At first thought a band standing on stage naked for 15 minutes without saying a word or playing a single note might seem lewd, but after finding that they were silently protesting censorship one might think differently of them. Rage Against the Machine (RATM) is probably one of the most atypical bands that one could ever find. Their name alone suggests uprising against the government. Although they do not exist today they are a band that will live on in the minds of true enthusiasts. Believe it or not there are bands who care less about money and more about issues and Rage Against the Machine is one of them. Throughout their career RATM played numerous benefits including the Anti-Nazi League benefit which raised money for League activities, "For the Freedom of Leonard Pelter" which raised $75,235.91 (this money was later presented to the Leonard Peltier Defense Fund), Latinpalooza which was a joint benefit for Leonard Peltier Defense Fund, United Farm Workers, and Para Los Ninos, they also organized a show that raised more than $8,000 for the International Concerned Friends And Family Of Mumia Abu-Jamal just to name a few. .
Their songs aren't about love or death but about things that really matter, like immigrant issues, the judicial system, and racism. They not only sound good, but they also strike something deep inside everyone when they really listen to the lyrics. RATM wasn't like the "boy-bands" that there are today. The majority of their songs were primarily written as activist poetry by Zack de la Rocha (lead singer of RATM), they weren't written by their producer with the simple intent to bring in the money. With all the benefit concerts, etc., one might begin to ask if they truly were a "good" band, well they've gone double platinum three times and they've gone platinum three times also if there wasn't enough proof before, I guess that counts for something. They've been nominated for Grammy Awards five times, and have won them two times for Best Metal Performance and Best Hard Rock Performance.
