Rage Against the Machine

The Tune for Today is:

Rage Against the Machine - Freedom 

ComeBring it on, bring it on now

Solo, I'm a soloist on a solo listAll live, never on a floppy diskInka, inka, bottle of inkPaintings of rebellionDrawn up by the thoughts I think

OhCome on, oh

You see a set up like a deck of cardsThey're sending us to early graves for all the diamondsThey use a pair of clubs to beat the spadesWith poetry I paint the pictures that hitMore like the murals that fitDon't turn away, get in front of it

Brotha, did you forget your name?Did you lose it on the wall playin' tic-tac-toe?Yo, check the diagonal, three brothers gone, come onDoesn't that make it three in a row?

Your anger is a giftYeah, yeah, yeah

Drop it

Sista, did you forget your name?Did you lose it on the wall playin' tic-tac-toe?Yo, check the diagonal, three million gone, come on'Cause you know they're counting backwards to zero

Environment, the environment exceeding on the levelOf our unconsciousnessFor example what does the billboard say?Come and play, come and play, forget about the movement

Forget about yourself'sForget about your cultureAnd forget about your history and just flyAnd just fly

Your anger is a giftYeah yeah

Bring that shit in

Freedom for the realFreedom for the realFreedom for the realFreedom for the realFreedom for the realFreedom for the real

Freedom, yeahFreedom, yeah rightYeah, freedom, yeah

Review by Eduardo Rivadavia (allmusic)

Probably the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal,Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut was groundbreaking enough when released in 1992, but many would argue that it has yet to be surpassed in terms of influence and sheer brilliance -- though countless bands have certainly tried. This is probably because the uniquely combustible creative relationship between guitar wizard Tom Morello and literate rebel vocalist Zack de la Rocha could only burn this bright, this once. While the former's roots in '80s heavy metal shredding gave rise to an inimitable array of six-string acrobatics and rhythmic special effects (few of which anyone else has managed to replicate), the latter delivered meaningful rhymes with an emotionally charged conviction that suburban white boys of the ensuing nu-metal generation could never hope to touch. As a result, syncopated slabs of hard rock insurrection like "Bombtrack," "Take the Power Back," and "Know Your Enemy" were as instantly unforgettable as they were astonishing. Yet even they paled in comparison to veritable clinics in the art of slowly mounting tension such as "Settle for Nothing," "Bullet in the Head," and the particularly venomous "Wake Up" (where Morello revises Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" riff for his own needs) -- all of which finally exploded with awesome power and fury. And even listeners who were unable (or unwilling) to fully process the band's unique clash of muscle and intellect were catered to, asRATM were able to convey their messages through stubborn repetition via the fundamental challenge of "Freedom" and their signature track, "Killing in the Name," which would become a rallying cry of disenfranchisement, thanks to its relentlessly rebellious mantra of "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" Ultimately, if there's any disappointment to be had with this near-perfect album, it's that it still towers above subsequent efforts as the unequivocal climax of Rage Against the Machine's vision. As such, it remains absolutely essential.

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