“Rage Against the Machine” is the perfect example of a rock protest group. They are major advocates in social activist movements in the United States and elsewhere. Their albums like Renegade, The Battle of Los Angeles, and Evil Empire contain songs that stress deep feelings of protest and are magnetic in their message to get people to join their counter-cultural views. The majority of their political views involves making known the wage slavery that is going on in America (Wage slavery is when workers are paid low wage for hard laboring jobs that require long shifts). They too in there songs complain about the corruption in Americas capitalist system that Tom Morello and De la Rocha believe makes this country a still a not free country.
But to me what makes “Rage Against the Machine” a truly perfect protest group is that they are practically anarchists and go against every political system out there. Even though they seem to be leftists they claim they hate the two party systems and don’t associate to either political party. The reason I think most people see them more as leftists is because the band has had a strong hatred for the Fox News network who has criticized the band on several occasions. In their concerts the band has too referred to the Network as bunch of “Fascist *#8*%*@*$#$@^”. Also band member De La Rocha has been active in supporting the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico which is a very radical move for anyone who is part of the mainstream music world.
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Wow, I've always loved RATM, but I never had any idea that they were this radical. Some googling yielded this statement from lead singer Zack de la Rocha from a Cochella performance in 2007 "the whole Bush Administration should be put on trial for war crimes and then hung and then shot."
ReplyDeleteThat's a very extreme stance to take, and for me it goes too far. Although I am adamantly against the actions of former President Bush and his administration, specifically the war in Iraq, I believe that this senseless 'eye-for-an-eye' mentality only creates more harm. But I guess that's the point, to create rage.
It is rare that a popular band makes it being so out there with their politics. Kudos to them--to o bad they broke up.
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