As you may have heard, this year’s Rock The Bells music fest will feature a reunited Rage Against The Machine as well as long-running, hip hop legends the Wu-Tang Clan. Tickets will go on sale on March 31st at 10am. The NYC date will take place on Saturday, July 28th at Randall’s Island.
If the double whammy of Rage and Wu-Tang wasn’t enough, you can expect a full lineup announcement on March 26th.
Rock the Bells 2007 info can be found here.
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
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.
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