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Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

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Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#121

Post by nanidin »

soulofmischief wrote: post #68
beenBoutIT wrote: post #4

And then Rage Against the Machine's sound in the GTA San Andreas soundtrack changed everything again. Combining an open world game and a flight-simulator together with baked-in FM radio stations was literally the best thing to ever happen to gaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGuDj2oGLU

The San Andreas FM station wasn't baked in, unlike its predecessors. It featured dynamic playlists, randomized commercials, news and interview segments which reflected the progression of the game's arching plot and more. https://www.soundonsound.com/people/allan-walker-craig-conno... > In all the previous titles, each radio station was a loop of about an hour and a half with the adverts and the DJs all mixed in, so I…

To me, baked in means it is on the DVD and new content isn’t pulled from the internet. Dynamic selection of tracks and ads doesn’t seem to disqualify them from all being baked in.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#122

Post by 8bitsrule »

blindriver wrote: post #3

I've been a huge fan of RATM since the early 90s, but I don't think that "A brand new band mixing metal and hip hop like no one had done before" is quite true. My understanding is that the music scene in LA had a lot of bands like this. I believe the band Downset pre-dates them, and they had a big hit called "Anger". I only wish they had a bigger impact in politics. For all of their incredible songs, almost nothing c…

I'm sure that the band's impact was underreported in the US, where the debut album only charted at #45 (much higher in the UK and AU). 2nd album 'Evil Empire' debuted at US#1,, and did equally well internationally.

Its song 'Tire Me', sez Wikipedia, "never had a music video, was never released on any media formats, and had no radio airplay" (odd, no?), yet it won a Grammy in 1997. (This was 1996 ... little internet ... and yet word got around.)

I don't expect music to have much widespread political impact ... the impact is in deeper regions less open to media manipulation.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#123

Post by bnralt »

ThePinion wrote: post #17
blindriver wrote: post #3

I've been a huge fan of RATM since the early 90s, but I don't think that "A brand new band mixing metal and hip hop like no one had done before" is quite true. My understanding is that the music scene in LA had a lot of bands like this. I believe the band Downset pre-dates them, and they had a big hit called "Anger". I only wish they had a bigger impact in politics. For all of their incredible songs, almost nothing c…

These days they're doing what a lot of those 90s bands ended up doing: raging with the machine.

I mean, they never seemed to be particularly deep thinkers. Like many, it felt like they just adopted whatever positions were popular with those around them at the time, so the way they act now shouldn't come as a surprise.

RATM acting like Mumia Abu-Jamal was some sort of political prisoner was a good example of this. The guy saw his brother in an altercation with a police officer, ran over and shot the police officer dead. Rage praises him by name in at least two songs, calling him a rebel and talking about setting him free. It was a common sentiment in those circles at the time (Democracy Now! were big fans of Mumia, and you would hear "Free Mumia!" chants at marches against the Iraq war), and a lot of people just kind of mindlessly went along with it.

If you've ever watched Community, the character of Britta is similar. These people are "political," but it's mostly an aesthetic. And for all the talk of them being "radical," the positions are usually extremely safe ones to take for the circles they travel in. People put on a lot of bravado when they're going against the nameless "Machine," but most are too terrified to even entertain a stance that might alienate them from their peers.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#124

Post by pdonis »

blindriver wrote: post #3

I've been a huge fan of RATM since the early 90s, but I don't think that "A brand new band mixing metal and hip hop like no one had done before" is quite true. My understanding is that the music scene in LA had a lot of bands like this. I believe the band Downset pre-dates them, and they had a big hit called "Anger". I only wish they had a bigger impact in politics. For all of their incredible songs, almost nothing c…

> I only wish they had a bigger impact in politics.

They have--just not the impact I suspect you are thinking of.

The political impact of RATM and similar bands is to make "protesting against the system" into a brand. That means that people who feel that they should be protesting against the system don't think they have to do the hard work of figuring out what is actually wrong with the system and how to fix it. They just think, oh, if I want to protest against the system, all I need to do is listen to this band! And buy their T-shirts, promote them on social media, etc., etc. In other words, it satisfies people's felt need to "protest against the system" without actually leading to any meaningful change.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#126

Post by beenBoutIT »

poisonarena wrote: post #46
beenBoutIT wrote: post #4

And then Rage Against the Machine's sound in the GTA San Andreas soundtrack changed everything again. Combining an open world game and a flight-simulator together with baked-in FM radio stations was literally the best thing to ever happen to gaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGuDj2oGLU

>And then Rage Against the Machine's sound in the GTA San Andreas soundtrack changed everything again. GTA had radio stations even in the first isometric one and the three (or more?) after that, before San Andreas > literally the best thing to ever happen to gaming. its a nice gimmick but I think it isn't LITERALLY the best thing ever in gaming. lots of games have music, literally.

GTA SA has literally the best soundtrack ever made in any game at that point in time. Period.

It utilizes a complex system to keep repeat plays from ever becoming repetitive. No other game had anything like that then and very few, if any, non Rockstar games have anything like that now.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#127

Post by vondur »

apaprocki wrote: post #98
vondur wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Downset was heavily influenced by Zach’s old band Inside Out. I was in an old hardcore band from that era and know Ray and played with shows with Inside Out. Updated for autocorrected error.

Don’t get many opportunities in 2022 to tell the global Internet reading HN to go listen to Burning Fight and No Spiritual Surrender! What was your band?

We were called One Step Ahead.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#128

Post by beenBoutIT »

nanidin wrote: post #121
soulofmischief wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The San Andreas FM station wasn't baked in, unlike its predecessors. It featured dynamic playlists, randomized commercials, news and interview segments which reflected the progression of the game's arching plot and more. https://www.soundonsound.com/people/allan-walker-craig-conno... > In all the previous titles, each radio station was a loop of about an hour and a half with the adverts and the DJs all mixed in, so I…

To me, baked in means it is on the DVD and new content isn’t pulled from the internet. Dynamic selection of tracks and ads doesn’t seem to disqualify them from all being baked in.

Bingo. Offline gameplay that feels live and connected to the world inside the game.

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#129

Post by conductr »

nemo44x wrote: post #87
bheadmaster wrote: post #7

Funny how fame changes people. Started out as a gang of activists, rapping about social justice and all the equality stuff - ended up throwing tantrums for not receiving special treatment for being rock stars: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/tom_...

Yeah they turned into “I will do what you tell me” sort of thing. They became the machine. Sad.

"f u, you'll do what I tell you"

Re: Rage Against The Machine’s explosive debut album changed everything

#130

Post by fijiaarone »

Thlom wrote: post #22
blindriver wrote: post #3

I've been a huge fan of RATM since the early 90s, but I don't think that "A brand new band mixing metal and hip hop like no one had done before" is quite true. My understanding is that the music scene in LA had a lot of bands like this. I believe the band Downset pre-dates them, and they had a big hit called "Anger". I only wish they had a bigger impact in politics. For all of their incredible songs, almost nothing c…

They had a tremendous effect on many young peoples politics at the time. At least on my politics. That is much more than most political bands by a wide margin. Anyway, I don’t really think music can have a big effect on politics per se, but music can be important for political movements.

Rage Against the Machine is like the Kanye of the left.
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