Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the irony of Paul Ryan, who supports policies contrary to the anti-establishment messages of Rage Against the Machine, enjoying their music.
Tom Morello's quote reflects the contradiction of Paul Ryan, a political figure representing established power, enjoying the music of Rage Against the Machine, a band known for its critique of government and corporate authority. It underscores the disconnection between one's values and the art they appreciate, suggesting that irony often exists in the alignment of personal taste and ideological beliefs.
In practice
In a discussion about political figures and their public personas, this quote serves as a perfect illustration of hypocrisy.
Then about 12 years ago it dawned on me that folk music - the music of Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs, early Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger - could be as heavy as anything that comes through a Marshall stack. The combination of three chords and the right lyrical couplet can be as heavy as anything in the Metallica catalogue.
The way corporate media likes to portray America is as a homogenous whole that high-five's each other at the Super Bowl. But what we have is a grotesque disparity between the rich and poor that is only getting wider.
Music and the arts feed our souls, but a decent wage puts food on the table. Musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations are a potent force to fight for social justice.
Of course, music is an art form, and it's not all that competitive. But we don't ever intend to be the second-best band on a stage at any show.
Paul Ryan's love for Rage Against The Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades
Music, I think, is best when it honestly explores personal demons, and it stirs around in the silt of the psyche to find out what's really there.
I always say that the problem with jazz accessibility is not the content of the music, it's people's ability to access it.
The future of rock belongs to women.
What we've had to do is learn to control success, put it in perspective, and not lose the essence of what we're doing - the music.
It wasn't until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write "All Falls Down" in 15 minutes.
I saw satan laughing with delight_x000D_ The day the music died.
I'll make a song with Rick Rubin, a song with Beyonce, a song with Lenny Kravitz. I just believe in making good music. I'm not trying to section myself off into just making hard-core rap music.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.