Rage Against the Machine Biography

Rage Against the Machine earned acclaim from disenfranchised fans (and not insignificant derision from critics) for their bombastic, fiercely polemical music, which brewed sloganeering leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, hip-hop, and thrash. Rage formed in Los Angeles in the early ’90s out of the wreckage of a number of local groups: vocalist Zack de la Rocha (the son of Chicano political artist Beto) emerged from the bands Headstance, Farside, and Inside Out; guitarist Tom Morello (the nephew of Jomo Kenyatta, the first Kenyan president) originated in Lock Up; and drummer Brad Wilk played with future Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Rounded out by bassist Tim Bob (aka Tim C., born Tim Commerford), a childhood friend of de la Rocha’s, Rage debuted in 1992 with a self-released, self-titled 12-song cassette featuring the song “Bullet in the Head,” which became a hit when reissued as a single later in the year.

The tape won the band a deal with Epic, and their leap to the majors did not go unnoticed by detractors, who questioned the revolutionary integrity of Rage Against the Machine’s decision to align itself with the label’s parent company, media behemoth Sony. Undeterred, the quartet emerged in late 1992 with their eponymous official debut, which scored the hits “Killing in the Name” and “Bombtrack.” After touring with Lollapalooza and declaring their support of groups like FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), Rock for Choice, and Refuse & Resist, Rage spent a reportedly tumultuous four years working on their follow-up; despite rumors of a breakup, they returned in 1996 with Evil Empire, which entered the U.S. album charts at number one and scored a hit single with “Bulls on Parade.” During 1997, the group joined forces with hip-hop supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan for a summer tour and remained active in support of various leftist political causes, including a controversial 1999 benefit concert for death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. The Battle of Los Angeles followed later in 1999, also debuting at number one and going double platinum by the following summer. In early 2000, de la Rocha announced plans for a solo project, and the band performed an incendiary show outside the Democratic National Convention in August. The following month, bassist Commerford was arrested for disorderly conduct at MTV’s Video Music Awards following his bizarre disruption of a Limp Bizkit acceptance speech, in which he climbed to the top of a 15-foot set piece and rocked back and forth.

Plans for a live album were announced shortly thereafter, but in October, de la Rocha abruptly announced his departure from the band, citing breakdowns in communication and group decision-making. Surprised but not angry, the remainder of Rage announced plans to continue with a new vocalist, while de la Rocha re-focused on his solo album, which was slated to include collaborations with acclaimed hip-hop artists including DJ Shadow and El-P of Company Flow. December 2000 saw the release of de la Rocha’s final studio effort with the band, the Rick Rubin-produced Renegades; it featured nearly a dozen covers of hip-hop, rock, and punk artists like EPMD, Bruce Springsteen, Devo, the Rolling Stones, the MC5, and more. By 2001, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford had formed Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, and the group released an eponymous album by the end of 2002. With a de la Rocha solo album still not announced, Epic finally released the long-promised concert album Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on CD and DVD in time for Christmas 2003. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

READY… AIM… FIRE!

I was bored at the office one gloomy afternoon. The boss was not around. I was supposed to be happy, what without a boss peering through your clutter and egging you on to be a workhorse. But it was quite the opposite.

My office mates and I were definitely left to our own devices, as workers in the government service are wont to find themselves indulged in when the mouse is away, so to speak. Oh well, even with the mouse around, we were still a sorry lot.

Most of my office mates were busy and quite enamored with a new, simple and easy PC game which has swept our office like a storm. It took a while before I got the hang of it, but when I was hooked, I enjoyed every bit of the game. Until the thrill wore off.

But when you find yourself most of the time within the confines of a cramped government office with all forms of pastime no longer offering cheap thrills, you will be forced to look for fun elsewhere. But of course without leaving the confines of your virtual prison cell.

One fateful day, I decided to look for fun somewhere. But a few smokes and chit chat with friends proved futile. Messing around with my phone was out of the question. Why? It’s not high-end or something to that effect. I found myself tinkering instead with my laptop. Oh well, there was nothing else to thinker with in the first place. Damn! It’s not that I had no pending work waiting to be accomplished. I just didn’t feel like working that day. Or maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me.

There was something else really that was bugging me. I was even thinking aloud whether I was the only one in a sorry state.

That fateful day was 4 February 2010. I was in anticipation of the release of the results of the 2009 bar exams. I was made to believe that 5 February 2010 was D-Day for all bar hopefuls. My sources told me that such an early release could be attributed to the fact that there were two examiners per subject. But alas, nothing came of it.

For some agonizing weeks, I tried to eke out a mundane existence. I shied away from anything connected with the bar exams.

Then March came. I started to have cold feet again. I was jittery most of the time. More rumors started to circulate. In wanting to be a part of the horde of bar hopefuls anxiously waiting for the release date of the 2009 bar exam results, I succumbed to the urge to surf the net. I’m not a net guy. Never was a techie. Someday maybe I’ll be. This urge to surf led me to phbar.org, a community of law students, law graduates, bar hopefuls and lawyers and poseurs alike. Although some were as anxious as I was and were sources of inspiration and hope, still, there were others who preferred to act strange, writing things with the sole purpose of making life miserable for me and a handful of other poor souls. But I refused to stand down.

ph.bar.org became the cure for my boredom. I found relief there, knowing that there are people who share the same sentiment, dreams, crazy random thoughts, and what-not. One other enticing thing which came out of falling for the web was blogging. Of course I wanted something free. And I wanted to stay nameless and faceless in the web. So it stands to reason why I chose wordpress.com over the popular facebook. Or maybe this is just a lame excuse for not having facebook at the office, which is one of those sites blocked by the IT Department. But a funny thing happened before anent this blocking thing being perpetrated by this department when for a time it denied us access to the website of the Supreme Court, which was mistaken for a dating website, I guess.

Today, I still am jittery, and anxiously waiting for the results of the 2009 bar exams. But I guess I am stronger now, knowing that there are still people out there who could make you look beyond the clutter of discombobulating interaction and there’s a forum for random thoughts.

I used to be a struggling writer during my college days. But to this day I still struggle with my writings. Maybe everything that I will be posting here will just be like scribblings on torn pages of of long forgotten journals. I guess this blog will only be littered with black and white prose and poetry and anything in between. Like what I said earlier, I’m not a techie. So everything in here will be very gloomy and boring. No photos, no comments, no followers, and what-not.

I have to stop writing now. I have to recollect my thoughts.

I plan to discuss in the near future my favorite law school subjects, novels, rock bands, popular TV series, etc.

And I plan to start a cult. And we shall be collectively known as DIAK AND THE BEANSTALKS.

Oh well, I must be dreaming. I am drowning in the false hope that someone gets dragged in here. Or that someone will be duped into following the drifter’s footsteps.