Spare a thought for some longtime fans of Rage Against the Machine – you know, the band that wrote ‘Killing in the Name’ or, say, ‘Bulls on Parade’. They’ve been having a tough time after discovering that the band and its members may be politically-minded, as the band’s members have spoken out against racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd being killed at the hands of police in Minneapolis last month.
The band’s name began trending on Twitter recently after Tom Morello responded to a fan who, in a since-deleted tweet, told the RATM and Prophets of Rage guitarist that they “used to be a fan until your political opinions come out”.
“Music is my sanctuary and the last thing I want to hear is political BS when I’m listening to music,” the tweet read. “As far as I’m concerned you and Pink are completely done. Keep running your mouth and ruining your fan base.”
Morello responded by quoting the tweet, replying “What music of mine were you a fan of that DIDN’T contain ‘political BS’? I need to know so I can delete it from the catalogue.”
Scott!! What music of mine were you a fan of that DIDN’T contain “political BS”? I need to know so I can delete it from the catalog. https://t.co/AMpmjx6540
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) June 9, 2020
Last week, Morello responded to another fan on Instagram who questioned his knowledge regarding politics.
“Another successful musician instantly becomes a political expert,” wrote a user on Morello’s Instagram page.
Morello replied that while one doesn’t actually need an honours degree in political science from Harvard to recognise “the unethical and inhumane nature of this administration”, it is nevertheless a title he holds.
Like shooting fish in a barrel: pic.twitter.com/hxvZ6GgoH5
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) June 6, 2020
I’m not sure about you, but if I were a dedicated Rage Against the Machine fan I would simply listen to basically any of the lyrics across their entire back catalogue.
Image: Ollie Millington/WireImage
