Friday July 23, 2010 will be a special event in the annals of musical performances. The Los Angeles based rock band, Rage Against The Machine (RATM) will be playing their hometown for the first time in 10 years.
RATM is known for supporting causes, exposing injustice and being a champion for the oppressed. The catalyst for this show is SB 1070, Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law. A law that if passed, will no doubt lead to racial profiling and unfairly target minorities, specifically Latinos.
To some people this is no big deal, but the fact of the matter is, that by default, it criminalizes a race. When we start targeting specific races we are in a dangerous territory. It can happen so easily and innocently. Soon we discover we have someone to blame, and someone to punish. Slowly a sentiment creeps in and we begin to view that group as less than, and at the darkest depths, inhuman. That is how easily a holocaust can occur. Like a cancer it can start out as just a tiny, isolated spot, lying dormant for months or maybe years, until it becomes aggressive, and metastasizes quickly…
RATM’s performance at the Palladium in Los Angeles will be epic. They definitely know how to put on a show. I saw them 2 years ago at Lollapalooza and it was amazing. Their performance was electrifying and properly known as “The Battle of Chicago”. There were well over 80,000 in festival attendance and reportedly barricades were stormed and hundreds more bum rushed the show.
My friends and I were about 50 yards away from the stage. There was a frenzied madness in every direction. The crowd surge was intense and mosh pits would explode sporadically, like a bomb, without notice. Bodies pressed together on all sides churning like a fierce and angry ocean. It was a sea of people, jumping in unison, singing along with Zack De La Rocha’s angry, lyrical rhetoric, while Tom Morello was working what can only be described as the darkest of mojo, on his guitar. All the while surrounded by a beautiful Chicago skyline.
We were young, unified, frustrated and angry. We had been lied to repeatedly. There were two ongoing wars with no end in sight. $5.00 per gallon of gas. There was government and corporate corruption at every corner, accompanied with an economy spiraling downward at almost free-fall speed. Rage’s incendiary performance was just a mirror reflecting the zeitgeist….and as a group we were emoting.
Unfortunately I can’t fly out to L.A. this Friday to experience the show at the Palladium. I will be there in spirit though. Standing in solidarity with my fist in the air, screaming: “Lights out…Gorilla radio…turn that shit up!”
In closing I will leave you with 3 thoughts:
1. Until we truly realize the divine spark within each of us, there will always be prejudice, inequality and bigotry.
2. As long as there are big profits to be made in war and chaos, we will always find an enemy.
3. When popular political platforms promote injustice, there must be voices of dissent.
Below I have put together a playlist that confronts injustice, intolerance and atrocity. Consider it a soundtrack for revolution and change. WARNING: Sensitive ears listen elsewhere, because “There’s no shelter if you’re lookin’ for shade…”
Testify – Rage Against The Machine
People of the Sun - Rage Against The Machine
Bulls on Parade - Rage Against The Machine
Ghost of Tom Joad (Bruce Springsteen Cover)- Rage Against The Machine
Calm Like A Bomb - Rage Against The Machine
Fight The Power – Public Enemy
Can’t Truss It – Public Enemy
Street Fighting Man – The Rolling Stones
For What Its Worth – Buffalo Springfield
Rockin’ In The Free World – Neil Young
Fuck Tha Police – N.W.A.
This Land Is Your Land – Woody Guthrie
What Did You Learn In School Today? – Pete Seeger
Alice’s Restaurant – Arlo Guthrie
Revolution – The Beatles
Redemption Song – Bob Marley
Rise Up – Cypress Hill (featuring Tom Morello)
Masters of War – Bob Dylan
Blowin’ In The Wind – Bob Dylan
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
No More – Eddie Vedder
Society- Eddie Vedder
Give Peace A Chance – John Lennon
Imagine – John Lennon
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