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Rage Against the Machine

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Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine (also Rage and RATM) is a Grammy Award-winning American rock band, noted for their blend of hip hop, heavy metal, punk and funk as well as their revolutionary left-wing politics and lyrics. During their 9 year run, they became one of the most popular and influential political bands in contemporary music.[3]

The band split up in 2000, with vocalist Zack de la Rocha starting a low-key solo career, and guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk forming the supergroup Audioslave along with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. In April 2007 Rage Against the Machine performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Rage Against the Machine drew inspiration from early metal instrumentation, as well as rap acts such as Public Enemy and Afrika Bambaataa. Their music was based primarily on de la Rocha's rhyming styles and vocals along with their sound, especially Morello's unusual extended techniques.

Band history

Early years (1991–1992)

In 1991, guitarist Tom Morello left his old band, Lock Up, looking to start another band. Morello was in a club in L.A where Zack de la Rocha was free-style rapping. Morello was impressed by de la Rocha's lyric books, and asked him to be the vocalist in a band. Morello called and drafted drummer Brad Wilk, who had previously auditioned for Lock Up, while de la Rocha convinced his childhood friend Tim Commerford to join as bassist.

The newly christened Rage Against The Machine named themselves after a song de la Rocha had written for his former popular underground Hardcore band, Inside Out (also to be the title of the unrecorded Inside Out full-length album).[4] Kent McClard, with whom Inside Out were associated, had previously coined the phrase in a 1989 article in his zine No Answers.[5]

Shortly after forming, they gave their first public performance in Orange County, California, where a friend of Commerford's was holding a house party. The blueprint for the group's major-label debut album was laid on a twelve-song self-released cassette, the cover image of which was the stock-market with a single match taped to the inlay card. Not all 12 songs made it onto the final album—two were eventually included as B-sides, with the remaining three songs never seeing an official release.[6]

Several record labels expressed interest, and the band 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."[7]

Mainstream success (1992–2000)

Template:Sound sample box align right

"Know Your Enemy"
Sample of "Know Your Enemy" from the band's eponymous debut album
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Template:Sample box end The band's eponymous debut album, Rage Against the Machine, reached triple platinum status, driven by heavy radio play of the song "Killing in the Name", a heavy, driving track repeating six lines of lyrics. The uncensored version, which contains 17 iterations of the word fuck, was once notoriously played on the BBC Radio 1 Top 40 singles show.[8] The album's cover pictured Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burning himself to death in Saigon in 1963 in protest of the murder of Buddhists by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm's regime. To promote the album and its core message of social justice and equality, the band went on tour, playing at Lollapalooza 1993 and as support for Suicidal Tendencies in Europe.

After their debut album, the band appeared on the soundtrack for the film Higher Learning with the song "Year of tha Boomerang". An early version of "Tire Me" would also appear during the movie. Subsequently, they recorded an original song, "Darkness", for the soundtrack of The Crow and also "No Shelter" appeared on the Godzilla soundtrack.

Their second album, Evil Empire, entered Billboard's Top 200 chart at number one in 1996. The song "Bulls on Parade" was performed on Saturday Night Live in April 1996. Their planned two-song performance was cut to one song when the band attempted to hang inverted American flags from their amplifiers, a protest against having Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes as guest host on the program that night.

File:RATM - live.jpg
RATM is known for its energetic live shows

In 1997, the band opened for U2 on their Popmart Tour, for which all Rage's profits went to support social organisations.[9] including U.N.I.T.E. , Women Alive and the Zapatista Front for National Liberation.[10] Rage subsequently began an abortive headlining US tour with special guests Wu-Tang Clan. Police in several jurisdictions unsuccessfully attempted to have the concerts cancelled, citing amongst other reasons, the bands' "violent and anti-law enforcement philosophies".[11][12] On the Japan leg of their tour promoting Evil Empire, a bootleg album composed of the band's B-side recordings titled Live & Rare was released by Sony Records. A live video, also titled Rage Against the Machine, was released later the same year.

The following release, The Battle of Los Angeles also debuted at number one in 1999, selling 450,000 copies the first week and then going double-platinum. That same year the song "Wake Up" was featured on the soundtrack of the film The Matrix. The track "Calm Like a Bomb" was later featured in the film's sequel, 2003's The Matrix Reloaded. In 2000, the band planned to support the Beastie Boys on the "Rhyme and Reason" tour; however, the tour was cancelled when Beastie Boys drummer Mike D suffered a serious injury.[13] By the time he recovered, Rage Against the Machine had disbanded.

Break-up and subsequent releases (2000–2003)

On October 18, 2000, de la Rocha released the following statement:

I feel that it is now necessary to leave Rage because our decision-making process has completely failed. It is no longer meeting the aspirations of all four of us collectively as a band, and from my perspective, has undermined our artistic and political ideal. I am extremely proud of our work, both as activists and musicians, as well as indebted and grateful to every person who has expressed solidarity and shared this incredible experience with us.

— Zack de la Rocha, MTV News[14]

Renegades, released shortly after the band's dissolution, was a collection of covers of artists as diverse as Devo, Cypress Hill, Minor Threat, MC5, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. The following year saw the release of another live video, The Battle of Mexico City.

Following the September 11th attacks, Clear Channel created a list of "songs with questionable lyrics"; RATM has the distinction of being the only band to have all its songs on the list.

A live album titled Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium, an edited recording of their last concerts on September 12 and 13, 2000 at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, was released in 2003. It was accompanied by an expanded DVD release of the September 13 show, and also included the previously unreleased music video for "Bombtrack".

Post-breakup careers (2001–2007)

Audioslave

Main article: Audioslave

After the group's breakup, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford briefly tried to replace de la Rocha in RATM. Rumoured vocalists at the time included Rey Oropeza of downset., Chuck D of Public Enemy, and B-Real of Cypress Hill. However, the band teamed up with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell to form a new band, Audioslave. The first Audioslave single, "Cochise", was released in early November 2002, and the debut album, Audioslave, followed to mainly positive reviews. Their second album Out of Exile debuted at the number one position on the Billboard charts in 2005. The band released a third album named Revelations on September 5, 2006. The band vowed to have a "one-album-per-year" schedule, but Audioslave's future has been cast into doubt following Cornell's leaving on February 15, 2007.[15] Wilk and Commerford are contributing to Maynard James Keenan's side project Puscifer,[16] set for release in mid-October 2007,[17] while Morello is focusing on his own solo project.[18]

Zack de la Rocha

Main article: Zack de la Rocha § Post-Rage work

Meanwhile, de la Rocha had been working on a solo album collaboration with DJ Shadow, Company Flow, and The Roots' ?uestlove,[14] but dropped the project in favor of working with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor.[19] Recording was completed, but the album will probably never be released.[20] A collaboration between de la Rocha and DJ Shadow, the song "March of Death" was released for free over the World Wide Web in 2003 in protest against the imminent invasion of Iraq,[21] and the 2004 soundtrack Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11 included one of the collaborations with Reznor, "We Want It All".[19] In late 2005, de la Rocha was seen singing and playing the jarana with Son Jarocho band Son de Madera on multiple occasions.[22]

The Nightwatchman

Main article: The Nightwatchman

Morello began his own solo career in 2003, playing political acoustic folk music at open-mic nights and various clubs under the alias The Nightwatchman. He first participated in Billy Bragg's Tell Us the Truth tour[23] with no plans to record,[24] but later recorded a song for Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11, "No One Left". In February 2007, he announced a solo album, One Man Revolution, which was released in April 2007.[18] He currently is a part of the Axis of Justice band.

Reunion (2007)

Zack de la Rocha performing with Rage Against the Machine at Coachella 2007.

Members of the band had been offered large sums of money to reunite for concerts and tours, and had turned the offers down.[25] Rumors of bad blood between de la Rocha and the other former band members subsequently circulated, but Commerford said that he and de la Rocha see each other often and go surfing together, while Morello said he and de la Rocha communicate by phone, and had met up at a September 15, 2005 protest in support of the South Central Farm.[26] Morello and de la Rocha were photographed together at the protest, the first photograph of the two since the band's breakup. [27]

Rumors that Rage Against the Machine could reunite at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival were circulating in mid-January,[28] and were confirmed on January 22.[29] The band was confirmed to be headlining the final day of Coachella 2007.[30] The reunion was described by Morello as primarily being a vehicle to voice the band's opposition to the "right-wing purgatory" the United States has "slid into" under the George W. Bush administration since RATM's dissolution.[31] Though the performance was initially thought to be a one-off,[32] this turned out not to be the case.

On April 14, 2007, Morello and de la Rocha reunited onstage early to perform a brief acoustic set in downtown Chicago at a Coalition of Immokalee Workers rally in support of fairness in the fast food industry. Morello described the event as "very exciting for everybody in the room, myself included."[33] This was followed by the scheduled Coachella performance on Sunday, April 29. The band played in front of an EZLN backdrop to the largest crowds of the festival;[34] their performance was widely considered the festival's most anticipated.[34][35][36] De la Rocha made a speech during "Wake Up", citing a statement by Noam Chomsky regarding the Nuremburg trials,[37] as follows:

A good friend of ours once said that if the same laws were applied to U.S. presidents as were applied to the Nazis after World War II […] every single one of them, every last rich white one of them from Truman on, would have been hung to death and shot—and this current administration is no exception. They should be hung, and tried, and shot. As any war criminal should be. But the challenges that we face, they go way beyond administrations, way beyond elections, way beyond every four years of pulling levers, way beyond that. Because this whole rotten system has become so vicious and cruel that in order to sustain itself, it needs to destroy entire countries and profit from their reconstruction in order to survive—and that's not a system that changes every four years, it's a system that we have to break down, generation after generation after generation after generation after generation…Wake up.[36]

The event led to a media furor.[38] A clip of Zack's speech found its way to the Fox News program “Hannity & Colmes.” An on-screen headline read, “Rock group ‘Rage Against the Machine’ says Bush admin should be shot.” Ann Coulter (a guest on the show) quipped, “They’re losers, their fans are losers, and there’s a lot of violence coming from the left wing.”

On July 28th and 29th, Rage headlined the Hip Hop festival Rock the Bells with the Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill. On July 28, they made a speech during Wake Up just as they had done at Coachella. During this, De La Rocha made another statement, defending the band from Fox News, who he alleged misquoted his speech at Coachella:

A couple of months ago, those fascist motherfuckers at the Fox News Network attempted to pin this band into a corner by suggesting that we said that the president should be assassinated. Nah, what we said was that he should be brought to trial as war criminal and hung and shot. THAT'S what we said. And we don't back away from the position because the real assassinator is Bush and Cheney and the whole administration for the lives they have destroyed here and in Iraq. They're the ones. And what they refused to air which was far more provocative in my mind and in the minds of my bandmates is this: this system has become so brutal and vicious and cruel that it needs to start wars and profit from the destruction around the world in order to survive as a world power. THAT's what we said. And we refuse not to stand up, we refuse to back down from that position not only for the poor kids who are being left out in the desert to die, but for the Iraqi youth, the Iraqi people, their families and their friends, and their youth who are standing up and resisting the U.S. occupation every day. And if we truly want to end this fucking miserable war, we have to stand up with the same force that the Iraqi youth are standing up with every day, and bring these motherfuckers to their knees. Wake up…[39]

On August 11, 2007 at the second Rock the Bells show in San Bernardino, California, de la Rocha made another speech unrelated to the other two. Incidentally, it occurred in the midst of the song Bullet in the Head rather than Wake Up, which has been the traditional song used for mid-concert speeches. During the breakdown of the song, de la Rocha made the following comments regarding the War in Iraq:

Sixty-eight years ago just after World War II, they claimed they were the greatest generation.. And I'm not so sure. I'm not so sure. All the potential for greatness is in this generation right here. 'Cause I know that this fucking government took this country to war for a lie to withstand its empire and millions of you across this country said no. Stood up, and said no! And with the whole world watching, this generation here, in this country, we have to step up! We have to step up! We have to take it from the concert stage, from the crowd, and into the streets and prove that we won't let these fascists rule us any longer. This generation. Are you standing in line? Are you believing the lies? Are you bowing to the flag, you got a bullet in your head... [40]

On August 18, 2007 at the Rock the Bells show in San Francisco, California, de la Rocha made another speech during the band's song Wake Up, making similar comments as the show in San Bernardino:

Every once in a while, people forget who really has power in this country. People forget who really holds power here, and you look at them helicopters coming in over the White House lawn and all the press gathered up, and all their security, and all their banks, and all their punk ass police, and you want to believe that our last powers there, up top at the center putting forth position in the world, you want to think it and you want to consider them to have the decency to look out for your best interests everyday, but for me as a mexicano I know I do not answer, that should never be the case, its never been their military, their propoganda, their machine, their punk ass police, their presidents, their politicians, its you that has power, its us that has power, and here, and here a few years ago on that day in March as Bush was taking this country to war for a lie, I stood with you here in San Francisco as you took this whole fucking city over, and I was with you, and right now the whole world is watching us, we can be the greatest generation, we can take facism out of power in the United States and if you don't think thats what it is thats exactly it. We're going to take a lot of sacrifice, a lot of jail time, maybe even a little bit of death, but im sure dropping a co-op onto these rich white crackers that don't know shit about the world we know cause rich in this world can go in and have nothing amount to them anymore. Wake up! [41]

Future

RATM have been confirmed to play co-headlining spots at New Orleans' Voodoo Music Experience in late October and the Vegoose festival which runs from October 26–28 in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.[42] While there have been rumors of a full tour or permanent reunion since Audioslave broke up,[15] a full tour is not planned as of June 2007.[43] However, reports of shows planned as far in advance as December 2007 have circulated.[44] When asked if the band were planning on writing a new album, Morello replied:

There are no plans to do that… That's a whole other ball of wax right there. Writing and recording albums is a whole different thing than getting back on the bike (laughs), you know, and playing these songs. But I think that the one thing about the Rage catalog is that to me none of it feels dated. You know, it doesn't feel at all like a nostalgia show. It feels like these are songs that were born and bred to be played now.

— Tom Morello, Blabbermouth.net, 1 May, 2007[45]


On Wednesday September 12, one day after the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers, Rage Against the Machine announced they would be undertaking an extensive January tour of America, which would start of the 10th of January, and continue till mid-February, but still insist there will be no album.[citation needed]

Politics

RATM burning the flag of the United States at Woodstock 1999

Integral to their identity as a band, Rage Against the Machine voice revolutionary viewpoints highly critical of the domestic and foreign policies of the U.S. Throughout its existence, RATM and its individual members participated in political protests and other activism to advocate these beliefs. The band primarily saw its music as a vehicle for social activism. Morello said of wage slavery in America:

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.

— Tom Morello, Guitar World[46]

Meanwhile, detractors pointed out the tension between voicing commitment to leftist causes while being signed to Epic Records, a subsidiary of media conglomerate Sony Records. Infectious Grooves released a song called "Do What I Tell Ya!" which mocks lyrics from "Killing in the Name", accusing the band of being hypocrites. In response to such critiques, Morello offered the rebuttal:

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.[7]

EZLN

The "black flag and a red star" of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation as referenced in the track "War Within a Breath" on The Battle of Los Angeles (1999)

The band were vocal supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), especially de la Rocha, who has taken trips to the Mexican state of Chiapas to aid their efforts. The flag of the EZLN is also the primary recurring theme in the band's visual art.

Mumia Abu-Jamal

The band were tireless advocates for the release of former Black Panther and Death Row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. De la Rocha spoke before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in support of Abu-Jamal on April 12, 1999. RATM wrote and recorded "Voice of the Voiceless" for their 1999 album "The Battle of Los Angeles" to show their support for Mumia and those fighting to have him released. They also performed at a benefit concert with all proceeds donated to the International Concerned Family And Friends Of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The want a fair trial, as denied by the state of Pennsylvania, not simply unquestioned release.

Leonard Peltier

The band also raised funds and awareness for life-sentenced political activist and convicted murderer Leonard Peltier. At their live shows, before playing "Freedom", Zack would often repeat, "It's been 20 years, there's no proof and he's still in jail!" The music video for Freedom also documented the Peltier case.

Latinpalooza

Latinpalooza was a joint benefit concert held on October 22, 1994 for the Leonard Peltier Defense Fund, United Farm Workers, and Para Los Niños, at Grand Olympic Grounds, Los Angeles, CA. Rage Against the Machine shared the bill with Cypress Hill, Ligher Shade Of Brown, Fobia, Little Joe Y La Familia, and Thee Midnighters.

PMRC protest

File:Lollapaloozaratm.jpg
RATM protesting against Parents Music Resource Center at Lollapalooza 1993.

At a 1993 Lollapalooza appearance in Philadelphia, the band stood onstage naked for 15 minutes with duct tape on their mouths and the letters PMRC painted on their chests in protest against censorship by the Parents Music Resource Center.[47] The only sound emitted was audio feedback from Morello and Commerford's guitars. Regarding this event, Wilk said "The first ten minutes they were going nuts, but after ten minutes they were getting pissed."[48] The band later played a free show for disappointed fans.[48]

Want me to be perfectly frank? The size of my penis — that's what was going through my mind in Philadelphia. It looked like I'd just stepped out of the ocean. I swear to God, it's bigger than that. So I was thinking: I wish I'd worn boxer shorts before instead of briefs, because briefs kinda like constrict me. I took them off and it was this ... half-roll of nickels.

— Tim Commerford [3]

I was thinking about how the wind felt underneath my scrotum, what the people in the front were thinking, and all the cameras flashing and what they were going to be thinking as they developed their film. Actually, doing that was no big deal. It didn't freak me out. That's how we all came into the world. It's a liberating thing.

— Brad Wilk, Modern Drummer [48]

Radio Free L.A.

Radio Free Los Angeles was a radio show held by the band on January 20, 1997, the night of Bill Clinton's inauguration as President.[49] The show comprised segments and interviews featuring Michael Moore, Emily Hodgson, Leonard Peltier, Chuck D, Mumia Abu-Jamal, UNITE, Noam Chomsky, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, and Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas.[50] These were intercut with musical performances by Beck, Cypress Hill, Flea, Stephen Perkins as well as members of Rage. The band organised the show in response to the re-election of Clinton:

That election had resulted in one of the lowest voter turnouts in the history of the country, as more and more Americans came to realize that their government was not in their hands, but in the hands of big business. Radio Free L.A. provided a musical and political gathering point for the majority of Americans—and young people especially—who rightly felt left out of the "democratic process."

— Tom Morello, Ratm.com[50]

The two-hour show was syndicated by over 50 commercial U.S. radio stations[51] and streamed live from the band's website. Transcripts of the interviews are freely available online.[52][53]

Guess? protest

On December 13 1997 in Santa Monica, California, Tom Morello was arrested for civil disobedience during a union protest. The protest was a 'March of Conscience' by garment workers and their supporters against the use of sweatshop labor by Guess?.[51] Billboards subsequently appeared in Las Vegas and New York featuring a photograph of the band with the caption "Rage Against Sweatshops: We Don't Wear Guess? – A Message from Rage Against The Machine and UNITE (Union of Needletrades Industrial and Textile Employees)."[51]

"Sleep Now in the Fire" video shoot

On January 26, 2000, filming of the music video for "Sleep Now in the Fire"—directed by Michael Moore—caused the doors of the New York Stock Exchange to be closed, and the band to be escorted from the site by security, although trading continued uninterrupted.[54] The Stock Exchange locked its doors midday in response to fears of crowds gathering to watch the filming.[55] Footage of enthusiastic Wall Street employees headbanging to Rage's music was used in the final video. “We decided to shoot this video in the belly of the beast”, said Moore, who was threatened with arrest during the shooting of the video, despite the band having a federal permit to perform.

2000 Democratic National Convention

Further information: 2000 DNC protest activity

RATM played a free concert at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in protest of the two-party system. The band had been considering playing a protest concert there since April of that year.[56] Although they were at first required by the City of Los Angeles to perform in a small venue at a considerable distance, early in August a United States district court judge ruled that the City's request was too restrictive and the City subsequently allowed the protests and concert to be held at a site across from the DNC.[56] The police response was to increase security measures, which included a 12 ft fence and patrolling by a minimum of 2,000 officers wearing riot gear, as well as additional horses, motorcycles, squad cars and police helicopters.[57] A police spokesperson said they were "gravely concerned because of security reasons".[57]

During the concert, de la Rocha said to the crowd, "brothers and sisters, our democracy has been hijacked,"[56] and later also shouted "we have a right to oppose these motherfuckers!"[58] After the performance, a small group of attendees congregated at the point in the protest area closest to the DNC, facing the police officers, throwing rocks,[59] and possibly engaging in more violent activity, such as throwing glass, concrete and water bottles filled with "noxious agents,"[60] spraying ammonia on police and slingshotting rocks and steel balls.[61] The police soon after declared the gathering an unlawful assembly,[58] shut off the electrical supply, interrupting performing band Ozomatli,[59] and informed the protestors that they had 20 minutes to disperse on pain of arrest.[62] Some of the protestors remained, however, including two young men who climbed the fence and waved black flags, who were subsequently shot in the face with pepper spray.[61] Police then forcibly dispersed the crowd, using tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets.[61] At least six people were arrested in the incident.[62]

The police faced severe and broad criticism for their reaction, with an American Civil Liberties Union spokesperson saying that it was "nothing less than an orchestrated police riot."[60] Several primary witnesses reported unnecessarily violent actions and police abuses, including firing on reporters[59] and people obeying police commands[62]. Police responded that their response was "outstanding" and "clearly disciplined."[62] De la Rocha said of the incident, "I don't care what fucking television station said the violence was caused by the people at the concert, those motherfuckers unloaded on this crowd. And I think it's ridiculous considering, you know, none of us had rubber bullets, none of us had M16s, none of us had billy clubs, none of us had face shields."[63]

Footage of the protest and ensuing violence, along with an MTV News report on the incident, was included in the Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium DVD.

Other activism

The band is outspoken about a range of political issues.

Some other controversial stands taken include that of the music video for the song "Bombtrack", in which RATM expresses support for the Peruvian guerilla organization Shining Path and their incarcerated leader Abimael Guzmán. Over its career, the band played benefit concerts for organizations such as Rock for Choice, the Anti-Nazi League, the United Farm Workers, children's care organization Para Los Niños and UNITE.[51] The band also raised funds for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico, Women Alive, and played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert on more than one occasion.[51] Album liner notes contained promotional material for AK Press, Amnesty International, the Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru, the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic, Indymedia, Mass Mic, Parents for Rock and Rap, the Popular Resource Center, RE: GENERATION, Refuse and Resist, Revolution Books, the Rock & Rap Confidential, and Voices in the Wilderness.

Discography

Main article: Rage Against the Machine discography

Singles

Studio albums

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US Sales UK Album Chart
1992 Rage Against the Machine Epic Records #45 3x Platinum[64] #17
1996 Evil Empire Epic Records #1 3x Platinum[64] #4
1999 The Battle of Los Angeles Epic Records #1 2x Platinum[64] #23
2000 Renegades Epic Records #14 Platinum[64] #71

Awards

Grammy Awards:
MTV Video Music Awards:

It should be noted that the infamous event where Tim Commerford climbed to the top of the stage set and nearly brought the left stage down occurred at the 2000 MTV VMAs. Reportedly, Commerford did it in protest of the fact that Limp Bizkit, whose video was merely other celebrities lip-synching the words to the song "Break Stuff" in front of the band performing, won Best Rock Video instead of Rage Against The Machine's "Sleep Now in the Fire".

On May 4, 2006 "Bulls on Parade" entered VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs at #15.

In 2004, The Battle of Los Angeles and Rage Against the Machine both were entered into Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Battle of Los Angeles placed 426 and Rage Against the Machine placed 368.

RATM lyrics and quotations have become popular as protest slogans

The phrase rage against the machine, used as a verb or noun phrase indicating rebellion, has become prevalent in popular culture with the band's success. On a podcast of The Ricky Gervais Show, Stephen Merchant joked that Gervais was "raging against the machine" when he wore a t-shirt with Bullshit written on it as a teenager. In another example, a conversation with one of the NPCs in the game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines contains the dialogue option, "So how long have you guys raged against the machine?"

In the band Harvey Danger's song, "Flagpole Sitta" off the album "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?", one of the lines is "I wanna' publish zines / and rage against machines"

The phrase has also seen some popularity in politics. Raj Pannu led the social democratic party, the Alberta New Democrats, during the 2001 election under the slogan "Raj Against the Machine".[65]

Such wordplay with the band's name were common during the height of their success. Such puns included the musical comedy sketches "Rage against the Coke Machine (interlude)" from OPM's Menace to Sobriety and "Rage Against the Answering Machine" by Ugly Kid Joe. Alternative rock band TISM released an album entitled Machines Against the Rage.

The Simpsons has passed references to both the band and the phrase; In one episode, Bart says that his t-shirt, adorned with "Adults suck, then you are one", expresses his "rage at the machine",[66] and in a later episode Bart says "When I raged against the machine, money poured out" after destroying school vending machines.[67]

The band have also been referenced in musical parody and tribute albums. The band's name is parodied in that of the comedy band, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine. That group's album Lounge Against the Machine contains a lounge version of the song "Guerrilla Radio". The "Weird Al" Yankovic album Straight Outta Lynwood contains the song "I'll Sue Ya", which he states is a parody of Rage Against the Machine's musical style.[68]

Two various artists tribute albums were released, Freedom: A Tribute to Rage Against the Machine in 2001 and the Spanish language album Tributo a Rage Against the Machine En Español in 2005. Additionally, A Tribute to Rage Against the Machine, a knock-off labelled a "tribute" recorded by anonymous session musicians, was released in 2003.

Notes and citations

  1. ^ a b c All Music Guide entry for Rage Against the Machine retrieved May 3, 2007
  2. ^ Real.com entry for Rage Against the Machine retrieved July 27, 2007
  3. ^ a b Devenish, Colin (2001), Rage Against the Machine: St. Martin's Griffin ISBN 0-312-27316-6
  4. ^ Myers, Ben (October 16, 1999), Hello, Hello... ...It's Good To Be Back, Kerrang!. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  5. ^ McClard, Kent, History of Ebullition Records. Retrieved February 19, 2007
  6. ^ Woodlief, Mark. "Rage Against the Machine". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  7. ^ a b Rage Against the Machine FAQ, Internet Archive cache of FAQ on the official Rage Against the Machine website. Retrieved February 17, 2007
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  18. ^ a b Harris, Chris (February 6, 2007). "Nightwatchman, Rage Reunion Have Morello Fired Up For Political Fights". MTV News. Retrieved 2007-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b Moss, Corey (May 10, 2005). "Reznor Says Collabos With De La Rocha, Keenan May Never Surface". MTV News. Retrieved 2007-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Gargano, Paul (October 2005). "Nine Inch Nails (interview)". Maximum Ink Music Magazine. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
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  24. ^ Moss, Corey (July 29, 2004). "Audioslave's Morello Says New LP Feels Less Like Soundgarden + Rage". MTV News. Retrieved 2007-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Chris Cornell Working on Solo Release - But Dismisses Rumors of Audioslave Split". MTV News. MTV.com. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  26. ^ Rockline interviews Audioslave. August 29, 2006. Free recording of interview.
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  29. ^ Boucher, Geoff (January 22, 2007). "Rage Against the Machine will reunite for Coachella". Los Angeles Times. LATimes.com. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Finn, Natalie (January 22, 2007). "Rage On at Coachella". E! News. EOnline.com. Retrieved 2007-01-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  32. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (January 22, 2007). "Rage, Bjork, Chili Peppers Sign On For Coachella". Billboard. Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-01-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Guitarist Calls Rally Performance 'Very Exciting'". Launch Radio Networks. 93X Rock News. April 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ a b Staff Writer (April 30, 2007). "Rage Against The Machine reunite at Coachella". NME. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Sulugiuc, Gelu (April 30, 2007). "Rage Against the Machine reunites". Reuters. Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ a b Moss, Corey (April 30, 2007). "Rage Against The Machine's Ferocious Reunion Caps Coachella's Final Night". MTV News. MTV.com. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Tom Morello interviews Noam Chomsky, ZMag. Accessed June 21, 2007.
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  39. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMuWTsEZRLo
  40. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG0cjCq83FQ&NR=1
  41. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI6457FKG20
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  43. ^ "Full Rage Against The Machine Tour Not In The Works, Says Guitarist Tom Morello". Launch Radio Networks. MetalUnderground.com. March 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ Farber, Jim (April 3, 2007). "Audiences think reuniting feels so good - but the musicians often have other thoughts". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2007-05-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ "Tom Morello: 'No Plans' For New Rage Against The Machine Album". Blabbermouth.net. Ultimateguitar.com. May 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ Young, Charles M. (February 1997), Tom Morello: Artist of the Year interview, Guitar World. Retrieved February 17, 2007.
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  52. ^ Tom Morello interviewing Noam Chomsky for Radio Free L.A. at Zmag.org
  53. ^ Transcript of interview with Subcommandante Marcos for Radio Free L.A.
  54. ^ ""New York Stock Exchange Special Closings, 1885-date" (PDF). NYSE Group. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
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  56. ^ a b c Asch, Andrew (August 15, 2000). "Rage Wage Battle of Los Angeles at DNC". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-02-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ a b "Protest concert due tonight outside convention: Security tight in Los Angeles". CNN. August 14, 200. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
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  62. ^ a b c d "Police defend use of pepper spray, rubber bullets at Democratic Convention protest". CNN. August 15, 200. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
  63. ^ Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium DVD, Grand Olympic Auditorium performance, part of de la Rocha's speech.
  64. ^ a b c d Recording Industry Association of America RIAA
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References

Devenish, Colin (2001), Rage Against the Machine: St. Martin's Griffin ISBN 0-312-27316-6

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