Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine

Probably the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal, Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut was ground breaking enough when released in 1992, but many would argue that it has yet to be surpassed in terms of influence and sheer brilliance -- though countless bands have certainly tried. This is probably because the uniquely combustible creative relationship between guitar wizard Tom Morello and literate rebel vocalist Zack de la Rocha could only burn this bright, this once. While the former's roots in '80s heavy metal shredding gave rise to an inimitable array of six-string acrobatics and rhythmic special effects (few of which anyone else has managed to replicate), the latter delivered meaningful rhymes with an emotionally charged conviction that suburban white boys of the ensuing nu-metal generation could never hope to touch. As a result, syncopated slabs of hard rock insurrection like "Bombtrack," "Take the Power Back," and "Know Your Enemy" were as instantly unforgettable as they were astonishing. Yet even they paled in comparison to veritable clinics in the art of slowly mounting tension such as "Settle for Nothing," "Bullet in the Head," and the particularly venomous "Wake Up" (where Morello revises Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" riff for his own needs) -- all of which finally exploded with awesome power and fury. And even listeners who were unable (or unwilling) to fully process the band's unique clash of muscle and intellect were catered to, as RATM were able to convey their messages through stubborn repetition via the fundamental challenge of "Freedom" and their signature track, "Killing in the Name," which would become a rallying cry of disenfranchisement, thanks to its relentlessly rebellious mantra of "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" Ultimately, if there's any disappointment to be had with this near-perfect album, it's that it still towers above subsequent efforts as the unequivocal climax of Rage Against the Machine's vision. As such, it remains absolutely essential.

Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name

Rolling Stone’s not my usual source of reading or listening material but earlier in August an article with Tom Morello peaked my interest as he was talking about Killing In The Name where Morello revealed that the track started out as an instrumental.

Speaking on Rolling Stone‘s Music Now podcast (via Music-News), Morello recalled performing the song live for the very first time, saying: “It was originally an instrumental.There’s a Rage Against the Machine video from Cal State Northridge – which is our first public performance – where we open the show with an instrumental version of ‘Killing in the Name’ and Timmy [Commerford, bassist], I think, came up with that really cool bass riff. [Drummer] Brad Wilk’s crowd-bouncing beat is there from the very, very beginning. And then Zack [de la Rocha, vocalist] laced it with the historic lyrics.”

He added: “We actually left the lyrics off of the lyric sheet of the first record, because I think it’s two lines, 16 ‘fuck yous’, and one ‘motherfucker.’ And we’re like, in the midst of all this grand political poetry, let’s just that one stand for itself. The dunna-dunt [before de la Rocha raps, ‘and now you do what they told ya’] that was an important part! I remember our A&R guy, Michael Goldstone, who’s a genius. He’s got Pearl Jam. He was really the fifth Beatle early on. He was a great help, but he wanted us to take that part out of the song. I think he heard ‘hit single, as long as he doesn’t have that crazy part where it just stops a lot!’ That was a bit of a lift from Zeppelin’s ‘Good times, Bad Times,’ that part. We’ve felt pretty confident that needs to stay in the song, and I think history has borne that out.”

Morello went on to praise the song’s one-line breakdown, saying that de la Rocha’s “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” chant remains a “universal sentiment” despite its simplicity. “While it’s a simple lyric, I think it’s one of Zack’s [de la Rocha] most brilliant,” he added. Last month, Morello praised protesters in Portland for chanting the aforementioned ‘Killing In The Name’ line to police officers. “Well that’s what it’s for!” he said on Twitter.