"Killing in the Name" is a song by American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, featured on their self-titled debut album, and was released as the lead single from the album in November 1992. In 1992, the song peaked at number 25 in the United Kingdom.

Written about revolution against racism in security agencies, "Killing in the Name" is widely recognized as the band's signature song, and has been noted for its distinctive guitar riffs and heavy use of strong language.

In 2009 the song was the focus of a successful Facebook campaign to prevent The X Factor winner's song from gaining the Christmas number one in the United Kingdom for the fifth successive year. The campaign provoked commentary from both groups and other musicians, and gained coverage in both national and international press. The song became the first single to reach the Christmas number one spot on downloads alone.

Song[link]

"Killing in the Name" has been described as "a howling, expletive-driven tirade against the ills of American society."^[1] The song repeats six lines of lyrics that focus on racism in security agencies with the refrain, "Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses," an allusion to cross-burning by the Ku Klux Klan. The uncensored version contains the word "fuck" seventeen times.^[2] The song builds in intensity, repeating the line "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me", culminating in Zack de la Rocha screaming "Motherfucker!"^[3] The song's lyrics reference the allegation that some members of US police forces are members of the Ku Klux Klan organization, whose symbol is the burning cross. The BBC News website refers to it as railing against "the military–industrial complex, justifying killing for the benefit of, as the song puts it, the chosen whites."^[4][5][6]

"Killing in the Name" was originally written and recorded shortly after Rage Against The Machine formed as part of a 12 song self-released cassette. After signing with Epic Records, the band released their self-titled debut album, which reached triple platinum status, driven by heavy radio play of "Killing in the Name".^[2]

Rage Against the Machine's first video for "Killing in the Name" did not receive heavy airplay in the United States due to the explicit lyrics. The song received substantial airplay in Europe and drove the band's popularity outside its home country.^[7]

Writing[link]

Tom Morello created the heavier guitar riffs while teaching a student drop D tuning. He stopped the lesson and recorded the riff.^[8] The next day the band met in a studio and according to Morello the song "Killing in the Name" was created in a collaborative effort, combining his riff with "Timmy C.'s magmalike bass, Brad Wilk's funky, brutal drumming and Zack's conviction".^[9]

Like all Rage Against the Machine songs tuned to Drop D, it was recorded on a Mexican-made Fender Telecaster.^[10]

Live performances[link]

The song was performed as an extended instrumental at their first public performance at Cal State in the Quad, on October 23, 1991.

Bassist Tim Commerford is known to chant the backing vocals of "now you do what they told ya" of the chorus during most live performances.

Zack de la Rocha sometimes changes the lyrics in the second verse from "Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses" to "Some of those that burn crosses are the same that hold office" when playing live.^[11]

As part of supergroup Audioslave, guitarist Tom Morello incorporated instrumentals from Rage Against the Machine and cover versions of Killing in the Name into their performances.^[12]

Rage Against the Machine performed the song live in 1999 at the Woodstock '99 festival, burning the American flag during the song. In this performance Zack changed the lyrics to "Some of those that burn crosses are the same that burn churches".^[13]

Single[link]

Epic Records released Rage Against the Machine's self titled debut album on November 6, 1992. The album included the singles "Killing in the Name", "Freedom" and "Take the Power Back".^[7]

Single track listing:

1. "Killing in the Name"
2. "Darkness of Greed"
3. "Clear the Lane"

"Darkness of Greed" and "Clear the Lane" were re-mastered versions of the respective demo tracks. Another version of "Darkness of Greed", titled merely "Darkness", was included on the 1994 The Crow soundtrack album.

Artwork[link]

The album's cover featured Malcolm Browne's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burning himself to death in Saigon in 1963 in protest of the murder of Buddhists by the US-backed Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm's regime.^[2]
An alternative cover used in Australia instead featured the words "killing in the name" written in large red block capitals, and a much smaller and tightly cropped picture of the monk appearing in the bottom right corner.^[8]

Music video[link]

The video, produced and directed by Peter Gideon, a guitar student of Tom Morello who had a video camera, was filmed during two shows in small Los Angeles venues, the Whisky a Go Go and the Club With No Name. Released in December 1992, (the uncensored version of) the video clip was shown on European MTV but was banned on American MTV because of the explicit lyrics. As a result the video's existence was in doubt until its release on the self-titled video.^[7]

United Kingdom[link]

Earlier controversies[link]

The song earned its notoriety in the United Kingdom on February 21, 1993, when BBC Radio 1 DJ Bruno Brookes played the uncensored version of the song on his Top 40 countdown, leading to 138 complaints.^[14] This moment of infamy has since been consistently referenced by numerous British rock media.^[2][4]

The song drew controversy again in Britain on November 2008, when it was played over the speakers in an Asda supermarket in Preston, Lancashire, prompting numerous complaints from customers .^[4][15][16]

2009 Christmas Number One campaign[link]

In early December 2009, Jon and Tracy Morter launched a group on the social networking site Facebook encouraging people to buy the song in the week running up to Christmas in order to prevent the winner of the X Factor television show from achieving the Christmas number one slot in the United Kingdom for the fifth year running.^[17][18] On December 15, the BBC reported the group had over 750,000 members.^[19] As the X Factor song was donating some of the profits to charity^[20] the Rage against X Factor campaign encouraged supporters also to give to charity. Alongside the group, a JustGiving page was created to raise money for homeless charity Shelter which, as of 20 December, was reported to have raised over £70,000 (approximately $110,000).^[21]

After the creator of The X Factor, Simon Cowell, publicly denounced the campaign as "stupid" and "cynical",^[22] the group gained more attention and went on to be mentioned on various UK news channels, radio stations and websites. Rage Against the Machine added their support to the campaign. Guitarist Tom Morello said that achieving the Christmas number one would be "a wonderful dose of anarchy" and that he planned to donate the unexpected windfall to charity.^[23][24] Dave Grohl touring in the UK at the time with Them Crooked Vultures, Liam Howlett and The Prodigy were among many musicians and celebrities supporting the campaign. ^[20][25][26] The campaign even received support from Paul McCartney, who had appeared on the X Factor with the finalists ^[27][28] and X Factor contestants John & Edward also added their support.^[29] Critics noted that both The X Factor and Rage Against the Machine are signed to labels that are part of Sony BMG.^[19][30][31] Tom Morello dismissed conspiracy claims as ridiculous.^[32][33]

The band created controversy when they performed an uncensored rendition of the song on BBC Radio 5Live despite the hosts asking them to censor the expletive end. During the crescendo of their performance, frontman Zack De La Rocha started out only singing "I won't do what you tell me," with a pause where he normally sings "Fuck You", but after a few lines, he screamed the lyrics, "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me" repeatedly. Hosts Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty apologised afterward.^[23][34]

On December 20, 2009, BBC Radio 1 revealed the song had successfully reached the number one spot, selling over 500,000 copies and being the first exclusively download-only single to be Christmas number one in the process.^[21] The following week Joe McElderry's cover of the song "The Climb" became the last British #1 single of 2009. Killing In The Name dropped to number two, falling 38 places to #40 the week after,^[35][36] and dropping out of the top 75 the following week, falling to #100.^[37]

On June 6, 2010, Rage Against The Machine performed at a free 'thank you' gig for 40,000 fans in Finsbury Park.^[38] On stage Tracy and Jon Morter were handed a representative cheque in the amount of £162,713.03, representing the proceeds from donations to JustGiving and royalties from sales of the single.^[39]

As a result of the campaign, the song is featured in the 2011 UK edition of the Guinness World Records under the category of 'Fastest-selling digital track (UK)', after recording 502,672 downloads in its first week.^[40]

Charts[link]

Wikinews has related news: Rage Against The Machine top UK singles chart

In 1993, the song reached #7 in Australia, #8 in New Zealand. The song also reached #13 in The Netherlands.^[47]

Other appearances[link]

Lyrics from "Killing in the Name" appear throughout popular culture.

• During one of his last performances before he died, American comedian Bill Hicks ended a set by smashing his microphone against a stool while singing along to "Killing in the Name" playing over the loudspeakers.^[48]

• As part of the US War on Terror the song was used by military interrogators at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. Music was played at painfully high volume levels for hours on end, as a form of psychological torture. "The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me," noted Morello.^{[4][49][50][51]}

• In the Daria episode "The Big House", the opening guitar riffs from "Killing in the Name" can be heard in the background in the scene where Daria Morgendorffer is reading a book while her sister Quinn is pacing back and forth.^[52]

• The song also briefly appeared in the South Park episode Guitar Queer-O.^[53]

• During The 2010 State Of Origin in Australia this song was used for the Queensland line-up.^{[citation needed]}

• The song featured in the British television series Skins. Metal music fan Rich tells ballerina Grace to stick up for herself, he encourages her using the song as an example, and has her chant the chorus.^[54]

Cover versions[link]

• In July 2007, a remix of the song by SebastiAn (miscredited as a Mr. Oizo remix) was Zane Lowe's "Hottest Record in the World" on his show on BBC Radio 1.^[55]

• In June 2007, The Apples a funk band from Tel Aviv, Israel, released a cover on a 7" vinyl on Freestyle Records.^{[56][57][58][59]}

• On 22 August 2008, Scottish alt-rock band Biffy Clyro performed a re-worked acoustic cover version of "Killing in the Name" on Jo Whiley's Show at The Reading Festival on BBC Radio 1.^[60] The band agreed that, for this live broadcast, they would not use expletives and sung just the melody in place of "Fuck you" in the song. The crowd were bound by no such agreement and began an impromptu mass sing along with "Fuck you" in place, audible by the recording equipment. As this broadcast was going out live at lunchtime, Jo Whiley was required to apologize on air after the performance.^{[citation needed]}

• In 2008 Icelandic electronica group FM Belfast released a single called "Lotus", a minimal electro cover version of Killing in the Name.^[61]

• Australian rock group FourPlay String Quartet recorded a version of the song for their 2009 album Fourthcoming.^[62]

• Slovak DJ and producer L-Plus released a drum 'n' bass remix of Killing in the Name in 2008.^[4][63]

• French band La Maison Tellier released a country-folk version of Killing in the Name in their first album (2006).^[64]

• On July 4, 2010, American jam band Phish covered the song after introducing Rage Against the Machine as "one of the only other bands, other than Phish, that won't bullshit you."^[65][66]

• New York-based band Emmure covered the song at the Hoodwink Festival along with "Bulls on Parade".^[67]

• Zac Brown Band has covered the song on several occasions during their live performances.^[68]

Recognition[link]

• In July 2009, "Killing in the Name" was voted at number #2 in the Hottest 100 of all time countdown poll, conducted by Australian radio station, Triple J. More than half a million votes were cast in.^[8] The song was also voted at #17 in the 1998 edition of Hottest 100 of All Time and was voted #6 on the Hottest 100 list in 1993.

• In 2007, "Killing in the Name" earned a spot on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" at #89.^[69][70]

• In 2002, Rolling Stone magazine listed "Killing in the Name" as the 24th in its 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.^[9]

• In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as number 12 on their list of the “Top 20 Political Songs” as voted for by the Political Studies Association.^[71]

• In 2010 and 2011, The Rock radio station in New Zealand have held the Rock 1000 countdown which counts down the top 1000 rock songs of all time, as voted by the public, both years the song was in the top five. In 2011, "Killing in the Name" was voted #2, uncensored, with a preceding message from John Key approving the playing of the uncensored version of the song at 7.30pm due to the large number of complaints received by MediaWorks New Zealand regarding the 2010 countdown not giving any warning that the song was uncensored.

Video games[link]

• "Killing in the Name" is featured on fictional alternative rock station Radio X in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.^[72]

• A cover version of "Killing in the Name" is a playable song in the Guitar Hero II video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360,^[73] and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits also for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, as well as the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3.^{[citation needed]} The song's lyrics are altered to remove the expletives, replacing the sentence repeated 17 times Fuck you with Now you're under control, and the word Motherfucker near the end with Under control.^{[citation needed]}

Personnel[link]

• Zack de la Rocha - vocals, lyrics
• Tom Morello - guitar
• Tim Commerford - bass guitar/backing vocals
• Brad Wilk - drums

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rage Against the Machine

• "Killing In The Name" Official music video on YouTube
• Killing in the Name at Allmusic
• Rage Against the Machine for Christmas No.1 (UK) group on Facebook
• Tracy Morter, instigator of the campaign on Facebook

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012)

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (May 2012)

"In the Name" is the fourth and final single from the album For Sale by German pop band Fool's Garden. It was released in 2001.

Track listing[link]

1. In the Name (radio edit)
2. Happy (live)
3. In the Name (remix)

Original versions of "In the Name" and "Happy" can be found on the album For Sale.

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (July 2011)

Igor Presnyakov in 2011

Igor Presnyakov (Russian: Игорь Пресняков) is a Russian guitarist who became a YouTube sensation in 2007, for his unique song covers and virtuoso playing style.

Biography[link]

Born in Moscow, Russia, Igor Presnyakov studied classical music at a nearby academy and would eventually graduate as both a guitarist and a conductor for ensembles. He relocated to the Netherlands to further his career, which has now spanned over 35 years. His unique acoustic guitar-style is influenced by various musical genres from Reggae, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country-western, Jazz and Heavy Metal. His most noticeable attribute, is his creative style of "beating" the percussion of the song, onto the body of his acoustic guitar while playing. This replicates the sound of multiple musicians, while only Igor is playing. While he sometimes sings on many of his original and cover-songs, Igor is more famous for mimicking the vocal parts of a song, into guitar-solos, while often adding a softer, jazzier sound.

Igor's popularity has risen since he first debuted on YouTube in 2007. He currently has over 125 million total upload views, in addition to over 255,000 subscribers.

Igor is also now officially endorsed by both Takamine guitars and Fender Amplification.

YouTube fame and world reputation[link]

Igor in 2010 after getting more than 200,000 subscribers and more than 110,000,000 views in his videos he started touring all around Europe . His most famous guitar cover is Beat It with over 6,000,000 views.^{[citation needed]} His Kickstarter project has successfully been funded and he is now working on getting his new album released.

Albums[link]

• Iggyfied (TBA)

2010[link]

• Chunky Strings

2011[link]

• Acoustic Pop Ballads
• Acoustic Rock Ballads Covers

References[link]

• Igor Presnyakov's YouTube Channel " Iggy Pres "
• Igor Presnyakov's website