Zack De La Rocha's Solo Album

Cant wait, one of the great political musical spokesperson of the last 20 years!!!

This will most likely be a very stellar album.

GREAT MUSICAL SPOKESPERSON? Did he win the title over Bono and Kanye West? Was there really stiff competition. Zach grew up a privileged kid in a very nice community and has no 1st hand knowledge of struggle.

Wearing a Leonard Peltier t-shirt on stage while you make millions of dollars does not make you a great political spokesperson, you need a cable news show to reach that status. Don't get me wrong, I have dug RATM since their inception but his rantings, support of Mumia Abu Jamal and the stunt where they didn't play at a show in Philly to protest the PMRC doesn't sit well with me. Pay me a million dollars and I'll take up any cause you want on stage.

boknows-----phewwww...that is some great stuff you wrote above man. Zach as a musician --- Awesome! His privilege allowing him an audience to listen to his views (some I agree with, some I don't) is where Zach is an influential person. Despite never coming right out and acknowleding his privilege in life, I applaud him for using it to exclaim his protest rather than ranting about bling, ho's, dubs, benjamins, champagne, armani, etc... CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS ALBUM!

Who can disagree with THE GOFF, not me.

if it took 8 years and hes willing to put his name on it, chances are its going to be a beast

I’m pretty much with Bo. Boner has probably effected more actual change than the hardcore lefties of Zach and Morello (who also grew up pretty upper-middle-class like Mark, Trotsky and Lenin). Not like I don’t agree with much of the message of RATM (save for their support of Jamal and Peltier – murders who deserve jail time – but not the death sentence), but you make the greatest impact when you get on the inside. Boner has been effective since he has the ears of policy makers. RATM can rile up the leftie crowd, but in the end they are preaching to the choir. They assured themselves a place on the outside when their bass player pulled that stupid stunt at the MTV awards. Still going to give the record a listen.

Just becuase he doesn't sing about bling, ho's, dubs, benjamins, champagne, and armani doesnt mean that he has to sing about radical politics and oppression (especially if he has never experienced TRUE political oppression). Its not like he had the choice to EITHER write about politics OR "makin it rain." I used to dig rage but now I know how rediculous their message is. The music is awesome but their battlecry is targeted to pissed-off youth.

I'm pumped... Theodore is my favorite drummer out there and i'm sure he created some tight bonhamesque beats... this will be a very interesting album at the very least!

it will be worth checking into... the mars volta drummer is pretty good.... no doubt....

hes no russo though!!!

Who?

fuck a solo album i mean i want to here it but i want a new rage album and a full tour.

Hell yeah...i totally agree with that wess...a new album would be sick...hell if they just went on a full tour id be happy

Great Fro

Do you have to grow up poor/oppressed to act or speak against it?

Certainly it gives you more credibility, but I don't think it is a requirement.

it's pretty ignorant to discredit someone's point of view on social and political issues purely because they didn't suffer growing up. history holds a lot of examples of people who came from comfortable backgrounds to call bs and inspire change among the masses. not saying zach de la rocha is necessarily like buddha, but you get my drift.

That rage guitar player love long jams...

For the love of Nuno Bettancourt please don't take this to the Extreme. I didn't discredit anyone just stated a few facts and my opinion on Zach as a "great musical political spokeperson". Lights Out Guerilla Radio People!!!

scj471 - I agree with you on that. It is just interesting that a vast majority of the world's communist leaders came from middle/upper income families (Engles and Castro probably being the only exceptions). Rage have a great message. I think that they could go about it in a less radical way. They defiantly come from an extreme point of view and put their message across in more of a Che/Malcom X way than MLK. Boner, on the other hand, is a student of MLK and works with Christ in his heart (what do you folks thing I Will Follow is about???). There is a difference in approach and significantly different results. Boner gets it, RATM don’t. I hope they do come about and become more effective.

wessew - People probably said the same thing about McCartney, Lennon and Harrison solo efforts after the Beatles. No way that RATM are in the same ball park (or zip code for that matter).

canoftunapudding - There are pissed off youth out there? Never noticed. Hard to be pissed off when you are at the mall with a big ass Mrs. Fields cookie in your hand. Wish kids would be more pissed off. It is their friends who will get the all expenses paid vacations in the hell-holes and come home in body bags. But who cares – gas is cheap and there is a sale at the Gap!!!

Bo - Had to Wiki your Nuno reference. The fewer references to Extreme the better! :)

finally a message board with only well thought out opinions and posts thank you all

Are you referring to Aaron Russo? If so, I agree with you. Zach is no where near as influential (at least to me) as Aaron Russo. With that said, I will still give the album a listen, even though Rage has not been that important of a band to me since high school (over 6 years ago).

NOOOOO JOE RUSSO... anyways, I'd love a RATM reunion... WITHOUT BRAD WILK.. I've always thought he was the weak link in the band and his drumming is generic.....Theodore with Morello Timmy C and ZDLR would be an unstoppable

Poor neighborhoods have crime too.

The problem with Rage has nothing to do with ZDLR's upbringing or Tom Morello's or anyone else's; it has to do with the hypocrisy in their message. Though Rage is an amzaing sound that will never be duplicated, its hard for them to credibly endorse communism and revolution while making millions of dollars through the machine that they are raging against. That being said, Zach De La Rocha is a nasty lyricist and his voice is unparalleled - this album will be the shit.

Also, I agree about Brad Wilk