyros) teamed up and
Recorded a band-sanctioned cover of the Pink Floyd song "Another
Brick in the Wall -- Part 1." This was the first time the members
of Pink Floyd have allowed an official cover. Released 1998.

* "Small Soldiers" soundtrack: Tom, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers),
Henry Rollins, and the Bone-Thugz-n-Harmony collaborated to perform
a cover of the song "War" by Edwin Starr. Released 1998.

* Run-DMC: Tom played guitars on the song "Big Willie" which
appeared on the album "Down with the King." Released 1994.

[2-1-3] Tim Commerford, bass

Tim's father is an aerospace engineer. He is the youngest of five
kids, and his mother was a mathematician who died of brain cancer
when he was twenty. He and Zack have been friends since elementary
school, and it was Zack who turned him on to playing bass in the
ninth grade he was with Zack back during the Inside Out hardcore
days as well. He writes poetry on the side, loves jazz music, and
is an obsessive mountain biker (he thanks "all my bikes" in the
liner notes to Battle of Los Angeles).

[2-1-3-1] Why does Tim keep changing his name?

"It's just fun," he says. Tim was listed as "Timmy C." in the
self-titled album era, then as "Tim Bob" during the Evil
Empire days. He was known as "Simmering T" during 1998 with
the release of "No Shelter," and goes by, alternatively,
Y.tim.K and TIM.COM following the release of Battle of Los Angeles.

[2-1-4] Brad Wilk, drums

Brad was born September 5, 1968 in a hospital/sanitarium in
Portland, Oregon. After watching money ruin his father as a child,
he tries to put minimal worth in material things. He became involved
with Rage through his placement of an ad in a periodical, and Tom
responded. He has mentioned a weird connection to the number 3
throughout his life, and little "3"'s are plastered all over his
drumkit (and, of course, thanks are paid, Sesame Street-style,
to "#3" in the liner notes to BOLA).

[2-2] What equipment does the band use?

This information was accurate during the 1996 Evil Empire world
tours, but is now quite outdated. Information on the new equipment
setups would very appreciated, provided that its accurate! Until
that time, this was all accurate through 1996-7.

[2-2-1] Zack de la Rocha, vocals

*Microphones*

Audix OM-7

[2-2-2] Tom Morello, guitar

*Guitars*

Tom's main guitar is a Strat-style body modeled after a Kramer with
an extra-wide rosewood Performance neck. The hardware is from all
different guitars. Tom also brings a stock Fender American Standard
Telecaster along on the road, just to be safe. Other guitars have
also been seen in various photographs and performances, but
specifications are unknown. Tom claims they are all "mongrels."
Note: The custom is the blue one, with "Arm the homeless" written on
it, and a small red/yellow hammer and sickle sticker. One of his
other "backup" guitars has "Sendero Luminoso" written on it and is
black and white; this is a Telecaster. He also has a chrome
Telecaster. Note: This information is getting pretty old and may be
really out of date by now. On the 1997 tours, he started bringing
a 12-string Gibson SG along for certain songs, but any modifications
or whatever aren't known yet.

*Effect pedals*

1. Dunlop Crybaby
2. Digitech Whammy
3. Ibanez (custom) Delay
4. DOD EQ Delay
5. Ibanez Flanger

*Amplifiers*

Stock 50-watt Marshall JCM 800 2205 Head

[2-2-3] Tim Commerford, bass

*Guitars*

Modified Fender Jazz Bass
Rickenbacker 8-string

*Effects pedals*

Marshall Guvnor distortion pedal feeds one amp stack. Whole stack
switched in or out as required.

*Amplifiers*

2 Ampeg SVT-II Pro heads, each driving an Ampeg SVT 8x10" cabinet

[2-2-4] Brad Wilk, drums

*Drumkit*

Pork Pie (custom made)

*Cymbals*

Zildjian

[2-3] Tattoos on the band

Zack has Dr. Martin Luther King on his left shoulder. Brad has a
black-and-gray half-sleeve of the numeral 3 on his upper left arm
and a lion's head on his upper right arm. Tim's work is continually
evolving; recently, he completely blacked in his pectorals, the
front sides of his shoulders, and down his arms to about where
t-shirt sleeves extend. Negative space, in the form of non-tattooed
skin, forms symmetrically aligned, yin-yang-style symbols on his
pectorals. This work can be, partially, seen in the picture in the
liner notes to BOLA. In addition, a huge pissed-off face extends neck to waist
across exactly the right half of his back; and a large design covers his
entire left leg.

[2-4] What other bands would I like?

It was rather pointless to have the list of "similar" bands; in its
place is now a list of where Rage got THEIR sound. Though they
borrow from many sources, Rage draws its main influences from:

Public Enemy
The Clash
Minor Threat
Black Sabbath
The Sex Pistols
Bob Marley

[3] RECORDINGS

[3-1] What does xxxx in the lyrics to xxxx mean?

What was formerly known as a separate FAQ file entirely has now been
assimilated into this one. It can be found as Section [7] now.

[3-2] Rage Against the Machine

[3-2-1] What is going on with the monk on the cover?

The burning monk on the cover of Rage Against The Machine is Thich
Quang Duc, an elderly Buddhist monk. He is immolating himself on a
main intersection in Saigon, Vietnam on June 11, 1963 to protest the
rule of Ngo Dinh Diem, the American-backed leader of Vietnam who was
leading an anti-Buddhist campaign in southern Vietnam. This action
was witnessed and filmed by many members of the American media and
led to the end of the Diem rule in Vietnam.

[3-2-2] What is that I hear in "Wake Up"?

Right around 4:38, some whispering starts in the background. Zack is
reading a portion of a COINTELPRO document. COINTELPRO was the FBI's
COunterINTELligence PROgram, which functioned during the 60's and
70's to covertly disrupt civil rights organizations such as the
American Indian Movement, the Black Panthers, the SDS, the Women's
movement, Martin Luther King, etc. The document he is reading
outlines FBI goals to disrupt black civil rights actions and states,
in part:

"Prevent the rise of a messiah who could unify and electrify the
militant black nationalist movement. Malcolm X might have been such
a 'messiah;' he is the martyr of the movement today. Martin Luther
King, Stokely Carmichael, and Elijah Muhammed all aspire to this
position... King could be a real contender for this position should
he abandon his supposed 'obedience' to 'white liberal doctrines' of
nonviolence and embrace black nationalism..." "Prevent violence on
the part of the black nationalist groups. This is primary
importance, and is, of course, a goal of the Counterintelligence
Program. Through counterintelligence it should be possible to
pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them before they
exercise their potential for violence..."

And so on. The full document, and thousands more were made public
only recently through the Freedom of Information Act, can be
accessed in Ward Churchill and Jim Vandel Wall's book, _The
COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against
Domestic Dissent_, South End Press, Boston (MA), 1990. Page 110.

[3-2-3] How do I make that buzzing sound in "Bullet in the Head"?

Pull your amp plug out of your guitar and touch it to the strings.
Note: if you do this with a high power system, there is a rare but
plausible scenario where you could die. Electrocuting yourself
could ruin your carpet, so don't do this. Tom has a special
mechanism to prevent frying himself, but you don't. So be careful.

[3-2-4] What are the lyrics to "Killing in the Name"?

These are not in the liner notes; Brad has been quoted as saying
they didn't include them because the band assumed people would be
able to tell what they were. Because everyone seems to have an
opinion they need to express regarding these, please do not send
any more guesses.

Killing in the name of
Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses (x4)

Killing in the name of (x2)
Now you do what they told ya (x11)

Those who died
Are justified
By wearing the badge, they the chosen whites
You justify
Those that died
By wearing the badge, they the chosen whites (x2)

Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses (x4)
Killing in the name of (x2)

Now you do what they told ya (x4)
now you're under control (x7)
Now you do what they told ya (x8)

Those who died
Are justified
By wearing the badge, they the chosen whites
You justify
Those that died
By wearing the badge, they the chosen whites (x2)

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me (x16)
Mother fucker!

[3-3] Evil Empire

[3-3-1] What does "Evil Empire" mean?

Evil Empire is what former US President Ronald Reagan referred to
the USSR as in a speech in 1982. Here is what Zack has to say:

"It's a title I thought was a bit [...]. Ha ha ha. Toward the end
of the Cold War, the Reagan administration constantly tried to breed
this fear in the American public by referring to the Soviet Union as
the Evil Empire. We've kind of come to understand that you can
pretty much flip that on its head to see that the US has been
responsible for many of the atrocities in the late 20th century."

[3-3-2] Who is that kid on the cover?

That kid is named Ari Meisel, and he was 14 when the art was created.
He attends (or attended) the United Nations International School in
New York. The original artwork is derived from _Crimebuster_,
which is (C) Mel Ramos.

[3-3-2-1] What is "_Crimebuster_?"

Mel Ramos is a pop artist who teaches at the state college
in Hayward, California. The original graphic was a painting that
Rage modified somewhat. If you would like to see the actual,
original painting, it can be found on the WWW at this location:

http://tesla.csuhayward.edu/~art/crime.html

[3-3-3] What are all those books in the liner notes?

This is the complete list of books, as officially sent to the fan
club. Many of these are not easily visible in the actual photos, but
are there nonetheless.

Live From Death Row: Mumia Abu-Jamal - Joe Hill: Gibbs M. Smith - The
Mau Mau War Perspective: Frank Ferudi - The Aesthetic Dimension,
Toward a Critique of Marxist Aesthetics: Herbert Marcuse - The Fire
Last Time, 1968 and After: Chris Harman - The Media Monopoly: Ben H.
Bagdikian - 50 Ways To Fight Censorship: Dave Marsh - Hegemony and
Revolution: A Study of Antonio Geamsci's Political & Cultural Theory:
Walter L. Adamson - The Mismeasure of Man: Stephen Gould - Che
Guevera, A New Society, Reflections for Today's World: David
Deutschman, Editor - The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed.: Robert C.
Tucker, Editor - What Uncle Sam Really Wants: Noam Chomsky - Amazing
Grace, The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation:
Jonathan Kozol - Marxism and the New Imperialism: Alex Callinicos,
John Rees, Chris Harman, Mike Haynes - Rules for Radicals: Saul D.
Alinsky - A People's History of the United States: Howard Zinn - The
Lorax: Dr. Seuss - East Los Angeles, History of a Barrio: Richard
Romo - Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World
War II: William Blum - Race for Justice, Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fight
Against The Death Penalty: Leonard Weinglass - Guerilla Warfare:
Che Guevera - Zapata of Mexico: Peter E. Newell - Malcolm X Speaks,
Selected Speeches and Statements: George Breitman - Marxism and the
Press, Oppression of Women, Toward a Unitary Theory: Lise Vogel -
Inevitable Revolutions, The United States in Central America: Walter
LaFeber - The Chomsky Reader: James Peck, Editor - Chicano Politics,
Reality and Promise 1940-1990: Juan Gomez Quinones - The Wretched of
the Earth: Franz Fanon - What is Communist Anarchism?: Alexander
Berkman - Soledad Brother, The Prison Letters of George Jackson:
George Jackson - Fidel and Religion, Conversations With Frei Beuo:
Frei Betto - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American
Slave: Frederick Douglass - Democracy is in the Streets: James
Miller - Capital, Volume One: Karl Marx -The Black Panthers Speak:
Philip S. Foner, Editor - Keeping The Rabble in line, Interviews
with David Barsamian: Noam Chomsky - Walden and Civil Disobedience:
Henry David Thoreau - Darkness at Noon: Arthur Koester - The Culture
of Narcissism, American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations:
Christopher Lasch - Play it as it Lays: Joan Didion - The State and
Revolution: V.I. Lenin - Soul on Ice: Eldridge Cleaver - Kwame
Nkrumah, The Conarky Years, His Life and Letters: Compiled by June
Milne - Revolutionary Suicide: Huey P. Newton - The Anarchist
Cookbook: William Powell - Manufacturing Consent, The Political
Economy of the Mass Media: Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky -
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: James Joyce - Another Country:
James Baldwin - The Grapes of Wrath: John Steinbeck - The Armies of
the Night: Norman Mailer -Invisible Man: Ralph Ellison - Rebellion
from the Roots, Indian Uprising in Chiapas: John Ross - First World
Ha! Ha! Ha! The Zapatista challenge: Elaine Katzenberger, Editor -
The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge: Carlos
Castaneda - Tropic of Cancer: Henry Miller - Johnny Got his Gun:
Dalton Trumbo - Essays in Existentialism: Jean-Paul Sartre - How
Real is Real? Confusion, Disinformation, Communication: Paul
Watzlawick - Ghost of a Chance: William S.Burroughs - Popism, The
Warhol Sixties: Andy Warhol & Pat Hackett - Chicana Falsa and
Other Stories of Death, Identity, and Oxnard: Michele M. Serros -
Promissory Notes: Women in the Transition to Socialism: Sonia Kruks,
Ranya Rapp, Marilyn B. Young, Editors - Gay New York: Gender, Urban
Culture, and the Making of a Gay World: George Chauncey - This
Bridge Called my Back: Writings by radical women of color: Cherrie
Monzaga, Gloria Anzaluda, Editors - Miles, the Autobiography: Miles
Davis - The Sixties Papers, Documents of a Rebellious Decade:
Judith Clavir Albert and Stewart Edward Albert - The Graphic Work:
M. C. Escher - The Anarchist Cookbook: William Powell - Bob Marley
Spirit Dancer: Bruce W. Talamon - Dali, The Paintings: Benedikt
Taschen, Robert Taschen.

[3-3-4] What is said at the beginning of Bulls on Parade?

In the official, binding words of Tom Morello: "Come wit' it now.
It's not 'quit it now', for goodness sake."

[3-3-5] How do I make those cool sounds before Revolver?

A special guitar makes that sound. One day Tom was visiting the
Ibanez (guitar makers) headquarters and had a chance to test out a
new guitar they were building. Apparently, while messing with the
guitar, Tom discovered that when you put that guitar's pickup
selector in the "in between" on/off position, this weird little
chirping noise is heard and can be manipulated with the tone knob
thanks to some weird defective internal pickup. Tom immediately
bought the guitar and has used it for this song since. He is, in
fact, using this guitar in the picture on the inside of Evil Empire.

[3-4] The Battle of Los Angeles

[3-4-1] Why does the cover look familiar?

The cover of BOLA uses an image, the spray-painted outline, very
similar to a shot seen in the "Bulls on Parade" video; in fact,
in the video, its Tom himself, seen from the back.

[3-4-2] What does the title mean?

Tom describes this very well:

"I think the title speaks to a couple of different things. One is
that it speaks to the underlying, not-so-subtle, under-the-surface
tension that exists in our fair city. Secondly, I think that Rage
Against The Machine is a unique product of the city. This band
couldn't have happened anywhere else. And in the tradition of
groups like The Doors and X and Jane's Addiction, it's a band that
you can hear the city in every note. You can hear the desperation,
the hope, the smog, the heat, the hip-hop, the rock, the glory, and
the pain of Los Angeles. There's a front that Hollywood puts out to
the rest of the world as to what Los Angeles is, and that's only a
very small slice of the real pie. 'The Battle Of Los Angeles' is
our version of [the] events."

[3-4-3] What is said at the beginning of "Calm like a Bomb"?

"Feel the funk blast."

[3-4-4] What is said during the chorus of "Mic Check"?

"I be the anti-myth rhythm rock shocker."

[3-4-5] What is that at the end of "Sleep Now in the Fire"?

It is the sound of a Korean radio station that Tom picked up through
his amp while recording in the studio-- and therefore, technically,
a sound being produced by his equipment and not a sample.

[3-5] What singles are there?

Note: There are tons of international versions, promos,
bonus discs... all types of potentially collectible releases.
However, only significant releases will be detailed here.

[3-5-1] "Bombtrack"

The domestic Bombtrack single has the album version of Bombtrack,
the slower version of the song with an extra verse (which later
becomes part of Without a Face) from the BBC radio show "Evening
Session" with Mark Goodier, and a live version of Bombtrack with a
small speech by Zack about Leonard Peltier. Cover is red with a
picture of Che Guevara, inside has a background of a building being
knocked down with a wrecking ball. This single was also available
in 12" and 7" red or black vinyl formats.

[3-5-1-1] My "Bombtrack" single says "Pinkpop" on it. What's that?

Pinkpop is a European music festival that Rage has played for
several years. This special edition has a slightly modified cover
and different tracks, making it into a sort of "super-single"
because it has all the non-album tracks from the Bullet in the
Head, Freedom, and Bombtrack single combined with the album track
Bombtrack.

[3-5-2] "Bullet in the Head"

Tracks are the album-version "Bullet", a remix by Sir Jinx, and
"Bullet" and "Settle for Nothing" live in Amsterdam. In addition
to the standard CD formats, there is a 12" vinyl version, with
"limited edition" picture disc artwork, with blood coming out from
the center hole of the record. Tracks are the same as the CD
version. There is also a 7" vinyl version, with the picture disc
but without the remix track. NOTE: One of the coolest Rage
collectibles ever-- and the only picture disc.

[3-5-3] "Killing in the Name"

This was a single that was only released on the first European tour,
and is thus very difficult to find. Contains the album track of
"Killing", plus "Darkness (of Greed)" and "Clear the Lane," both
from the original demo sessions. Released non-domestically on
white vinyl 12" and 7" formats.

[3-5-4] "Freedom"

The album track, plus live recordings of Take the Power Back and
Freedom from the 1993 Vancouver show. The cover is black, says "rage
against the machine" on top, and "Freedom" on the bottom.

[3-5-5] "Bulls on Parade"

The BOP single has the album version of BOP, and a live performance
of the Allen Ginsberg poem "Hadda be Playin' on the Jukebox" set to
music by Rage. It is over 10 minutes long. The cover artwork for the
import is a shot of a militia-style family wearing camouflage and
carrying guns in their living room; the little girl is wearing a
beauty pageant costume. The back wall is covered with hunting
trophies and stuffed animals and the like. The cover of the domestic
single is a simple drawing of a microphone with a grenade for a
mouthpiece. Red vinyl 12" and 7" formats were available in Europe.

[3-5-6] "People of the Sun"

There are two versions of the People of the Sun single. There is a
domestic release, which has the album "People of the Sun," "Without
a Face" (Live), and "Zapata's Blood" (Live). The cover is a black
and white photo of a sickle, corncob, and Aztec-style feather lying
on a gray background. There is also a European release which has a
colored tint to the cover and different tracks: the album version
of "POTS", and "Killing in the Name" and "Bullet in the Head, album
tracks from RATM. Orange vinyl 12" and 7" versions were available in
Europe, though not to be confused with the red vinyl version of the
POTS EP 10".

[3-5-7] "Down Rodeo"

This is not an actual single, although it started off being the next
one from Evil Empire in late 1996. The only track on the promotional
radio discs is the album version of Down Rodeo; the cover artwork is
a man and woman walking hand-in-hand through the bombed out ruins of
a city; WWII bombers are flying overhead. The artwork is not by
Winston Smith, and its true origin is unknown.

[3-5-8] "The Ghost of Tom Joad"

Though not made available for commercial sale, this single was
eventually released in several formats. Primarily, it was included
in the packaging for the video as a "free bonus single." It
contains the studio recording of their version of Bruce
Springsteen's song, see section [5-1-1-3] for more information.
The cover is purple, black, and white and shows a policeman on
horseback with a billy club attacking a group of people who are
throwing broken bottles and things. A legion of police officers
is seen in the background. Europe seems to be getting an entirely
different version of this single, however-- it has three songs
instead of one. In addition to the studio version of "Tom Joad,"
live versions of "Vietnow" from the 08-23-97 Detroit show and
"Tom Joad" from one of the Irvine Meadows shows are included. Later,
a purple vinyl 7" version was sent to radio stations and fan
club members as promo-only.

[3-5-9] "Vietnow"

Contains the tracks "Vietnow" from Evil Empire, "Clear the Lane"
demo track, "Zapata's Blood" and "Black Steel" from the "People of
the Sun" EP. The cover is a black and white photograph of an older
lady, seen from the back, carrying a radio and walking down a
mountain.

[3-5-10] "Guerilla Radio"

Various versions are available, though all have the same artwork.
The black and white outline of a man in a suit is the background,
and he is holding an index card with a single fingerprint and an "X"
printed on it. Domestic versions have a b-side of "Without a Face
(Live)," the same version as included on the "People of the Sun"
single. The European import has 4 tracks, "Guerilla Radio (radio
edit)," "The Ghost of Tom Joad," "No Shelter," and "Freedom
(Live)." All have been previously released separately. The English
version is available as parts 1 and 2, containing the same tracks
as the Euro import on two separate discs, and is also available in
7" vinyl format.

[3-6] What about other stuff? (Miscellaneous)

[3-6-1] This record appeared in my mailbox...

A 7" 45 RPM record (vinyl) was sent to all members of the fan club.
What fan club, you ask? Never had your mail answered three years
ago? Well, it turns out Rage's management wasn't doing its job,
and the fan club address had become backlogged with thousands of
pieces of mail. Rage dumped the manager, and sent this, in a packet
with information on the EZLN (see section [6-1]), as a sort of
apology.

"Fuck Tha Police" is taken from the Mumia Abu-Jamal benefit (see
section [6-2]) in Washington DC on 8/13/95. "Bombtrack" is the
slower version from Mark Goodier's Evening Sessions, on the BBC.

[3-6-1-1] Another record just showed up!

Another 7" 45 RPM record (vinyl) was sent to all members of the fan
club in November of 1997, in the same style as the first one.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is the studio version recorded in Atlanta,
and the b-side of "Vietnow" is from the August 23, 1997 Detroit show.

[3-6-1-2] Wow! Yet another record in the mail!

Another 45 RPM record (vinyl), this one containing the song "No
Shelter" from the soundtrack to the film "Godzilla" was sent to
all members of the fan club in Spring of 1998, just like the first
two. The song is on both sides of the red-vinyl record, and it came
with a "booklist" similar to the one which this FAQ has had since
it was created, but which is official. In addition, a lyric sheet
to the song was included, thus saving the fans the hell of trying to
make them out for themselves forever after (like "Killing in the
Name").

[3-6-2] What about soundtracks and compilations?

Rage is featured on...

Higher Learning soundtrack: "Year of the Boomerang"
(see section [4-3-2])

The Crow soundtrack: "Darkness"
(also known as "Darkness
of Greed" and "Genocide")
(see section [4-3-1])

Godzilla soundtrack: "No Shelter"
(not heard in the movie)

Tonnage (Sony) compilation: "Freedom" (Live, see [3-4-4])

Insanity (Columbia) compilation: "Bullet in the Head" (Remix)
(from 12" vinyl "BITH" single)
"Bombtrack"
(from "Evening Sessions")

Tibetan Freedom Concert comp.: "Bulls on Parade" (Live)

[3-6-3] People of the Sun EP

This is a 10" vinyl released by Revelation Records, which is the
hardcore label which released recordings by Zack's previous band.
The track listing goes like this: "People of the Sun" (album track),
"Without a Face" (Live), "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"
(w/Chuck D), "Zapata's Blood" (Live), "Bulls on Parade" (album
track), and "Hadda Be Playin' on the Jukebox" (Live). There is
Zapatista (see section [6-1]) literature in the liner notes. This
is essentially a compilation of the "Bulls on Parade" and "People of
the Sun" singles, with the Chuck D track thrown in.

[3-6-4] What is this double-CD?

Sony released a double-CD set in 1994; The Australian version of
RATM (although it doesn't differ from the domestic version)
packaged with "Anger is a Gift," which contains 4 tracks: "Year of
the Boomerang," "Darkness (of Greed)," "Freedom (Live)," and "Take
the Power Back (Live)."

[3-6-5] What is "Live and Rare"?

This is an official Sony release, through Sony of Japan. It is a
collection of all the b-sides from all singles up to People of the
Sun, and was available as a promo for the Japan tour dates in
summer 1997. So, it is in print and an official label release, but
the band MOST LIKELY did not have anything to do with its release,
making it unofficial in some sense. The printed lyrics are so wrong
it is hilarious, and the artwork is recycled.

[3-7] Rage Against the Machine: The Video

Towards the end of the Summer 1997 tour, the band decided they
should put together a video, as they had a huge backlog of video
showing the Rage live experience. They taped the last two shows
of the tour, then added stuff from 1994, 1996, and all the music
videos up through "People of the Sun." It is an official Epic
release, and can be found at most music stores.

[3-7-1] Who is that woman who talks about censorship?

That is Tom's mother. See section [2-1-2-1] for more information
about her.

[3-7-2] Various interesting things

* During the Reading Festival footage, you can see some guy sitting
on stage roll a joint, in the back by the bass amps.

* Brad alternately is and is not wearing a black shirt during "The
Ghost of Tom Joad." You can see this type of thing again in several
of the video clips.

* Send any more interesting things you may have noticed...

[4] MEDIA PROPAGANDA

[4-1] What is the significance of...

[4-1-1] ...the guy's face on the shirts, singles, and posters?

The guy on the Bombtrack single is Che Guevara, a leader of the
communist revolution in Cuba and attempted revolutions elsewhere in
Central America and eventually in Africa. He was a dashing
revolutionary with a very romantic image and is the enduring image
of the foreign revolutionary soldier. Rage also has the same
image painted onto Tom's amp cabinet.
        
[4-1-2] ...the kid with the gun to his head?

The guy with the gun is General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, head of the South
Vietnamese National Police. The kid getting shot is a Viet Cong
terrorist.

[4-1-3] ...the woman on the poster and shirt?

This artwork is from the cover of _Promissory Notes: Women in the
Transition to Socialism_, by Sonia Kruks, et al. (See [3-3-3].)

[4-1-4] ...the four guys with guns and hoods?

These are Zapatista freedom fighters. See [6-1] for further
information.

[4-1-5] ...the "nuns with guns"?

The origin of this artwork is unknown, but Tom saw it one day and
thought it was so amusing he bought the rights to it.

[4-1-6] ...the guy with the BIG hat on the shirt?

That is a portrait of Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary leader.
The Spanish quote on the reverse is "Tierra, justicia, y ley" which
translates to "Land, justice, liberty."

[4-2] What songs are music videos?

There have been several Rage videos. MTV in the USA heavily censors
them, but they are collected, in their original form of course, on
the official video, up until "Ghost of Tom Joad."

[4-2-1] "Freedom"

The video for "Freedom" deals with the case for Leonard Peltier, who
was one of the leaders of the American Indian Movement. Rage is
playing live at a small club for the musical portions of the videos.
Throughout the video, the Peltier case is detailed with shots of
Peltier, members of AIM, and a reenactment of what took place on the
Pine Ridge reservation. The video clips of this reenactment are from
the documentary "Incident at Oglala." During most of the video,
quotes from Sitting Bull and general AIM information scrolls along
the bottom of the screen. The video ends with a picture of Leonard
in prison and the phrase "justice has not been done." See section
[6-3] for more information on the Leonard Peltier case. Brad plays
with his drumkit facing the back wall in this video, as he was
prone to doing in 1994. Supposedly, he felt like mixing up the
stage scene that people are used to. After a while he set up huge
truck mirrors in front of him so he could still see the crowd while
playing.

[4-2-2] "Bombtrack"

Due to the fact that this video doesn't appear in the official video
collection of what they had done through Evil Empire, its existence
is in doubt. However, this is rumored to be the story:

Supposedly, this video dealt with the Shining Path, a Maoist
revolutionary group in Peru. The band is seen playing in a cage,
in a mockery of the actual treatment of the leader of the Shining
Path's captured leader. When caught by the Peruvian government,
Abimael Guzman was put in a literal cage for the media to see, much
like an animal at a zoo.

[4-2-3] "Killing in the Name"

This video is entirely shots of the band playing live. The
club sizes are larger than the "Freedom" video. In the beginning,
they show a picture of Brad with long hair yelling some sort of
obscenity at the camera. The video flashes throughout all the band
members; towards the end of the video during the "Fuck you..." part,
there is a fan on stage trying to jump off while a large security
guard is repeatedly grabbing at him and roughing him up. Then,
Zack comes over and starts getting in the guy's face and yelling at
the much bigger guard as the fan dives out into the crowd.

[4-2-4] "Bullet in the Head"

This video is more of the band playing live; however, it is an
actual performance in its entirety. It takes place in a weird
warehouse, with equipment lying around and sound guys doing stuff;
Zack jumps between two rows of lights the entire time. The video's
sound is the actual performance, as opposed to a dub of the album
track like most videos. It was likely made before the first album
was released. In the words of Tom: "The tour bus pulled up in front
of the BBC studio, we ran through the song once in front of the
cameras, then left to play a club that night."

[4-2-5] "Bulls on Parade"

An outdoor stage performance of Bulls on Parade from the Big Day Out
Festival in Australia and a club performance in Sydney is
interspersed throughout clips of young people organizing in the
streets with political signs, military drills, flags, and other
similar images. Several scenes show people scrawling things on
walls and posting up propaganda. Towards the end of the video; if
you look really close, in the scene where a person in black with
a baseball cap paints a figure on the wall, his jacket says
"Libertyville" and something else. It's Tom himself, incognito.
Various lyrics are flashed on top of these scenes in a scrawled sort
of handwriting throughout. Antique-looking film is used with
scratches, dust, etc.

[4-2-6] "People of the Sun"

The video opens with shots of a dead Latino girl; her arm starts
bleeding and the blood shows the words "Trickle down." Statistics
illustrating the plight of the Zapatistas are shown from a film
projector being run in a morgue where the bodies of dead Latinos
are stored. Military footage of US arms arriving in Mexico and the
Zapatistas themselves are interspersed with this and shots
of the band playing in front of a brick wall in about a 10 by 10
space. The version seen on MTV is the edited version; scenes of a
Mexican worker being buried alive and trampled, and dead teenagers
in the morgue, have been removed and replaced with military footage.
The black and white documentary-style scenes of the laborer and the
vaqueros are most likely from the movie "Que Viva Mexico" by Sergei
Eisenstein, from the 1930's.

[4-2-7] "The Ghost of Tom Joad"

A live shot video, from the Irvine Meadows shows in September 1997.
It is identical to the first song on the official video.

[4-2-8] "No Shelter"

The entire video has a 1920s "Golden Age" theme to it, evoking the
Industrial Revolution with scenes of workers in assembly lines,
while company owners oversee the operations. Rage plays throughout
the video in a room that seems to be part of the building or
factory. In the "board room", executives and developers plot out
a sort of "helmet" with a video screen that covers the face. They
experiment by putting the helmet on a teenager who is perturbed and
upset. The video screen displays a mouth smiling. The executives
declare the helmet a success, and shake hands. They take the
teenager away in a van, and kill him in a remote area. Periodically,
satirical "spoofs" on Godzilla's phrase "Size does matter" appear
on billboards in city scenes. They are:

"Mumia Abu Jamal's cell is this end" (an empty cell) -- "Justice
does matter!"

"The crater at Hiroshima would stretch from here"... (zooms out to
other end of city)... "to here." -- "History does matter!"

"Babies born into poverty in the U.S. each year would fill this
building" (large building) -- "Inequality does matter!"

"Land stolen from Mexico equals five states" (darken area of US map,
covering from California to Texas) -- "Imperialism matters!"

[4-2-9] "Guerilla Radio"

This video is a direct parody of the popular Gap ads featuring
attractive young people singing songs at the camera, against a
white background, wearing sweatshop-made Gap clothing; in these ads,
the phrase "everybody in xxxxxx" (xxxxxx being leather, vests, and
so on) flashes across the screen.
Bland, generic, non-Rage music starts off the video, with shots of
sweatshop workers (UNITE! union members playing themselves) working
at their tables, against a white background. Shortly, the phrase
"everybody in denial" is flashed onscreen. The band is then seen
standing against a white background, calmly playing their
instruments. As the song speeds up, we see pictures of a man putting
money from the workers in his pockets, taking a girl away from her
mother, and the band playing live in a dark, strobe-lit room. Towards
the end of the song, shots depicting a huge, television-headed,
multi-tentacled robot controlling a dark city are shown. Many people
have likened these final shots to the scenes in the 1999 movie "The
Matrix" where the "real world" are shown.

[4-3] What songs have appeared in movies?

[4-3-1] The Crow

"Darkness" is heard coming from a car's sound system as it drives
past the hot dog stand that the cop and the girl eat at several
times during the movie. It is also found on the soundtrack.

[4-3-2] Higher Learning

The earliest version of "Year of the Boomerang" is on the Higher
Learning soundtrack, and is played when Remy is hanging his posters
in his dorm room and when Malik is running down the hall. A
differently-mixed, older version of "Tire Me" is played during the
first standoff with Remy's gun.

[4-3-3] Natural Born Killers

"Bombtrack" and "Take the Power Back" do not appear on the
soundtrack, but appear in the movie. "Bombtrack" starts when Mickey
Knox grabs the shotgun and starts shooting after telling the joke in
prison; the guitar-picking intro to "Take the Power Back" begins as
he herds the people out of the cell. It cuts off right before Zack
starts rapping.

[4-3-4] Godzilla

A man on a crane is shown during Godzilla's initial rampage; "No
Shelter" is playing on his headphones.

[4-3-5] The Matrix

"Wake Up" is played during the final 10 seconds of the movie,
when the Neo character has gained control of the Matrix world. It
plays through the credits, in a slightly edited form.

[4-4] Are there any Rage bootlegs (rare and live recordings)?

Yes, there are well over a hundred to the best of my knowledge.
Complete listings can no longer be found due to the huge explosion
recently, but there are several web pages which come close, so look
around.

[4-4-1] Are these illegal? Where can I get them?

http://www.liii.com:80/~jek/amb-faq.html

This is the URL for the alt.music.bootlegs (newsgroup) FAQ. It has
everything you ever wanted to know about them, and then some.

[4-4-2] What ones are worthwhile?

Due to the fact that there are dozens of boots available, it really
is impossible to pick the "best," but some are better than others.
Ask around with people who know to get the inside track. Do not
buy bootlegs! You can get them for free or the cost of a tape from
many generous people, and you can trade for new ones.

[5] LIVE

[5-1] I heard a song I didn't recognize...

Between 1996 and 1997 it was probably a cover. Prior to
that, it was probably just a song they never released or a
"reading". For a very long time, Rage didn't do covers at all on a
regular basis. That is not the case now however. The fate of the
simply "unreleased" songs is not known at this time. The "Demos"
section is only here for completeness.

[5-1-1] Covers

[5-1-1-1] "Fuck tha Police"

By the rap group NWA, off the album "Straight Outta Compton".
Occasionally played live, most well known performance was August
13th, 1995 in Washington D.C. at the "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal" concert.
The recording can be found on bootlegs and the 45 (vinyl record)
sent to fan club members (see section [3-5-1]). Officially released.

[5-1-1-2] "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"

Originally by the rap group Public Enemy (see section [1-6-3]) on the
album "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back". Played
occasionally on the 1996 Evil Empire tours, most notably at
Pinkpop '96 where Chuck D came out to do the vocals with Zack. Found
on the People of the Sun EP and a few other miscellaneous places.
Officially released.

[5-1-1-3] "The Ghost Of Tom Joad"

A cover of the song by Bruce Springsteen, off the all-acoustic album
of the same name. Musically, it was reworked considerably by RATM.
Played at every show from 1997, with the possible exception of the
secret club gigs. Recorded in the studio in Atlanta during the 1997
US amphitheater tour. Officially Released.

[5-1-1-3] "Sound of Da Police"

Originally a KRS-One song, from the album "Return of the Boom Bap."
This was covered occasionally throughout the 1997 tours, starting on
the European festival circuit. Some may remember this as "that
whoop-whoop song", as not many recognize the original. Not
officially released.

[5-1-1-4] "Clampdown"

Originally a Clash song, off the album "London Calling" which was
released in 1979. Rage covered this their very first show ever,
October 23, 1991. Unknown if they ever did it again.

[5-1-2] "Readings"

[5-1-2-1] "Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox"

This song has been released on the People of the Sun EP as well as
the "Bulls On Parade" single, but is still regarded with confusion.
It is RATM's version of the Allen Ginsberg poem. This song was
mainly performed live in 1993, where Zack would read from a book as
the band backed him with a bebop/jazz soundtrack.

[5-1-2-2] "The House of Rage" or "Rape"

The true name is unknown, if it ever had one. This song was played
at the Universal Amphitheater at the KROQ Acoustic X-Mas on
12.12.93. It was THE only time it has been played. During this
"song", Tom Morello's roommate Jack Olsen did vocals, both reading
and screaming passages from the King James version of the Bible while
Tom, Tim and Brad thrashed in the background. The passages were, in
order:

Exodus 20:1-7
Romans 3:10-14
Proverbs 31:10-15
Romans 3:20

[5-1-3] Totally Unreleased

[5-1-3-1] "Producer"

This song was done live through 1994, during the
European Festival season and at the Leonard Peltier Benefit on
4.29.94 in Los Angeles, CA. Since that time, it has not been done.
This song is regarded as one of the very finest original Rage songs
ever by most everyone who has heard it. The name is definitely
"Producer," as Zack can be heard saying it very quietly before the
song starts on a recording of the 1994 Glastonbury festival show.
The song was scrapped during the "dark days" of the Atlanta recording
sessions prior to Evil Empire. The band considers it more as a
jam than a proper song.

[5-1-3-2] "Testify"

This song bears NO resemblance whatsoever to the song that we now
know as "Testify," from The Battle of Los Angeles.

This song was played at the Universal Amphitheater at the KROQ
Acoustic X-Mas on 12.12.93. This was the ONLY time it was ever
played. Many of its lyrics later became "Down Rodeo" during the
end of the recording sessions for Evil Empire in January of 1996.

[5-1-3-3] "End of the Tunnel"

The only known time this song was played was at "The Medicine Show"
on November 25, 1992. Although the music was entirely different,
lots of its lyrics later became "Wake Up," so it'll never reappear.

[5-1-3-4] "Hit the Deck"

I have very, very little information regarding this song. It was
performed during their very first show October 23, 1991 in the CSUN
(Cal State Northridge) Quad, but everything else is pretty much
unknown. The title is assumed.

[5-1-4] Demo songs

The following songs were on RATM's studio demos (see Section [1-1]),
but otherwise have never existed.

"Autologic"
"The Narrows"
"Mindset's a Threat"

Don't look for these songs to be released or performed live.

[5-1-5] Other Non-Album

Several other songs have been released, but don't fit the earlier
categories.

[5-1-5-1] Clear the Lane

This song has appeared all over the place. First, it is one of the
"Demo songs" from 1991 that was never really played live; it has
since made its way onto several bootlegs, most recently "Vietnow."
It is also found as "Get Down" on fan recordings, but the official
name is "Clear the Lane." It will not ever be played live again.

[5-1-5-2] Zapata's Blood

A song that made its first appearance May 11, 1996 in England. It
evolved over the course of the 1996 tours, and is a very different
song than much of what Rage has done. It details the situation of
the Zapatistas over an improvised groove. Although it changed
often, the most well-known version has been put on various
recordings several times. It appears on the "People of the Sun EP"
and the "Vietnow" single, as well as on the video (in a shortened
form).

[5-2] Song xxxx didn't sound the same when I heard it live...

Rage has changed many songs since they were released on the albums
and singles, likely to keep them interesting after 5 years. Don't
be surprised if Rage suddenly breaks out into a song which is
familiar but somehow different than the one you are used to.

[5-3] The Live Show

* All Rage shows begin with Zack saying "Good evening, we're
Rage Against the Machine from Los Angeles, California."

* Normal band stage alignment when viewed from the crowd: Tim at
left, Tom at right, Brad in center-back, and Zack everywhere. This
setup has been the same in every single show, picture, and video.
However, Brad played with his drumkit facing backwards for a while.

* The only prop Rage has consistently used throughout shows was been
the upside down American flag draped over the bass amplifiers. It
was burned onstage by Tim following their Woodstock '99 performance,
and flags have made inconsistent appearances since that time.

* From 1997 until the 1999 Coachella festival, used a huge stage
backdrop when the size of the venue permitted. This backdrop can
be found on a t-shirt, on the band's official homepage, and pieces
of it in the "Bulls on Parade" video. It is composed of 8 boxes,
which frame questions and pictures to match. The questions:

Who prays loudest?
Who salutes longest?
Who follows orders?
Who is bought and sold?
Who is free to choose?
Who is beyond the law?
Who dies first?
Who laughs last?

Barbara Kruger put pieces of this together. The Internet has lots
of information on her and her projects, search for her name.

* In 1997, an introductory song of sorts was played with the stage
bathed in red light before the band comes out. It was the
"Communist International," known for being the national anthem for
the Soviet Union when it still existed.

* Closing a show: Rage closed every single show with "Freedom,"
sometimes with half of "Township Rebellion" added to the end, until
1997. Since that time, set lists as a whole have become much more
organic and unpredictable.

[6] POLITICAL

[6-1] Ejercito Zapatista Liberacion Nacional

The Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN, Zapatista
National Liberation Army in the Spanish language) is a leftist
revolutionary group in southeastern Mexico. It principally operates
in the state of Chiapas, although its demands and influence are
national. The members of the EZLN are primarily indigenous people
from the Lacandon Jungle region of Chiapas, Mexico. The EZLN has
around 12,000 troops, 2-3000 of whom are fairly well-armed. There
are 11 general demands of the EZLN, as outlined in the 1st
Declaration From the Lacandon Jungle; they are: work, land, shelter,
food, health, education, autonomy, freedom, democracy, justice, and
peace. The EZLN took its name from the Mexican revolutionary leader
Emiliano Zapata, who led the armies of the south in the Mexican
Revolution, developed the Plan de Ayala (see Section [7-2-7-3]), and
was eventually betrayed and killed. The movement was born just over
12 years ago in the Lacandon jungle.

Zack has visited the region to "help out" the EZLN on several
occasions, and often wears a shirt with "E Z L N" written on the
chest. Several Evil Empire songs deal with this subject as well.
For further information, see [6-4] and [7-2].

[6-2] Mumia Abu-Jamal

Information provided by Refuse & Resist! (see section [6-4])

At the time of his arrest, he was a prominent radio journalist and
president of the local chapter of the Association of Black
Journalists. Mumia was also a strident critic of Philadelphia's
racist police force, and was affiliated with the Black Panthers. One
evening in 1981 when Mumia was moonlighting as a cab driver, he came
upon a cop beating his own brother. The street was full of people
(the bars had just closed) when Mumia ran to his brother's defense,
and after the ensuring conflict, Mumia was sitting on the curb shot
in the body, his brother was bleeding from the face, and the cop lay
dead. Following his arrest, he was beaten several times by police
and was said by police to have confessed to the murder of the police
officer. Mumia has always maintained that he did not kill the cop,
and a number of witnesses blamed another man who fled the scene.
Prosecutors argued for the death penalty by reciting his history in
the Black Panthers and quoting his political writings. Mumia was to
be put to death for consorting with radicals and upholding
revolution. Mumia sits on death row because of who he is and the
political views he advocates. He exposes police brutality and racism
and stands with revolutionary peoples throughout the world.

Rage performed in the Mumia defense fund benefit in the Capitol
Ballroom, Washington, DC on August 13, 1995. A bootleg of this
performance called "Killing Your Enemy in 1995" can be found (see
section [3-5-1]). The second Mumia defense fund benefit information
can be found in [1-14-5].

[6-3] Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier was a leader of AIM, the American Indian Movement.
In the late 1970's, at Pine Ridge, a group of FBI and ATF agents
approached a building where Peltier and other AIM members were
trapped. A siege and shootout followed where 2 FBI agents were
shotgunned to death. Peltier was arrested and plead not guilty,
however he would not reveal who did the shootings. He has since
resided in the Federal Prison at Leavenworth, Kansas. There is an
excellent film by the name of "Incident at Oglala" which details
his case, as well.

In 1994, Rage gave a concert for him, which raised $70,000+ for his
defense fund, and give out information about the case whenever
possible (see section [6-4]).

[6-4] Evil Empire liner notes

Anti-Nazi League
PO Box 2566
London N4 2HG, England
171.924.0333

Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru
PO Box 1246
Berkeley, CA 94701
415.252.5786
http://www.csrp.org/

FAIR
130 W. 25th ST.
New York, NY 10001
email: fair-info@fair.org
http://www.fair.org/fair/

International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal
PO Box 19709 Philadelphia, PA 19143
215.476.8812
email: mumia@aol.com
http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/mumia002.html

Parents for Rock & Rap
PO Box 53
Libertyville, IL 60048

Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
913.842.5774
email: lpdc@idir.net
http://www.unicom.net/peltier/index.html

Refuse and Resist
305 Madison Ave. STE. 1166
New York, NY 10165
212.713.5657
email: refuse@calyx.com
http://www.calyx.com/~refuse/

National Commission for Democracy in Mexico
5902 Monterey Rd., #194
Los Angeles, CA 90042
Phone: 213-254-9550
Toll free: 1-800-405-7770
Fax: 213-254-9597
email: moonlight@igc.apc.org

[7] LYRICAL REFERENCES

[7-1] Rage Against the Machine

[7-1-1] "Bombtrack"

[7-1-1-1] "I call the bluff, fuck manifest destiny"

"Manifest Destiny" was the social theory in the USA in the 19th
century which claimed that the USA and its white, Christian citizens
were chosen by God. Because of this "choosing" they were entitled
to any land they pleased, despite who already owned it (not limited
to Native Americans; also including other countries), with the
purpose being that they spread their religion of Christianity and
their concept of "civilization" to the other, "inferior", people of
the world.

[7-1-2] "Killing in the Name"

[7-1-2-1] "The same that burn crosses"

Referring to the practice, by the Ku Klux Klan, of burning crosses
in the front yards of people they wish to threaten.

[7-1-3] "Take the Power Back"

[7-1-3-1] "Like the motherfuckin' Weathermen"

The Weathermen were a militant sub-group in the late-1960's
politically-focused Students for a Democratic Society. The
Weathermen were known for bombing buildings at various college
campuses and similar activities to illustrate their point. SDS
distanced themselves from the Weathermen after the bombings started.

[7-1-4] "Settle for Nothing"

[7-1-4-1] "I got a 9 a sign, a set, and now I got a name"

A "9" refers to a 9-millimeter handgun, a popular weapon with street
gangs due to its effectiveness and relatively low cost.

[7-1-5] "Bullet in the Head"

[7-1-5-1] "A yellow ribbon, instead of a swastika"

A yellow ribbon is used, in the United States, to signify support for
its troops in foreign wars. A yellow ribbon was most recently used
to show support of US troops in the Gulf War, the focus of the song.
A swastika is the symbol of the Nazi Party, now illegal, in Germany,
and of Nazism in general.

[7-1-5-2] "They load the clip in omnicolor"

A color-imaging technique used in television and film, similar to
Technicolor.

[7-1-5-3] "Sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz"

Alcatraz, known as The Rock, was an island prison several thousand
feet into San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, California. It was a
virtual torture chamber for society's worst criminals. A breakout
attempt occurred there May 2nd, 1946, sleeping gas was one of the
weapons used to subdue the inmates. It is now a major tourist
attraction.

In addition, during the 1960's, a band of Native Americans who
claimed ownership of the island took it over and held it for over
a year. The conflict ended suddenly when the federal government used
sleeping gas in a surprise attack.

[7-1-6] "Wake Up"

[7-1-6-1] "Standin' with the fury that they had in '66"

1966, the year of the founding of the Black Panthers, the most
prominent Black Power group of recent times (probably ever).

[7-1-6-2] "And like E-Double, I'm mad"

E-Double is Erick Sermon from the rap group EPMD, and they
wrote a song called "I'm Mad."

[7-1-6-3] "Hoover, he was a body remover"

J. Edgar Hoover, FBI director 1924-1972. One of the most powerful
men in Washington during his time as Director, he formed the FBI into
what exists today. He was a sworn foe of communism, and was regarded
as one of the nation's leading patriots by many people. He was
legendary for turning a blind eye to civil rights causes and
rights-violations of suspects.

[7-1-6-4] "...they went after King when he spoke out on
Vietnam"

Martin Luther King Jr., the US's foremost civil rights leader,
assassinated in 1968. A pacifist, he was one of the nation's
strongest critics of the US's involvement in the Vietnam conflict.

[7-1-6-5] "Flip like Wilson, vocals never lacking that finesse"

Flip Wilson was a prominent black comedian in the mid-60's.

[7-1-6-6] "Then I stick and move like I was Cassius"

Cassius Clay, now Muhammad Ali, was one of the greatest boxers the
world has ever seen. In June of 1967, Ali was given a 5 year prison
sentence for refusing to enter the US army on the basis of his
Islamic beliefs. The Supreme Court overturned the sentence in 1970.
Ali was the most notable figure in the anti-war movement to chose
prison over fighting.

A second interpretation has recently appeared:
Cassius was one of the conspirators who assassinated (by stabbing)
Caesar in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar," with their motivation
declared as Caesar becoming too power hungry.

[7-1-6-7] "...they murdered X, and tried to blame it on Islam"

Malcolm X, a leading proponent of black nationalism and the Islamic
religion, was assassinated in 1965. He had been a minister of the
Nation of Islam, but was suspended because of his dissenting views
after a time. He formed his own group, Afro-American Unity, which
became a rival of the Nation of Islam. His death is attributed
by the authorities and his family to the Nation of Islam, but
conspiracies abound stating otherwise.

[7-1-7] "Fistful of Steel"

[7-1-7-1] "Visions of the MOVE"

The MOVE organization is a coalition of black activists whose focus
is the teachings of John Africa and who were under various forms of
harassment from the Philadelphia police until their house was bombed
by them in 1985. Mumia Abu-Jamal (see Section [6-2]) is affiliated
with the organization as well.

[7-1-7-2] "Steppin' into the jam and I'm slammin' like
Shaquille"

Shaquille O'Neal, a basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers,
whose style is pure strength to force the jam from inside the key
using his tremendous size (300 lbs).

[7-1-8] "Township Rebellion"

[7-1-8-1] "In Johannesburg or South Central"

Johannesburg, South Africa, focal point for racial tensions in the
formerly apartheid-governed country. South Central, Los Angeles,
California is a low-income and primarily black section of LA
that has been the site of much racial violence and tension over the
years.

[7-1-8-2] "To the cape of no hope"

The Cape of Good Hope is off the coast of South Africa, and is the
"horn" of Africa. See also Section [7-1-8-1].

[7-2] Evil Empire

[7-2-1] "People of the Sun"

[7-2-1-1] "Since 1516, minds attacked and overseen"

1516, the year that the Spaniards took hold in Central America and
began their systematic destruction of the indigenous culture and
religion. They did not leave until several hundred years later.

[7-2-1-2] "Blood drenched, get offensive like Tet"

Tet is the Vietnamese New Year. During the Vietnam War, US military
officials decided to give the troops a rest, figuring that the
North Vietnamese would be celebrating the holiday. They were wrong,
and the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong took that opportunity to
attack 22 major U.S installations. This is what is now known as
the Tet offensive. The U.S. beat back all of the attacks, but a
physical victory was never the goal of the VC and NVA. Their
goal, which was met, was to turn US public opinion against the war.
This was due in a large part to the fact that US journalists got
caught in some close quarters fighting and had plenty to say about
the ordeal. The film "Full Metal Jacket" by Stanley Kubrick has
an excellent account of this series of battles (though it is not
the focus of the movie).

[7-2-1-3] "When the fifth sun sets, get back, reclaim"

The Aztecs believed that 4 worlds existed before the present
universe (worlds = suns). Each one was ruled by a different god of
a different element, and we are currently in the fifth sun.

[7-2-1-4] "Spirit of Cuahtemoc, alive and untamed"

Cuahtemoc was the leader of the Aztec empire during the Spanish siege
of Technochtitlan, in 1521. After the city's fall, he was captured,
deceived, tortured, and killed by the Spaniards. This lyric does
NOT refer to the mayor of Mexico City, Cuahtemoc Cardenas. This man
was simply named after the Aztec leader.

[7-2-1-5] "I'm the Marlboro man"

Marlboro brand cigarettes, whose primary advertising technique is a
handsome cowboy on the range smoking a cigarette. He is known as
the Marlboro Man. The original Marlboro Man recently died of lung
cancer.

[7-2-1-6] "City of Angels does tha ethnic cleanse"

Nickname for Los Angeles, California. California's Proposition
187's goal was to eliminate and deny all federal assistance to
anyone not able to prove residency, primarily immigrant Latinos.

[7-2-2] "Bulls on Parade"

[7-2-2-2] "Either drop the hits like De la O..."

De la O was a dynamite/explosives expert who was a great asset to
Emiliano Zapata in the Mexican war for Independence. Some notable
actions were blowing up trains and making a particularly critical
arms cache accessible to the rebels at one point in the conflict.

[7-2-2-2] "...or get tha fuck off tha commode"

A "commode" is a euphemism for a toilet in the United States.

[7-2-2-3] "That five sided fist-a-gon"

A twisting of the name Pentagon. The Pentagon is in Washington,
D.C., and is the headquarters of the Department of Defense of the
United States. The "fist" indicates the force often exercised by
the military.

[7-2-3] "Vietnow"

[7-2-3-1] Introduction (Rather subjective. By the author.)

This song is one huge reference to the extremely popular, and
extremely right-wing, radio shows hosted by such people as Rush
Limbaugh, Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy, and son of Ronald
Reagan, Michael Reagan. They all put forth similar reactionary
agendas over the US airwaves.

[7-2-3-2] "Crosses and kerosene"

See section [7-1-2-1].

[7-2-3-3] "The same one that ran around Managua wit a sword"
        
During the Iran-Contra affair in the mid 1980's, Oliver North
(see [7-2-3-4]) and company funded the counterrevolutionaries in
Nicaragua, based in Managua.

[7-2-3-4] "Check out tha new style that Ollie found"

Oliver North, whose conviction in the Iran-Contra scandal of the
1980's was overturned on a technicality, now hosts an extremely
right-wing radio talk show and has run for Senate.

[7-2-3-5] "Comin' down like bats from Stacy Coon"

Former Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Stacey Coon was one of the
four LAPD policemen videotaped beating black motorist Rodney King in
the early 90's. He was the only one to be convicted. The 1992 LA
riots followed the trial (and acquittals).

[7-2-4] "Tire Me"

[7-2-4-1] "Colorful words for the Laos frontiersmen"

The "Laos Frontiersmen" are the Hmong tribe from Laos, which the CIA
used and then set about to destroy once their objectives were
achieved. The CIA used the Hmong region as a big airstrip in which
to drop supplies for the Hmong rebels. When the helicopters and
aircraft left Laos to return from whence they came, they carried
poppies and refined heroin to other regions where they were able to
sell it, thus funding their covert operations.

[7-2-4-2] "I wanna be Jackie Onassis"

Jackie Onassis was the wife of assassinated US President John F.
Kennedy and, later, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. She was
the symbol of glamour and "good" for many people of her generation.
Zack gets this lyric from the Boston band Human Sexual Response, who
had a song called "Jackie Onassis."

[7-2-5] "Down Rodeo"

[7-2-5-1] "Funk tha track my verbs fly like tha family stone"

Sly and the Family Stone, a funk band from the 1960's and '70's.
They were critically important influences toward the development of
rap as a musical style, as well as the establishment of funk itself.

[7-2-5-2] "Rollin' down Rodeo with a shotgun"

Rodeo Drive, in Beverly Hills, California is one of the most
expensive streets in the world, where retailers sell such things as
three thousand dollar purses. The stereotype of Rodeo Drive's
patronage is that it is predominately white and wealthy.

[7-2-5-3] "Plead the Fifth 'cause you can't plead the first"

In the US Constitution, the 5th Amendment gives trial witnesses the
right to refuse to testify on the grounds that what they say might
incriminate themselves. The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution
guarantees the right to free speech, assembly, and press.

[7-2-5-4] "My man Fred Hampton"

A member of the militant Black Panthers, Hampton was a 20-year-old
Illinois state leader. He was gunned down in his bed with fellow
Panther Mark Clarke in an early morning raid of the group's Chicago
headquarters on Dec. 4, 1969. The attack, aided by the help of an
informant/spy, was masterminded by the city's police force and the
FBI's powerful counterintelligence program (COINTEL-PRO).

[7-2-5-5] "Fuck tha G ride"

A "G-ride" is a euphemism for a fashionable car, especially in
hip-hop culture.

[7-2-5-6] "We hungry but them belly full"

This line is a quote, from Bob Marley's "Them Belly Full
(But We Hungry)."

[7-2-6] "Without a Face"

[7-2-6-1] "Jack for Similac, fuck a Cadillac"

To "jack" is to get something through whatever means necessary.
Similac is a popular brand of baby formula, sold in powdered form
(just add water). A Cadillac is a luxury car, made by Chevrolet,
and only affordable to the wealthy.

[7-2-6-2] "'Por Vida'"

"For Life," literally, in Spanish, "Por Vida" is a
phrase used most often in a cultural manner, as in "La Raza Por
Vida," which means, roughly, "the Latino race and culture for life."

[7-2-6-3] "Mais [maize], was all we needed to sustain"

Maize is the strain of corn grown in most of South America. "Mais"
is also the Spanish word for corn in general.

[7-2-6-4] "Ya down with DDT"

DDT is a banned pesticide, widely used prior to the "discovery" that
it is a class-A carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). The wipeout of
hundreds of species can be attributed to its use, which still occurs
in less developed regions such as Central and South America. It was
recently internationally banned, but use continues where options are
not viable. The phrase as a whole is a play on the hit song
"O.P.P.", by Naughty by Nature. The chorus was "Ya down with O.P.P.,
yeah you know me."

[7-2-6-5] "Path is Luminoso"

"Sendero Luminoso" means "Shining Path" in Spanish and is the name
of one of the leftist revolutionary guerilla groups in Peru. It was
close to capturing the country at one time, but was put down by the
new US-backed Peruvian government under Alberto Fujimori. It is
treated as a terrorist organization instead of a political party by
the governments of most countries.

[7-2-6-6] "Headin' north like my name was Kid Cisco"

The Cisco Kid is a fictional Latino who, with his sidekick Poncho,
was a cowboy in a series of old American western movies.

[7-2-6-7] "Wilson's hand around my throat"

Pete Wilson, Republican ex-governor of California, campaigned almost
entirely on an anti-immigration platform and was a leading proponent
of such measures as Proposition 187, which aimed to cut all benefits
to illegal immigrants. Prop 187 was eventually struck down by
California courts as unconstitutional.

[7-2-6-8] "Another SS curtain call"

The Schutzstaffel, known as the SS, was the secret police for the
Nazi political party and Hitler's personal guard when he came to
power in the 30's through to Germany's defeat in World War II.

[7-2-7] "Wind Below"

[7-2-7-1] The "Wind Below"

The "Wind Below" refers to a book called _Chiapas: The Southeast in
Two Winds a Storm and a Prophecy_, by Subcommandante Marcos. Marcos
is the unofficial spokesperson of the EZLN in Mexico and the second
section of the book is entitled "The Second Wind: The Wind From
Below." The line "We in wit tha wind below," is a reference to the
whole of the Zapatista movement itself.

[7-2-7-2] "NAFTA comin' with tha new disaster"

The North American Free Trade Agreement, which was hotly contested
in the United States political scene, allows for free trade between
Canada, the US, and Mexico. Opponents of the proposal said US
businesses would ship all their manufacturing to Mexico because
of the virtual slave labor available there, and it is one of the
primary programs known as "Neo-liberalism" and regarded as a new
form of US imperialism.

[7-2-7-3] "Tha Plan de Ayala's kin"

The Plan de Ayala was a plan made by Emiliano Zapata prior to the
Chiapas rebellion. Its main idea was to give land to the
landworkers. The slogan of the plan is "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and
Freedom).

[7-2-7-3] "IMF shifts and poison lips"

The IMF is the Internation Monetary Fund, which is associated with
the World Bank and the United Nations and controls much capital
around the world. It is reported that the IMF has sent military
equipment, weapons and the like to the Chiapas area to assist the
Mexican army in fighting the Zapatistas (see Section [6-1]).

[7-2-7-3] "Tha fincas overseers"

In the jungles of Mexico, a finca is a form of ranch house or a
plantation-style farm, where the workers are essentially slaves to
the owners of the land. The meaning of this word has shifted quite
a bit, and now can also be considered just a big house as well as
the more traditional plantation meaning.

[7-2-7-4] "She is Chol, Tzotzil, Tojolobal, Tzeltal"

Indigenous Central American Mayan tribes, nearly wiped out during
the Spanish invasion 500 years ago, and relegated to second-class
status in Mexican society ever since.

[7-2-7-5] "Ejidos and Ovaries"

An "ejido" is a communal farm formed when the "campesinos" in
Mexico, especially in the Chiapas region, take over a farm to form
a collective. Basically, it is a Mexican communal farm owned by no
one and worked by everyone.

[7-2-7-5] "GE... NBC... Disney... ABC..."

Major multinational American corporations and broadcasting
conglomerates. GE owns NBC (among many, many other things), and
Disney owns ABC (also among many, many other things). The Disney
merger likely happened after the lyrics were written, and is
therefore an interesting coincidence. GE has owned NBC for years.
See Section [1-5] for information regarding the censorship of Rage
Against the Machine by NBC on their program "Saturday Night Live."

[7-2-8] "Roll Right"

[7-2-8-1] "Shock ya like Ellison"

Ralph Ellison wrote "Invisible Man," in 1952. A fictional account
of a black man in a white world, it is now regarded as a classic and
widely read in the US school system. In its time it caused a great
disruption because of the harsh truthfulness and the power of
Ellison's prose.

[7-2-8-2] "Gaza to Tiananmen"

The Gaza Strip is a narrow band of desertlike land along the western
Mediterranean coast. It has been fought over by Israelites and
Palestinians for many years and is a continuing territorial dispute.
Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, China, was the site of a massacre of
demonstrating pro-democracy students in June of 1989.

[7-2-8-3] "Sickest stilo"

"Sick" is a word used to mean "cool" or "good" in the hip-hop
culture. "Stilo" is Spanish for "style."

[7-2-8-4] "Take 'em to, the 7th level"

The 7th level (sphere) of hell, as according to Dante's Inferno. It
was reserved for the warmakers and usurers.

[7-2-9] "Year of tha Boomerang"

[7-2-9-1] The "Year of the Boomerang"

See Section [7-2-9-3].

[7-2-9-2] "Dark now in Dachau"

Dachau was a Nazi-run concentration camp in World War II. It was the
primary site for the grotesque medical experiments performed on
prisoner Jews, twins, Gypsies, and so on.

[7-2-9-3] "Grip tha cannon like Fanon"

Frantz Fanon wrote such works as Wretched of the Earth, wherein he
denounced the third-world colonization practiced by prosperous
nations. One of Fanon's most famous speeches was called the "Year
of the Boomerang." In the speech he talked about the oppressor's
force boomeranging back to destroy him in the form of colonial
revolutions. He was referring to the Algerian War, specifically.

[7-2-9-4] "Goin' out heavy sorta like Mount Tai"

Mount Tai, or Tai Shan, is part of the Tien Shan mountain range. It
is the section that lies in China near the village where the ancient
Chinese philosopher Confucius was born. It is 5000 ft. (1,500 m.)
high. In the "Little Red Book" of quotations of Chairman Mao
Tse-Tung, Mao utilizes an ancient Chinese proverb to say that to
die for the people is "as heavy as Mount Tai" and to die for the
imperialists is "as light as a feather." This is in the section of
the book titled "Serving The People."

[7-3] The Battle of Los Angeles

[7-3-1] "Testify"

[7-3-1-1] "That Baghdad is burning"

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, a country that was in armed
conflict with the United States during most of the 1990's; most
notably when it was bombed extensively during 1991 and again in 1997.

[7-3-2] "Guerilla Radio"

[7-3-2-1] "More for Gore or the son of a drug lord"

Al Gore is the vice president of the United States, and is
considered to be a front-runner for the Democratic party nomination
in the Presidential election in 2000. George W. Bush is considered
a front-runner for the Republican party nomination in the same
election in 2000. He is the son of former US president George Bush,
under whose administration the discovery was made that the CIA and
other departments of the federal government supplied drugs such as
crack cocaine to inner city areas.

[7-3-2-2] "Move on DC"

Washington DC is the capital city of the United States. All federal
operations and headquarters are based here.

[7-3-2-3] "Sound off, Mumia guan be free"

See section [6-2] for more complete information on the case of Mumia
Abu Jamal.

[7-3-3] "Calm Like a Bomb"

[7-3-3-1] "Like Baldwin home from Paris"

James Baldwin was a black American playwright and author who was
born in Harlem, New York and first published in the 1940's. He
eventually became so disgusted with American racial issues that
he moved to Paris for ten years. Moving back to the United States in
1960, he immediately became very active in the civil rights
movement. Some of his works include "Go Tell it On the Mountain" and
the play "Blues for Mr. Charlie."

[7-3-3-2] "Born of Zapata's guns"

Emiliano Zapata was the military and ideological leader of the
Mexican Revolution of 1909. The goal of the Indian movement which
he led was to take the land from the hacienda-based landowners and
return it to the peasant farmers from whom it had been stolen. His
motto was "tierra y libertad," "land and freedom," and his ideals,
actions, and goals are echoed by today's Zapatista movement.

[7-3-3-3] "Widow pig parrot"

Maureen Faulkner is the widow of the Philadelphia police officer
Daniel Faulkner; she has campaigned incessantly for the execution
of Mumia Abu Jamal and is aligned entirely with the Fraternal Order
of Police in Philadelphia and acts as a spokeswoman for them in
regards to the Jamal case.

[7-3-3-4] "A whitehooded judge"

The uniform of the racist Ku Klux Klan organization is historically
and currently a tall, white hood and white robe, designed to hide
the identity of the Klansmen.

[7-3-3-5] "A country's soul that reads 'post no bills'"

"Post No Bills" is a phrase spray-painted onto walls in urban areas
everywhere to discourage any pasting of banners, posters, and the
like. These handbills may be advertisements or the like, but are
often political in nature.

[7-3-4] "Mic Check"

[7-3-4-1] "Come with the fire only Marley could catch"

Robert Nesta Marley was a musical and political visionary from
Jamaica who wrote and played reggae music, virtually inventing
the style as we know it today. Much of his work was overtly
political. His first full album was "Catch a Fire."

[7-3-4-2] "Murder one Shucklak"

"Shucklak" is probably referring to the sound of a shotgun.

[7-3-5] "Sleep Now in the Fire"

[7-3-5-1] "The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria"

These are the names of the three ships on which Christopher
Columbus sailed from Europe to the Americas, thus starting the
Time of European colonization.

[7-3-5-2] "The agents of orange"

Agent Orange is the code-name for a very toxic and destructive
chemical used (primarily) in the Vietnam war. It is a defoliant,
meaning that it kills plants-- it was used to eliminate the plant
cover used by Viet Cong guerillas during the war conflict. It also
had the side effect of killing not only the plants, but slowly
killing the humans it touched as well.

[7-3-5-3] "The priests of Hiroshima"

Hiroshima was the small Japanese town where the United States
dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in conflict. The town
had no significant military presence and was of little strategic
value; tens of thousands of people were obliterated immediately
and the nuclear fallout continues to kill and mail to this day.

[7-3-6] "Maria"

[7-3-6-1] "Some rico from Jalisco"

A "rico" is a Mexican term for a rich person. Jalisco is a
Mexican state.

[7-3-6-2] "Of Yanqui guns"

"Yanqui" is "Yankee," American, in Spanish.

[7-3-6-3] "The new line of Mason-Dixon"

During the first half of the 19th century, in America, the Northern
states had outlawed slavery, but it still existed in the South.
The Mason-Dixon Line separated the two.

[7-3-7] "Voice of the Voiceless"

This song deals entirely with the case of Mumia Abu Jamal, which is
detailed earlier in this document. He has been known as "the voice
of the voiceless" since his early days in radio. As the song makes
mention of, Mumia became active in the Black Panters at fifteen
years old.

[7-3-7-1] "The decision of Dred Scott as it reverses"

The Dred Scott Decision was a very important Supreme Court affair
which was not technically even brought as a case and was never
heard by the court as such. The court ruled, instead, that because
Dred Scott, a slave, was not a US citizen, he was not granted any
of the rights of a citizen and therefore could not bring litigation
in court and could not sue for his own freedom.

[7-3-7-2] "Orwell's hell, a terror era"

George Orwell's most famous book, "1984," is the story of a society
completely under the control of an authoritarian government. The
figurehead of this government is a visage of a man, who is known
as "Big Brother."

[7-3-8] "New Millenium Homes"

[7-3-8-1] "Spirit of Jackson"

George Jackson was a young black man on death row whose collected
prison letters have been published. Additional information can be
found throughout the Internet.

[7-3-8-2] "Dow-Jones"

The Dow-Jones is a stock index of the New York Stock Exchange
and is used as a barometer for the health of the stock market
in the United States.

[7-3-9] "Ashes in the Fall"

[7-3-9-1] "Swollen stomachs in Appalachia"

Appalachia is a region in the eastern United States who's primary
social traits are extreme poverty and being forgotten by the rest of
America. The Appalachian mountains and surrounding areas is the
poorest region in America, easily rivaling third-world nations in
squalor.

[7-3-10] "War Within a Breath"

[7-3-10-1] "Black flag and a red star"

This is the banner used by the Zapatista movement in southeast
Mexico, as detailed earlier in this document.

[7-3-10-2] "Cause for Raza livin' in La La"

La Raza is a term meaning literally, "the race," and adopted as
meaning those whose racial heritage is both European and indigenous
Central American Indian. "La la" or "La la land" is a slang term
used for Los Angeles, adopted because of its L.A. abbreviation.

[7-3-10-2] "is like Gaza on to the dawn of Intifada"

The Intifada was a youth uprising in the Palestinian occupied
territories of Israel from 1987 to 1993, in protest against the
Israeli occupation and politics. The Intifada involved
demonstrations, riots, strikes, and violence, and took place
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

[7-3-10-3] "Everything changed on a New Year's Day"

January 1st, 1994 was the day that the North American Free Trade
Agreement went into effect, and thus was the day that the EZLN
announced its existence to the world. The EZLN movement is more
closely detailed earlier in this document.

[7-4] Non-Album

[7-4-1] "People of the Sun" [original lyrics]

[7-4-2] "Testify" [original version]

[7-4-2-1] "My Mao Tse-Tung gets offensive like Tet"

Mao Tse-Tung was the leader of the People's Revolution in China, and
is regarded as one of the most influential communist thinkers the
world has seen. He put forth a particular type of communism,
emphasizing the agrarian peasant revolution.

[7-4-2-2] "Do me like Mumia Abu-Jamal"

See section [6-2].

[7-4-2-3] "Campin' like Hampton"

See [7-2-5-4] for information on Fred Hampton.

[7-4-2-4] "Let Saigons be Saigons"

A play on the phrase "Let bygones be bygones", as in, "Forget the
past, don't worry about it." Saigon was the name of the capital of
South Vietnam, it is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.

[7-4-2-5] "Wait a Ho-Chi-Minute"

Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Vietnamese communist
underground movement throughout much of the 20th century, right
into the Vietnam war. He led the Vietnamese peoples' war against
French colonialism for the whole of his life.

[7-4-2-6] "Tune to the word of Jose Marti"

Marti was a Cuban poet and essayist, and is considered Cuba's
national hero. Most of his time and energy was spent on political
action to free Cuba and preached about how Latin America should
unite. In 1892 he founded the "Cuban Revolutionry Party" and was
its primary leadership. In 1895 he landed in Cuba as one of
the heads of a rebels and killed in the battle with Spaniards in Ros
Dios, in Eastern Cuba. There are monuments to him found throughout
Cuba, in the same manner as Che Guevara.

[7-4-2-7] "Plead the fifth..."

See section [7-2-5-3] for information on the Fifth and First
amendments.

[7-4-2-8] "Nobody MOVE..."

See section [7-1-7-1] for information on the MOVE organization.

[7-4-3] "Hadda Be Playin' on the Jukebox"

I do not believe that I possess the knowledge of the 1950's-1960's
that is needed to accurately break down this HUGE poem/song. If you
believe you are up to the task, please mail me and we'll see what we
can work out.

[7-4-4] "Zapata's Blood"

The entire song tells the story of the Zapatista movement, and is
quite straightforward. See section [6-1] for clarification on the
origin, purpose, and goals of the movement.

[7-4-5] "The Ghost of Tom Joad"

This song is based on the book _The Grapes of Wrath_ by John
Steinbeck. Set in the 1930's, the book tells the story of the
fictional Joad family. They lose their farm in Oklahoma and have
nowhere to go but to California, looking for a chance to own land
of their own. They make this journey with thousands of other
families, and the residents of California resent the invasion. The
main protagonist is the eldest son, Tom Joad, who kills a policeman
after he watches his teacher being beaten to death by the police.
He is then forced to leave the Joad family when the police come
looking for him; the final verse of the song is taken almost
directly from the book. The parallels which can be drawn between
this book and the current situation with Latino immigration into
California are innumerable. It is truly an American classic, and
is recommended reading for all Rage fans (and responsible citizens
in general).

[7-4-6] "No Shelter"

[7-4-6-1] "Spielberg tha nightmare works"

Stephen Spielberg is one of the world's most famous filmmakers, who
is responsible for such landmark American films as "E.T.,"
"Schindler's List," "Amistad," and "Saving Private Ryan," among many
others. In addition, he is one-third owner of the studio known
as "Dreamworks."

[7-4-6-2] "Amistad was a whip"

"Amistad" is an American-made film documenting the voyage of the
slave ship "Amistad," in which the captive Africans rebel on board
and kill their captors and are brought to trial in the United
States. It is based on a true story, but certain elements were
changed to bring it to the big screen-- such as the addition of the
Morgan Freeman character as an educated Black man trying to win
freedom for the slaves. Black activists have spoken out as
saying that a movie such as this should never have been made by
someone not of African descent.

[7-4-6-3] "And Rambo, too"

The "Rambo" series of movies in the 1980's depicted Sylvester
Stallone as an American soldier sent to various foreign countries,
where he blew a lot of things up and killed a lot of people on
behalf of the US government.

[7-4-6-4] "Godzilla, pure motherfuckin' filler"

"Godzilla" is an American big-studio adaptation of the classic
Japanese monster films. Its budget was enormous, well over 100
million dollars, and the American media machine promoted it like
no other movie before it. The movie was universally disliked by the
public and critics alike. The soundtrack to this movie is where
"No Shelter" appears, of course.

[8] RAGE ON THE INTERNET

[8-1] Are Rage on the internet?

None of the members of the band spend much time online.

[8-2] Are there official homepages?

http://www.ratm.com/

[8-3] What is with that e-mail address?

RAGEemail@aol.com

It is NOT answered by anyone in the band, so don't send "You guys
rule!!!!!" because that doesn't really accomplish anything. Feel
free to send thoughtful mail there, they will usually give a reply.
Band members often read and respond to mail addressed specifically
to them. Also, please keep in mind that the band receives over 200
letters from fans a week... that's a lot of mail to look at.

[8-4] Where can I talk to other fans?

I do not currently know of any fan mailing lists that are worth
checking out.

alt.music.rage-machine

Around the release of The Battle of Los Angeles, the Rage newsgroup
became a fairly active place. It was started by myself with help
from a few others in September of 1996 and is carried most anywhere.
If this newsgroup does not appear on your news-server, you will need
to request it from your access provider. This person can usually be
reached at <support@(your domain name here)>.

[8-5] What about "fan pages?"

There are many, many fan pages, and I do not even want to try
to list them. 80% of them are minimally useful and consist almost
entirely of generic artwork and wrong information from who knows
what sources. Another 10% of them consist of someone else's hard
work with the credit removed and are hilariously out of date. The
remaining slim percentage are worth checking out...

However-- there is a superb, complete, up-to-date, and overall well-
done page which is a remarkable resource. The Complete Rage Site
can be found here:

http://www.musicfanclubs.org/rage/

Visiting is a necessity.

[9] The FAQ'S FAQ

[9-1] The Guilty Parties

This was an active project for four years and I fear that my full
name will forever after be associated with it on the Internet...
oh well. I am glad I did it. Feel free to contact me if need be,
at the email found throughout this document.

THE SEMI-COMPLETE LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS:

Of very special note:

Lance Buchi <uprising@vii.com>
- For the Complete Site, supplying motivation and vegan burritos
Gaz Jones <gjones@cs.man.ac.uk>
- For help with many discography aspects, FIRST Rage page on net,
and has done the FAQ->HTML program
Aaron Klink <aklink@umich.edu>
- Created original FAQ, some lyrical references
Kirk Smith <kirksm@umich.edu>
- For video summaries, mass live info, various bits
Rog Patterson
- Definitive 1996 tech info

Thanks to...
Yazan Fahmawi, Greg Yurkovic, Joseph Insane, George Morris, Nishant
Taneja, Jason Bromberger, Joey Simpson, Roland Stadler, Paul
Andersen, Mike Collins, Kenny Luong, Glenn, B. Rogers, Alexis Craig,
Aidan Rantoul, Matthew Atkinson, Marcus Butler, Anders Quarfordt,
Yannet Lathrop, Mario Ortegon, Peter Olejnik, Dave Wanamaker, Minuk
Kim, Tripp Long, Amanda, Matt Myers, Kabir Akhtar, Barbara, Walker
Edmondson, Robert New, Dave, Phil Dietrich, Louie, Christian,
Thomas Seliger, Travis, Mike Baney, Jay Bazuzi, Kristen Ball,
Travis Filiault, Louise, Gary Border, Thomas Seliger,
Wampus/Lacey/Bryan (e-mail people), Devin Sellers, David Zavala,
Enrico Battocchi, Shane Brouse, Brian Robinson, Tim Brown, Erik
Dykema, Gary Bahen, Julia Behnsen, Connie Julian, Josh Hall, J.
Moreno, Rasmus Lund-Hansen, Leigh Penman, Ben Salleo, Lee
Smith... and all the other sources that've been missed
along the way.

Without the help of the above people, the RATM FAQ would not exist.

[9-2] What about distribution?

Please do not sell, claim authorship of or alter this document
in any way. Please do not distribute it.

I would prefer that no one has the document on their home server;
instead, please include a link to its homepage
(http:/www.accidentprone.com/ragefaq/) if you would like to use
it as a resource on your page. That way, people will always be sure
to retrieve the most current document even if you can't or don't
update your website.

The Rage Against the Machine Unofficial FAQ is copyright(c)
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999. All rights reserved. Blah blah blah.
All other copyrights are owned by Epic/Sony/Retribution Music
and/or respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.

[9-3] Updates and Changes

Changes for 3.2:

Went through one last time... not many changes.
Thanks for the memories.

http://www.accidentprone.com/ragefaq/

"Doing is the best way of saying" -- Jose Marti
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