Songs of Protest: Rage Against the Machine Fights Racism with Rock
From shutting down the New York Stock Exchange to playing at multiple American political party National Conventions, Rage Against the Machine has performed protest music since its 1992 debut.
Music is one of society’s best teachers. In Songs of Protest, writers analyze some of music’s greatest hits, using their findings to make sense of the world around them.
Written by Beril Lara Saygin
Photo courtesy of NME
The smug, grinning face of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani bobs his head back and forth in the opening frames of Rage Against the Machine’s “Sleep Now In The Fire” music video, a song that fires bullets at the dehumanizing political machine that keeps millions of Americans in poverty by economic segregation and wealth inequality.
“Sleep Now In The Fire” depicts how the American Dream has morphed into a nightmare about a money-loving culture obsessed with climbing a social and economic ladder. Drawing a crowd of hundreds that eventually forced the New York Stock Exchange to shut down, Rage Against the Machine defied threats of arrest and rushed the steps of the trade center in an act of protest to shoot their music video directed by activist Michael Moore.
Such dramatic scenes are common for Rage Against the Machine, a band known for its unique, genre-blending sound that combines rock, hip-hop, and heavy metal. Casting incendiary lyrics against a backdrop of inventive instrumentals, Rage addresses social and political issues that are as prevalent today as they were at the band’s inception in 1992. Beyond songwriting, Rage Against the Machine has also taken an active role in political movements for social justice and used their music and popularity as a weapon of protest.
Formed in Los Angeles in 1991, Rage Against the Machine consists of guitarist Tom Morello, vocalist Zack de la Rocha, drummer Brad Wilk, and bassist Tim Commerford. Since their touring days, Rage Against the Machine has actively contributed to social justice efforts through charitable performances, protests, and attention-grabbing lyrics that expose social injustices including police brutality, homophobia, and fascism.
One of the band’s earliest hits, “Killing in the Name,” features only a few lines that are repeated throughout the song’s five-minute duration. Written in response to the Rodney King beating and Los Angeles Riots, this song addresses police brutality and compares the police to the Ku Klux Klan: “Some of those that work forces / Are the same that burn crosses.” These lyrics allude to the systemic, institutionally racist history of the American police force, which was initially created as a slave patrol in the 1830s and later enforced segregation laws. Today, police injustice in the U.S. continues to spur social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter.
The lead song of their self-titled album, “Bombtrack,” sets a tone for the band and its music, igniting listeners to take action for social change. Rage’s unique sound features inventive guitar work, heavy drumming, and angry, high-pitched rap. Lead singer de la Rocha begins the song with a guttural “ughhh,” and his signature rapping is furious and explosive. The song conveys “thoughts from a militant mind” with a promise to oppressors: “Burn, burn, yes you’re gonna burn.”
Photo courtesy of Alternative Press Magazine
Rage Against the Machine began combining performance and protest during a 1996 “Saturday Night Live” appearance with billionaire former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes as host. In protest against Forbes, the band hung an American flag upside down on one of their amps, leading “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels to ban them from the show.
Rage Against the Machine has also headlined many protests. Although band members frequent peaceful protest, the lyrics and performance of Rage Against the Machine have been associated with many unrest events. The band played across the street from the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. After the set, some attendees rioted, leading to violence and arrests. In 2008, the band attempted to play a festival in close proximity to a Republican National Convention. When riot police attempted to disgand the festival, Morello and de la Rocha performed an a capella concert in the crowd and led a subsequent protest march. That August, the band headlined the Tent State University Music Festival to End the War in Iraq near the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Following the performance, band members joined an anti-war protest which, after a five-hour standoff with police, resulted in veterans’ being invited to meet with the Obama campaign.
Although the band is no longer together, its members have continued their political involvement, actively denouncing Trump during his presidency in public statements and on social media. Guitarist Morello is particularly active on Twitter and defends his band’s heavily politicized music. In a series of tweets from earlier this year, Morello and Rage fans express offense at the implication that the band has ever been apolitical.
Using on-stage pyrotechnics, burning the American flag, and consciously choosing inflammatory album titles and lyrics, Rage Against the Machine is, in fact, proudly political. This summer, Morello released a new song condemning police brutality and transphobia in response to a Black Lives Matter rally in his small, conservative hometown of Libertyville, Illinois. “Stand Up” is a collaboration with singer and activist Shea Diamond and lead singer of Imagine Dragons, Dan Reynolds. The release of “Stand Up” corresponded with George Floyd’s murder and subsequent protests. The song condemns “corruption in the blue lines” and speaks out against police brutality: “When I call the police will they just kill me? / Will they just kill you?” Furthermore, its music video features a montage of protests from the Civil Rights Era side-by-side with modern footage including the George Floyd protests. Morello later soundtracked a short film in honor of George Floyd’s birthday.
The band’s name already tells you how they feel about the American political system. And upon first listen, Rage Against the Machine may just sound like a series of violent crescendos of instrumental anger with lyrics raging against a broken system. However, the combination of pounding instrumentals and incendiary lyrics sung in the band’s unique style overcome such a simplistic viewpoint. Rage Against the Machine is a rebellion against a world of social injustice that has bled into the 21st century. Not only are they musical activists, but the members of Rage Against the Machine continue to be real-life protestors. The band gives an unsilenceable, loud voice to the oppressed and disenfranchised, demonstrating perfectly how music can be an instrument of protest.