What is Digg?200 Comments
- inactive, on 08/29/2008, -62/+213Rage rocks as a band, but I get so tired of hearing their political ***** when it really is plain *****. Quit blowing smoke up our asses.
These guys are millionaire rocks stars who bitch about capitalism and the system. If they hated the system so much they wouldn't be signed to one of the biggest record companies in the world (Sony BMG)
Tom Morello gives the lame excuse that somehow we need to use capitalism to get our music out....... What a load of crap. With the Internet or Independent labels you can still have a huge audience. Ever heard of Nine Inch Nails or Radiohead?
"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 and 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."
- Tom Morello
Translation? I could stick by my convictions or I could make a lot of money in the capitalist system.
We also have Rage to thank for the idiot kids who wear the Che Guevara shirts. Like many of the symbols displayed by RATM (Tom's "Arm the homeless" Guitar, Black flag + Red star banner for communism) they serve as an irresponsible attempt to market "rebellion" to middle class white America.
Congrats RATM, you were always the biggest hypocrites in rock music whose political messages are completely invalidated by your actions as a group.
Keep raging against that machine fellas..........all the way to the bank. - nagayoshi, on 08/29/2008, -8/+90Funny thing is - you know if your buddy called you and said, "Yo! I have an extra ticket to the Rage show tonight! Wanna go?"
You'd jump on it. By the way, would you rather they have NO political insight as opposed to some?
At least they're pushing some kind of message and have passion, unlike all the other garbage radio bands out there today. - T8erT0T, on 08/29/2008, -3/+51Oh, you mean the Radiohead that was signed to Capitol for about 13 years right?
- vandernderyid, on 08/29/2008, -8/+48Buried for the lame copyright marker.
Screw you, Jim Hucks 2008. - inactive, on 08/29/2008, -7/+43Turn that ***** up.
- jsdratm, on 08/29/2008, -11/+47I agree. Love their music, but it is hard to be credible as communist rebels when you are raking in millions from album sales.
- skydharma, on 08/29/2008, -2/+37We should also remember that they were at the forefront of the "Gore and Bush are exactly the same" movement in 2000. Nailed that one, guys.
- vtbarrera, on 02/03/2009, -2/+37Reminds me of the performance when I saw them at the DNC in Los Angeles a while back. It was a great show until the tear gas and rubber bullets started flying.
- Misinformant, on 08/29/2008, -18/+46I saw Rage at Lollapalooza less than a month ago. Well, almost saw it because Rage fans are ***** lunatic retards and the show had to stop (at least) twice because the morons were trampling and beating each other. Don't know if it continued. I left half-way through it.
Over 100 bands were at Lolla and of the roughly 20-30 I got to see, Rage put on the worst show.
I'm amazed how they'd been so successful when every song of theirs is just rythmic bitching and whining.
Life isn't fair. We get it guys, thanks.
I laughed aloud, confusing many Rage drones surrounding me, when Zach gave his little monologue about how you can't trust the police...while hundreds of Chicago cops were within earshot GUARDING HIS STAGE FROM HIS OWN RABID FANS. - Wesside, on 08/29/2008, -2/+26Agreed "Video artist" my ass, all he did was zoom in and out, any idiot can do that. And stealing someones music and claiming copyright is just pants on head retarded.
- anarcurt, on 08/29/2008, -9/+32Cop kills you in self defense- OK
You kill cop in self defense- Murder - williamlee, on 08/29/2008, -0/+21Free show for the protestors. Not at the actual convention.
- bigfatphony19, on 08/29/2008, -20/+41There's nothing wrong with making music to get a message across, douchebag.
- StealthSnake832, on 08/29/2008, -0/+17Except their message from that show was about bringing back the troops, and not about communism and anarchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiuVD2_7FEU - Wilf55, on 08/30/2008, -1/+17Thanks Bill, or is it Ted ?
- Protoss, on 08/29/2008, -3/+19Same with NIN. They're only able to release their music online, independently because they were on a label that promoted them.
- inactive, on 08/29/2008, -4/+18When rage come onto the scene during the 90's, distribution via the internet was not a viable option. I wouldnt be able to find too many people willing to download an album using dial-up.
Morello is right, why preach to the choir? Also they didn't just talk about politics on stage and call it a night. They were ACTIVISTS. They were out there protesting and donating to causes they stood for. After rage broke up after Renegades, Zach De La Rocha worked on a farm in South America, he didn't head to his mansion in LA rolling in his millions. After one rage show here in Chicago, Tom Morello got picked up by his mom and went home. He didn't get into a stretch limo and go anywhere.
Notice how now that they have reunited in this free internet distribution age they haven't made a new album, but they HAVE just recently put on a free concert (which this video shows) - BlueSun420, on 08/29/2008, -1/+14They were protesting the convention, they weren't there in support of it.
- widgetmaker, on 08/29/2008, -2/+15No
Yes
Yes - correy27, on 08/29/2008, -1/+13Bulls on Parade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTrhfzvdDmc
Testify
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOJ1a1KP6lQ - fugazied, on 08/29/2008, -3/+15The only thing I agree with in what you just said is that they need to step away from Sony BMG and get real about distributing their music on the Internet. If any band SHOULD be distributing music via the internet for an optional cost it's RATM. They need to catch up, but I don't think it entirely invalidates their political message.
You think it's irresponsible to market rebellion to the middle class? The USA was founded on rebellion, getting people to dissent is needed to keep the politicians/government in check. If a RATM lyric gets someone to do some reading and realize that Fox news may be compromised, then the band's political message did something good you would agree? - humanerror, on 08/29/2008, -7/+19In 40 years all of you ***** saying "stick to music, stay out of politics" will be telling your grandkids stories about how you were there, rocking out and rioting in the streets with all the other anarchists.
And by then you'll probably believe it. Who wants to admit to themselves that they wasted their life being a limp and inert tool in the hands of their own owners? - xGuerrillaRadio, on 08/29/2008, -0/+12And god knows we don't need an Audioslave reunion.
- xGuerrillaRadio, on 08/29/2008, -1/+12Rage without the politics wouldn't be Rage...
- WhoDoneIt, on 08/29/2008, -0/+10Will do.
U2, you ***** SUCK!! - inactive, on 08/29/2008, -3/+13"What a load of crap. With the Internet or Independent labels you can still have a huge audience. Ever heard of Nine Inch Nails or Radiohead?"
lol because the internet was great for sharing music back in 1990 amirite? - Supernova36, on 08/29/2008, -6/+15Black Flag and a Red Star isn't communism..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EZLN
Learn things. - AlexWiggy, on 08/29/2008, -3/+12I saw them at the Reading Festival this time last weekend. They were incredible!
Truly a unique band.
Zack De La Rocha was also wearing the same clothes at Reading as he is in this video :p. - x1soundgarden1x, on 08/30/2008, -0/+9I know I was there too man! That was crazy. The police came in on horses and with billy clubs and riot shields and we all took of running. The only difference now is, I have no idea what the hell they are protesting. Seems a lot more like a marketing ploy than real political motivation after these 8 years.
- Rusticles, on 08/29/2008, -4/+13"Ever heard of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails?" - UltraMegaOK
Yes, in the 90's when they were popular (and rocked) because of their major record labels that made them millionaires so they can now give away their experimental "music" for free. - dafragsta, on 08/29/2008, -4/+13Where was Rage Against the Machine when The Dixie Chicks were raging against the machine? That's all I'm sayin'.
- rookiepaul, on 08/29/2008, -0/+9Saw them at week ago at the Reading Festival in the UK, they were awesome, a must see band before you die.
- lynxminus, on 08/29/2008, -0/+9Wasnt it just a few months ago that there was a front page article chastising RATM for not being around for the past few years and saying how much we need a musical political force in the mainstream right now? If nothing else the free show helped fire up enough interest in the RATM supporters to go join the Anti-war protests after the show, that certainly wasnt a bad thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiuVD2_7FEU&feature ... - rickyisawesome, on 08/29/2008, -3/+11Rage Against the Machine is one of the greatest rock bands of our time and one of the only ones left who stand up for what they believe in. Relevant when they broke up years ago; and still just as (if not more) relevant today. America needs more bands like this.
- anarcurt, on 08/29/2008, -2/+10No. The democrats and republicans are part of the same 'machine'.
- ngmcs8203, on 08/29/2008, -0/+8http://www.onedayasalion.org/
- ngmcs8203, on 08/29/2008, -0/+8Last summer in San Francisco. The show was ***** nuts. I had never seen them since I was but a boy during their hayday. If you ever get a chance to see them play an entire set, or even a few songs, do whatever you can to see it. They definitely blew the roof- well it was outside... so they just rocked.
- maxsunset, on 08/29/2008, -3/+11While I'm not a big fan of there-a-politic-in' either, I agree with the singers stance of using the existing channels to get their word out. Besides the whole NIN and Radiohead internet thing happeded WAY after RATM even broke up!! Please stop pointing to those two lone examples; they don't prove much, other than an already successful band can still find success while giving away their music. There's still a long way to go in terms of promotion of a band's music before they can distribute their music on their own, and get the kind of audience they would by using "the capitalist system".
- animatedtripod, on 08/29/2008, -8/+16Couldn't disagree more. And for those of us who have to live in a practical reality, I think your argument completely fails.
You're basically saying that to avoid being a 'hypocrite', anyone who opposes the current system should ***** off into the wilderness and effectively live like the unabomber for eternity, abandoning all elements of capitalism. Logically that's exactly like saying that any self described 'capitalist' is a massive hypocrite, unless they also happen to be land owning, stock owning, corporate fat cats, taking home an astronomical paycheck every month.
RATM were musically pioneering for sure, but not so pioneering that they had the ability to release music via the internet in 1992. As for independent labels, at that time Reznor would have been with Universal, and Radiohead with EMI.
I think the bottom line is that if Rage hadn't pursued the path they had, we wouldn't be here today discussing them at all...they'd be just one more unknown political alternative rock band, preaching to the choir and having no greater impact at all. As far as I can tell, the band never compromised their activism, either as individual members or as a whole as a result of their major label ties. I also have a suspicion that you have no knowledge of their personal finances at all, and as for being 'rock stars' I really don't think they've ever fitted that description. More than anything, they mostly seemed to have acted like activists who happened to be in a rock band - l0k0, on 08/29/2008, -1/+9They are mostly against the two party system. Pay attention to the lyrics in "Testify" and watch the music video, in which it is even more obvious.
In addition, there is a huge gap in the political spectrum between democrats and communists. - Markpdotcom, on 08/30/2008, -0/+7So let me get this straight.
Rage aren't letting any press or official recordings in to their current tour. So this guy sneaks a camera in, then tags his videos with a copyright and his name. AND THEN uploads it to youtube for the world to see!
Yeah, the RIAA aren't going to ***** him over! - Crizack, on 08/30/2008, -2/+8It's funny that the comment with the most ***** has the most diggs.
- civilizedevil, on 08/29/2008, -2/+8I can sympathize with Cerebral, they've always been my favorite band but broke up before I ever got to see them live. Needless to say, I bought my ticket for Coachella the day they went on sale and was there for their first reunion show. I strongly suggest you see them now even if you have to travel for it, you'll regret it if they stop touring and you missed your chance.
- yowhat2002, on 08/29/2008, -4/+10Saw Rage at Leeds fest a few days ago, best show of my life.
- BassCadet, on 08/30/2008, -0/+6I was at the first Coachella when they played. Literally dozens of different bands & artists from hip hop to rock to jazz to punk. And guess which band's fans were the biggest *****, starting fights with peaceful fans of other artists? Yep, RATM.
I witnessed this first hand in 1999. Those idiot fans were trying to get into fights with security because they insisted they had a right to bring in gigantic communist flags, holding up the admissions line in the SCORCHING heat. - trenchcoat, on 08/29/2008, -9/+15Except the cop in question didn't kill anyone. He was killed.
http://www.danielfaulkner.com/
Educate yourself. - ahawks, on 08/29/2008, -9/+15Did they always suck this bad live? Was this just a horrible recording? Am I getting old?
- IndigoMoss, on 08/29/2008, -1/+6That's not their only message though, but I agree those two messages are indeed *****.
- patthew, on 08/29/2008, -2/+7It'd just be Audioslave.
- fender4645, on 08/29/2008, -2/+7Maybe it's because I'm getting old and not as easily jaded but I saw a bunch of RATM shows back in '93 and '94 and they were absolutely amazing. This show pales in comparison to what they once could do. I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact I no longer have the "damn the man, f- the government" mentality...but they used to captivate the audience with "real" and "new" issues. 15 years later they're still talking about the same stuff. The world has changed...their views/fights need to as well.
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