Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello has rejected Paul Ryan's appreciation of their music, calling him "The Embodiment Of The Machine That Our Music Rages Against".
I can believe that Paul Ryan leases his wife's oil fields to Exxon Mobil, and then voted for $45 billion in subsidies for oil companies over the next decade, while slashing funding for alternative energy sources. Then called President Obama a crony capitalist for supporting funding of Solyndra. I can believe he likes to kill and pose with dead animals, and torture catfish in the 'exhilarating' practice of noodling.
But few things are laced with as much irony as the recent announcement of his claim to enjoy the music of Rage Against the Machine.
Does he have any idea that guitarist Tom Morello organized a 10,000 guitar 'guitarmy' as part of the Occupy Wall St. protests? Or:
Led by vocal activist front man Zack de la Rocha and guitarist and labor union supporter Tom Morello, Rage staged a protest concert on the lawn of the Minnesota State Capitol during the Republican National Convention in 2008. Rage also held a concert several miles away from the Democratic National Convention in Denver the same year, protesting the Iraq War.
When police shut down the Minnesota concert before Rage took the stage, fans chanted "F--- you I won't do what you tell me," lyrics from the band's song, "Killing in the Name," Rolling Stone reported.
In addition to being an outspoken critic of the Republican Party, Morello is also a self-proclaimed socialist and a union supporter. Morello wrote "Union Town," which came from his experience in Madison, Wisconsin, demonstrating with workers against Gov. Scott Walker's legislation that stripped collective bargaining rights from some union workers. Walker was recently given a prime speaking spot at this year's Republican convention.
And Paul Ryan is the one who criticizes those who disagree with him as "intellectually lazy".
And lead singer Tom Morello finds it ironic as well.
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. Charles Manson loved the Beatles but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine.
Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.
Just like saying he was inspired by Ayn Rand, (except for the atheist part), he must want to have the music without the lyrics. If he did listen to them, he might be appalled at the dreaded socialism and other themes antithetical to a conservative.
I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "Fuck the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!
Don't mistake me, I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta "rage" in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment. Basically the only thing he's not raging against is the privileged elite he's groveling in front of for campaign contributions.
You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that "Those people are undeserving. They're . . . lesser." Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.
Joe Levy, editor of Billboard Magazine, has some choice words about Ryan's incongruent choice of music:
To Ali, the pick says something about the kind of vice president Ryan might make.
"If he wasn't hearing what someone was saying when they were screaming it in your face ... is this the guy we want in office when he doesn't hear?" Ali said.
"Using Rage at a campaign stop would be absurd beyond comprehension."
As long as a campaign staffer doesn't mix up Ryan's personal playlist with the campaign songs, they should be alright. Because this could be awkward:
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Motherfucker!
Uggh!
Since Rage is one of my favorite bands, this one really hits me below the belt. I guess Ryan is raging against himself?
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