Who would’ve thought that Rage Against the Machine would turn into one of the most influential bands of modern times? But their aggressive, political rock manifestos have, arguably, never had more followers than they do today. That’s a perfect occasion to discuss “Guerilla Radio,” one of the greatest alternative songs of the 1990s, and arguably one of RATM’s catchiest and most innovative songs.
Just what is the guerrilla radio, and why’s Ernesto Che Guevara pictured behind the band in the video? And why did the band never make another original set of songs after this? Here I am trying to answer these questions.
Rage Against the Machine’s Journey to Making “Guerrilla Radio”
Rage Against the Machine’s activist punk-rockers must’ve met at a political rally, right? Well, not exactly.
While it’s not to say that the band’s message was contrived, it was singer Zack de la Rocha, who’d been in bands like hardcore legends Inside Out, who was the most politically active. The singer is also notable for being the son of noted Chicano artist Robert de la Rocha.
Virtuoso guitarist Tom Morello, meanwhile, had been playing other heavy-metal adjacent L.A. bands, as had drummer Brad Wilk. Bassist Tim Commerford was a relatively new player, but already a skilled one.
A 12-cassette demo got novices Rage Against the Machine involved in a signing battle with some of the biggest record labels in the U.S. The band members somehow managed to overcome their involvement with big corporate enterprises and signed with Epic. I can’t quite blame them.
The band’s debut album was something of a shock to the major label system. The rap and metal hybrid helped ignite the nu-metal movement. Songs like “Bullet in the Head” and “Killing in the Name” propelled the band to success and its members to infamy. I still think it’s a great-sounding record. The sophomore release, “Evil Empire,” followed much in the same spirit.
By 1999’s “The Battle of Los Angeles,” RATM had drawn a lot of attention to the band. Part of it was unwanted. It is rumoured that the group’s shows were tracked by local authorities, treating them, rightfully, I think, as political rallies.
“Guerrilla Radio” was the glossy, but aggressively anti-capitalistic single meant to promote the band’s third album. RATM would never make another record of original songs.
Meaning of the Lyrics to “Guerilla Radio”
There’s no other band more famous for its anti-capitalist stance than Rage Against The Machine. Cynics would decry the hypocrisy of the band working with major corporations to promote its music. That’s a matter of debate.
Personally, I think that Zack de la Rocha, of all the band members, meant what he said. I think that the rest of them were good musicians who happened to be in this particular band and did their best to promote it.
I mention this because that’s essentially the topic of “Guerrilla Radio.” The song’s lyrics are inspired by media manipulation in the wake of the U.S. 2000s presidential elections. Note that De la Rocha was against both candidates, George W. Bush and Al Gore. Note that he was neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Such ideas seem almost too progressive for the times in which we’re living.
De la Rocha also decries the power of the U.S. to influence politics across the world. Many of the songs on this album refer to the country’s imperialistic tendencies. A quick visit to Central Latin American countries, I found, will make you consider De la Rocha’s claims more closely.
The”guerrilla radio” is the band’s stance – they beam a message of protest from within corporate America.
In fact, RATM played a legendary show ahead of the Democratic National Convention, protesting Gore’s campaign, as well as the entire political system.
Of the song’s lyrics, “More for Gore or the son of a drug lord” caused the most stir. The line refers to the accusation that George Bush Sr., as president of the U.S., used organisations as the CIA to supply inner city areas with hard drugs.
Rage Against the Machine’s Music Video for “Guerrilla Radio”
Let’s not kid ourselves. RATM’s image helped its fame. The fact that band members presented themselves as rebels, aligned themselves with the Zapatistas of Mexico, or with the revolutionary spirit of Che Guevara, assisted in the band’s popularity.
The music video features these elements. The promo was shot for a considerable budget by Laura Kelly and Nicholas Brooks of Squeak Pictures.
The music video, featuring a young couple delighting themselves in spending money and playing racquetball, was meant as a critique of consumerism. It was highly successful, albeit, I should mention, less so than those of bands like Limp Bizkit or Korn, who RATM had influenced.
The Legacy of “Guerrilla Radio”
RATM in 1999 was notorious. But the group was hardly as successful as Kid Rock or Linkin Park. Fortunately, and, I think, luckily, Rage’s legacy is much greater than that of most of their contemporaries.
If anything, the group continues to inspire listeners to consider their surroundings and analyse whether the political system representing them really follows their best interests. “The Battles of Los Angeles” went double platinum in the U.S.
But that popularity, as well as the fact that the band was essentially employed by a major corporation, Sony, created tension between band members. RATM only recorded one more album, the covers record “Renegades.”
The group, sans De la Rocha, formed the mighty Audioslave with generational talent Chris Cornell. Notably, there were no political statements made by the band on their three albums. However, Audioslave did play a famous show in Cuba. Good for them!
Zack de la Rocha, a very talented individual, always seemed burdened by expectations. He recorded one EP as part of the duo One Day as a Lion. And, the singer’s solo record became the stuff of legend on par with Guns N’ Roses’s “Chinese Democracy.” It remains unreleased.
Rage Against The Machine did come back for a series of reunion shows. By this stage, the group’s music was more famous than it ever had been. It didn’t last long, but maybe that’s all for the best. I find it, frankly, baffling that mainstream record labels supported a group like Rage Against the Machine and think that “Guerrilla Radio” is one of the best alternative rock songs of the 1990s.
