Rage at the RNC: "It's Important to Call Out the Economic Crimes at Home and the War Crimes Abroad"

"It's so insulting, it's so outrageous for [the Republican Party] to open their convention on Labor Day," Tom Morello said backstage after playing Monday's Take Back Labor Day Concert. "It's the party, not that the other party isn't like this too, but it's the party that just rubs labor's nose in it. I think it's important for people who feel differently to be right across the river and let them know."

While Zack de la Rocha had previously hinted at possible actions related to the Rage Against the Machine concert tonight in Minneapolis, Morello had insisted there were nothing planned. "No, that's what we did in Denver," he said. "We want [the show] to represent for all the protesters who came here. I think it's important to call out the economic crimes at home and the war crimes abroad, while they're here. Not let them get away with it while the world's media is focused here. It's important to get that message out ... to have that amplified alongside the B.S. messages being spouted from the podium."

Of course, the band had different plans: On Tuesday they attempted to play an already-in-progress festival that was swiftly shut down by cops. In response, Morello and de la Rocha led fans in a march to the RNC, where they got as far as the police barrier before mild clashes began.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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