7 Zack de la Rocha Quotes on Music

Zack de la Rocha quotes on music

5. [at Alpine Valley, 2007] 'A couple of months back when we played this show at Coachella, Valley, that was our first show back, I said a few things from the stage that the next day, Fox News ran this whole piece about us saying that the President should be assassinated. But those fascists always get it wrong when it's from a band in the corner standing up. What we said was that the whole Bush Administration should be put on trial for war crimes, and then hung, and then shot. But this made me think about something: It made me think about what the fuck they're so afraid of. It made me think about what scares them. Is it really four of us from Los Angeles that have a point of view? Is it really just this music, and these rhythms, and these words? Is that what they're scared of? I started to think about it and you know, my conclusion is this: naw, they ain't scared of us. They're scared of you. They're scared of you. They're scared that you might, come election time, throw Bush, and Cheney, and all their fascists out of power. That's what they're scared of. And let me say this: that the Democrats are scared of you too, because they know that you see through their bullshit too. Because when Bush was wiretappin', spying on citizens, torturing innocent people, they were supposed to be the people to defend us from them. And they didn't do shit. So the Democrats are scared of you too. Why? Because they know they're coming to power. But they're scared because they know that if they don't fuckin' start pulling troops out of Iraq, then we're gonna go and burn down every office, of every Senator that doesn't do their jobs. All we're saying is that the world is watching us right now. The whole world is watching us. The brothers and sisters in South America that are dealing with this imperialist violence have their eyes on us. Our brothers and sisters in Iraq got their eyes on us because we are the ones who are gonna have to put an end to this nonsense. So wake up! Come on, wake up! Wake up...'

10. 'I'm in this band to give volume to various struggles throughout the world. To me, the tension in this band is a minimal sacrifice.'

13. 'You can't ignore what some bands have done. I know that from my own experience, from the way my life was changed by 'Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell' by Bad Religion. I know our record will be in a bin next to Lionel Richie--but so are John Coltrane, KRS-1 and Boogie Down Productions, and Public Enemy.'

14. 'Lies, sanctions, and cruise missiles have never created a free and just society. Only everyday people can do that, which is why I'm joining the millions worldwide who have stood up to oppose the Bush administration's attempt to expand the US empire at the expense of human rights at home and abroad. In this spirit, I'm releasing this song for anyone who is willing to listen. I hope it not only makes us think, but also inspires us to act and raise our voices.'

19. 'They say that as soon as the wall in Germany fell that the US government was busy building another one at the border between the US and Mexico. Since 1986 as a result of a lot of the hate talk and histeriam that the government of the United States has been speaking, 1500 bodies have been found on the border. We wrote this song in response to it. It's called Without a Face.'

38. 'I'll rip the mic, rip the stage, rip the system. I was born to rage against 'em'

78. Taken from No Shelter