The Movement, the Message and the Subculture
By JASON CARPENTER
Photos
from ratm.com
By now it's no secret that Rage Against the Machine is simply not just
a band. Rage is a movement, a message and a subculture involving may tiers
of participation by millions of fans.
What may come as a surprise, however, is that a good number of the
band's fans are not necessarily fans of the music. It is also safe to say
that another healthy chunk of those fans are completely oblivious to the
fervent political message and listen to Rage's music solely for the
head-thrashing power chords and dope beats.
So, what does this massive melting pot of varying tastes, interests
and styles amount to? These ingredients come together to form The Movement
known to us simply as Rage Against the Machine.
Formed in 1991, the band has recently stepped to the forefront of several
international causes, playing more benefit concerts than any other major
act. The band has lobbied for the release of Mumia Abu Jamal, the journalist
and activist currently on death row for the murder of Philadelphia
police officer Daniel Faulkner. Jamal was sentenced to death after a controversial
trial in the cop slaying.
In fact, Rage Against the Machine made headlines when the Fraternal
Order of Police threatened a boycott of NBC after the network booked the
band to perform on "Late Night With David Letterman" in early November.
The police group vehemently opposes Rage's public support for the alleged
cop-killer. Still, the band performed outside the studio on the streets
of Manhattan, belting out a chilling rendition of "Testify" from the band's
election-day release of its third album, The Battle of Los Angeles.
Another prevalent issue on the band's social conscience is the incarceration
of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement leader who has been behind
bars for 22 years. Peltier is considered by Amnesty International and scores
of others to be a political prisoner, and many have demanded he be granted
an act of executive clemency.
In an era where censorship organizations (hiding behind the façade
of concerned parent and citizens groups) are always looking to point the
finger at someone or something for the ills of society, the band stands
firm in its message of revolution and defiance. Guitarist Tom Morello told
Spin magazine in June that violent acts like last year's Columbine High
School massacre, where two students opened fire on their classmates, killing
12 of them and a teacher before committing suicide, are not the fault of
music or any message portrayed by bands.
"There is a culture of violence in this society and it's not propagated
by music. In Japan and Scandinavia, they listen to the same music, watch
the same movies, play video games, but there's far less violent crime.
What is it about America that's different? It's not the music, obviously,"
Morello told Spin reporter Maureen Herman.
In fact, Morello said music has the power to have positive influences
and that Rage's message is to do just that.
"There is tangible evidence that it creates positive change, while
there's no tangible evidence that any rock band, song or rap lyric has
ever caused anybody to do so much as jaywalk. We're very issue-specific.
We say, 'We would like you now to march in front of this building and demand
this.' And people show up to do it," Morello told Spin.
In addition to the subculture and political overtones of the band,
Rage has still managed to create a mystique around the band's existence.
Rarely conducting media interviews, band members almost rely entirely on
the stage to act as their soapbox. With his wild-eyed expressions and intense
stage presence, Zack de la Rocha is known to give passionate speeches about
politics, injustices and leftist views during performances and set breaks
rather than sit down with reporters.
"One of the things I wanted to ensure was the band's integrity," De
La Rocha told Ben Myers about his reluctance to conduct formal interviews
in the October 1999 issue of Kerrang Magazine.
"(To ensure) that we were walking what we were talking, as opposed
to just talking. We're dealing with a monstrous pop culture here that has
a tendency to commodify and pacify everything — it's happened to so many
bands in the past. It's important that artists in my position set an example
and there's a fine line between the promotion of a product and the promotion
of an idea. And so, to protect my integrity, I decided to refrain."
Despite remaining
scarce to the media, the band has made itself more than accessible to its
fans, playing benefit concerts and music festivals around the world, playing
small clubs in the United States and remaining vocal whenever there is
a justified cause to support.
Currently in the throes of a major U.S. tour, the band is again at
the forefront of popular music after a three year lapse between albums.
So how has the recording layoff affected the band? Not a bit, say their
fans.
It's clear that many fans recognize the difference between Rage and
the slew of other "metal" sounding bands. Rob Jagodzinski, of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, not your typical metal-head, recently began listening to
the band after a friend turned him on the de la Rocha's lyrics.
Jagodzinski, a newspaper reporter and editor, said one key element
sets the band apart.
"The overriding difference is Zack's socially conscious lyrics and
his tireless defense of oppressed people and the way he champions the causes
of justice for everyone — not just those who can afford it," Jagodzinksi
said. "His lyrics are stripped down and powerful. They hit me like a claw
hammer, and they strike at something at my core. I know of few other headlining
bands that go for the throat of social issues like Rage does."
And like true revolutionaries do, de la Rocha has the presence and
power to command full attention. His words, while maybe falling on some
deaf ears, motivate others. For those who are willing to hear the message,
Zack speaks loud and clear.
"Other headline bands often ignore the horror of racism, class struggle,
war instigating and these ills that surround us all every waking moment.
But Rage faces these horrors squarely, calls them for what they are, not
worried about what power structures they might offend," Jagodzinski said.
"What more could I ask of a band?"
So if Rage doesn't have a lot in common with the genre of music it
is classified under, what comparison can be made between the band and the
history of music? The answer is no further than the band's liner notes.
In the song "Down Rodeo," from the band's 1996 release Evil Empire, Zack
cries, "Dem belly full but we hungry," giving props to the king of all
music revolutionaries, the Honorable Robert Nesta Marley.
For hardcore fans of the political side of the band, the rhythm and
the music is simply the medium that carries the message. While Marley spread
his message of rebellion and revolution with his trademark natty dreads
and cigar-sized joints — all cleverly cloaked in upbeat funky Caribbean
rhythm and grooves — Rage has gone for the straightforward, matching power
with power featuring tooth-rattling jams with Zack's nose-to-the-grindstone
lyrics.
"They have more similarities to Marley's protest songs than to Metallica's
ballads of heavy metal masturbation and heartbreak. Marley, Peter Tosh,
some of John Lennon's work, and a few others resonate with Zack's philosophy
that the power structures on Earth have to be changed to favor the people,
and it has to happen now," Jagodzinski added.
Despite the overt message, some fans are oblivious to the band's fervent
leftist views. Some would argue this is the apathetic majority that needs
to be motivated; a group that needs to find a cause to direct its potent
energy toward. But the band can only provide so much impetus. In the end,
it is the decision of the individual to decide for what cause, when and
where they will unleash his or her passion.
"It ain't Rage's fault if no one takes up the torch. Zack sure as hell
can't scream any louder," Jagodzinksi concluded.
Nolen Strals, 21, of Baltimore, Maryland, says he doesn't like the
music at all. In fact, he owns none of Rage's records and has never been
to a Rage concert. Yet, his passionate leftist views have gravitated him
toward the message that Zack's lyrics deliver.
"I learned about the band's politics when their first album came out,
and I said, 'Wow, here's a band that's on a major label and they're singing
about leftist politics,' and I was very impressed by that," he said.
Strals said he has seen it happen often in the hardcore scene where
a band will rally its fans around a particular cause, but never on the
massive level Rage is spreading its message. A student at the Maryland
Institutional College of Art in Baltimore, Strals is a leftist activist
who attended the Jericho rally in 1998 to raise awareness of political
prisioners in this country. He said he praises the band's activism, particularly
in the cases of Abu Jamal and Peletier.
"I think they're doing something that is very important in that they
are trying to get this message out to people who otherwise would not have
found out."
Despite being on a major label, a complete no-no in the leftist model
of thought, Strals said the band is not a bunch of posers.
"They're totally true to the game," he said. "A lot of people give
them shit for being on a major, which is obviously a huge corporate entity,
but that's stupid because if they stayed on a smaller indie label, they'd
still be reaching people, but if they passed up (being on a major), they'd
be hurting their own cause. I buy almost no corporate music because I think
most of it is shit, but the message here is more important than the label."
Strals, who owns none of the bands records, has a message for the defiant
leftists who look down on the band for their mass marketing strategies.
"I would just say Rage is fucking trying and you're just sitting on
you ass and complaining about it. I think it's smart what they're doing.
They're using the system against itself. They are exploiting what it has
to offer for their own cause," Strals said.
With their incendiary message, Rage Against the Machine, and de la
Rocha in particular, attarct a great deal of attention in the U.S. and
other countries, including Mexico. The singer is an outspoken supporter
of the Zapatistas, a community of Mexicans in the rugged mountain terrain
of southern Mexico near the Honduran border. De la Rocha has publicly spoken
out against the Mexican government for the slaughter of dozens of Zapatistas
after the group sought independence from Mexico, triggering a conflict
between the heavily armed Mexican army and the outgunned mountain folk
of the region buried deep in foxholes defending their land.
"I think the government is most likely watching them," Strals said.
"They probably think (the band's message) is a threat, which hopefully
it will be."
Samantha Gwynn, a 24-year-old crime analyst and graduate student in
San Diego, California, said she is one of a small number of female Rage
fans. She has been to two shows, which she said were both killer productions.
Gwynn is an example of the idealistic fan of the band, interested in both
the talents of the musicians as well as the message spewing from Zack's
lips.
"The music and the message are important, equally. If the message was
there but the music was lame, nobody would want to hear it. And if
the music was as good and aggressive as it is, but they were just spouting
out a bunch of stupid shit like a lot of these joke bands that have come
out recently, then I know I wouldn't buy their CDs or go see their shows,"
she said.
Gwynn said she is definitely in the minority, being a woman at a Rage
show, and her experiences at the concerts have been both enlightening and
frustrating.
"It is mostly guys, 'cause they go there to mosh and look tough. You
can tell who really digs them and gets the message, 'cause they're the
ones who know the lyrics and really get into it. Some people will
crowd surf or push people around, and they're not even watching the band,
which pisses me off. I'm trying to get into it and some asshole has his
boot in my face. I'm not saying everyone should stand face forward
or anything, 'cause I like to jump and yell and all that, but it would
be nice if everyone there really liked and understood them," Gwynn said.
"Zack is fucking incredible, that's about how I would put it.
He has more energy than any performer I've ever seen, and he really gets
the audience into it. He's not afraid to tell people what the songs are
about, and what he thinks," she said.
After listening to the band for five years, Gwynn said she has been
able to read de la Rocha's lyrics and apply them to her life. Not that
the man is a prophet, but she said there are few people out there willing
to take a stand for the underclass, unfortunate and oppressed. By filtering
the messages perpetrated by the government and the mass media, Gwynn said
Rage's lyrics offer an underground interpretation of situations unfolding
around the world.
"I think it basically says that any kind of oppression is wrong, and
people should fight back if they can. It exposes a lot of injustices
and things that are fucked up about the government, police practices, conspiracies,
etc., things you wouldn't hear about anywhere else. I'd say it's
effective because it got through to me, I know that much. There are so
many things that I didn't realize when I started listening to them, and
even now, when I listen to new songs and old songs, I'll go, 'oh, they're
talking about the Black Panthers, or sweatshops,' or whatever. Now I can
take what they say and think about it even more critically."
Imagine, a band that invokes critical thought. Hmmm…could it be possible
that more fans are into the message than the band themselves or the powers
that be thought? What would happen then? For all the truths that de la
Rocha proclaims in his lyrics and his on-stage speeches, it appears that
at least one of them is wrong, figuratively, anyway. In the song, "New
Millennium Homes," off the latest album, de la Rocha says, "Hungry people
don't stay hungry for long."
Sorry, Zack, millions of your fans are hungry for your message and it doesn't look like there's enough food end that famine.
To be published in part in January 2000 issue of Yellow Rat Bastard
