what do mumia abu-jamal, the zapatistas, leonard peltier and che
guevarra have in common? throw in ideas of oppression, ignorance, fascism,
tyranny and the true meaning of freedom. what do you get now? a giant vat,
brewing and fermenting of the 90's swing, which is clouded by societal
confusion, hatred and activism. the 90's have encountered a new, undying urge
to challenge the ideals of society and the system. the youth have found a new
voice to speak with and they will not go quietly into the night. their
shrieking vocals call for change, awareness and the true freedom of choice.
they have their leaders, as well, who speak the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth. they call for the people to rage against the
bureaucracy, rage against the system and to rage against the machine.
since 1991, these neo-revolutionaries have been spreading their `fuck
you' attitude and enlightening the masses to the shrouded problems, which exist
in the safe confines of the united states. one of the members, vocalist zack
de la rocha, was causing chaos and bedlam as part of an earlier hardcore entity,
known as inside out. relying on less rap-influenced, political action speak,
zack left the band and eventually rage against the machine was formed with tom
morello (guitars), timmy c. (bass) and brad wilk (drums) in los angeles.
they released their debut, self-titled album on epic records in mid-
1992. the band began their slow rise, without the aid of mainstream radio of
the ever popular, emteevee. with phrases like "fuck you, i won't do what ya
tell me/ instead i warm my hands on the flames of the flag/ they're sending us
to early graves/ we need to check the interior of the system who cares about
only one culture/ now freedom will be fundamental, in johannesburg or south
central/ fight the war, fuck the norm," rage against the machine went ballistic
on "bombtrack," "killing in the name," "bullet in the head," "wake up,"
"township rebellion" and "freedom." rage's self-promotion, propaganda and
constant touring attack finally began to catch the attention of the masses, as
they took to the still, known-as `alternative' festival, lollapalooza. they
engrossed and enthralled hundreds of thousands in 1993. success in the end,
caused the band to succumb and release a less-controversial video for "freedom,"
which only added to their popularity. (they made one for "killing in the name,"
but it was banned due to imagery and incessant cursing) they toured for close
to two years, in support of this album.
after this, they went into a long seclusion and only made minor
appearances here and there, like contributing work to `the crow' soundtrack
and the `higher learning' soundtrack. in late `95, the rumor mill began to
spin as is the custom, when a artist spends an extended period of time away
from the entertainment scene. at first, their new release was slated for the
end of `95. that date kept being pushed back. another rumor started
circulating that the band had split up. fortunately, this was not the case, as
they released their second album, `evil empire' in late-march of `96. filled
with more political activism, `evil empire' gets to the heart of problems, which
do not single deal with the u.s. any longer. rage against the machine has gone
global, addressing issues concerning the zapatista revolution and the mexican
bureaucracy, the revolution in peru as well as others like the anti-nazi league,
fair (fairness and accuracy in reporting), etc... the cover of the album, shows
a cartoonistic teenage kid, wearing a shirt with an `e' and a cape. behind him
is the titled star, which is the symbol of a neo-communist group.
derived from the title john f. kennedy gave to the soviet union in the
1960's, `evil empire' opens with the wavering riffs of morello on "people of
the sun." along with the infectious bass groove and drum rhythm, de la rocha
recites a tale, dealing with the zapatista indian tribe in mexico: "since 1516
mind's attacked and overseen/ when the fifth sun sets, get back, reclaim/ neva
forget that the wip snapped ya back/ ya spine cracked for tobacco/ oh, i'm the
marlboro man." it leads into their newly acclaimed, alterna-teen favorite or
the radio and teevee waves. with its methodically-balanced, bass-drum attack,
vinyl scratched, guitar effects, "bulls on parade" has become the staple song
on mtv and mainstream radio stations around the u.s., making its appearance,
numerous times within the hour and day. the song rants about the u.s. military
as zack portrays his view: "terror rains drenchin', quenchin' the thirst of the
power-don's/ that five-sided fist-a-gon/ weapons not food, not homes, not
shoes, not need, just feed the war cannibal animal/ while arms warehouses fill
as quick as the cells/rally `round tha family, pocket full of shells."
the third track looks like it deals with talk radio and the world
political system, to an extent. like "killing in the name" from the last album,
"vietnow" will probably not make the mainstream radio hit list, due to incessant
obscenity use. with its meshing guitar and bass riffs, quickly adjusted drum
beats, mr. de la rocha continues his aural assault: "turn on the radio, nah
fuck it, turn it off, fear is your only god/your saviour's my guillotine,
crosses and kerosene/ tha power pendulum swings by the umbilical cord/ the
transmissions wippin' our back, yea comin' down like bats from stacey coon."
an echoed guitar with high-pitched squeals opens "revolver." added in are
zack's vocals, a rhythmic bass and guitar, accompanied by slow-fast drum beats.
as the song switches gears from verse to chorus and solemn to aggressive, the
lyrics seem to deal with male suppression of female rights to work for a living
and could also talk about wife-beating: "his spit is worth more than her work/
pass the purse to the pugilists/ hey revolver, don't mothers make good fathers."
"snakecharmer" opens with the drum-bass balance again, courtesy of wilk and
bob, pieced together with morello's guitar strums and de la rocha's lyrics,
which focus on the idea of the american dream: "silent in error, vocal in
spotlights/ lying always, sucking on a bottle of that sweet, indulgent fluid/
oh greed, oh yes/ and you gotta make it where/ to a sanctuary that's only a
fragile american hell."
"tire me" begins with tim bob's vicious bass rhythm, which is
strengthened by brad wilk's drum beats, tom morello's recycled guitar effect
and more of the rage frontman's rantings, which could be about the fascination
with tablioid magazines and their stories: "in every home, there's a sickening
distress/ i wanna be jackie onassis/ i wanna wear a pair of dark sunglasses/ i
wanna see it broken, bloody and undressed." the seventh song, "down rodeo" is
generated by tornadic blasts of twangy bass lines, scratched guitar rhythmic
drum beats and the ever present zack de la rocha, recounting yet another tale
of political implications and possibly, rodney king: "the structure is set ya
neva change it with a ballot pull/ so make a move to plead the fifth, 'cause
ya can't plead the first/ so now i'm rollin' down rodeo with shotgun/ these
people ain't seen a brown-skinned man, since their grandparent's bought one."
funky bass and drum rhythms with high-pitched guitar strums begin
"without a face." the song suggests an attack on the mexican bureaucracy on
the leadership or the american people and soldiers during WWI: "a blood donor
ta tha land owner holocaust/ no her golden skin burns, insecticide rain/ it's
hard ta breathe wit wilson's hand around my throat/ strangled and mangled
another ss curtain call." with more spooky, sample-like guitar effects from tom
morello, tim, brad and zack assist as they plow on with more political action
speak on "wind below": the rebels of tha grain stand masterless/ tha slave
driver saliva/ all the shareholders gonna flex and try ta annex the truth/ and
abc's new thrill rides or trials and lies." the machine doesn't stop. they
blow into "roll right" and then plunge head first into the last song, "year of
tha boomerang." morello, wilk and bob create a funky background, which becomes
more aggressive in the middle and at the end. zack de la rocha adds in his
lyricism: "it seems i spent the 80's in a haiti state of mind/ it's dark now in
dachau, and i'm screamin' from within/ enslaved dogma, ya talk about my
birthrights/ so let the guilty hang, in the year of tha boomerang."
it's a different attack by rage against the machine, but it's a very
creditable and worthy follow-up. all the songs are great and filled with
political propaganda, funky bass and drum rhythms and extraordinarily strange,
quirky and attractive guitar blurbs. see them and hear them, before they become
against the law.
experience more aural extascy
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