Testify It's Right Outside Our Door Now example essay topic

Rage Against the Machine are arguably the first band to blend hip-hop-style vocals with heavy-metal grinding guitars to create the sub-genre known as rock-rap. The mostly down-tuned, heavily funk-influenced metal guitar from Tom Morello combined with the booming rhythm section of bassist Tim Commer ford and drummer Brad Wilk give vocalist Zack de la Rocha the perfect backdrop to showcase his politically influenced and hard-hitting lyrics. "Testify", the first song from Rage Against the Machine's 1999 album 'The Battle of Los Angeles", appears to be a commentary of the general public's blindness to international issues and the filtering of information by the news media. This could be dealing with the American public, what the band is a part of, but it is not mentioned directly in the song. Rage Against the Machine identifies this current problem by making references to the filtered-down information put forth by the news media, the war over oil in the middle east, and by using a courtroom metaphor to describe how it is actually the people's choice to accept what they are shown every day in the media. The song starts with an effects-laden guitar noise being backed by a constant snare drum roll which sounds similar to an army-drill drum beat.

A moaning bass in the back adds to the sound as well and gives the image of a tornado-like chaos which slowly builds into a constant, funk-influenced main instrumental chorus section. The drums continue to pound a constant beat and the bass follows the guitar line directly, bringing the song into full focus and into the first verse. A major issue dealt with in "Testify" is the filtering of the news media for the mass audience. Zack de la Rocha displays this throughout the song by role-playing both the public and someone in a position of power - either the media or the government - at different point in the song. Playing the public, he states: "The movie ran through me, The glamour subdued me, The tabloid untied me, I'm empty - please fill me" As what the public is watching is shown in front of them - the "movie" of celebrity glamour and hearsay - they are numbed to the facts that there are real power struggles and wars in the world. The general public can only be concerned with what they see, so if they only see Hollywood-tinged news, they feel content and "full".

De la Rocha, still playing the part of the masses, asks to "dress this up so bloodless / To numb me and purge me now / Of thoughts of blaming you". As long as what the audience sees is "bloodless" and is hidden from the truth, they are "purged and numbed" so they cannot blame the government for doing anything wrong. The line also implies that the government filters information to the people through the media to prevent the people from blaming the leaders. This brings up the reference to the book "1984" by George Orwell, in which the masses are run and controlled by a fascist, mind-controlling government. In the lines "Who controls the past now controls the future / Who controls the present now controls the past", which is a line from the book describing the slogan of the government party in power, Zack implies that if people's views of the past are distorted, such as motives for past wars or political decisions made in previous government terms, then future decisions of a "democratic" society can change. He also implies that the current government party in power, who controls the present, has control of the past because they choose what to show the public through the media.

Zack then uses a variation of the "1984" reference by questioning "Who controls the present now?" , as if to ask the listener "Who's controlling what you consume and watch?" Much of Rage Against the Machine's lyrical content deals with current political and world issues. In "Testify", they bring up the conflict over oil in the Middle East throughout the 1990's. "Mister anchor assure me, That Baghdad is burning, Your voice it is so soothing, That cunning mantra of killing" These lines, coming from the perspective of the mainstream media-watching public, put them in the position of wanting to hear about trouble in Iraq and that as long as there are people dying that it is for a just cause. The news anchor seems to be giving the people what they want to hear and showing them 'proof' that they are winning the fight. "Oily silence mocks the legless / Ones who travel now in coffins" shows that the lack of coverage of the death in the Middle East ('Oily silence') is mocking the people killed or wounded because of the crisis. The 'oily' reference also implies that they are talking about the oil crisis in the Middle East.

Another example of the disregard for the loss of human life because of the oil crisis is the line "The pipeline is gushing / While here we lie in tombs". This implies that as long as people are getting oil and the "pipeline is gushing", there will be victims. "Mass graves for the pump - and the price is set" is a line that reinforces the view that the cost of getting oil are mass killing of people. All it takes to get the oil is "mass graves", then "the price (for oil) is set."Testify" makes many metaphorical references to the judicial system.

With each chorus, Zack pleads with the listener to "testify" because "it's right outside your door". Going with the major theme of the song, he seems to be asking the listener to go and sift through what they watch on television and search for the true information - what's really going on in the world. Saying "it's right outside your door" implies that all they have to do is put in some effort and look for it, and the truth can be found. By yelling at the masses to "testify", Zack is telling people to be critical of what they hear and what is shown in the media and to speak out against what they don't agree with. The witness would be testifying to the jury (the masses).

In this respect, Zack is asking people who realize the nature of what they " re being shown to convince the masses (the "jury") of the deceit of the government-influenced media. Taking the role of the government, Zack makes an important identification in the lines "On the corner / The jury's sleepless / We found your weakness". These lines suggest that the people who realize the media filtration of information are the witnesses, with the "sleepless jury" being the masses who cannot come to a conclusion about the diplomatic and political issues in the world. He in implying that the mass's "weakness" is to keep them "numb" and "dress this (world issues) up so bloodless" in order to keep the powers that be in control.

Finally, the song comes to a close by the bass, drum, and guitar being hit in unison, appearing to symbolize a gavel being hit down in a courtroom. This also goes along with the court theme of the song. Pleading for change in the way the general public perceives the world, or at least a realization that change for the better can occur, Rage Against the Machine may sound heavy and pessimistic at first listen, but convey plenty of positive messages in their lyrics. 'Testify' is a controversial commentary of the general public's blindness to true international issues and the filtering of information by the news media. It is also a plea for the masses to question what they are given everyday to fill their need for information.

Rage Against the Machine - "Testify" The movie ran through me The glamour subdued me The tabloid untied me I'm empty - please fill me Mr. 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 Ones who travel now in coffins On the corner The jury's sleepless We found your weakness And it's right outside our door Now testify Now testify It's right outside our door Now testify Yes testify It's right outside our door With precision you feed me My witness I'm hungry Your temple it calms me So I can carry on My slaving sweating the skin right off my bones On a bed of fire I'm choking on the smoke that fills my home The wrecking ball is rushing Witness your blushing The pipeline is gushing While here we lie in tombs While on the corner The jury's sleepless We found your weakness And it's right outside your door Now testify Yeah testify It's right outside our door Now testify Now testify It's right outside our door Mass graves for the pump and the price is set - and the price is set Mass graves for the pump and the price is set - and the price is set Mass graves for the pump and the price is set - and the price is set Mass graves for the pump and the price is set - and the price is set Who controls the past now controls the future Who controls the present now controls the past Who controls the past now controls the future Who controls the present now? Now testify Testify It's right outside our door Now testify Testify It's right outside our door.