Rage Against the Machine is the best example of a band in the musical industry acting subversively. I cannot think of any band that has achieved their level of success by having their entire catalog of songs dedicated to advocating acting subversive against whatever cause they felt necessary to draw listener’s attention towards. Their name even provides a straightforward metaphor that is easy to decipher, machine can be interpreted as meaning a topic they often criticize, government.

Zack de la Rocha, Rage Against the Machine’s front man, has never been shy when discussing subjects most mainstream music tends to avoid because it could been seen as offensive and hurt their reputation. Rather he has embraced the activist role that comes along with the topics the band covers in their songs. Rage Against the Machine’s unique blend of rock and hip-hop (known as rap metal) elements are also another way that they act subversively within the music industry, because traditionally those two genres did not coexist with each other. Zack has even testified in front of a United Nations committee about the content of their song “Voice of the Voiceless”, which was about a possible mishandling of a prosecution of a Black Panther. The fact that a singer for a band was called for questioning in front of an organization that represents over a hundred nations from all over the world shows the reach that their music was, and in some ways still is, able to achieve.

The band’s lead single of their self-titled debut album, “Killing in the Name”, was in response to an event Madison mentioned in her blog post as well, the Rodney King beating. Because they are from Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine decided that the perfect way to start their career was to release a song that condemned their actions that day, as well as all abuses of power by those with a badge. While a little less controversial than N.W.A.’s insight on the matter, Rage Against the Machine’s single was successful in its own right, as that song is the one people who are not familiar with their music have most certainly heard, with over 82 million streams on Spotify currently. In addition to protesting police brutality, it also called attention to the racism that appeared to be present in various different positions of power: police and politicians alike. The lyrics, “some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses”, are repeated several times. These lyrics do not try to conceal their message at all, and it is this sort of bluntness that Rage Against the Machine is known for now. The hook for the song also later calls these forces the “chosen whites” clearly a sarcastic comment meant to make listener’s realize how insane some of the comments being made in support of the police’s actions were because a rational response when hearing that phrase is to be shocked and then ponder what Zack is actually meaning when he said those words. On a side note about this event, the band later decided to cover N.W.A.’s take on the Rodney King incident and release it, to further relate this to Madison’s post.

There are several other really well known songs by Rage Against the Machine that are just as effective at drawing attention to the different causes they are about, showcasing their special talent of creating hit music that can get major air play while talking about very controversial topics on the very far left of the political spectrum. Because this band is the quintessential “fight against the establishment” band I would argue that their subversive music was very effective at it’s goal because they got a world wide audience to listen to their songs about subject matter they felt was important to start a discussion about.

 

(note that this song/video was released before 9/11 and the Iraq War)