Many people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock. To help figure out which is which, here's "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al Shipley examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of rock and roll. This time around, he looks at new singles from Rage Against The Machine's frontman, a '90s one-hit wonder, and Metallica:
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Yesterday, a free Rage Against the Machine show outside of the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul that was scheduled to coincide with the Republican National Convention—which is taking place in that city—was shut down by local police, who claimed that the band couldn't play because it was going to take the stage too close to the show's 7 p.m. curfew, and besides, Zack de la Rocha and his pals didn't have the proper permits to perform, even though the rest of the festival apparently went on without incident. This year's RNC, like the ones in 2000 and 2004, has seen its share of protests and heavy-handedness on the part of law enforcement, so it probably isn't surprising that organizers of Ripple Effect, the festival where all this went down, are saying that state troopers tied up the band until it was too late for them to go on. After the jump, video of what happened after the mics were cut: de la Rocha led the 2,000-strong crowd in an a capella version of "Bulls On Parade," complete with simulated wah-wahs from the mouth of Tom Morello.
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Professional agitators Rage Against The Machine have already announced that they're playing a Minneapolis concert as the Republican National Convention takes place there next month, and today came an announcement that they'd be headlining an anti-war show in Denver that just happens to be timed so that it coincides with the Democratic National Convention. (The Coup and the whitey rappers Flobots are also on the bill.) Brooklyn Vegan's post of the show had the above screenshot of a page on the DNC site, and I like to think that it serves as a snapshot of how our country's future leaders want to change... the meanings of homophonic words. Sigh. Anyway, if you're going to be in the Denver area, info on the Rage show is after the jump.
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Rage Against The Machine's Lollapalooza set was marked by crowd surges, gate-crashers and fence-jumpers (as many as 2,000, according to some estimates), injuries, and Zack De La Rocha admonishing the hyperactive crowd to "save that shit for the streets." [Jim DeRogatis / Photo of crowd surge via Getty]
After spending the better part of a decade working on solo material after the break-up of Rage Against The Machine, Zack De La Rocha has not only announced a new project, One Day As A Lion, but a record label (Anti) and release date (July 22) for its EP. What does it sound like, you ask? "A defiant affirmation of the possibilities that exist in the space between kick and snare. It's a sonic reflection of the visceral tension between a picturesque fabricated cultural landscape, and the brutal socioeconomic realities it attempts to mask." That's what you always say, Zack. Still, less than a month before he more than doubles the amount of new music he's released since The Battle Of Los Angeles by putting out five whole songs! Nice! Judging by the two he's officially released so far, his standards are pretty high.
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Ghostface's cameo in Iron Man has been snipped from the final cut of the flick, which opens this Friday, but there's a new song of his, "Slept On Tony With Dirt," on the soundtrack. But while Ghost wound up on the cutting-room floor, the suits behind the movie thought that Tom Morrello was worthy of cameo time; his "olive skin and and Mediterranean-like features (he's actually of Kenyan/Irish descent) were evidently enough to get him cast as a member of the terrorist insurgents with Al-Qaeda like beard and all." Ooh, political! [The Playlist]
Oh yeah, with all the They Might Be Giants videos and rhinestones and my general Dante-from-Clerks attitude this week, I almost forgot to mention that Rage Against The Machine and Wilco have been added to the list of Bands That Might Be Playing Lollapalooza (But Maybe Not). Perez Hilton unavailable for comment at post time. (Give it a couple hours.) [Chicago Sun-Times via Blabbermouth
Tom Morello, lefty union fan and man who has made guitars go zeedle-eedle-eedle in Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, "serenaded an estimated 3,000 picketers involved in the Hollywood screenwriters strike who were massed outside Fox's Century City headquarters Friday morning," as "The Battle For Los Angeles" takes on strange new meanings. [Blabbermouth]
Breaking: At least one person out there thought that Ann Coulter's Flock Of Seagulls/Rage Against The Machine joke that came after Zach De La Rocha's Coachella proclamation that the Bush Administration should be tried for war crimes was "a good quip." [NYT]
- Rage Against the Machine will hit the road for three dates with the Wu-Tang Clan, a jaunt that could yield the most coconuts backstage-rider demands of all time. [LA Times]
Today's Wall Street Journal examines the concert industry's newfound love of reunion tours: With the number of reliable, big-ticket headliners dwindling, reformed acts stand to make a small fortune on the road (Van Halen, for example, is projected to generate sales of $34 million, which could make Woflgang the richest 15-year-old not overseeing a Middle Eastern emirate).
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A report appearing in Monday's Los Angeles Times says that Rage Against The Machine will reform for a one-off show at this spring's Coachella Valley Music Festival. Also headlining the three-day festival, according to the Times, are Björk and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; the official lineup announcement is expected tomorrow, and we're just hoping that the words "Limp" and "Bizkit" are nowhere to be seen in that press release.
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