Zack, where have you gone?

Rage Against the Machine 'dissolved' a few years ago, and all the members but Zack de la Rocha banded together with Chris Cornell and formed the band, Audioslave. They released a successful album in 2002. Zack, however, has been MIA. He's reportedly recorded tracks with Trent Reznor of NIN, Dan the Automator of the Gorillaz, and DJ Shadow, but no albums have been released. Zack and Shadow did release a song shortly after the war in Iraq began, but due to the oppressive patriotism that was pervasive at the time, it received little to no airplay.

Interestingly enough, it seems like some Rage songs are actually becoming more relevant as time passes. Let's examine some snippets:

Merge on tha networks, slangin' nerve gas
Up jump tha boogie then bang, let 'em hang
While tha paraniod try ta stuff tha void
Let's capture this AM mayhem
Undressed, and blessed by tha Lord
Tha power pendulum swings by tha umbilical cord
Shock around tha clock, from noon 'til noon
Men grabbin' they mics, and stuff 'em into tha womb
Terror's tha product ya push
Well I'm a truth addict, oh shit I gotta headrush
Sheep tremble an here come tha votes
Thrown from tha throat, new cages an scapegoats
Undressed and blessed by tha Lord
Tha same devil that ran around Managua wit a sword
Check out tha new style that Ollie found
I tune in wit a bullet ta shut down tha devil sound
Shut down tha devil sound
Tha program of Vietnow
Shut down tha devil sound

-Vietnow, Evil Empire (1996)

Clearly, the original target of this song was conservative radio, but much of it is directly applicable to the current election. "Terror's tha product ya push" could be a reference to the spreading of paranoia by Bush and his cronies. "Sheep tremble an here come tha votes" is the what the Bush camp hopes results from their terror pushing.

The movie ran through me
The Glamour subdue me
The tabloid untie me
Im empty please fill me
Mister anchor assure me
That Baghdad is burning
Your voice it is so soothing
That cunning mantra of killing
I need you my witness
To dress this up so bloodless
To numb me and purge me now
Of thoughts of blaming you
Yes the car is our wheelchair
My witness your coughing
Oily silence mocks the legless
Boys who travel now in coffins

-Testify, Battle of Los Angeles (1999)

This one is pretty much self-explanatory. It seems more applicable to the current conflict in Iraq since this one is a prolonged war where we're constantly hearing reports of "X number dead today in Iraq."

Anyway, as the title indicates, the original purpose of this post was to question why Zack hasn't released anything in the months leading up to the election. I'm sure there are plenty of 18-yr olds running around out there who support Kerry, but would rather not be bothered with the whole voting process. A catchy song and video might be all the motivation these kids need to get themselves registered and to the polls. Every vote counts...