When thinking back to the early 90s and the musical landscape at the time, all kinds of memorable bands and memories come to mind. Thanks to the terrible state rock was in throughout the mid to late 80s, a very healthy, aggressive, tight and politically motivated underground scene had established itself and around 1990-1992 the world experienced an incredible amount of groundbreaking releases whose influences still ring true today.
If you ask anyone who listens to rock what the most memorable album of that time was, 9 out of 10 people will probably say “Nevermind” by Nirvana. Now, not that I dislike the album, I just think that a) there were better “grunge” bands before and after them, namely Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, and b) that one band really doesn’t get the credit it is due: Rage Against The Machine.
The duo of Zack de la Rocha and Tim Commerford teamed up in 1990 with Tom Morello and Brad Wilk to form a band. Their name was derived from the unreleased album "Rage Against the Machine" by de la Rocha's former group, Inside Out. Shortly after forming, they gave their first public performance in a living room in Orange County, California and self-produced a 12-song cassette which already included songs like "Bullet in the Head". Several record labels expressed interest and they eventually signed with Epic Records. Morello said, "Epic agreed to everything we asked and they've followed through... We never saw a[n] [ideological] conflict as long as we maintained creative control.”
Their debut album, the self-titled “Rage Against the Machine” was released in late 1992 and I personally do believe that no other album, regardless of genre, has had more of an impact musically, politically and socially since this one. RATM, and especially Zack de la Rocha’s extreme leftist political views are something that are not only relevant today, but shook up the musical world at the time. Despite the huge success of various drug induced, self loathing lyrical grungers, RATM became increasingly popular thanks to Zack’s incredible lyrical and vocal talent as well as Tom Morello’s, to this date unheard of guitar skills.
Sure, mixing hip hop and rock wasn’t new, yet what RATM did is truly merge the two genres, not only by rapping over heavy metal, but by producing music that blended roots, blues, rock, hip hop, funk and, well, something completely new, thanks to Tim’s amazing guitar work. I think to compare him to a modern day Jimi Hendrix takes it a little too far, yet, it’s probably the closest comparison.
Integral to their identity as a band, the group voiced far left viewpoints highly critical of the domestic and foreign policies of the U.S. Throughout its existence, RATM participated in political protests to advocate these beliefs including an infamous performance outside the 2000 Democratic National Convention and a performance on Wall Street earlier that same year. In the case of the latter, on January 26th 2000, filming of their music video "Sleep Now in the Fire" — directed by Michael Moore — shut down the New York Stock Exchange. The NYSE locked its doors midday in response to fears of crowds gathering to watch the filming. Footage of enthusiastic Wall Street employees headbanging to Rage's music was later used in the completed "Sleep Now In The Fire" video.
The band primarily saw its music as a vehicle for social activism. Tom Morello, in a February 1997 interview with Guitar World, said, “America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.”
Meanwhile, detractors on the Radical Left pointed out the tension between voicing commitment to leftist causes while being signed to Epic Records, a subsidiary of media conglomerate Sony Records. In response, Morello pointed out,
“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.”
I still can’t recall a band that left not only myself but legions of friends so intensified after listening to them let alone seeing them live. One gig I saw in 94, after they closed the set with a 15 minute long jam of the song “Freedom”, left the building with such structural damage that it was torn down a week later.
Despite these deeper subjects which were integral to their being, Rage Against The Machine will probably be remembered for the more accurate teenage anthem of the early 90s.
“Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!!!!”
