RatM RatM

 Album Reviews, Metal News  33 Responses »
Nov 112012
 

(In this post, Phro commemorates the 20th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine’s debut album as only Phro can.)

So, all this talk about Hacktivist has mostly been like water off a horny duck’s back to me, but it has had one interesting effect: reminding me of how great Rage Against the Machine is. Well, apparently, November 3rd was the 20th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine’s debut, self-titled album. As I read this article on Stereogum (I ended up there from a link on The Atlantic because otherwise I would have no fucking clue something called “Stereogum” existed), I realized: holy fuck balls, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album. Obviously, like many people, I’ve heard “Killing in the Name” and “Wake Up,” but that’s probably the extent of my knowledge of the album.

“Well, that’s weirder than seeing Willy Wonka fucking a dentist to death with a strap-on made of candy corn,” I thought to myself. Especially considering how damn much I loved Evil Empire, The Battle of Los Angeles, and even their covers albums Renegades. So, I figured, why not review the album with almost completely fresh ears? And that’s what I’ve done. I’m writing this stream of conscious as I’m listening to each track only once.

Enjoy! And be sure to tell me why I’m a total fucking distended asshole in the comments. Continue reading »

ENTER THE DRAGON

 Mosh Pit  2 Responses »
Nov 282009
 

burials_lees

I’m not really sure this post is metal.  You can be the judge.

The Seattle Times reminded me this morning that actor and martial arts icon Bruce Lee would have turned 69 yesterday but for his untimely death in 1973 at the age of 32.  He was born in San Francisco and grew up in Hong Kong, but he moved to Seattle in 1959 and spent 3 years at the University of Washington where he met his wife.  He’s buried in Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery on Capitol Hill.

Next to his grave is the grave of his son Brandon Lee.  Brandon died in 1993 at the age of 28 from an accidental shooting during the filming of The Crow, in which he starred as an undead rock musician bent on revenging his own death and that of his fiancee.  (The Crow is a cool movie, by the way, and featured songs from bands like Pantera, Helmet, Nine Inch Nails, and Rage Against the Machine.) Brandon was to be married 17 days after he died.  His tombstone is inscribed with a quote he liked from the writer Paul Bowles, which had been printed on the wedding invitations:

“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless…”