When I first heard that Rage Against the Machine would be reuniting to play this year’s Coachella (as opposed to Smashing Pumpkins and, luckily, The Police), it made perfect sense to me. Like Matt, Rage Against the Machine were one of the first bands I really got into. What I was most drawn to at first was the fact that they were the first rock band I had heard of to have a Hispanic front man (and an insanely gifted black guitarist), something pretty much unseen in the predominantly white rock culture of MTV back in the 90’s. Granted, my 12 year old brain didn’t quite grasp everything Zack De La Rocha was preaching through my headphones, RATM still hit me in a profound way (note: profound in a retrospective sense. I’m sure I appreciated the “fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” more than any cultural impact they may have had on me). However, it wasn’t until I started becoming more aware of the world in a political and social sense that I truly began to realize the brilliance of Rage. And while I eventually sold or gave away most of my old metal records (who knows where my Metallica and Sepultura records rest now?), I always knew I wanted to keep all 3 Rage records in my collection.

Something I recently discussed with Elona was how we both have learned more from our favorite cd’s than we ever have from going to class. Well, although I may not be running through Mexico with the Zapatistas, Zack De La Rocha definitely taught me to start questioning things around me; from teachers to politicians to all sorts of things we are told to accept from childbirth. I won’t get into any personal beliefs of mine here, but I have to acknowledge the band for having opened my eyes to a lot of bullshit.

Now, keep in mind that, with the exception of the first 3 or so years I was into them, Rage Against the Machine have been disbanded my entire post-Junior High School life.

And Audioslave sucks.

So now it’s been announced that Zack, Tom, Tim, and Brad will reunite for at Coachella, and I’ve just spent the last few hours reacquainting myself with their music. A few things I’ve come to conclude:
1. Rage were, without a doubt, the only political band that’s mattered in the past 20, maybe even 30, years. Any other band that’s come out (possibly with the exception of Radiohead) with any political inclinations whatsoever (and sadly, there’s been only a handful) have had little, if any, credibility whatsoever. Green Day may have sold millions of their last pile of shit, but I’m still not buying it.
2. Not only do Rage’s songs stand well against the test of time, they sound even better and more relevant now. Don’t believe me? Listen to “Take the Power Back” off their first record, or “Testify” from The Battle of Los Angeles. I’m having more trouble narrowing this list down than filling it up.
3. Rage’s reunion is more a sign of hope than anything. There’s a lot of unrest in this country with little done in response. Who better to voice this anger than a band who once claimed ignorance, hypocrisy, conformity and submission as part of the American Dream? Yet, already this month we’ve had announcements of both a woman and a black man running for president in 2008. The band is reuniting at a pivotal point in American History.

Having been to Coachella previously, I can say that it’s a ton of fun and a great environment filled with great music. Coachella also has tons of other great bands playing this year, such as Explosions in the Sky, Bjork, Sonic Youth and others, but none as monumental as Rage Against the Machine. Welcome back guys, even though you never really left.

Testify-Rage Against the Machine

Tags: Coachella, Rage Against the Machine, video by Matthew
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Extinguishing the whirlwind storm of rumors circling around, it was announced officially by Billboard, that Rage Against The Machine will be reuniting to play a set at this year’s Coachella. The performance will be the first time the band has shared a stage together since 2000, when frontman Zach de la Rocha left the band.

According to “sources,” the performance will be a one-off but seeing how the former bandmates apparently get along fairly well these days, a reunion tour doesn’t seem like a stretch.

RATM was one of the first band’s I REALLY became obsessed with (they were also my first concert). I hope this is the beginning to a full-blown reunion where the band stops covering their former group’s material with that “super”-group crapshoot known as Audioslave and actually plays them in the proper setting, together.

Along with RATM, the festival will also feature Bjork, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, The Roots, Air and a (rumored) performance from another reunited heavyweight; The Police. It will take place on April 27th to the 29th.

You can check out the story here

Tags: Coachella, Rage Against the Machine by Matthew
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As you may have heard Jawbox leader J. Robbins’ son Cullum was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) last year. A wave of support has been flying in from all directions and next Friday, Ted Leo will be showing his support at a benefit show at the Northsix.

Callum Robbins Benefit Show-Friday, 01/26/2007
Ted Leo (solo)
Medications
The Forms
Last Letters
DOORS: 8pm SHOW: 9pm

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here

And if you can make it out to the show, you can donate to the fund here. Please show your support.

Tags: Callum Robbins, Ted Leo, shows by Matthew
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A few months ago, I posted a somewhat harsh critique of the first night of the Bad Brains stint at the ill-fated (and pratically forgotten now) CBGBs. The legendary Bad Brains are, with out a doubt, on the level of The Clash in terms of influence. The band revolutionized punk rock and their impact on alternative music is undoubtedly felt today. I know all about how unpredictable HR has been over the last ten plus years, but I felt the first night showed how the band may be dangerously close to approaching novelty. Maybe the band doesn’t give a fuck about this. Regardless, they have all the right in the World not to give a fuck.

Despite of or maybe in reaction to some of these feelings regarding the situation, bassist Darryl Jenifer took the time to send me an e-mail to address my concerns. Shocking, no doubt, but immediately the only thing I thought of was how I should get a few questions together and get the story for the source himself. A few months later, I was able to get a few questions e-mailed over to the man himself.

It’s now 2007 and the band is planning on releasing their first proper album (with HR involved atleast) in twelve years, Build A Nation. With American Hardcore telling the story of just how important this band is to punk, hardcore and the entire musical landscape, the time is right for the band to make some noise. Granted, they will never be the same youthful bunch of punks that everyone has seen in countless videos and documentaries, but their unpredictable nature has got to count for something. If there is one thing that can be said about these legends, they refuse to become idle and predictable.

How is everything coming along with Build A Nation?
The record has finally found a home and is due for a Spring ‘07 release on Megaforce Records. The writing and recording process went well.

[Read more →]

Tags: Bad Brains, Interview by Matthew
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And I’ll tell you why.

When I say “taste” what I really mean is “appreciation.” Appreciation implies a true desire to delve into all realms of music regardless of pretense and develop a breadth of knowledge that allows the individual to truly seperate the standards and the essentials to the forgetables and commonplace.

Rappers have that appreciation, more so than any other musician. On top of that, when Rap is done right, it is awesome. Fucking awesome.

Of course, the response to this is: rappers are not musicians because they 1) don’t play instruments and 2) sample music (and of course when this defense is uttered, it is said smugly in the most perjorative tone).

With that said, how can they POSSIBLY have any sort of good taste in music let alone create it?

Let us disprove both arguements, since they can be easily disproven:

Generalization number 1) is off because you don’t have to play an instrument to be musically inclined and thinking other-wise is incredibly narrow-minded. When mixing any sort of song or flowing over any beat you have to have a sense of key, a sense of tempo, a sense of dynamics, a sense of melody and a sense of rhythm. How people assume rappers aren’t aware of those elements in music is beyond me.

When Kool DJ Herc began mixing and isolating beats from the most danceable parts of songs he didn’t sample disco which, although was the popular genre of music at the time, is arguably one of the worst genres of music, ever. He sampled from James Brown, Mandrill and The Jimmy Castor Bunch.

Those three groups/artists, especially James Brown, have produced classic music. Kool DJ Herc when mixing had the intuition and discernment to choose great music, with awesomely memorable sections, to make another form of eventual classic music.

The fact is, for Kool DJ Herc to have been able to have spin James Brown is that he had to have a deep appreciation and knowledge of music. Moreover, he also had the ability to construct and re-interpret the songs into a new and distinguishable sound.

This trend in rap has not ended with him. Three 6 Mafia has sampled from Willie Hutch and Curtis Mayfield. DJ Premier of Gang Starr has sampled from Miles Davis and Charle Parker. The Fugees have sampled from the Delfonics and Roberta Flack. Of course, those impecible choices in music is not limited to those aforementioned artists.

Now, does this necessarily mean because rappers sample great music, the songs they produce are always good? Of course not. The success in sampling is having the musical inclination to take the sample and make it sound new and unfamiliar. Every great band or musician from any genre of music is memorable because they take the basic elements of that genre and alter in it a new and indistinguishable sound. Great rap succeeds because it does not make it obvious that the song is sampled.

Generalization 2) is more of the battle cry individuals use to discredit sampling and at first glance it is very believeable. But before you jump to any silly conclusions think of this example:

You might be familiar with the artist Joseph Cornell, if not Google him. He’s great. He lived in Jamaica, QNS most of his life and is famously known for his “Cornell Boxes.” They consisted of boxes he would either find or construct and then would place found items, which he usually amassed while taking daily walks, in the box to create a landscape, or a world, where each item represents a idea or value different from what it originally represented.

Now, Joseph Cornell’s Boxes are considered art. What I ask you now is, doesn’t Rap do the same thing except in sound form? Rap takes found items, in this case samples, places it in a new context and the framework or “Box” is the flow that the rapper provides over the beat. They do not use the same chorus or verses that the original song had, but they use their own. In nerd terms, the artist, this case the rapper, defamiliarizes the original sample and makes it their own by manipulating it, either adding or minimalizing the beat, and through that process creating a new and unique sound that gives them the venue to express themselves in poetry, or “flow-etry” as Pusha T from Clipse insists.

You may still be resistant and that’s understandable. But let me leave you with this. With rock or punk bands that you haven’t heard before, but your friend has you might ask, “what do they sound like?” and they might reply,”they’re kinda like the Dead Boys with some Spacemen 3 elements” and already you have some sort of idea of what they might sound like.

With rap though, you don’t have the ability to be able to do that. If someone asks, “What does the Wu-Tang Clan sound like” it’s difficult. Sure you can say they sample from martial art films and classic soul, but does it necessarily sound like one or the other? It is a fusion of the two which in essence creates a new and at times indescribable sound. No one sounds like the Wu-Tang Clan, just as no one sounds like Gang Starr, just as no one sounds like The Coup and so on and so on.

What we want to avoid is the response “All Rap sounds the same.” It essentially tells me, “Hey, I don’t enjoy music as much as I claim I do. Therefore, I am a liar.” I don’t mean to use such a heavy exaggeration, but if someone said to you, “All *Your Favorite Genre* sounds the same” you would be offended and immediately dismiss the person, right? That type of resistance only comes from conscientious ignorance. And I’m not saying you have to LOVE Rap. But if you are going to choose to not like it, at least be well-versed and convincing in why not.

With that said, I simply ask of you kind reader, the next time you hear a Rap song or music from a genre you may not be crazy about like Metal or Country or Pop, don’t immediately dismiss it. Appreciate it. Or at the very least, give it three to five minutes, or however long it is, of your time. Develop your own unique taste where you are able to defend your favorite, and least favorite, bands and artists without resorting to the “just because” defense.

And who knows, when all is said and done you might come out with a very rewarding listening experience.

Tags: essay, rap by Matthew
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