Conference napalm::heavy_metal

There was a lot of hype about this band when they first came out, and I
heard some good reviews on the album. But I haven't heard anything from
them yet..... they played the Channel last year, but I missed the show.

alan

    They are GREAT!! Supposedly they are excellent live....I suppose
    youve gotta gig Jan 19th??!? I recommend you get the CD ASAP!!!!!
    
    Bob

> I suppose youve gotta gig Jan 19th??!? 

Nope, we don't! Wanna go and check them out???

alan

    Im tryin to get tix's through the label...They have a good relationship
    with EPIC....Ill let you know....I definitly want to go!!
    
    Bob

    Here is the song list for the Debut release from RATM.....
    
    cassette:
    
    A:
    
    Bombtrack
    Killing in the Name
    Take the Power Back
    Settle for Nothing
    Bullet in the Head
    
    
    B:
    
    Know Your Enemy
    Wake Up
    Fistful of Steel
    Township Rebellion
    Freedom
    
    
    
    Pick it up!!!
    
    Bob

Once every month or two, Timothy White (the editor-in-chief of Billboard
Magazine) write an editorial on a new release that he considers a landmark
album. The last one I can remember him writing about was the Lindsey 
Buckingham 'Out Of The Cradle' album earlier this fall.

Anyways, in the year-end issue of Billboard, White wrote a good editorial
on Rage Against The Machine. Basically saying that this is one of the most
important hard rock acts to come out in years, and he included pieces of
an interview he had with the lead singer.

If I think of it, I'll bring it in later this week and post it here, it was
really good reading!

alan

    Has anybody else picked up the CD yet???!?!?!?
    
    What are ya waiten fer!?

    
    	A recommendation from someone I respect, perhaps?
    
    	8^)
    
    	[Ooooooooohhhh!!!!]
    
    							GTI

	I read an article about these guys, it talk about some
	personal things, like that they got for Christmas.



	Each memeber got a 


	rock.... ;)

poor sots...

(Reprinted without permission from Billboard Magazine, December 26, 1992.)

WHAT FUELS RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE? 
------------------------------------ 
by Timothy White


	Fury is often the flower of deep disappointment, and it can blossom
most fiercely in the hearts of frustrated young believers. It's tough to 
placate the pupil who has been taught to care too much, and Rage Against
The Machine is the sound of anger at the brink of heartbreak.
	A Los Angeles-rooted hardcore band that grafts capacious punk 
compulsion with crafty political rap, Rage Against The Machine is also the
deeply felt forum for the poetry of Zack de la Rocha, a 22-year old guitarist/
songwriter of Chicano and white parentage.
	"When I was younger, I had a weird image of myself as an All-American
kid," says de la Rocha, whose unruly dreadlocks and boyish demeanor belie
a personality toughened by a heritage of conflict. "I grew up moving back
and forth between my father's place in East L.A. and my mother's home in
the white suburb of Irvine, because I was the focus of a heavy custody battle
between my dad, who was a first-generation Mexican muralist, and my 
half-Chicano/half-German mother, a teacher's aide who eventually raised me
while working at the University of California at Irvine. I was never able
to communicate with my father, a talented by difficult guy, and while I
couldn't adjust to life in the suburbs, I also found that I was not accepted
by the *cholos* - the homeboys from the *barrio* of East L.A. - because I
never learned to speak Spanish. Of course, the true language of my people
is not Spanish by *Nahua*, the tongue of the ancient Aztecs, but these 
individual experiences of disenfranchisement fueled my political awareness
of how our system has cut us off from the real sources of power in our 
nation."
	"My political awakening came in high school when I realized you're
only seen as successful when you've been completely assimilated *and* you've
achieved a lot monetarily. So the oppression that ordinary people are 
constantly subjected to is as much spiritual as political. If our music sounds
angry, it's because we're fighting for empowerment on a spiritual level as
well as a material one. And when I sing a song on the new album like "Settle
For Nothing", it's a reflection of my inner self as well as my social 
philosophy."
	The lead singer of Rage Against The Machine goes on to explain that
the songs on the band's self-titled debut album (on Epic Associated) emerged 
from his "ambition to evolve as a poet as well as a musician. I started 
playing guitar when I was 8, and I played mostly punk at first, but then in
junior high, a music teacher turned me on to Joe Pass and Charlie Parker. At
the time, I was in a punk band called Juvenile Expression, and jazz opened 
me up to the possibilities of improvisation and hybrids. Later in high school 
I started listening to the Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, and Run D.M.C., 
and this was a time when I was struggling to shape my own identity as a 
Chicano caught between two cultures."
	Membership in hardcore bands with names like Hard Stance and Inside
Out led de la Rocha to the conclusion that the conventional hardcore approach
was "ultimately kinda limiting. I envisioned a fusion of punk, hardcore, 
hip-hop, and rap that would also be an outlet for this rap style of poetry
I'd been working on, and over the course of two-three months I wrote all
the material that would wind up on this album".
	If this sudden burst of literary inspiration marked de la Rocha's 
arrival as a lyricist, the formation of Rage Against The Machine was an 
equally swift creative alliance of boyhood friends and compatriots from other
L.A. bands. Zack had known bassist Timmy C. since sixth grade, drummer Brad
Wilk had thundered beside Eddie Vedder prior to Pearl Jam, and lead guitarist
Tom Morello had previously been part of a local outfit called Lock Up. Just
prior to the initial public performance in the fall of 1991, Rage Against The 
Machine recorded a homemade cassette album formidable enough to sell in 
excess of 5,000 copies locally. (The Desert Storm-denouncing "Bullet In The
Head" amply illustrates the trenchant allure of the indie cassette, thus
that track was eventually transferred intact to the Epic album.)
	From the start, Rage Against The Machine was a wildly precocious crowd 
pleaser, opening for Body Count, Public Enemy, Pearl Jam, and Perry Farrell's
Porno For Pyros, as well as being showcased on the second stage for the Los
Angeles leg of Lollapalooza II. And on the strength of the Epic album - 
co-produced by Rage Against The Machine and seasoned engineer Garth Richardson 
(Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ozzy Osbourne) - they must be viewed as one of the 
most original and virtuosic new rock bands in the nation, capable of a 
latticed wall of stridor so deftly woven that it's destined to be the standard 
for any audacious headbangers who dare follow.
	Not since the first Led Zeppelin album or Motorhead's on-tour "No 
Sleep 'til Hammersmith" has a band rumbled and roared with such extravagant
craft, compelling Rage Against The Machine's record company to circulate the
the following clarifier: "No samples, keyboards, or synthesizers have been 
used in the making of this album; *all* sounds are the product of guitar,
bass, and drums."
	But the ornery abandon of Rage Against The Machine's sound is leavened 
with a forte for intensely versatile arrangements that feature touches of
incisive wit and vulnerable self-examination. Tracks like "Take The Power 
Back", "Know Your Enemy", "Wake Up", and "Freedom" commence with a martial
wallop and then careen along a surprisingly cogent path from growling thrash
metal to plaintive choral rap to rolling electric blues vivified with post-
psychedelic guitar vamps.
	In the space of a given song, drummer Wilk can hammer out a half-dozen
tensile tempos in styles that incorporate pure swing, punishing funk, and 
dashes of hip-hop jazz. Meantime, wondrously adept guitarist Morello creates
drenching cataracts of raw melody, his consummate runs and delicate organ-like 
surges redolent of Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Dr. Know of the Bad Brains - yet
none of it seems even remotely busy.
	Interswirling with de la Rocha's elastic vocal yowl and the riptide of
Timmy C's bass, Rage Against The Machine generates the most beautifully 
articulated torrent of hardcore bedlam that one could imagine. And the hopes
invested in the humming murals of urban din are equally visionary.
	"Back in 1974", says de la Rocha, "my father's paintings were part
of the first Chicano art exhibit ever organized at the L.A. County Museum of
Art ["Los Four: Almarez, de la Rocha, Lugan, Romero"]. That accomplishment
was really something to be proud of. I was to make music that gives people
that same sense of identity, and lets them see that human rights, civil 
rights, and spiritual rights are part of the same struggle we all face: to
take the power back".

    cool interview...Thanks for posting it....

>    cool interview...Thanks for posting it....

Well, I knew you'd read it, even if no one else did!!!  8^)

alan

    I read it too...
    
    gh

    ...but the question Greg is....did you buy it.........yet!??
    
    
    
    :*)

    Buy?  BUY???  Clearly you haven't seen my bank balance lately, dude!
    
    gh

    
    Rage Against the Machine play London Camden Underworld on January 26th.
    Tickets are 6 quid.
    
    -tony

    I'm a Worcester (ie Wormtown etc.....) resident but I'm often in BOston
    scrounging around the used record stores etc.  Anyway, I picked up the 
    Rage Against The Machine disk for $6.00 at Nuggets on Comm Ave!!  Six
    bucks can hardly break the old checkbook balance but maybe not....
    Anyway - it's out there and its cheap and MY-T-Good - get it now!!!
    
    
    From the Periphery,
    
    Tim H.

I'll throw in another vote - I picked it up last week and it hasn't left
my CD player since! I listen to it every time I get in the car. It is
fantastic from beginning to end! GO AND BUY THIS ALBUM!!!!

alan

Thought I'd file a full concert report from last night's venture to the 
Rage Against The Machine show. Lotsa fun things happened last night!!! (Bob,
you shoulda been there - great networking opportunity!)

The night started when I picked up my friend Mike at WBCN, and we headed 
off to dinner at T's Pub (right next to the Paradise). But just outside of
T's, we ran into the Mike Schnapp, who is VP of Sony Music, in charge of 
Heavy Metal, who was up for the Rage show. He ended joining us for dinner
(and he even picked up the check - what a guy!). Schnapp was hilarious - he
kept telling us these great Dave Mustaine stories from when he was 
Megadeth's road manager.....

From dinner, we head over to M-80 (the small club in front of the Paradise),
where there is a The The listening party going on (with open bar). Hung
out there for a couple hours, running into a lot of people I used to work
with. (Seemed like the whole Sony office was there, and a lot of the people
I used to work with were still there! It was like Old Homecoming Week!)

At one point I was standing there talking with Schnapp and RATM's manager
Warren Entnor (who I knew from the old days when he managed Quiet Riot and
Faster Pussycat). Suddenly I felt something wing me off the shoulder, but
we didn't know what it was, and we all ignored it. Then something hit 
Warren right in the back of the head. This time we looked around, and sure
enough - there was the bandmembers of RATM, up in the balcony, throwing
pieces of fruit (bananas!) down on us! What ensued afterwards was a minor 
food fight between us (with the band apologizing to me afterwards for hitting 
me by mistake, when they were aiming to Warren). Kids will be kids...... 8^)

The show itself was just incredible! My only complaint was that they didn't
play that long - only about an hour, and they only played 9 songs (they
skipped "Township Rebellion" which is one of my favorites from the album!).
Other than that, though, this was a totally incredible show! There was a
serious pit down front with lots of stagediving (including some dives by
the singer, Zack). I was against the stage right in front of the guitarist, 
and it was crazy there! Also, I was psyched that it wasn't too loud - my
ears aren't even ringing today. It was just loud enough.

I have to put in extra special mention for Tom, the guitarist for RATM. This 
guy is TOTALLY AMAZING! It was a real treat to sit there and watch him play. 
He was getting sounds out of his guitar I had never heard before, and I was 
wondering how he had done it on the album. Now I have a better idea, but I'm 
still totally blown away by it. He played a Jackson and a Tele all night, 
through a Marshall JCM 800 -> 4x12 Marshall cab. His footpedals were simple, 
including a Cry Baby wah-wah, MXR 7-band EQ, a Boss chorus, and a Digitech 
Whammy pedal. But the sounds he was getting sounded more like synths and 
samples - he would use anything in order to get different sounds. At one 
point he was playing with a nail; at another point he was using a slide way 
up around the bridge; he often would hit notes behind the nut and let 'em 
ring out; and he played with the pickup selector as an on/off switch (while 
playing slide and with the whammy bar - you'd have to see him to know what 
I'm talking about!). All in all, he's easily the most innovative guitarist 
sonically I've seen at least since Adrian Belew, maybe even of all time (I 
never saw Hendrix). Just incredible! (BTW, he's a Harvard graduate, so he's 
sorta a local boy.)

To make the night's story complete - after the show was over, I was supposed 
to crash at my friend Steve's house. But at the show, he met some girl and 
took off on me, telling me to meet him at the Rat. Of course, when I get to 
the Rat at 1:00am, he's nowhere to be found, and I ended up having to stay 
in a hotel for the night. Argh!!! He's gonna pay for that!!!!  8^)

(Oh, by the way, I saw Paul McCarron and the show also! He said to say hi
 to everyone. He's doing good, although still looking for a job.)

alan

     
     I found that I liked the first 2 or 3 songs on each side, but the last
    few were really just rehash of the first.  Its ok though, nothing to
    rave about.  Bombtrack is good, so is the first song on the second side
    (track 6 for cd) great work, but if the rapper/singer actually sang
    half the lyrics it would go big time.
    
     (I'm not really a rap fan, but I bought it anyways to hear what it was
    like...)
    
    Ratt
    

    RATM roollZ!!

    
    	Well, I had to pick up this one after hearing a couple rave
    	reviews about it in here ... but I'm another "fence sitter".
    	Nothing incredible, but not horrible.
    
    	The rap vocals are kind of irritating, but the guitar work
    	IS the standout.  Not blazing, but "acrobatic", I like to
    	call it.  Lots of "tricks".
    
    	Can't wait to get the bass boxes in my car ... I have a feel-
    	ing this album will crank.
    
    							GTI
    

    
    
    I heard this CD.. The vocals ruined it for me also.. thought
    the material was crankin though!
    
    
    Wgundge-

    Is the whole thing rap vocals?

    >Is the whole thing rap vocals?
    
    I hope not ... while I don't mind soem rap, it has to have melody
    to the rap, like Arrested Development.  If it's just talking, it
    grates real quick!

> Is the whole thing rap vocals?

Sorta, yeah. It's rap vocals in the same way that Faith No More's "Epic"
has rap vocals, or B.A.D.'s "Bottom Line" (dance version) does. Take rap
vocals and then add on the anger of hardcore, and you get a better idea
of what it's like. It's a little more musical than standard rap, but not 
much more - definitely not a melodic as something like Arrested Development.

Have no fear though - it works really well with the music!

alan

    I don't mind FNM's rap style vocals... at least it changes after a
    while.  Like the "youuuu waaant it allll but you can't haaave it" part.
    
    
    

    
    Paul McCarron just called today and I brought up this band.  He says
    it's more of a hip-hop band than rock.  This right?  If so, I might
    actually like them.  I usually tend to stay away from things Alan and
    Bob like :').
    

    
    	After another listen, I thought "Beastie Boys" ... but then I
    	said "Nah, lower-pitched voice than that".  So the best I can
    	do is "DRI on qualudes".
    
    							GTI

     
     It's not hip-hop, and it IS all rap lyrics.
    
     The guitar is very heavy, and sounds awesome.  I still think if the
    lead "singer" actually sang a bit, maybe just the chorus this would be
    awesome.  I find you can't listen to the whole album at once, after the
    first 2 or 3 songs you get sick of it.
    
      This would be an ok album to record off someone for free hehehe...
    
    Ratt
    

The January copy of Musician Magazine gave the RATM album a *rave* review,
and also had a short story on the band.

The review said something like "This band mixes heavy metal and hip-hop so
seemlessly that crossover is no longer an issue." They also compared them
to the RHCP, basically saying that RATM blows them away. 

alan

>seemlessly that crossover is no longer an issue." They also compared them
>to the RHCP, basically saying that RATM blows them away. 

(Another great review for RATM! Buy this album!!!! - alan)


Rage Against The Machine: Honest - And Marketable
Boston Phoenix, January 29th, 1993
by Jon Garelick

My first nomination for band-to-watch in '93 is the rap-over-metal LA quartet 
Rage Against The Machine. They have the all-ages buzz, they have a killer
live show, and - surprise - the have a sense of musicality that easily a
but above your standard rap or metal outfits.

Buzz-band case in point: with only minimal touring behind them, Rage drew
about 500 of the 22-and-under set - baseball caps, baggy clothes, Doc Martens,
and all - to the Paradise on a Tuesday night (January 19). Often the Paradise
is a barren desert of a club for those early-in-the-week gigs by novice
major-label bands doing their maiden headlining tour. And Rage pulled that
crowd with virtually no radio play for the homonymously titled Epic debut,
and no major promotional tie-ins.

The band did not disappoint in their 60-minute set from the record. Frontman
Zack de la Rocha is a wiry figure draped in scarecrow bagginess with a short 
mop of dreadlocks. He stalked the stage delivering his anti-authoritarian
raps with stiff-backed intensity. Between songs, brushing the locks out of
his eyes, he revealed a delicately boned, gray-complecting face, his 
handsomeness recalling Bob Marley.

Key to the band's sound (aside from the tightly honed rhythm section of 
bassist Timmy C. and drummer Brad Wilk, and Tom Morello's virtuoso guitar)
is their overall song sense. Yes, there is the novelty of a band creating
hip-hop effects live - rap beats, turntable scratching sounds, miscellaneous
noises. But Rage know how to fashion those these effects, along with Morello's
endlessly inventive solos and comping, into clearly individuated pieces; it
ain't just the same all-out jam over and over again.

The band's dynamics, for instance, might build up from muted drums rolls
to unison sledgehammer beats, or from de la Rocha's nearly whispered 
invocation, "Anger is a gift", to a thrash-metal guitar rave-up. That makes
for songs rich in detail, for narrative shifts that are marked by new, 
surprising aural events. In the middle of an all-out thrash attack, Morello
will drift into a gentle, perfectly articulated Jerry Garcia modal improv
(giving you a whole new appreciation for the over-familiar Jerry). Or his
short, chunky wah-wah chords will suddenly open up to heavy-metal power
drives. Or he'll move from mimicking turntable scratching with slide and
his guitar's pick-up toggle to some delicately filigree'd harmonics.

None of these tricks would be so impressive if they weren't used to support
the songs, and the performance, as a whole. On one level, this means the
ever-satisfying dynamics of tension-and-release. But a tune like "Killing
In The Name" moves through a series of rhythm change-ups that explode mid-song
in a rhapsodic harmonic shift from Morello. Few bands in these days of
Helmet-like hammerhead monotony seem to realize that when you have a good
idea, it's not bad to *develop* it, or to lead the ear to a new place that
has a clear and clever relationship to a song's place of origin.

Live, de la Rocha likes to celebrate these epiphanies with two or three
long bunny hops across stage and then a heedless, breathtaking arch of a
backflip into the mosh pit. Despite the band's radio-wave invisibility,
the kids seem to know all the words; they tolerate de la Rocha's occasional
between-songs screeds against "capitalism" and are ecstatically happy to
join in on subtle hooks like "F*CK YOU - I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME! F*CK 
YOU - I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!" Metal and rap are today's underground
chart-toppers. Rage Against The Machine's synthesis is that rare combination:
musical honesty as well as marketable.

    Kerrang has an interview with these guys in, FWIW.

    I can`t find this CD nowhere.
    
    Has it been released in the UK,does anyone know?
    

    
    Pretty sure it has, check out the latest issue of Kerrang.

    This band were on a UK music/chat show called "the word".I thought they
    were ok.....vocals were quite repetative but the overall groove of the
    band was good.The audience was definately there to see them and went
    beserk.They played "kill in the name of........" complete with swear
    words!
    
    
                                                  staynz

    I saw the Word and thought the song wuz so good i bought the
    company,er,the CD.
    
    I haven`t heard it yet,so i can`t so if it`s good or bad or wot not.
    

    
    I saw them too and thought they were good up until they started to
    smash up their instruments and I fell off my chair laughing.
    
    -tony (1 album wonder)

    I disagree that they`re a 1 album wonder. I reckon they`re going to be
    very big (album has gone in at no 36). Very original guitar player n`all.
                                         

	Great album. *Essential* songs "Killing In The Name",
	"Take The Power Back".

	Ian.

     
     Best song IMHO is Know your Enemy .  All the others are fair.
    
    KRatt

    I heard another song called "bullet in the head"...and it sounded
    absolutely superb.I have to buy this cd!!
    
    
                                                 staynz

    Got this one today....excellent album.
    I saw them on The Word, and suddenly came out of my alcoholic coma when
    the guitar solo kicked in....nice to see some innovation....
    
    

I went to the Rage Against The Machine show last night. It was originally 
scheduled to be at the Channel, but since the Channel went bankrupt (again),
it was moved to the Boston Center For The Arts.

The BCFA might be a good place to see an art exhibit, but it is the worst 
venue for a rock that I've ever been to - the acoustics reminded me of the 
Cape Cod Coliseum, but even worse! (If you can believe that!) The vocals
and guitars were lost in the blur, and it was all just a wall of mush.
Totally disgusting and not even listenable. If I wasn't really familiar
with the music, I would have had a hard time telling one song from another.

It's too bad too, since the band looked like they were getting into it,
and the crowd was going absolutely nuts up front! Maybe it sounded good
up there, but I doubt (it sounded bad even when I watched from the sound
board!). 

Basically the same show as the Paradise, but they dropped "Know Your Enemy"
and the un-recorded "People", and added in "Freedom", which is the B-side
to "Bullet In Your Head".

alan

    >the acoustics reminded me of the Cape Cod Coliseum, but 
    >even worse! (If you can believe that!
    
    That place is STILL THERE??  Brrr!
    
    Guess I'm gonna have to catch Rage next time their around!
    jc

    I keep meaning to pick up the CD, but I always seem to be broke when I
    can find it, and when I have the money, I can't find the thing!
    
    I saw a few seconds on one of their performances followed by a few
    seconds of interview clip with a couple of the band members on MTV News
    last weekend.  Unfortunately, I pretty much missed what was happening
    due to external noise in the house, so I don't even know what it was
    about.  From the section of the program it was in, apparently they
    played at some big show in Florida last week.
    
    gh

    
    cape cod coll. is still there but used as a warehouse last i knew...
    last show i saw there was def leppard/krokus/gary moore
    

    
    WWWWHHHhhhoooowwWWWW......
    
    I saw R A T M last week on a festival in Holland. IT WAS
    YYYYyyyEEAAaaHHhhhh.
    
    On that festival also played The Black crowes, Lenny Kravits, Living
    colour, The red Devils, Teleni. Monster, New Model Army and some 
    local groups. This festival is called 'Pinkpop'. It was perfect.
    
    I want to say that ratm was completely the best performance, RELAXED!
    RATM played for about 1.5 hour and played every song that is on their
    CD and some unknow tracks. YYYyyyeeEEaaaAAAhhhhHHHHh.
    
    By , see you in another life, Pat from Holland.  

    I just bought this cd yesterday after hearing it on holiday(cheers
    Greg)
    
    
                                                ian

				RAGING GLORY
     Street smart Harvard grad Tom Morello's high tech tricks and angry
       licks fuel Rage Against The Machine's hip-hopping mad grooves.

By Jeff Kitts
GUITAR WORLD, July 1993

	If any band has a right to try and change the world, it's Rage Against 
The Machine. Unlike the majority of middle-class rock musicians who write 
lyrics about racial injustice, civil unrest, economic decline, media 
manipulation and other controversial subjects for the shock value, each member 
of the politically charged, Los Angeles-based Rage Against The Machine are
personally familiar with the unpleasant side of life. Sometimes *too* 
familiar, as 28-year-old guitarist Tom Morello will attest.
	"My mom is Irish and Italian, and my dad, who left when I was a year
old, is African", says Morello, a graduate of Harvard University. "I grew up
in a small suburb of Illinois, and some people there didn't like the fact that 
I was black and my mom was white. I got into a couple of fights at school, 
and one time I even found a noose hanging in my garage!"
	Such experiences fuel the hostile, almost violent mix of rock and 
hip-hop that Rage Against The Machine's quartet of angry men gear towards an 
entire *nation* of frustrated, rebellious adolescents.
	"There are a lot of angry, intelligent young people out there right 
now, and our music tries to articulate that sense of alienation and 
resentment", says Morello. "People leave our shows with more on their minds
than when they came in - they're even *more* pissed off."
	This summer, Rage Against The Machine will reach over one million 
disgruntled American youths when they join Alice In Chains, Fishbone, 
Arrested Development, Primus, Front 242 and Dinosaur Jr. on the third annual
Lollapalooza festival tour.
	"I appreciate everything that Lollapalooza tries to do", says Morello. 
"Every audience member gets to see seven or eight bands for around $3.00 per
band, plus sample some exotic foods and maybe expose themselves to some 
important political issues. It's great that any kid can be opened up to that 
kind of cultural diversity in one afternoon."
	Guitar World recently took advantage of a rare opportunity to speak
with Morello, an innovative player whose bizarre mix of fleet-fingered 
noodling, driving riffs and space-age sound effects have made Rage's 
self-titled debut one of this year's finest - and the guitarist one of the 
most exciting young rule-breakers in modern rock.
	"I can't express the things I have inside me with just a standard
blues scale", says Morello. "There's 18 years of suburban angst and alienation
inside me that sometimes can only be leaked out with a horrible, feedback-
screeching pterodactyl whoop."

GW: Nothing's exploding overnight, but things seem to be moving along quite
    nicely for the band. Is it all what you expected?
TM: To tell you the truth, we didn't expect things to be happening quite so
    quickly for us, although it is what we had *hoped* for. We want people 
    to discover Rage Against The Machine the same way we discovered Primus,
    Jane's Addiction and other bands that we like - by word of mouth from
    knowledgeable people, not from Kurt Loder.
GW: What about Rage Against The Machine do you think kids find so appealing?
TM: A lot of these kids, as well as ethnic minorities and women, have felt
    completely left-out and abandoned by their country over the past 12 years 
    that Reagan and Bush were in the White House. I just think there's a lot
    of dissatisfaction among young people today, and our music taps into that
    vein.
GW: How do your fans react to the band's political side?
TM: To tell you the truth, when we first got together, I thought that our
    political side would alienate the people who just got off on the music.
    But it's the complete opposite. I think it's because young people today
    are a lot more disenchanted than they were a few years ago, and they need
    music that speaks to them on that level.
GW: Times have changed.
TM: They sure have. In the late-Eighties, music and entertainment were 
    completely escapist in nature - like, get a six-pack on the weekend, and
    if you buy the right kind of acid-wash jeans, you'll get that beautiful
    girlfriend you see in the beer ads. But now, people are waking up to the
    fact that there is a lot of injustice in the world that needs to be 
    confronted. With our music, we hope to jar people out of their complacency 
    - and, to a certain extent, it seems to be working.
GW: Why does the band avoid the traditional methods of promotion - such as
    MTV videos, edited radio singles, even interviews?
TM: When a band starts doing things like that, they open themselves up to
    misconception. We know that what we're doing musically is very real, but 
    if all of a sudden it's blown up on the cover of Circus magazine or all
    over MTV, people might view us as just another flavor-of-the-month. 
    Actually, we have done a couple videos - but you'll never see them on MTV
    because there's a whole lot of cussing goin' on. [laughs] As far as 
    editing any of our tracks to get radio airplay goes, we feel there are two 
    kinds of bands: bands that do that, and bands that don't - and we don't
    want to be in the former category. The profanity in our lyrics is very 
    much an integral and effective part of our music, and editing songs for
    airplay just isn't what this band is about.
GW: But you are planning to do a video for the song "Bombtrack", correct?
TM: Yes. I really hate 99 percent of all MTV videos. MTV reaches about 40 or
    50 million homes, and all you in videos - and on most of television in
    general - is sexism, misogyny, homophobia and all kinds of misinformation.
    All we want to do is be able to open up some people's minds for four
    minutes or so. We plan on doing the most pissed-off video the MTV audience
    has ever seen, and hopefully we'll be able to puncture that fabric of
    misinformation that unfortunately exists.
GW: As the band's popularity increases, do you find that you *do* have to
    compromise a bit more, and maybe do things you don't necessarily feel are
    right for the band?
TM: Actually, as the pressures of greater exposure press in on the band, we've
    become more militant in our desire to maintain underground credibility.
    We're very sensitive to the fact that it's easy for any band with 
    underground roots to, all of a sudden, be uprooted by mainstream success
    and be ground up in the marketing machines. That goes for everything from
    doing videos and interviews right down to selling t-shirts - which are
    printed up by our 17-year-old friend, and we make 30 cents apiece on.
GW: Tell me more about your family history.
TM: Well, my parents met and got married while my mother was in Africa, 
    teaching history on a U.S. military base. It was during Kenya's 
    independence movement, and my father and his side of the family were
    involved in the Mau Mau insurrection against the British. My father was
    part of Kenya's first United Nations delegation. We haven't heard from
    him since he left us. I'm looking forward to touring Africa so I can 
    knock on his door and go "Hey dad - what's up? Here's a tape." [laughs]
GW: What was it like being raised by your Italian/Irish mother?
TM: Well, it was pretty interesting, to say the least. She grew up in a tiny
    town in central Illinois, where we moved to after my parents got divorced
    in New York. In 1965 or '66, when she was looking for a teaching job, this
    little town called Libertyville was the only town in the Chicago suburban
    area that would allow us, as an interracial mother and child, to live in
    the same community where she taught. Most schools said that, because of 
    me, she would have to live somewhere else is she wanted to teach there.
    So eventually she got a teaching job in Libertyville, and I spent 18
    years there. In fact, I was the first person of color to live in the
    community of Libertyville *ever*.
	When we started looking for apartments, the real estate agent had to 
    go door to door and ask the local residents if they would mind a one year
    old black child and his white mother lived in their community. Most people
    were cool with it; but some weren't. But overall, it was a pretty positive
    place to grow up.
GW: When did you start to play guitar?
TM: When I was 17, which was pretty late compared to the other guys in my high
    school; most of those guys could really shred before I had even learned a
    chord. In fact, I was in a punk rock band while I was in high school, even
    before I could play - the fact that I actually owned a guitar got me in
    the band. [laughs]
	I spent a ridiculous amount of time practicing during those first few
    years, including the time I went to Harvard University. It became an
    obsessive compulsive thing, where every day, without fail, I would 
    practice for two to four hours - even if I had a temperature of 102, an
    exam the next day and was studying until four in the morning, I'd practice
    until six a.m. After I graduated, I practiced for eight hours every day!
GW: What kind of things did you practice for so many hours?
TM: I broke it up into four two-hour slots, with a half-hour for lunch: two
    hours of pure technique, which was something I always felt I needed to 
    catch up on; two hours of theory, which I learned mainly from a brilliant
    book called The Guitar Handbook; two hours of songwriting: riffs, grooves,
    etc.; and two hours of play time, where I would play along with songs on
    the radio and work on creating real trippy noises and broadening that
    aspect of my playing.
GW: Do you practice differently today?
TM: Oh yeah. I used to feel that I improved when I practiced for long hours
    every day, but now I'd rather divert my energies to experimenting with the
    instrument. Instead of practicing scales for six hours, I'd rather just
    *look* at the guitar for ten minutes, pick it up and then try to, for 
    instance, play the same sound that a rhinoceros would make. [laughs] A lot
    of my practicing also happens while we're on stage, during the solo spots 
    - I'll often attempt to play something that I've never played before.
GW: Did you ever take lessons?
TM: I took two guitar, both of which were real disasters. When I was about
    13-years-old, I got my first guitar, a Kay, which I bought for $50 because
    it had the most knobs on it. [laughs] So I went down to the local guitar
    shop, plunked down my five bucks and told the guy I wanted to learn "Black
    Dog" and "Detroit Rock City". They guy told me, "No. Today we are going
    to learn how to tune the guitar." So I went home and practiced tuning. The
    next week I went back and plunked down another five bucks, and asked him
    to teach me those two songs. He said, "No. Today we're going to learn the
    C major scale." I turned around and walked out, and that was the last 
    guitar lesson I ever had. In fact, I didn't pick up the guitar again until
    four years later, when I heard a Sex Pistols album.
GW: Not many people, let alone rock guitarists, attend Harvard. What was
    that experience like?
TM: I majored in Social Studies, which encompasses economics, history, 
    political science, and graduated with honors in 1986. Like most people
    who attend Harvard that aren't super-rich, I went on a scholarship. One of
    the reasons I was able to go to Harvard was because if the school wants 
    you to attend, they make sure you're there, regardless of your financial
    situation.
	As much as Harvard is a great place to learn, it's also a big, evil
    corporation that does things like invest in companies doing business in
    South Africa. During my time there, I was involved in a lot of student
    protests, strikes, sit-ins and other things to change the school's 
    politics.
GW: After graduating from Harvard, you move to Los Angeles. Why?
TM: Well, while I was growing up, my only source of music information was
    reading Circus and Hit Parader, and I knew from those magazines that there
    was a large community of musicians in L.A. I was interested in doing 
    something that was both musically adept and politically conscious, and I
    figured that, since the pool of different musicians in L.A. was so large,
    I'd be more likely to find what I was looking for there than anywhere 
    else. [laughs] I moved to L.A. at the height of the glam scene, and the
    biggest bands in the area were Faster Pussycat, Jetboy, and Guns and 
    Roses.
	My first real experience in L.A. was pretty grim. The first time I
    flipped through one of the local music papers, I found an ad for a metal-
    type band looking for a guitarist. So I called the bass player and we
    agreed to exchange tapes. Ten minutes later, his manager called me and
    almost immediately asked how long my hair was. I told him it wasn't very
    long, and he then asked if it was at least shoulder length. When I said
    no, he asked if I was blond! He told me that the band was getting all
    this interest from record companies and publishing companies, and that
    they were looking for a very specific-looking type of player. And I was
    like, "But you've never heard me play - I could be the perfect guitarist
    for this band, and you don't even want to exchange tapes because my hair
    doesn't meet your requirements?" The he suggested that maybe I could get
    a wig, and then finally said that it probably wouldn't work out. [laughs]
GW: Zack [de la Rocha, vocals] is an incredibly intense performer. What were
    your first impressions of him?
TM: The first day that Zack came to jam with us, he was just this little guy
    with a cheap PA who came in and started rapping - and at that point I had
    no intention of being in a rock band with a singer who rapped. [laughs]
    But once I read his lyrics and heard him sing, I was so blown away that I
    knew Zack was the right guy.
GW: At what point did you start using the guitar in such an unorthodox manner 
    - creating unique sounds without fancy effects?
TM: It probably goes back to when I was in that first punk band in high 
    school. Like I said before, I barely knew how to play then, and my goal
    was to never learn anything from anybody. [laughs] And that sounds great
    in theory, but it made band rehearsals a real mess. So I started using
    all this horrible feedback and taking the neck of the guitar and bending
    it over my head and making all these weird noises. But that was punk, so 
    it was ok. I guess that was the seed of the whole thing, but then I got
    more into practicing Rhandy Rhodes and Eddie Van Halen scales and Jimmy
    Page licks. Only in last couple of years have I begun to find my own
    voice on the instrument, which is very different from the more traditional
    types of guitar playing.
GW: Two of your more intriguing solos appear on "Killing In The Name Of" and
    "Know Your Enemy". Tell me about them.
TM: For "Killing", I play a real simple Barnum & Bailey Circus kind of thing.
    I use a harmonizer pedal set a couple octaves up, and just play real fast,
    trill-picking blues scales that sounds like the attack of a hornets nest
    when you manipulate the pedal in a certain way. For "Enemy", I use a 
    harmonizer set to a fifth. Much of it's just random noodling, and the
    real staccato part at the end is just me flicking the toggle switch on 
    and off. I have one volume knob set to 10 and the other set to zero, and
    I just hammer the note with my left hand prior to the downbeat, so when I
    flick the switch on, the note is already going.
GW: What kind of gear do you use?
TM: Not too much, really. Just a 50-watt Marshall half-stack, a wah pedal for
    one song, a flanger pedal, an analog delay, a DOD EQ that I just for a 
    boost on the solos, and a harmonizer. I don't use any rack gear. My main
    guitar is an Eighties stock Telecaster with single-coil pickups. My other
    guitar is just a mutt I've assembled from parts of other guitars over the
    years; I've never really been happy with it.
GW: You seem to rely quite heavily on the Digitech Whammy Pedal.
TM: I use it because I have a great fear of expensive rack gear. [laughs] The
    harmonizer pedal works really well in conjunction with the non-traditional
    ways that I manipulate the guitar - like using hip-hop samples and
    industrial noises. The harmonizer has almost a cheezy sound - not like a
    big, expensive piece of gear. To me, it has a texture that you can't get
    with one of those Eventide harmonizers. Take Steve Vai: he uses some
    interesting harmonizer effects, but I think his sound is ultimately too
    processed and stale - my pedal sounds more like an Eventide harmonizer 
    for garage bands.

    yup,thats right.They played "bullet in the head" on Virgin 1215 with
    all the cuss words edited over...still good to  hear it though! 8)
    
    
                                                 ian

The Rage Against The Machine album is really starting to catch fire across
the country. In the latest Billboard, it's #3 on the Heatseekers chart (the
chart for bands that are up-and-coming). And the album is now charting on
the Top 200, moving from 178->145->121 with a bullet.... sales are now at
250,000 and steadily climbing.

I also read in Billboard that album is doing VERY well in Britain - it's
sold over 200,000 copies there, they've had two Top Thirty singles already,
and the album has been on the charts there since last November, currently
at #17.

alan

    Wot's "Virgin 1215?  I can't imagine that song without the profanity...

    re: Alan
    
    It's probably because of the exposure they're getting playing the
    Lollapalooza shows.  Seems like a lot of people hadn't heard of them. 
    I've read 2-3 recent LPZ reviews that said RATM was the big hit of the
    show!
    
    gh

    Greg....virgin 1215 is a radio station.The guy who owns it has a huge
    company called Virgin that started out as a small record label.Virgin
    is responsible for unleashing Tubular bells onto the public!
    
    
                                                 ian

    Ah, ok, the same fine folk that brought you Virgin Records, Virgin
    Airlines, etc...
    
    Didn't know they had a radio station too.
    
    Greg

    it only started a few months ago and I prefer it to the other big
    nationwide radio station.
    
    
                                                 ian

    Yes. 1215 is like a breath of fresh air. No rap,no reggae,no rave...
    just rock.
    
    

>    It's probably because of the exposure they're getting playing the
>    Lollapalooza shows.  Seems like a lot of people hadn't heard of them. 
>    I've read 2-3 recent LPZ reviews that said RATM was the big hit of the
>    show!

Yeah, the Lollapalooza stuff is definitely helping them. And I also have read
several reviews which called RATM the best act of the day. (In fact, now that
I think of it, I haven't read any that *didn't* call them the best band 
there....)

alan

RATM continues to grow in popularity. It's moved 121->111->103 on the 
Billboard charts, and looks like a sure bet to enter the Top 100 this
week. Also, it's now currently in its third week at #1 on the Heatseekers
chart.

(And all of this with NO airplay and NO video support! Amazing!!!)

alan

The RATM album is smoking! It moves up 30 places on the Billboard charts
last week, 104->74..... yowza!!!!

alan

This is interesting.... I heard "Killing In The Name Of" on WAAF last night,
but they mixed the vocals out of the ending. Although you can still hear it
in the background, if you listen close enough for it. 

alan

    Woah, bizarre.  Seems like it'd be hard to mask out that long series of
    chorus's toward the end.  "F**k" isn't radio friendly and seems like
    it'd lose it's groove without the vocal line.
    
    gh

    There is a cool article/interview with the guitarist from RATM in
    todays Boston Globe.

> There is a cool article/interview with the guitarist from RATM in
> todays Boston Globe.

Yeah, good article. It also mentioned that the album has already sold
800,000 copies. Yowza, that's a hell of a lot more than I ever expected
for this band!

alan

    Rest assured, after the current RATM tour, their debut album will go
    Platinum, I just know it!!  "Killing in the Name" keeps getting more 
    and more airplay -- I suspect the boys will be releasing a 2nd 
    'single' on the heels of KITN real soon...

Killing in the Name sounds like Living Colour combined with the Beastie
Boys.  I like the tune however...

    
    Yup, I like the Living Colour comparison most.  Not too say that RATM
    is derivative, just that if you like one, you'll probably like that 
    other.
    
    I like the song construction, most of the guitar, and definitely the
    intensity.  But that rap-like singing - it gets tired after a while.
    I found myself wishing he'd switch to some other form of singing (or
    that the song would go totally instrumental).  Would the singer sound
    like that if he wasn't trying?  He sounds like Chris Rock/Chris Farley
    imitating those rappers on SNL.  
    
    Overall, a recommendation, though...
    
    - Sean

    Several of you have mentioned a similarity to Living Colour and,
    frankly, well...I can't hear it at all.  I'm a big fan of both bands
    and listen to them both a lot and I don't know whatcha mean.  What part
    of this music makes you think of LC?
    
    gh

    
    Yeah, it's hard to say...  I tried to explain it by saying "if you like
    one, you'll like the other" since I realize the *sound* isn't exactly
    the same.
    
    But the *feel* is.  I get the same pumped up feeling from "Killing in the
    Name" as I did from "Cult of Personality."  And he same feeling of 
    originality.  Both bands were cutting edge and both had a wierd-you'd-
    almost-think-it-were-awkward-if-it-didn't-work-so-well type of guitar
    playing.  Both have lyrics related to current social events.  Both are
    rock, but with a funky undercurrent.
    
    - Sean

    Thanks for the explanation, Sean.  Not sure I agree, but at least now I
    understand what you're talking about.
    
    Greg

Went to the RATM show at Avalon the other night. Missed the first opening 
band, but caught most of Quicksand, who were pretty good. 

RATM played mostly the same set as the previous two times I saw them. But
there were a couple changes; they dropped "Settle For Nothing"; they added
in "Township Rebellion"; they did "People Of The South" again (an unreleased
song); and they had a 10-minute section where the band jammed a bit while
Zack read an Allen Ginsberg poem.

The band opened with "Bombtrack" and closed with "Bullet In The Head".

Overall, it was MUCH better than the show at Boston Center For The Arts,
but not quite as good as the Paradise. But that might just be because I
was right at the stage at the 'dise, while Avalon was so packed I ended
up staying towards the back all night.

It was cool to hear "Township Rebellion" - that's one of my favorite songs
on the album, and I was disappointed they didn't play it the last two times
I saw them.

alan

> A few more hundred time and I'll even know the name of the guy they're
> trying to get released from prison...  ;-)

Leonard Pelletier, or something close to that.  8^)

Actually, "Freedom" is my least favorite song on the album. I'm very surprised 
it's the next single, it's a bit rambling and doesn't hold together as well
as most of the album.

alan

    MTV is giving "Freedom" heavy rotation lately.  Seems like every 
    time I surf past (or stop) it's playing.  It's also part of an
    ad campaign promo-ing MTV.
    
    A few more hundred times and I'll even know the name of the guy they're
    trying to get released from prison...  ;-)

    I've always thought Freedom rooled!  Why'd they pick it for a single? 
    It's probably got less profanity they have to edit out then the rest...

> It's probably got less profanity they have to edit out then the rest...

Speaking of which, the video leaves the profanity in there, which I'm 
surprised to hear on MTV (especially in the afternoon, not just after 
midnight).

alan

    
    I didn't care too much for "Freedom" myself and am also surprised
    its the next single.  I'd have much rather seen "Take the Power Back"
    go next.  "Bullet in the Head" and "Know Your Enemy" are up there, too.
    
    How come they don't put the words to "Killing in the Name Of" on the
    lyric sheet?
    
    - Sean

>    How come they don't put the words to "Killing in the Name Of" on the
>    lyric sheet?
 
    We had a discussion about that awhile back.  Alan's explanation was the
    best I heard.  He said it was probably because the song is about
    racist cops and the album came out around the time the Body Count
    "Cop Killer" controversy was at it's peak and they didn't want to get
    in the midst of the frey.
    
    Greg

    
    Hello everybody out there ,
    
    I just read a couple of notes when I came across this one about one of
    my favorite bands . The RATM album is definitely one of the best albums
    I ever heard , and I'm not getting tired of it . But - it's about time
    for a new album I guess . 
    
    Did anybody hear about a new album ? I'm looking forward to new stuff
    from this kind of music . Also , are there any bands performing a
    comparative style ?
    
    When you are interested in other violent , fast-playing bands then have
    a look in notes 992-994 . 
    Thanx in advance for any hints , replies and comments,
    
    Peter

    MTV says their new video is on the way: BOMBTRACK.
    

    
    Anybody know anything about future CD's from these guys.  I'm getting
    impatient.  :^)

    new r.a.t.m. album will be out about late 95 earlie 96 
    
    
    max:_
    

    
    
    about bloody time too.One of the best bands of the 90's!
    
    
    						ian

    I hope it's not crap

    
    Should I own one of these CD's ??
    
    Buck?  Ian?
    

    
    	Picture, if you will, The Beastie Boys with more innovation.
    
    	They're excellent.
    
    	And they only have 1 album so far.
    

    
     I'd rather see the Jerky Boys instead !  ;')
    

    
    	You would.
    

    Yes, Coop -- they rock

    
    incredible band....innovative guitar playing with mega angry lyrics!It
    is awesome driving music.
    
    one of the best cd's I've bought in years!
    
    
    							ian

    If "Killing in the Name Of.." doesn't get you a speeding
    ticket.......NOTHING WILL!
    
    Paully

    Umm Umm- I *hate* the Beastie Boys...
    I *hate* RAP music.  
    
    RAP with more innovation could be my daughter with a pair of stix and
    an upside down coffee can...
    
    But Buck has yet to steer me wrong so I'll do a virtual set seen and 
    pretent Shawn didn't mention RAP.  :-)

I always think of Bob Mecier when I hear this band...

    
    
    I hate rap too but this is awesome!
    
    
    
    						ian

    I hate rap *TOO*, but RATM, as was said.... is awesome!
    
    When Faith No More mixed rap & metal, I thought it was "okay"... some
    of it anyway.  When Anthrax did it on a couple songs, again, it was
    "Okay".
    
    But when Rage Against The Machine does it, it rocks!
    

    If you're looking for rap just pick up Vince's new CD.
    Tracks 1 and 2 I believe.....Right BobbyT
    
    Paully
    

    -1
    
    HEY!  Discussing Vince Neil in the RATM note is against the rules!!!

    
    	Coop, I never said "rap", which I don't like, either.
    
    	They're a funky/alternative/hardcore mix, all in 1.
    
    
    	And the new Vince Neil IS NOT rap!!
    

    Okay - I stand corrected.  You said Beastie Boys.  BeastieBoys=rap.
    
    I recall writing (I use the term loosely) the MIDI Rack Puke Rap, and
    CJ whipped out a Beastie-Tape for me to hear...  Twas pure torture...
    
    
    

    yeah, coop, the beasties are rap, but they rock, too.

    
    	Coop, did you get this album yet?
    
    	If not, what are you waiting for?  Christmas??
    

    Yes.
    
    :-)

    
    	New song!!
    
    	Unfortunately, I only heard 1/2 of it, but it was unmistakeable.
    
    	Still waiting for an album, though.
    

    So Coop ...
    
    Enquiring minds wanna know what you thought of the RATM album?

    
    I think Coop is in Seattle this week.  Proportedly on business but I
    think he wanted to see what was left of the grunge scene.  :^)
    
    /jen

    
    	I think Jen meant "purportedly".
    
    	8^)
    

    at last a new album.
    
    
    					ian

    Is true - I WAS in Seattle - Home now, and off to Burbank Monday for
    an afternoon, then back here for a few days.  I'm a jet-setter.  ;-)
    
    Actually, I haven't purchased the RATM album yet...Perhaps today I'll
    swing over to Musicland and snarf it...I need some new toons.
    jc

    
    	"Know Your Enemy" has moved to the top of my "favorite RATM
    	song" list.
    

    
    
    Killing in the name of....is my fav.
    
    
    
    						Ian

    
    	If I'm reading the homepage correctly, "Evil Empire" is due out
    	in March.
    

    I know we're gettin' close...but does anyone know the exact release
    date for North America?
    
    	Better yet has anyone heard any of the tracks yet?
    
    Hopefully this new one will kick a$$ as good as the last one; I can't
    listen to it will drivin' cause it makes me to agressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    
    	"Bulls on Parade" has been played on the radio.
    
    	"Evil Empire" is due out next week or the week after.
    

RATM will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this Saturday...

Can't miss this one!

Ken

    
    	Did anyone see them on SNL last week?  I forgot all about it.
    
    
    	I picked up "Evil Empire" yesterday ... after 1 listen, I'm
    	having a hard time liking it, especially when comparing it to
    	the debut.  But I'll give it another chance.
    

    ..yeah, i saw 'em on SNL...they must have been boring...ian fell
    asleep during their number..........;")>......................../k

    ....IMO...they sounds better 'produced'..than they do 'live'.... their
    sound was really mushy on snl....but then again..come to think of it...
    almost evrey band sounds lousy on snl...anyway,..that was my take on
    it.......they bored me and i had to turn them off...and when i hear
    them on cd..they're anything but boring....go figure......

    
    	Some bands just don't have what it takes to convert a studio
    	performance to the stage, for whatever reason.  It doesn't
    	really matter much to me, though, since I rarely go out and
    	see a live show ... my $30 would be better spent on 2-3 CD's
    	that I can listen to over and over again, and know I'll like,
    	than on a band that's trying to emulate that preferred studio
    	sound and rarely does.
    
    	On the other hand, some bands are better live than studio.  I
    	think there's a note dedicated to just that subject, so I'll
    	avoid going into that subject here.
    

    
    I wait up for them on SNL and fell asleep 5 minutes before they played.
    
    
    
    
    							Ian

    ...bologna..or some other type of lunch meat....i woke you up several
    times during their performance and you said 'oh ok..and fell asleep
    again'........so apparently they didn't hold you enthrall......so
    i changed the channel.......:")..........

   Punk rockers RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE are raging against the producers of
   SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE after their controversial appearance as musical guests 
   on the comedy show last weekend. The socially conscious rockers hung the 
   American flag upside down on their amplifiers before performing their song 
   BULLS ON PARADE. But sources say that seconds before the band was to go on 
   air, the show's stage crew was instructed to rip the flags down. Producers 
   had earlier asked the group not to use the flags as part of their show. 
   Guitarist TOM MORELLO says the group hung the flags as a protest against 
   GENERAL ELECTRIC, parent company of Saturday Night Live's network NBC, and 
   guest host STEVE FORBES. The group were not allowed to perform the customary
   second song and were asked to leave the building by producer MARCI KLEIN. 
   Morello says, "Saturday Night Live censored Rage. We did the show because it
   was an excellent opportunity to put forward our opinions. Steve Forbes got 
   to ramble on and on about his flat tax in a non-comedic setting. But when it
   was time for us to make our rebuttal, they charged the stage." However, Klein
   claims the band didn't perform a second song because the show was running 
   long - and that the flags were banned to preserve the week-to-week look of 
   the set. Morello countered her statements, saying, "Saturday Night Live are 
   bootlickers of their corporate masters and it couldn't have been made more
   starkly clear by what happened." Well, isn't that special.

    
    	WAAF said that the RATM members attended the after-show party,
    	so if that's true then I'm sure there is no real hate going on
    	here.
    
    	And I heard they said a bad word [beginning with "F", and it's
    	not "fastidiously"] during "Bulls on Parade".
    

    
    re: -1
    
    see that, SueJ is afraid she can't spell either! :^)
    
    /j
    

    
    	But we like her anyways.
    

    8}

    	Re -1, its spelt Ate} or Eight}...
    
    Bobby T

    Well, I finally took y'alls advice and snatched up the 1st Rage Against
    The Machine CD.  I like it, but I'd say it's gonna take a few spins
    (ala db) to get to REALLY likin' it.  It's pretty "rap-y", and I wish
    the guitar player would stick to playing his incredible rhythm...I
    don't think I like his lead playing much, especially with that damned
    octave-pedal he can't stop stepping on...
    
    :-)

    
    	Has ANYONE else bought the new album?
    
    	What do you think?
    

    
    They're first is starting to really grow on me...
    
    I guess I'm like db, in that I have to hear it ten times
    before I start to like it.  :-)

    
    	I love the first CD, but I have only heard one song from the
    new one, and I've only heard it once. My first thought was, it sounds
    good, but the singing/talking didn't really fit in with the music...
    But then Again, I've only heard it once...
    
    	Bobby T

    	Before someone slays me...I know the title should be "those
    who DIED are justified"
    
    Bobby T

    
    >I guess I'm like db, in that I have to hear it ten times
    >before I start to like it.  :-)
    
    
    	Keep up the good work ... you're halfway there.  8^)
    
    	Sorry, Dave!!
    

    
    I just got the new one and so far I think I like the first one better.
    But like you guy's are saying I've only listened to it twice so I'll
    have to give it a few more listen's before I can say. Anyway It does
    sound very similar to the first one. What is the song that has been
    getting airplay?? I heard it a couple of time's but can't remember the
    name. I think it may have been a live version that's not on the
    album??? 
    
    Later,
    Jim

    
    	"Bulls on Parade", I believe.
    

    <-- That's the one.
    
    
    Mike
    

    The new album is *ok* -- need more listens for it to grow on me.
    
    I, personally, don't think it's a "heavy" as the 1st album -- 
    almost a bit more funky or what not.  Also, the guitarist
    does more "sounds" on this album and less heavy chunka-chunka
    stuff.

    
    	Yes ... I noticed that, too!!
    
    	Almost as if they got a bunch of feedback from fans that said
    	"love the guitar F/X, man!!" so they went overboard on this 1.
    

That seems to be what Coop said in .150 as well...

    
    RE: .159    "less heavy chunka-chunka stuff"
    
    gawd, I just love it when Buck talks technical! :^)

    
    	RE: Tim
    
    	Well, Coop was referring to the 1st album and I was referring
    	to the 2nd.
    
    	And there are all sorts of "tricks" they used on the 1st album
    	to get their guitar F/X, an octave pedal being only 1 of them.
    

    I bought the new album on monday.After one listen,it's ok...not as good
    as the first album.There are a few "stand out" tacks that are better
    than the single Bulls on Parade.
    
    
    I also bought the latest Rancid cd but never heard it yet!
    
    
    						Ian

    
    	Rancid has a new 1 out?  Or did you get "And Out Come the
    	Wolves"?
    

    
    I bought "...and out come the wolves".I'm not into rushing out and
    buying cd's as soon as they hit the shelves!
    
    
    					ian

    
    	Oh, OK .. now I understand.
    
    	"Maxwell Murder" is the highlight of that 1 ... check out the
    	bass solo at the end of the song!!
    

    
    I've only ever heard "Ruby Solo" and it was pretty cool!
    
    					Ian

    1-69

    O.k.  Everytime we are in the car Jeff has been subjecting my family to
    RAM.  I'm still waiting for it to grow on me!  I can't stand the
    vocals.  The music is great.  I just can't seem to "tune out" the rap
    vocals.  I like some rap, but IMHO I think metal and rap should not
    mix.  I don't know the name of the album we have.   I wonder if any of
    the others are better????

    
    	You have the self-titled debut, CJ.  There is only 1 other
    	release and it's not as good.
    
    	Keep listening ... it's an excellent album.  Try and concent-
    	rate on the instrumentation instead.
    
    	And the best example I have of a rap/metal mix is the self-
    	titled album by Body Count.  I'd suggest not playing it in
    	front of Jamie, because this album is a bit worse than RATM
    	for obscenity.
    

    
    Honest, GTI, I've tried to block out the rap....honest I have!  And I 
    even found myself liking some of the intros and stuff...but
    somehow...the constant RAPity RAP RAp RAP just spoils it for me.  
    
    I will someday give the other album a listen...but I am skeptical!
    
    /jen

    EPPERSON introduced me to these guys two days ago. Makes me tap my
    feet.

    I was the same way, but after forcing myself to listen to it a few
    million times, I really like it.  8)

    Pril are you saying I have to listen to it a few million times for it 
    to grow on me?  ;-)   aaahhh.

    
    	"Just victims of the in-house drive-by,
    	you say jump they say how high."
    

    CJ, yes and no.  It also took my friend Cherie constantly saying, "Hey,
    put in Rage!" and singing every song word for word.  I learned through
    osmosis how to enjoy it.
    
    "I gotta 9, a sign, a set and now I gotta name"

    
    CJ and /jen, I was the same exact way - look at my first review back
    in .90 of this note...
    
    After a bunch of listens this CD finally just clicked and I was no
    longer hearing it like rap singing.  Now its one of my favorite CD's.
    He raps better than Anthony Keidis anyway :^)
    
    I know what its like, though... there are still some voices I can never
    ever get used to:  Axel Rose's cat-screaming, that NIN guy's
    coma-talk-singing, Maria Carey, Robert Smith, Bruuuuuce....
    

    It's still the rhythm guitar work that I like.  It's different. I can't
    understand a word the singer is saying (just as well), but it seems
    to fit with their style.
    
    I already learned how to play "Bombtrack", just cuz I liked the
    Extreme-ish influence...  That tune's got a KICKIN' groove to it!
    

    
    
    
    Great album...
    
    Whit-

Hey I'm a new guy and like most top 40 bands will probably be a
one hit wonder. (leaving Aug.31) I just wanted to say RATM is definately
a groovin' band. About the new album, you love it or ya hate it, this
is the feeling I'm picking up. I think the band has "grown up a litte"
yet is still very much tied to there emotional roots. I being merely 20
can familiarize almost to a tee with this change. I love the drums,
the guitar is out of this world, the bass GROOVES, and RAP???? This is
IMO very far from RAP. Any idiot can make a rap tune, YO YO YO I got my GAT
IT GOES RAT A TAT TAT!! SEE!!=) If you haven't listen (RATM) and feel the emotion trapped on the CD Its amazing!!
Chris. (Quit it now!!)
[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]

	
	I personally feel the first album has a lot more emotion and a lot
	more character than the second "written for the record company to
	maintain our contract" album.

	"YO YO YO I got my GAT(??)" sounds a lot like 'rally round the family"  
        to me

	/Cap'n Quad

    re .182
    
    Hey, I'm outta here on the 30th.
    -ss

      I think the new Rage album is weak in comparison to thier debut.         
    But it still kicks ass.  The new album seems to be a little over
    produced (thanks to Brendon O`Brian).  I like the production last
    time by GGGarth (who did the new Melvins-which rocks).
      

    
    
    I think both albums kick major ass.. personally, I like the mix on the
    newest...
    
    Whit-

    re: .184
    
    We know, but Tim Fennell will still be here on the 1st!
    
    
    re: .186
    
    I think the new album is crap compared to the first, but, to 
    each their own.
    

    
    
    Do you mean crap as in the music or the production?
    
    I just think that both albums are pretty much on the same musical
    style.  But, the production on the 2nd sounds better at high volumes
    than the production on the 1st. 
    
    Whit-

    
    Production.  Yes, the 2nd album is more sparse, so it sounds better 
    cranked.  I will agree with you there.  It was just a bit too sparse
    for my tastes.

RE: .185  Now here is someone who knows what he is talking about!!
Um Capt'n The whole Rage Against the Machine "message" is sort of
against the "yo yo yo I got my gat" thing. SO I fail to see your point.
Rage always sounds good cranked. They may have lost the "raw" feeling
on the second album but go and see em' live. C-R-A-Z-Y.
I have a solution, go and buy the record, play frisbee with it for
awhile, run it over with your lawn mower, then play it, Wham, The raw
sound is right back in!!
Chris -it's-coming-back-around-again
[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]

    Rage Rulz.  They're coming to Dallas Sept. 21st and I'm there.

	RE-1

		My reply wasn't concerned with RATM's message, more the sound. 
IMHFO I related it to the overall musical quality, not message quality, of basic
hip hop with an edge.  It would take a complete moron to think that RATM's
message was violent more than Aunty Violent, problem is, there are a lot of
"morons" out there that can't tell the difference.  Listen to Public Enemy,
there message is non-violent also, but it is damn sure taken in a violent manner
by lot's of uninformed people.  I also feel that Public Enemy's second album was
the best, then it went down hill...the message didn;t change, just the quality
of the songwriting.

	 

True.
I get a kick out of the whole, I hear it on the album so now I'm
gonna go shoot someone, crowd. It's healthy to vent but if someone
has a one on one relationship with Lucifer then I think it's time
we go for a little vacation time at club-getsomefriggn'help.
Rage aren't advanced mucicians (I learned half of their songs in
one afternoon) but you can't deny from what little they know, a
powerful feeling is sent and besides it ROCKS SO HARD!!!
P.S. I don't mind power chords now and then (It's not Jimmy but it's ok)    Chris
[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]

    They sold out in Denver.