Rage Against The Machine To Rush Limbaugh: ‘Hey Jackass, Stop Using Our Music’
In the aftermath of Rush Limbaugh’s controversial rant regarding Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, sponsors and musicians alike have been cutting ties with his popular radio show. Now, the controversial radio host has caught the wrath of Rage Against the Machine, who didn’t mince words when demanding Limbaugh stop using their music.
Rage Against the Machine have always been at the forefront of what’s going on in the news. The band is well-known for attaching themselves to movements that battle injustices all over the world. Guitarist Tom Morello, along with Serj Tankian of System of a Down, even formed a non-profit organization called Axis of Justice to fight social injustices. So it didn’t come as a surprise when Morello spoke up for RATM when right-wing shock jock Rush Limbaugh began using their music on his show.
In the past week, Limbaugh has lost several sponsors and had bands like Rush and the Fabulous Thunderbirds ask him to stop using their music. The backlash stems from the radio hosts controversial attack on Sandra Fluke, who spoke up for free contraception. When Limbaugh used Rage Against the Machine’s 1999 track ‘Sleep Now in the Fire,’ it didn’t take Morello long to go public via Twitter with a note of disapproval on behalf of the whole band:
To Rush Limbaugh: Hey Jackass, stop using our music on your racist, misogynist, right wing clown show. Sincerely, Rage Against The Machine
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) March 9, 2012
After their 2000 breakup, Rage Against the Machine have reunited on occasion to perform a select number of gigs, while Tom Morello has kept busy playing with the now-defunct Audioslave, Street Sweeper Social Club, and performing solo under his alter ego The Nightwatchman in the years since the split. Frontman Zack de la Rocha is reportedly working on the full-length debut album from his group One Day as a Lion.
Rage famously sang ‘Turn that s–t up’ in the song ‘Guerrilla Radio,’ but in the case of Rush Limbaugh, the band is clearly saying, ‘Turn that s–t off.’