Say what you want about Rage Against the Machine. Call them commercial hypocrites, Sony fakers, and a bunch of opportunists. Call their fans a bunch of drunken frat-boys.
That is fine. We all have our opinions, but reality comes calling when the New York Times, in yesterday's edition, entitles an article: "At Both Conventions, a Band Salutes Anarchy."
The article, if you hadn't guessed, is about recent shows in Denver and Minneapolis, and the fan reaction, as well as, and moreover, the police reaction, to the mere presence of the L.A. band members, who covered, on one of their four major albums, the Rolling Stones, "Street Fighting Man."
After breaking up in 2000, and regrouping last year, Rage is back. They still haven't put out a new album, but they do get themselves in trouble.
This from the article:
ST. PAUL — On Wednesday night, Republican delegates fresh off Gov. Sarah Palin’s vice presidential nomination speech at the Xcel Energy Center here formed a conga line of taxis, buses and private cars to Minneapolis, where post-convention parties were firing up. At almost the same time, a huge crowd was emptying out of the Target Center after a political show of a different sort — a concert by the band Rage Against the Machine.
A small fraction of those people, perhaps 200, decided to take over the intersection of First Avenue North and Seventh Street. Traffic snarled, and delegates watched in waiting traffic as riot-clad police pushed the spontaneous, vocal protest up Seventh Street. A delegate from Texas said, “Those guys, again?”
2 comments:
I am a biased opinion. I have listened to Rage since 1993, and for all their contradictions, I believe that within their limits, and using their limits, they have had, and still have the ability to organize people, fans, young people to question what is given, and spoon-fed as reality.
No question. Despite their flaws (as you mention) they still do a service to the nation and to music. Good post.
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