Rage Against the Machine

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Rage Against the Machine

Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, and Timmy Commerford

took to a Philadelphia stage in 1993 clad in black electrical tape that

covered their mouths and the initials PMRC written in black marker across

their chests. They stood in this fashion for fourteen minutes while

feedback from their guitars rumbled through the amps. This seemingly

simple prank was actually protest against the censorship of music and the

Parents Music Resource Center, founded by Tipper Gore (Buchi, incidents

par. 3-4).

The music of Rage Against the Machine contains the political and

social views of the band members. They are very avid about defending

constitutional rights of the individual and large groups of deprived

people. The members of Rage Against the Machine each bring diversity and

strong political views into the music they produce. Each member is

unique in his childhood background and his introduction to music. It is

important to understand their backgrounds to fully understand their

passion for political justice.

Zack de la Rocha was born in Long Beach, California in 1970.

After his parent's separation when he was one year old, Zack lived with

his mother in the "whitest community in Southern L.A.". Zack turned to

his father to develop close ties with the Chicano community, but after

his father's mental breakdown, Zack was forced to look for direction in

a high school friend and now current band member Timmy Commerford. Zack,

who is responsible for writing the band's lyrics, uses his intelligence

to express his anger, especially in the mistreatment of groups like the

Zapatistas (Taneja, Band Members par. 1).

Timmy Commerford, the band's bassist, ...

... middle of paper ...

...noose over all the new societies

that it sees. "Ashes in the Fall" calls the leaders of today fascists

that talk society up as a chosen life free of blot and mixture. The song

contrasts this by showing that these promises fall through and the world

is as it seems not as they want you to see it.

"Ashes in the Fall" ends by showing that the closing of factories

and schools by the rich drive the poor to crime. This driving force to

crime opens the doors to the jail cells and the common person is tucked

away.

Rage Against the Machine uses its music to project its views

about many political and social problems. The power of music has helped

their messages reach people in positions that are normally politically

retarded. Rage has had a profound influence on groups of people across

the globe and will continue to do so in the future.

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