Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me tonight as guest curator is Tony G
from the Patio Slave Podcast, somebody you might
remember from the Playlist Wars days. Tony, great
to have you on My Weekly Mixtape finally, man.
I know, man. I've been watching from a little
bit of a distance what you've been able to accomplish
with My Weekly Mixtape, so I'm pretty excited
to finally be here. Excited to have you and I'd
like to start by asking you the first timers
question, which is Tony. What does the word mixtape
mean to you? So the first thing that pops into
my head is being 10 or 11 years old in my bedroom
with my CD player tape deck and recording songs
on a tape from the radio. So our local radio
station was big. They just kind of come out the
alternative rock radio station in our town. And
I just would try to time it up to get a Green
Day song or time it up to get a Soundgarden song
and make these mixtapes that way. And obviously
graduated to CDs and given them to friends and
still listen to them today in the playlist fashion.
But it's not the same. Well, tonight we are talking
about a band that's a big piece of the patio
slave universe. That is Rage Against the Machine
with our guilty parties. Zach De La Rocha on
vocals, Tom Morello on guitar. brad will on drums
and sim common for otherwise known as timmy see
tim bob why tim k or tim dot com depending on
which album liner notes you're reading on facebook.
Tonight our playlist is only going to be ten
songs want want but at the end of the day the
band only has four albums one of which is all
cover songs. with a total of forty five songs
on those original releases and then you could
tack on a few more if you want to include besides
soundtrack cuts and live tracks. I want to make
it a little harder on us so ten songs it is as
i have a definitive. Rage against the machine
album which is their self titled and as much
as i love evil empire the battle of los angeles
and renegades depending on where we go tony,
I might be leaning heavily towards that self
-titled album. And I know you've said that Evil
Empire is your favorite album from them. So how
are you approaching this playlist tonight? So,
yeah, I think Evil Empire and it's because of
when you get into them, right? It's always the
case with music and what kind of happens there.
But Evil Empire is the record that. Anthony and
I, my cohost, bonded over growing up in South
Portland, Maine. You know, it was like, oh, it
felt illegal to have that as an 11 -year -old,
but it was amazing. So I've spent a ton of time
with both, with all four really, but that one
is the one that was, it kind of turned the switch
for me. And that's why I may lean towards that
one as far as my favorite of the four, but it's
hard to deny self -titled. It's hard to deny
Battle of LA. And we did a whole episode on Renegades
and how they made all of those cover songs their
own. So they're just a phenomenal band, top to
bottom. Well, let's get down to business tonight.
As I mentioned at the top of the show, Tony and
I will be curating the ultimate Rage Against
the Machine mixtape. Tony, as my special guest,
will begin with his first song choice and then
I'll add a song that I feel best follows up that
choice. We'll then flip flop choosing songs until
we've mapped out. our 10 song list, with the
overall goal for the episode being to craft the
best Rage Against the Machine mixtape possible
through those 10 songs. At the end of the show,
you can take our conversation to the next level
by visiting the episode page at myweeklymixtape
.com to give our final mixtape a listen via the
embedded playlist. And if you like what you're
hearing on the show, you can help me out by either
telling a friend leaving the show a five -star
review wherever you're tuning in, or becoming
a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash
my weekly mixtape. There you can enjoy ad -free
episodes of the show, become a future guest,
and so much more. And a few of the Patreon mixtapers
chimed in with the songs they would use to kick
off our Rage Against the Machine mixtape. And
here's what they had to say. Chad LaMassa chimed
in saying, let's kick things off with their cover
of Renegades of Funk. Ben from the Too Vague
podcast chimed in saying he was gonna start with
their cover of Cypress Hills, How I Can Just
Kill a Man from Renegades, but he thinks it works
better as a mid or transitional track. So instead,
he's starting off what he thinks is their strongest
album opener across their catalog, which is Testify
from the Battle of Los Angeles. Philip Bergman
agrees with Ben saying it's got to be testified
a start but then at the end you want to end it
with know your enemy just so we can end the tape
with Zach repeatedly screaming all of which are
American dreams. Tom Hutchinson chimed in saying
killing in the name of one hundred percent seeker
chimed in with their cover of Maggie's farm saying
that they have that one up to eleven. And Jen
Fink chimed in saying their cover of the ghost
of Tom Joad rolling into testify to start and
then ending it with killing in the name or freedom
saying that rage is one of her favorite bands
of all time. Well, Jen, I hope we do this one
justice. And just as a reminder, if you want
to chime in for future episodes of My Weekly
Mixtape, you could join the mixtape or family
at patreon .com forward slash My Weekly Mixtape.
So Tony with all those choices out in the atmosphere
I'm officially pressing the record button on
our mixtape and the floor is yours Why don't
you dive into the song you chose to kick off
side a? So all of those are great great choices,
and it has me doing a double take But I'm gonna
stick with the one that my gut tells me Bulls
on Parade and I have to go with Bulls on Parade
It's my favorite rage song. It's the song that
introduced me to the band as a ten -year -old
It's the reason I picked up Evil Empire. It's
the reason my cousin and I were pouring over,
you know, the liner notes that summer. It just
had a birthday, I think, around the time we were
recording this. It's such a great record. That
song, it's the second song on the record, but
it kicks off my fandom to them, so I have to
kick off the mix tape with Bulls on Parade. It's
a perfect song. I will agree it's an absolutely
perfect song the riff is everything you love
about rage against the machine it's got the heft
it's got the might and it's got that tom morello
stamp. Is that just speaks to what rage against
the machine is and i love where you're going
going with the song that kinda. Led you into
the band and i'm gonna do that but i'm gonna
do it from my base player brain like that. And
i'm gonna go with the opening track because you
know i'm an album opening fan and i'm gonna go
with a career opening track and we're gonna go
self titled and we're gonna go with that amazing.
Basing guitar simultaneous opening walking our
way into bomb track it's a one two punch like
no other cause you've got the immediate. Heft
of Bulls on Parade and then that little intro
to bomb track to kind of give people just a second
to catch their breath before it explodes. What
an amazing album opener that just introduces
you to what to expect with Rage Against the Machine,
because bomb track tells you the story that Rage
Against the Machine tells across the four albums.
And I feel like it's a perfect way. to follow
up Bulls on Parade. Hell yeah. No, I completely
agree. Bomb Track is so good. We did an episode
earlier this year on Offspring Smash Tangent
just a second, and I found a way to put in every
song from the self -titled Rage record throughout
our conversation without my co -host knowing.
So I am all in on the first record as much as
I love Evil Empire and Ride for that to be my
favorite. The first one's great and Bomb Track
is no exception. Great pick. So what are you
going to follow up Bulls on Parade and Bomb Track
with? All right. I think I'm going to stick with
self -titled and I'm going to go with Wake Up.
Whoa, OK. Yeah. Yeah, we're going to keep the
energy high here. And that kind of noodley bass
riff to start. It's the only time you get a breath
is the beginning of that song. And then they
just kind of come at you for six minutes. And
I remember obviously seeing this at the end of
The Matrix. the first Matrix movie and at 15
years old being like Alright, I guess I need
to go back and listen to self -tied a little
more because that's where that came from That's
what I know the band obviously, but I'm now let's
dig into the old stuff and figure some stuff
out here wake up It's just the last minute is
chaotic. It's everything you love about Rage
Against the Machine. It gives you all of What
they are you get the the great rhythm section
you get the kind of craziness from Morello And
then De La Roca's on the next level there with
that with his lyricism in that song. So, yeah,
wake up. That's my next one. Obviously, it's
from the self -titled. I got nothing but love
for that album. So love the pic. I'm kind of
kicking myself because you had mentioned the
movie connection to the Matrix bomb track was
prominently featured in natural born killers.
And I remember seeing that on the big screen.
And that was another moment where I'm like, man,
these guys just this song just brings it. Sticking
with the self titled album two tracks in a row
there i love so i'm gonna pivot away i was thinking
about going with another self title but then
i feel like we're not showing love to the rest
of the catalog so i'm gonna jump to the other
end of the spectrum. In a way but also not in
a way which i know sounds like i'm kinda cheating
here but. I'm gonna go with one of the songs
featured on renegades however it wasn't recorded
for renegades. It was recorded and produced by
brendan o 'brien and released as a free single
along with their nineteen ninety seven home video
release and i'm gonna go with their cover of
bruce springsteen's the ghost of tom joe. What
i love about cover songs is when you take a song
and you rearrange it and you make it your own.
And rage against the machine took a song that's
written in three four time by bruce springsteen
and turn it into a four four rocker. where if
you played the two songs back to back you might
not even connect the fact that you just heard.
The same exact song twice and i'd be lying if
i didn't think that this cover played at least
a small part. In tom morello joining with the
street band and being a part of the high hopes
i feel like this was the seed that got planted
but this song reach number thirty five on the
billboard mainstream rock tracks chart. and number
thirty four on the modern rock tracks chart without
an album at the time. And that is amazing it
was their second charting single after bulls
on parade so nothing from the self titled album
charted it was bulls on parade in the ghost of
chomp jode so i feel like the song also has a
bit of significance. In their story across all
the albums that's a great call and i think that
song. Single -handedly, I mean my dad was a fan
of the boss too, but single -handedly made me
pay attention at that time To Bruce and again
go back and listen to stuff and find new things
like oh, that's a Bruce cover like I didn't know
that that's It's just cool. Like I had no idea
and I also didn't know it was their second charting
song after Bulls on Prey That surprises me a
little bit thought they would have had some other
stuff But that that whole record renegades they
take so many songs and make them their own as
good as those songs were to begin with They take
songs like Beautiful World from Devo, which is
it's just completely different sounding and different
vibe. And this one goes to Chum Joe. It's just
so good. They found a way to make all of those
songs there. So this is a great pick from that
record and maybe my favorite one on there because
of what it meant to me as a music fan. Awesome.
All right. I got to follow that up now, don't
I? Yeah, yeah. And the ghost of Tom Joe, let's
just be honest here. It's the closest thing to
a and I'm going to mark air quotes here as the
rage against the machine power ballad. It's probably
the slowest thing they did groove wise. And even
Zach's rapping with the reverb and delay on his
voice. He's not really screaming. He's not really
rapping. So this is kind of the point of a rage.
So where I guess you're putting your lighters
in your cell phones up in the air. Yep. Yep.
All right. And we're going to go. Off record,
the thin line between entertainment and war.
The front line is everywhere. No shelter off
the Godzilla soundtrack, which is maybe a top
three rage song for me. Just its vibe, where
it came from, how they kind of Zach kind of goes
at mainstream media and like. entertainment stuff
on a soundtrack to a movie that is designed to
get people to go sit and watch. So I loved it.
I love everything about it. Listening to it on
my way home tonight. It's still a vibe. That
song absolutely rules. You get the best of all
of them again. I think Zach is the best. He's
at the forefront in this song with his lyrics.
No Shelter from the Godzilla soundtrack, which,
oh, I forget, 96, 97, somewhere around there,
right? No Shelter came out in 98 on the soundtrack.
Yeah, I'm just going to go out on a limb and
say it. The Godzilla soundtrack was better than
Godzilla, the movie. Oh, yeah. There was just
a lot of greats. I mean, No Shelter was the song
for me. But as a whole, the soundtrack kind of
dwarfed the movie. And once again overseas wins
because the Japanese release of the battle of
Los Angeles had no shelter on it why they didn't
include no shelter on the battle of Los Angeles
will always be weird to me because musically
I feel like it would have easily fit with that
albums vibe and yeah the bonus version from Japan
gets it right I guess. But alright coming out
of that. I gotta go back to the self titled again
here. And i'm gonna go with something that brings
some guests into the fold it doesn't happen often.
What when you bring. Maynard james keenon of
tool and james addiction steven perkins onto
a song just for a little additional percussion.
You get the masterpiece that philip chimed in
saying we should close with it i'm kinda going
mid set here track six to kinda kick off the
second half. all of which are american dreams
know your enemy to me this is a quintessential
rage riff and this is one of those songs that
really embraces the breakdown and i love the
fact that the breakdown almost has a tool atmosphere
to it don't get me wrong they're not going prog
but i don't know if i could hear zach doing anything
over that midsection That elevates the song more
than what Maynard did in that part it was a part
of the rage against the machine album that required
singing and required something a little bit more
melodic vocally and i don't know if that is kinda
zacks range but for Maynard it's right up his
alley and i think. Maynard knocked it out of
the park and i think believe it or not elevated
both bands because they were both on. that Lollapaloo's
at that time making a name for themselves. And
I feel like this collaboration again, like the
Ghost of Tom Joed cover is an important piece
of the Rage Against the Machine history. That's
a great pick and one that I had on my list that
I wanted to I definitely wanted to throw out
there. So I'm glad that it's on the list from
the Maynard feature to, you know, just the the
overall vibe of the song and the lyrics behind
a lot of what Zach. writes about and what they
all kind of embody is it still fits today, you
know, 30 years out. And we want we don't have
to get too political on this, but that's it.
Listen to the lyrics. Read the lyrics. You'll
get it. And I love the Maynard feature. And you're
right. It needed to be him. So, yeah, that's
a that's a good call. All right. I got to I got
to follow that one up now, don't I? No pressure.
No pressure, none at all. No shelter, no pressure.
Let's go off the Battle of LA. Haven't done one
from that yet. And I'm gonna pick... There's
so many great songs in the Battle of LA. I'm
going off the board a little bit, and I'm gonna
go Ashes in the Fall. Yeah, I really love that
riff. It's very kind of... It's not simple, because
nothing's simple with Morello, but... He later
on in the song, that beginning kind of chalkboard
-y riff that he does, and he does it in Year
of the Boomerang on Evil Empire as well, but...
you get a little of that kind of scratchy sound
from his guitar. And then later on in the song,
he is doing it again, but just doing it kind
of straight. And you're like, oh, this is awesome.
Like this now actually really rips. And I didn't
see it going from this Chupboard -y scratchy
version of the riff at the beginning, too. They're
all just kind of slamming it at you at the end.
So Ashes in the Fall, one of my favorite Rage
songs from the Battle of LA. And i'm gonna go
as far as to say our deepest cut of the night
so far so bravo because when i make a mixtape
i always like to throw a song that might not
be one of the radio hits might not be one of
the ones that is played in every single show
and the penultimate track on the battle l .a.
right before we close out for war within a breath
now what a great pick i love what you do with
that. Had to man had to pick one off that records
i think it's underrated at this point. I would
agree but then again when there's only four albums
to deal with kind of the catalog is a whole i
feel like is on a pedestal in and of itself.
All right so. We've got all the albums represented
by at least one song so now i don't feel guilty.
And i'm gonna go back to the self title because
again we're talking about important tracks and
i feel like you can't talk about rage against
the machine. without killing in the name and
Just i mean from the beginnings in the 90s with
that song Taking it into the 2009 uk number one
campaign this is the kind of song that crossed
decades for this band They already had done tours
in 2007 and 2008, but it was the moment where
there was the whole X Factor and Killing in the
Name competition in the UK, where the voters
got Killing in the Name to number one in the
UK, that I think might have been a catalyst for
the continued 2009 -2010 tours, because it really
revitalized Rage Against the Machine overseas
again, while also, again, keeping that song relevant.
when it was well close to its 20th year of existence
at that point. And again, just in terms of the
band's history, we have to focus on the fact
that this was their lead single. This was their
introduction outside of bomb track being the
album introduction. This is what they came to
the table with. And it's such a moment in music.
I remember seeing the crowds in Lollapalooza.
During the i won't do what you tell me close
and it was insanity they literally took people
over with that song and they take people over
with that song. And i don't think there's ever
been a rage against the machine show that didn't
have it in some facet and i just can't see not
including it here. Great choice obviously one
of their. Probably biggest song, you're a career
spending song. Everybody kind of knows this song.
You may not even know that it's Raging Against
the Machine, but people know the song and know
the ending of this song, no matter really what,
if you paid attention to music over the last
30 years. And I love that it was a single. I
love that it was on the radio, even though they
had to cut it. But yeah, great track and great
pick there. Yeah, I love when they were on the
BBC and they were told you cannot curse. And
for the whole first half, he just goes, You I
won't do what you tell me. You I won't do what
you tell me. And when they kick in and he just
starts cursing and they have to break out of
the song, that's I mean that you don't get more
rage against the machine than that. So good.
So good. Yeah. All right. We each have one pick
left. This is where it gets hard because there
are dozens of amazing songs that people are probably
screaming at us right now. Where the hell is
blank? There's so many of those. Yeah, so we'll
be able to quell at least two of those screams
with two more choices, one from you and one from
me. What do you got? All right. I'm going Evil
Empire. I'm going People of the Sun. Yes. Great
riff to open a record, a record that was very
anticipated at the time, obviously coming off
self -titled and how big that was for them. And
to just throw this kind of boomerang -y type
riff at you. But they have a song later on the
cold year the boomerang but not like that it's
so good it's such a morello thing to do and then.
Yeah people come up and then boom right into
what they do and. It's a great way to kick off
an album and one of my favorite albums of all
time so people the sun is my last choice here
tonight. That opening scratchy guitar that he's
doing with the pic it almost sounds like a turntable
and i love the fact that on their albums actually
have to put a disclaimer. that all the sounds
created or that of the band and that's a testament
to tom style of playing it so unique it's definitely
from our generation in the nineties probably
the most unique style of playing where he started
playing a riff. Most people can go that was tom
morello whereas other guitars had a style but
tom morello is kinda quick and undeniable. Absolutely
yeah he you knew it was more you knew it was
whatever project he was a part of at the time
and most often rage but he did some other stuff
too and it was like that's oh yeah that sounds
like morello and nobody else was there was a
lot of people really doing what he was doing
especially in this time frame I think about a
bunch of people do some funky stuff now but in
this you know early 90s to mid 90s everybody
was like whoa who are these guys what is this
sound how does he keep making these crazy amazing
sounds And i'm gonna go as far as maybe ruffle
some feathers here but people of the sun might
be my favorite song on evil empire as much as
bulls on parade is a monster. People of the sun
i mean think about this people of the sun in
the bulls on parade bomb track into killing in
the name. Testify into gorilla radio rage new
had a one two punch in album. Even if you want
to go microphone fiend and pistol grip pump from
renegades but i'm talking about kind of their
original albums the one to punch is just undeniable
on all of them so bravo on the pic. And closing
it out if there's only one song i could possibly
put here. It closes their self title that i'm
sorry i know we've leaned into the self titled
in this ten song mix but. If i'm closing out
a playlist and i think about album. Bookends
bomb track and freedom is at the top of my list
what a way to open the chapter of an album and
end the story then with freedom between just
the riff which is so massive. And it's a little
slower than some of the other riffs that we talked
about tonight like know your enemy where it's
kind of a little bit more a lot more movement
going on freedom is got this almost lose styling.
To the rip that's happening but it is just so
spaced out. To kind of really let the song breathe
in the peaks and valleys that this song provides
encapsulates what i love about rage against the
machine when the song breaks down and builds
up with the boom boom boom boom boom boom boom
boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom
boom boom boom boom boom boom boom i don't know
about you but the song is slow and heavy but
i'm doing like a hundred and ninety miles an
hour from in the car in that park comes on and
he's just screaming freedom at the top of his
life. That is just such an epic way to close
an album i feel like an epic way to close our
playlist tonight. Absolutely anger is a gift
under his breath every you just like ready to
run through a brick wall like this is so good
this song is so good and the kind of control
chaos at the end of it. With the screaming of
freedom and that kind of ramp up a boom boom
boom that's so good man that's a great way to
close it out i'm not sure you could pick a better
one. Well there you have it mixtapers, our ultimate
Rage Against the Machine mixtape which kicked
off with Bulls on Parade from Evil Empire, Bomb
Track and Wake Up from Self -Titled, The Ghost
of Tom Joad from the original single and then
Renegades, No Shelter from the Godzilla soundtrack,
Know Your Enemy from Self -Titled, Ashes in the
Fall from The Battle of LA, Killing in the Name
from Self -Titled, People of the Sun from Evil
Empire, and Freedom. from self -titled head over
to myweeklymixtape .com to hear all the songs
we've discussed in this mix through the playlist
embedded on the episode page. Now, Tony, we've
been talking a lot about Rage Against the Machine.
And like I said at the top of the show, Rage
Against the Machine is a big part of what Patio
Slave is all about. Why don't you let people
know a little bit about the show and where they
can connect with you guys? Yeah, we, uh, Patio
Slave podcast. We've been going now for four
years, four and a half years almost. the three
friends, me, my co -host Anthony and Nate, kind
of started this thing on a whim and didn't realize
we'd still be doing it 220 episodes in four years
later. So we've talked to people all across the
industry, you know, Pina from 311, Lajon from
Seven Dust. We'd love to have anybody from Rage,
you know, how many interviews those guys do.
So it would be pretty cool. But yeah, we've been
able to really kind of find our little, we love
every... We're like you, Brian, where we love
all music and we can pull from every little place.
We've leaned in the alternative and, you know,
heavier side of things because those people have
been really accessible as far as talking to.
But we've had photographers, we've had people
who have run different tours in the past, like
Warped Tour and Touch of the Earth and stuff
like that. So we're kind of a one -stop shop
for all kinds of different things. If you're
looking for something in there, you'll find something
you like. podioslave .com, at podioslave on all
the socials. Well tony i appreciate the friendship
we've had through our different podcasts i love
collaborating with you guys hope we could do
it again soon as always this has been a pleasure
thank you so much for joining me on my weekly
mixtape. Yeah man appreciate it thank you and
hey go check out back episodes of brian spot
if you're coming from my side. Thank you very
much student likewise check out some of the stuff
i know there's i've been a guest over on patio
slave a couple times i've been fortunate enough
to do that so. Always a great time. Keep that
music podcast community supported because we're
all out here doing our thing and there's a lot
of great music content out there. So true. Remember,
you could find My Weekly Mixtape on almost all
the social media haunts at My Weekly Mixtape.
You can also head to myweeklymixtape .com to
check out the full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape
episodes. And once again, if you like what you're
hearing on the show, you can help me out by either
telling a friend leaving the show a five star
review wherever you're tuning in or becoming
a Patreon mixtape or at patreon .com forward
slash my weekly mixtape. There you can enjoy
ad free episodes of the show, become a future
guest and so much more. That's all for this week.
Thanks again for listening. And until next time,
enjoy the tunes.