Tom Morello: 'Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against'

[Sasha]

Tom Morello: 'Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against'

Rage Against the Machine's guitarist blasts Romney's VP pick and unlikely Rage fan
http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/tom-morello-paul-ryan-is-the-embodiment-of-the-machine-our-music-rages-against-20120816/1000x600/main.jpg
Tom Morello and Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

By Tom Morello (http://www.rollingstone.com/contributor/tom-morello)


August 16, 2012 6:44 PM ET



Last week, Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan, the Republican architect of Congress's radical right-wing budget plan, as his running mate. Ryan has previously cited (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/us/politics/family-faith-and-politics-describe-life-of-paul-ryan.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all) Rage Against the Machine as one of his favorite bands. Rage guitarist Tom Morello responds in this exclusive op-ed.
Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/rage-against-the-machine) is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades. Charles Manson loved the Beatles (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles) but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/bruce-springsteen) but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine.
Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.
I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "Fuck the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!
Don't mistake me, I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta "rage" in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment. Basically the only thing he's not raging against is the privileged elite he's groveling in front of for campaign contributions.
You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that "Those people are undeserving. They're . . . lesser." Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.
But Rage's music affects people in different ways. Some tune out what the band stands for and concentrate on the moshing and throwing elbows in the pit. For others, Rage has changed their minds and their lives. Many activists around the world, including organizers of the global occupy movement, were radicalized by Rage Against the Machine and work tirelessly for a more humane and just planet. Perhaps Paul Ryan was moshing when he should have been listening.
My hope is that maybe Paul Ryan is a mole. Maybe Rage did plant some sensible ideas in this extreme fringe right wing nut job. Maybe if elected, he'll pardon Leonard Peltier. Maybe he'll throw U.S. military support behind the Zapatistas. Maybe he'll fill Guantanamo Bay with the corporate criminals that are funding his campaign – and then torture them with Rage music 24/7. That's one possibility. But I'm not betting on it.


source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-morello-paul-ryan-is-the-embodiment-of-the-machine-our-music-rages-against-20120816#ixzz23pjgB5cb

[ВАЛТЕР]

They should make a song in response to Ryan's claim. Just outright shit on him. For the lulz.

[ed miliband]

i like when well-known, (musically) conservative bands get all pissy because a politician they don't like likes their music. members of the jam and the smiths responded similarly to david cameron saying he liked their music, "oh, he musn't understand us..." - what is there to not understand? rage against the machine might have some lyrics that read like a kid who has just discovered chomsky, but really it's just proto-nu-mental with horrible slap bass and too many effects pedals. i'm sure it's exactly the sorta shit someone like ryan could get down with.

if he came out claiming to like some anti-civ crust punk band from montana then fair enough. he likes rage against the machine though. not that surprsing.

[Comrades Unite!]

Just waiting for that comment calling RATM hypocrites for being signed to Sony.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Would've been better if he had said that his favorite band was the Anti Nowhere League or something.

[Regicollis]

Today most people see music as mere entertainment, devoid of any meaning or message. The bourgeois music industry has helped to push this development. Thus a crackpot libertarian like Ryan can combine his Ayn Rand-fueled hatred for working people with a taste for RATM.

[Positivist]

This article kicks ass.

[Ostrinski]

As Os Cangaceiros would say, ed miliband totally just sam b'd this thread.

[∞]

Well that is awkward.

[ed miliband]

As Os Cangaceiros would say, ed miliband totally just sam b'd this thread.

doesn't make it any less true

[Buttress]

Let us bask in ed miliband's clearly superior taste in music.

[ed miliband]

do you like rage against the machine? lol, you have the same music taste as paul ryan. must suck man.

[The Douche]

It pains me to know that anybody likes rage against the machine. Whats next on your playlist? Korn? Maybe some slipknot and limp bizkit? Sadly, there are probably lots of fans of theirs to on here.

[pluckedflowers]

It pains me to know that anybody likes rage against the machine. Whats next on your playlist? Korn? Maybe some slipknot and limp bizkit? Sadly, there are probably lots of fans of theirs to on here.

Do any of those other bands sing about expropriating the means of production?

[human strike]

Didn't feel there was any need to poo-poo moshing. :glare:

[The Douche]

Do any of those other bands sing about expropriating the means of production?

Who fucking cares?

[pluckedflowers]

Who fucking cares?

Presumably someone lecturing fellow leftists on their musical tastes would care about the difference between, "A thousand years they had the tools/We should be takin' 'em/Fuck tha G-ride I want the machines that are makin' em" and "I did it all for the nookie."

[The Douche]

Presumably someone lecturing fellow leftists on their musical tastes would care about the difference between, "A thousand years they had the tools/We should be takin' 'em/Fuck tha G-ride I want the machines that are makin' em" and "I did it all for the nookie."

Both of those lines sound equally dumb to me.

Also, I am not a leftist and anybody who is, is not my "fellow". ;)

[Lenina Rosenweg]

Why do people diss RATM? They helped bring revolutionary politics to a mass audience which is more than many socialist or anarchist organisations have been able to do. Okay, they haven't been as musically innovatice as they could have been, they're aren't Propagandhi or Fugazi, but on the other hand they aren't KORN or Limp Bizket either.

The MC 5 and, more non-politically, the Ramones, were basically 3 chord rock and no one dismisses them.

[Lynx]

Back to listening to The Donnas. Unless Ryan and Co. do too.

[ed miliband]

The MC 5 and, more non-politically, the Ramones, were basically 3 chord rock and no one dismisses them.


my musical criticism of rage against the machine isn't that they are "3 chord rock". i love 60s garage rock, rockabilly, punk; i'd be a hypocrite to have a problem with "3 chord rock".

rage against the machine are horrible "funk" (and i love funk, so it kills me to even mention it in relation to them) + horrible guitar wanking + horrible political "rapping". insulting to mention the ramones or mc5 in relation to them.

[jookyle]

Maybe Ryan is just really really good at entryism and this is a hint to us :rolleyes:

[Igor]

Blatantly political music is pretty without exception shit. Good music and good lyrics can have subtle political themes to them and it's all fine but if you have a song about "expropriating the means of production" I can't imagine it being anything but terribly corny.

[pluckedflowers]

Blatantly political music is pretty without exception shit. Good music and good lyrics can have subtle political themes to them and it's all fine but if you have a song about "expropriating the means of production" I can't imagine it being anything but terribly corny.

Personally, to borrow an example from Utah Phillips, I much prefer "Dump the Bosses Off Your back" to "How many seas must the white dove sail..." Lyrics don't always have to be fine poetry. Nor does political music have to be corny. Case in point:

pFl7f_Q3uKM

[ed miliband]

Personally, to borrow an example from Utah Phillips, I much prefer "Dump the Bosses Off Your back" to "How many seas must the white dove sail..." Lyrics don't always have to be fine poetry. Nor does political music have to be corny. Case in point:

pFl7f_Q3uKM

i think there's a difference between say, those old iww songs or black power funk and soul and the political sloganeering of bands like rage against the machine and a lot of political hip hop.

[#FF0000]

i still have a rage against the machine poster over my bed haha

[Ocean Seal]

doesn't make it any less true
Not that I'm quite a big fan, but I'm pretty sure RATM does make it pretty clear which side they're on in their lyrics. Although I guess some people don't listen to lyrics, but I think that they're important. RATM is political, can't get past that. I know that for you this is some big dickwaving contest so go ahead attract the attention of the "cool" leftists. For the rest of us, however, this is pretty funny.

[ed miliband]

Not that I'm quite a big fan, but I'm pretty sure RATM does make it pretty clear which side they're on in their lyrics. Although I guess some people don't listen to lyrics, but I think that they're important. RATM is political, can't get past that. I know that for you this is some big dickwaving contest so go ahead attract the attention of the "cool" leftists. For the rest of us, however, this is pretty funny.

i'm genuine in a) my dislike of ratm, and b) being bemused as to why it's difficult to imagine paul ryan liking their music, or why he must "not understand" them.

[RadioRaheem84]

This is so funny and typical of libertarian nut jobs that love liberal or leftist music or movies.

They always say that they don't care about their politics but just like their music.

That's insane! LOL. How do you separate Rage from their politics?

One libertarian nut job told me that Moon, the anti-corporate movie, was really an underhanded message against government which is represented by the corporation in the movie. :lol:

Libertarians change anything liberal or leftist to make it fit their anti-government/ anti- "Statist" views.

[∞]

Why do people diss RATM? They helped bring revolutionary politics to a mass audience which is more than many socialist or anarchist organisations have been able to do. Okay, they haven't been as musically innovatice as they could have been, they're aren't Propagandhi or Fugazi, but on the other hand they aren't KORN or Limp Bizket either.

The MC 5 and, more non-politically, the Ramones, were basically 3 chord rock and no one dismisses them.

Because the type of people who get politically influenced by music are not the type of people you want on your side to begin with.

[#FF0000]

music played a part in me getting into politics.

[ed miliband]

music played a part in me getting into politics.

same. fuckin' crass. then subhumans and zounds and amebix.

oh god.

[The Douche]

@ ed and #ff, it shows.:tt2:

[Invader Zim]

RATM are shite. Their music is shite, their lyrics are shite, and their politics are about as sophistcated as those of their (by-and-large) 13 year old fans.

That said I don't like Crass, Fugazi, etc. either. Sadly, for the most part, overty leftist music is pretty shitty, and often occupies the same level of unabashed, po-faced, self-reverential, preachy, srs bsns as the most clichéd christian rock. And most of it is about as banal in musical terms.

[bricolage]

fugazi is not 'overtly leftist music', at least not anything like ratm.

[#FF0000]

That said I don't like Crass, Fugazi, etc. either. Sadly, for the most part, overty leftist music is pretty shitty, and often occupies the same level of unabashed, po-faced, self-reverential, preachy, srs bsns as the most clichéd christian rock. And most of it is about as banal in musical terms.

wait what

[Althusser]

So... political music is corny? Give me a break. I see 5 fucking threads about Lil B, and the only one I see about Rage is just a bashfest against them.

[Sheepy]

do you like rage against the machine? lol, you have the same music taste as paul ryan. must suck man.
Oh grow up. There's a message here that you're obviously avoiding for your own ego boost of the day.

[Igor]

So... political music is corny? Give me a break. I see 5 fucking threads about Lil B, and the only one I see about Rage is just a bashfest against them.

Think what you want of Lil B but his lyrics aren't really in any way comparable to anything RATM does, so I really fail to see a point here man

[Jesus Saves Gretzky Scores]

i like when well-known, (musically) conservative bands get all pissy because a politician they don't like likes their music. members of the jam and the smiths responded similarly to david cameron saying he liked their music, "oh, he musn't understand us..." - what is there to not understand? rage against the machine might have some lyrics that read like a kid who has just discovered chomsky, but really it's just proto-nu-mental with horrible slap bass and too many effects pedals. i'm sure it's exactly the sorta shit someone like ryan could get down with.

if he came out claiming to like some anti-civ crust punk band from montana then fair enough. he likes rage against the machine though. not that surprsing.

I like to think of him being a crusty in his personal life. Wearing a dirty hat with a Doom patch on it, a bandana around the neck, pants nearly covered in patches.

[Fawkes]

I pretty much agree with Paul Ryan on this one -- I love Rage, but I completely tune out their shitty lyrics.

[∞]

So... political music is corny? Give me a break. I see 5 fucking threads about Lil B, and the only one I see about Rage is just a bashfest against them.

Taskforce reporting in, must protect Lil B at all costs. Eliminate (hammer and sickle).

[DasFapital]

I was hoping he had "Nazi White Trash" by Leftover Crack on his iPod

[kurr]

I'm laughing at the (paper) elitism of some of you in this thread and I shudder to think what the lot of this board considers to be "good lyrics".

[#FF0000]

I'm laughing at the (paper) elitism of some of you in this thread and I shudder to think what the lot of this board considers to be "good lyrics".

its certainly not hamfisted political sloganeering!

[fdfd]

its certainly not hamfisted political sloganeering!

Dude what are you talking about look at your signature! (Boots is great btw)

This RATM bashing seems to me like misbased musical wannabe elitism.

Yes, their lyrics are sloganeering! So were Woodie Guthrie's. What's the difference, that he didn't rap?

But there's much more than just sloganeering as exhibited in lyrics like these:
songmeanings.net/songs/view/294/ (Maria)
songmeanings.net/songs/view/292/ (Born of a Broken Man)
songmeanings.net/songs/view/293/ (Born As Ghosts)
songmeanings.net/songs/view/290/ (Calm Like a Bomb)

So if you're only aware of Killing in the Name, maybe don't call them "lyrics for 13y olds".
I'm not saying it's Linton Kwesi Johnson, but calling them childish is just plain wrong.

As for their musical ability and quality, I'm gonna go with the (professional or not) critical consensus here.
The comparison to bad nu metal bands is laughable.

[Igor]

not liking bands you like isn't elitism though. it's actually just not liking bands you like, i'm pretty sure there's nothing wannabe in most people's dislike of the band in this thread

[fdfd]

not liking bands you like isn't elitism though. it's actually just not liking bands you like, i'm pretty sure there's nothing wannabe in most people's dislike of the band in this thread

Maybe you should reread some of the comments like:
"It pains me to know that anybody likes rage against the machine. Whats next on your playlist? Korn? Maybe some slipknot and limp bizkit? Sadly, there are probably lots of fans of theirs to on here."

I have no problem with people not liking any band, but pretending that it is a common established rule that ratm are a shit band, looks like (failing) elitism to me.

[#FF0000]

Dude what are you talking about look at your signature! (Boots is great btw)

This RATM bashing seems to me like misbased musical wannabe elitism.

Yes, their lyrics are sloganeering! So were Woodie Guthrie's. What's the difference, that he didn't rap?

Nah I think political lyrics can be good but they often are not because they are blunt and the artist batters you over the head with them (which works sometimes maybe but not often). Boots Riley and Woodie Guthrie are just better writers, I think, than Zack de la Rocha.

That being said Rage isn't the worst thing ever. But the lyrics, generally, haven't held up very well over the years for me.

(The Nightwatchman and One Day as a Lion are pretty good though)

[Yuppie Grinder]

RATM's fanbase in my experience is comprised mostly of sexually-entitled pubescent boys who make liberal use of the word faggot.

[black magick hustla]

i listen to a lot of music with horrible political lyrics cuz i like some oi punk and some hardcore punk with corny ass lyrics but i dont really care about lyrics if i did i would read some poetry instead. i mean half of the music i listen 2 u cant understand wha tthe hell theyre screeching about

ps. fuck ratm and hamfisted numetal

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

I´m the opposite of Paul Ryan on this. I don´t think much of ratm´s lyrics but I think they are by far the best aspect of their music.

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

Would've been better if he had said that his favorite band was the Anti Nowhere League or something.

And he does his own versions at home..

'I hate gays, I like guns.
I like viscious pro-life scum, SO WHAT? SO WHAT?'

..that was cheap and half-assed, but you get the idea.
The more I read about this guy and see the grinning, teary-eyed idiots at their convention, makes me feel a bit queasy (sp?)

[#FF0000]

you better believe i am bumpin ratm at levels most ignorant right now

[Prometeo liberado]

It pains me to know that anybody likes rage against the machine. Whats next on your playlist? Korn? Maybe some slipknot and limp bizkit? Sadly, there are probably lots of fans of theirs to on here.

Enough already. We get it. You are the sole arbiter for what is "cool" and acceptable. Your the "edgy" non-leftist here on REVLEFT. We should all stop what we are doing and first check in with the high priest of hip because, after all, our musical taste pains him. So The Douche, aptly named(sometimes), must be our cultural Godfather. We get it already.:rolleyes:

[ed miliband]

it's funny, those people who are offended by ratm cynics are getting arsey about us being snobs or whatever, when they are the ones essentially saying people with certain political beliefs can't or shouldn't listen to certain artists music. bit snobby i think.

[Os Cangaceiros]

music played a part in me getting into politics.

I don't think there's any shame in that either, I mean, societal and cultural influences play a part in how we all see the world, I doubt many people here came across Marxism or communism because they were working on some awful assembly line, exclaimed "MAN I FEEL SO ALIENATED RIGHT NOW!", and had some bearded worker next to them stealthily pass across a copy of Das Kapital. "Read and learn, fellow proletarian!"

But yeah, I don't really like RATM. Mostly because Zach de la Rocha's voice irritates me. Plus I can just imagine him jumping around onstage with a giant Che banner in the background and handing out "A People's History of the United States" out after shows, lol. Although that's not to say I'm perfect about listening to bands without wonky politics...the Dead Kennedys are probably my favorite (non-contemporary) band, after all. But at least Jello Biafra approached politics with a healthy dose of nihilism*, not righteous indignation. Can't maintain an air of cool detachment when you're righteously indignent all the time. :closedeyes:

*I don't really like the DK's "serious" political songs like a couple of the ones on Frankenchrist...I prefer the ones where they talk about bombing country clubs with poison gas, taking hallucinogens and burning down mansions, etc.

[PetyaRostov]

Just waiting for that comment calling RATM hypocrites for being signed to Sony.
Tom's just trying to unionize other artists signed to the label man. taking down the system from the inside! (he's a Wobbly)

[∞]

Lil B added me as a friend on Facebook...that is all.

[The Douche]

Enough already. We get it. You are the sole arbiter for what is "cool" and acceptable. Your the "edgy" non-leftist here on REVLEFT. We should all stop what we are doing and first check in with the high priest of hip because, after all, our musical taste pains him. So The Douche, aptly named(sometimes), must be our cultural Godfather. We get it already.:rolleyes:

Why are you so mad that I'm cooler than you? Stick to picking on PSLers, its fun when you do that.

[Pirate Utopian]

I'd like to chime in, I too think RATM sucks.

[PetyaRostov]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_deemed_inappropriate_by_Clear_Channe l_following_the_September_11,_2001_attacks
also, im not really a huge Rage fan but this fascinating
Rage Against the Maching - All songs by Rage Against the Machine

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

This thread is nothing but lolz, seriously.

Music and music appreciation is subjective, which is to say, there is a very good possibly all the "cool," and "real," radical punk or whatever bands people here love I think is shit and vice versa. Not to mention, the article is even more hilarious. Regardless if you like RATM or not, they still have a positive message in terms of radical politics and also made this Ryan guy look like a complete ass.

[The Douche]

This thread is nothing but lolz, seriously.

Music and music appreciation is subjective, which is to say, there is a very good possibly all the "cool," and "real," radical punk or whatever bands people here love I think is shit and vice versa. Not to mention, the article is even more hilarious. Regardless if you like RATM or not, they still have a positive message in terms of radical politics and also made this Ryan guy look like a complete ass.

No, only the music I like is good.

[Doflamingo]

I like RATM's first album, but if I wanted to listen to leftist music I'd just listen to folk punk, crust, or d-beat.

[∞]

Why they gotta rage so much? I gotta raging boner, but I don't make a song about it. Shits corny yo.