The ever so famous Greg Young.
As he is the one that will guide you
through this convoluted mess.

The New and Improved Blog

Joke or Stupid Thought of the Day

Picture of the Day

The Autobiography of Myself

Pictures From Various Locations

Sound Files and Information

Milestone Updates

Links to Other Pachydermic Websites

Greg Young's Plump Guestbook

The Board for the Hippos and Rhinos

Chapter III

The Battle Hits the Streets

          Rage Against the Machine, my favorite band, planned to release a new album on November 2, 1999.  It had been over three years since their last studio album, which was in 1996.  Obviously, their new album was going to be a huge influence, but at the time, I did not know how much it would take over my life.  They had released a single, appropriately named Guerrilla Radio, to promote the new album.  I bought the new single a day after it was in stores and listened to it repeatedly.  At that time, there was not a name for the new Rage album, so the song was “taken from the forthcoming album,” which I thought was funny.  The album’s title was decided shortly after to be The Battle of Los Angeles.  The guitarist of Rage, a Harvard graduate named Tom Morello, explained the meaning of the album when many people were confused about it.  He said, “Rage Against the Machine is a product of Los Angeles and could not have happened anywhere else.  The suffering, the riots, the smog, can all be heard on every track of the album.  Because of all of this, we are giving tribute to this city.”  With that paraphrased quote in mind, I awaited the arrival of the new album.
          After school on an October day, specifically the 29th, I got a call from a record shop that they were getting the new CD early.  I had to get my hands on the CD as soon as possible, so I made my way to the record shop and picked up a copy.  At that time, being a three-year Rage fan, I had never picked up a studio album from them the day it came out.  While I was walking out of the store, an acquaintance of mine, Dan Cohen, asked me if he could borrow a few dollars so he could buy the album himself.  I loaned him the money, but he did not pay me back for a few months.
          I reached my house, and I was ready to listen to the new material from Rage.  I told my father that the music would be on quite loud.  Then I locked my door and inserted the disc into my stereo system.  The sounds that came out were like no other.  I was extremely hyped while listening to the music that I had to jump around to every beat pumped out of the system.  Every song started and finished just as a normal CD would, but this seemed different from all other CDs because it was one I had been waiting on for three years. 
          As the last song came to a close, I thought about the first time I experienced their music.  It was like a flashback to that moment.  When the CD completed, I gave a dead stare at the system in awe, then fell over and sprawled on the ground.  It was over and I was thinking that I would probably not experience a moment like this for another three years.  Tiredness overcame me, but I managed to get back up and on track for the day.
          The CD opened a new pathway for me.  I was no longer interested in punk music as much, and I felt the desire to play heavy songs on my drums.  The CD also stuck to me because I listened to it about two times a day.  I was hooked to it for the next month and I really hit a peak when I attended my first Rage concert, but that is further down the line.  The new CD brought back the hobby of collecting Rage posters, which I had about twelve of at the time.  The amount of posters seemed to grow exponentially during the next year, and doubled by late 2000.  The influence of their music and their political standpoint is phenomenal.  I had never been exposed to such a mixture before, and because of that, I treasured their music very much.  The Rage era did not end until October 2000, but their influence will continue forever.