10 Songs That Defined The '90s
3. Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
A lot of the first real smashes coming out of the '90s had to deal with frustration. Even though the grunge movement had commandeered that emotion in 1991, every stripe of rock fan was getting just the slightest bit jaded by the end of the year. With Rage Against the Machine though, this was no longer frustration...this was outright anger.
Taking the most visceral aspects of rock, metal, and hip hop, Killing in the Name was the perfect song to serve as the antithesis to hair metal back in the day. Alongside the likes of Ratt and Winger trying to hold onto their relevancy, having someone like Zack de la Rocha out front was the best you could have hoped for, being less of a singer and more like a vocalist using his instrument to get a rise out of you.
Aside from the mind bending licks from Tom Morello, the anger regarding the racism in the police force really struck a raw nerve with teens and adults alike, bringing up real issues that most of the straight media weren't quite ready to tackle just yet. Then again, that's the beauty of great rock and roll at the end of the day, right? The public doesn't wait around for the next revolution...you have to be the one to give it a smack in the face.