Alternative rock: meanings and cultural significance

Rock Song

My name is Michael James. I was born in 1977. When I was 15 years old, I heard a song by the band called Rage Against the Machine, and it work me up to the political and social realities around me. At first I thought the song was just catchy on a musical level, but as I listened to the lyrics I knew there was more to it. I am putting this song into the time capsule because I appreciate what it has to say about the political and social events taking place in the United States in 1992. The song is called "Know Your Enemy." Although the song is not expressly about the Rodney King riots that took place the same year it was released, I do believe that the same themes that emerged during the Rodney King trial are explored in the song. The song is about the failure of America to live up to its legendary status as the land of the free and the home of the brave. In the song "Know Your Enemy," the lyrics suggest that America is actually the "land of the chains."

Rage Against the Machine is one of the most overtly political bands to reach commercial success in America. The songs of Rage Against the Machine, especially from their self-titled debut album, pertain to the disillusionment that many Americans were feeling at the time. After more than a decade of conservative presidencies, the dark side of the United States was coming to the surface. During the 1980s, the Reagan administration abused its power by installing puppet dictatorships throughout Central America. When George H.W. Bush became president, he continued the legacy of interventionist foreign policy by engaging in the first Gulf War. Rage Against the Machine often protests war, capitalism, and other symptoms of what can easily be called a sick society.

The band also sings about domestic problems and issues related to American society. One of the most powerful songs produced by Rage Against the Machine is "Know Your Enemy." The enemy is within, is the message of the song. The enemy is sometimes the United States itself: as in the case with the Rodney King beatings. Police brutality had been an ongoing political issue long before Rodney King's story made the mainstream media. Moreover police brutality disproportionately impacted persons who were politically disenfranchised. The African-American community mistrusted the police because the police represented an illegitimate authority. Rather than invest money to repair impoverished African-American communities, the American government invested money into a militant police force that would oppress, subjugate, and humiliate its own citizens.

The American Dream never existed; it was all a lie. This was especially true for the African-American community. The vocals of "Know Your Enemy" are sung rap-style as if a tribute to the black community in America. Furthermore, the lyrics of "Know Your Enemy" also "brutality," which suggests a possible connection with the Rodney King trial going on at the time the song was produced. The chunky guitar and use of compression in the production studio enhances the heavy, angry feeling that the song conveys.