Anyone else tired of Rage Against The Machine?
techstepgenr8tion
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09 Aug 2008, 6:19 pm
I was working out last night, a local rock radio station likes to play 8 songs by a band in a row, and of course they picked Rage Against The Machine. It was an hour of pure torture.
Mind you, I like their beats, I like the way they do music, I like the emotional energy, the message of the lyrics is just putrid unreality though. I'm not talking about what happened during our nation's founding or the colonization of the central and south Americas, I'm talking about the 'rebel, make war against the system' type of stuff to which the only answer or idea I can get out of it is the image of Che Gueverra that gets sported on a lot of their t-shirts. Stuff like this, especially with an already largely unintelligent populace, just goes to further erode people's sense of reality or that there are any economic or social realities at all in the human condition - that's at best if they aren't taking the lyrics seriously. I really think sometimes that this sort of far-left Koolaid has a lot more impact than ganster rap ever could, not the particular band, just the ideas that they really seem to sport - the idea of fascism; people giving into emotions rather than logic, people trying to rebel against reality and picking a group to finger out for their problems, and quite often never addressing even themselves properly as individuals - just displacing blame and getting an emotional easy-pass on life in that regard. The militant victimhood we've had for, I'd wager all of my 28 years of life in this country, is sickening just because its not even about what the topics being discussed, its really me-me-me-me-me-me. I just wonder how a band that has almost every song they've ever written being about 'burn down the U.S.'....other than a Cypress Hill remake... actually keeps going. One thing, Moveon.org has to love em I'm sure.
Getting back in short to the taking of the land from the Native Americans - extremely f'd up, extremely brutal, the story of Jackson's betrayal of the same men had fighting the British was disgusting; but, again, that is not my generation, that's not the last generation, that's not anyone who's alive now and blood-guilt and race-guilt are insanity because its chasing after people who have as little to do with the creation of the situation as the people who are born into a situation themselves. I think it takes just admitting, this world is a sick place, lots of things happen to good people that I nor most people would never want to see happen, and at the same time I don't even think I'd apologize for the militant in this country as really - they're about something, classifying it as a reaction, when all too often its nothing of the like.
Pretty much everything that's going on with that band and bands of the like, are very direct symbols of the *majority* of what's wrong with our country in the now. Its mostly been a sign that since the baby-boomer generation we've just been turning more and more into spoiled b*****s; all these little kids who have no idea how well they've got it either, going out and rocking out to stars telling them that this country is the Evil Empire - its tired 60's sh-- and they need to get over themselves already.
10 Aug 2008, 5:30 am
That's exactly how I've always felt about them, I think the rest of them finally got wise and tossed Zach de la Rocha so they could form Audioslave. I hate that when a band puts their politics before making good music, it's just so much wasted potential. Notice that Zach hasn't been heard from since, but Tom Morello has done quite well for himself making non-political music.
_________________
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer.
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12 Aug 2008, 6:16 pm
Mind you, I like their beats, I like the way they do music, I like the emotional energy, the message of the lyrics is just putrid unreality though. I'm not talking about what happened during our nation's founding or the colonization of the central and south Americas, I'm talking about the 'rebel, make war against the system' type of stuff to which the only answer or idea I can get out of it is the image of Che Gueverra that gets sported on a lot of their t-shirts. Stuff like this, especially with an already largely unintelligent populace, just goes to further erode people's sense of reality or that there are any economic or social realities at all in the human condition - that's at best if they aren't taking the lyrics seriously. I really think sometimes that this sort of far-left Koolaid has a lot more impact than ganster rap ever could, not the particular band, just the ideas that they really seem to sport - the idea of fascism; people giving into emotions rather than logic, people trying to rebel against reality and picking a group to finger out for their problems, and quite often never addressing even themselves properly as individuals - just displacing blame and getting an emotional easy-pass on life in that regard. The militant victimhood we've had for, I'd wager all of my 28 years of life in this country, is sickening just because its not even about what the topics being discussed, its really me-me-me-me-me-me. I just wonder how a band that has almost every song they've ever written being about 'burn down the U.S.'....other than a Cypress Hill remake... actually keeps going. One thing, Moveon.org has to love em I'm sure.
Getting back in short to the taking of the land from the Native Americans - extremely f'd up, extremely brutal, the story of Jackson's betrayal of the same men had fighting the British was disgusting; but, again, that is not my generation, that's not the last generation, that's not anyone who's alive now and blood-guilt and race-guilt are insanity because its chasing after people who have as little to do with the creation of the situation as the people who are born into a situation themselves. I think it takes just admitting, this world is a sick place, lots of things happen to good people that I nor most people would never want to see happen, and at the same time I don't even think I'd apologize for the militant in this country as really - they're about something, classifying it as a reaction, when all too often its nothing of the like.
Pretty much everything that's going on with that band and bands of the like, are very direct symbols of the *majority* of what's wrong with our country in the now. Its mostly been a sign that since the baby-boomer generation we've just been turning more and more into spoiled b*****s; all these little kids who have no idea how well they've got it either, going out and rocking out to stars telling them that this country is the Evil Empire - its tired 60's sh-- and they need to get over themselves already.
I happen to like Rage Against The Machine, so I suppose I'll play devil's advocate here. I would consider myself a liberal, though I agree with you, that their politics are sometimes a bit extreme for my tastes. I also agree with you that blood-guilt and race-guilt, as you say, are pointless distractions; the past is the past, and I accept no responsibility for whatever things my ancestry or race have done. However, American society does still have ongoing issues with inequality, discrimination, and yes, even flagrant racism/sexism. Somebody has to talk about these things, or they're never going to get better. And both Zach and Tom come from backgrounds where they've had firsthand experience with the problems America still faces.
You're right, that people who take the message blindly as a "rebel against America" caricatured hyper-leftist vent don't understand how good they've got it. But those people are also totally missing the point behind the music. There are still issues of inequality and oppression in distribution of wealth, in employment opportunities, and in law enforcement up to the present day, and the cynical worldview that it can't ever be changed or fixed is one of the reasons so many people are so apathetic about politics. There are serious topics to be discussed, concerning the future of our communities, our nation and our world, and nobody is even bothering to discuss them because they feel like they'll be disenfranchised anyway, and it's easier to just get lost in distractions of pop culture. In my view, if Rage Against The Machine fulfilled any single purpose, it was to infiltrate pop culture, bring people out of that death spiral, make them want to learn more about the issues, and hopefully make them passionate about standing for something. Some people may not have gotten that message-- but if even one person comes away with a better understanding of the state of the world yesterday and today, and how to work towards a better world tomorrow, it makes the whole thing worthwhile.
I don't know if you're aware of this, but Tom Morello has not ceased his pursuits of political issues on or off the stage since Rage broke up. In addition to the now-defunct Audioslave, he's also a co-founding member (with Serj Tankian of System Of A Down) of the non-profit political activist group Axis of Justice, and he also has a solo musical act, under the name The Nightwatchman, that tackles some political issues. Axis of Justice has been a champion of the anti-war movement from the very beginning, as well as taking a stance against the Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide in 1915. At one point Morello and Tankian put on a series of fundraising concerts, available also on CD, with appearances from Flea, Maynard James Keenan, Pete Yorn, Jurassic 5, and the MC5's Wayne Kramer, as well as other members of RATM and SOAD.
12 Aug 2008, 6:36 pm
What I meant is that he's no longer putting politics before making good music. My issues with RATM had more to do with them putting their message before their music, and all the people who bought into them as as a political group, when all they where was a band. It's ok to be politically active as well as in a band, I just get annoyed when the politics overshadow the beat.
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- Rick Sanchez
crackedpleasures
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12 Aug 2008, 6:38 pm
Me neither. But I am a big Manic Street Preachers fan, another very leftist band. Although different type of music, lyrically maybe the UK's answer to RATM.
I am glad leftist bands and bands with a strong political undertone still exist. If it annoys, turn off the radio. I like thoughtful lyrics about the hot topics of society. Music can make people think, and for that alone it is very important to see bands around that do make politics or society issues the forefront of their music.
In the gothscene, London After Midnight is a fantastic band with very liberal/progressive/rather leftist views.
I consider lyrics the most important aspect of a band, a meaningful lyric makes the difference to me between good music or fantastic music. I want lyrics that can make me think or at least spread a message. So I am glad to see bands like RATM or the early Manics who are seeing themselves as a political entity as much as a band.
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techstepgenr8tion
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12 Aug 2008, 10:45 pm
You're right, that people who take the message blindly as a "rebel against America" caricatured hyper-leftist vent don't understand how good they've got it. But those people are also totally missing the point behind the music. There are still issues of inequality and oppression in distribution of wealth, in employment opportunities, and in law enforcement up to the present day, and the cynical worldview that it can't ever be changed or fixed is one of the reasons so many people are so apathetic about politics. There are serious topics to be discussed, concerning the future of our communities, our nation and our world, and nobody is even bothering to discuss them because they feel like they'll be disenfranchised anyway, and it's easier to just get lost in distractions of pop culture. In my view, if Rage Against The Machine fulfilled any single purpose, it was to infiltrate pop culture, bring people out of that death spiral, make them want to learn more about the issues, and hopefully make them passionate about standing for something. Some people may not have gotten that message-- but if even one person comes away with a better understanding of the state of the world yesterday and today, and how to work towards a better world tomorrow, it makes the whole thing worthwhile.
I think I can agree with what your saying for the most part - as in I'm not every person, your not every person, and while I'm not a racist, don't know you but really doubt that you are either, the world is loaded with people who have some major issues in terms of dealing with reality and each other - seems like if any particular person sticks up for one side or another they're stuck defending all the drivel as well. Its part of why, people would much rather say that they're liberal or conservative than say they're republican or democrat - you can stick up for core values but sticking up for an entire party is sticking up for all the bad with the good and no one really means or intends that.
The disenfranchisement itself as well I think is a lot like that, its more about the human condition and that intelligence in and of itself will alienate a lot of people - its not easily relatable. The only thing that has really troubled me about RATM is; what they're saying already is what pop culture is trying to funnel people into as it is. The newspapers themselves seem to really push victimhood over accountability, the public, as it gets harder to push one another toward integrity as things get farther behind and as we have less control over how someone exercises their freedoms, tends to want to look to government to solve their problems - talking about personal responsibility rather than blaming others becomes increasingly more taboo. What you said could be a driving factor in terms of the intent that RATM had but, I don't know, I'd like to think that people could take it in a tongue and cheek sense but I guess I only have so much faith in society at large.
I do think however that we're very lucky that the founding fathers who drafted the Constitution thought very poorly of human nature and built the constitution first and foremost to do whatever they could to corruption-proof it; if it would have been built on idealism, populism, or utopianism our country would have gone bust long ago and never would have been nearly as successful.
techstepgenr8tion
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12 Aug 2008, 10:49 pm
You'd have to go to lyrics cafe and read - at least 95% of their songs are the same topic (I owned the self-titled cd as a kid, didn't hear the rest through but I can't say I've ever heard a non-political song out of them aside from their relick of Cypress Hill's 'How I Could Just Kill A Man').
techstepgenr8tion
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12 Aug 2008, 10:51 pm
Not familiar with them enough - just know a few tunes out of one.
I think of, on the other hand, bands like Fugazi - Ian's very political in tone but usually stays to the abstract; ie. Fugazi can make you think but without giving it force-fed direction toward one angle or another (well, from the cds I owned they were like that). I think that's what I'd rather see though - describe the dynamics in abstract, provoke thought, and leave it open to interpretation.
Green Day also though, a band I liked when I was in highschool but when I heard about the whole political rampage behind an entire cd; it bugged me the same way as when Lauren Hill commented on the fact that she'd rather see a black baby die than a white person buy her cd. Political koolaid from any side is really bothering. One of my favorite acid techno dj's (at least back in 2000) was like this as well - he spun dark and corrupted warehouse grime for years and then just got on the soapbox and started getting hardcore with the anti-Blaire, anti-Bush, anti-all kinds of things; haven't been able to listen to him since. Can't remember when there was a cd that was as endorsed by a society or a viewpoint as in with the artistic crowd that went in the opposite direction; all because it seems like more repetition of "If your cool, this is what your supposed to believe". I just hate to see anything, any political agenda, shoveled off as the 'cool' way to think, its a huge red flag from the start and sadly you can bet that as most people really tend to put emotional impression first, repetition will overrule fact - people have those inclinations over self-examination unfortunately; the later is harder and if a person's too busy being 'cool' they won't have time or social breathing room for that sort of thing.
And yes, if every person in Hollywood was getting praise for supporting Bush, if it was the in artistic thing to do, if being pro-conservative was the cool thing to do and society was shoveling it down like its the thing to do; I don't think I'd trust that much either. Then again, it is true that I don't live in the midwest and its true that my sphere of social influence isn't Toby Keith and Alan Jackson.
12 Aug 2008, 11:44 pm
"The Machine" in question is a satirical metaphor for the modern incarnation of the U.S. government.
