I’m assuming that me writing to you, here on Racket, that I don’t have to tell you exactly who Rise Against are. A lot of you may just simply know them for the acoustic hit, “Swing Life Away” while others most likely know them for their incendiary live shows, progressive and intensely cohesive albums.
And some may just know them as the opener for My Chemical Romance a few years ago, or a purchasable track on Guitar Hero 3 as well as soundtrack additions to many other games, and even WWE wrasslin’ theme songs.
But I’m going to talk about them now, about why I feel you should know this band. The absolute truth is, this a band that continues to grow exponentially, enthralling audiences the world over and never seeming to stop touring. A few years ago, when they jumped from Indie-label heavyweight Fat Wreck, a lot of people assumed curtains. A lot of people assumed chick-pants, and catering to the whims of the radio dial and MTV play lists was inevitable. Basically a lot of people assumed a lot of things, and made the proverbial asses of themselves all along.
When Rise Against released “Siren Song of the Counter Culture” in 2004 it wound up sitting on the shelves. The major label Geffen, to whom they’d signed to seemingly washed their hands of the band, and put almost no money whatsoever into the band.
See, you can’t really market Rise Against. Hard hitting punk rockers who wear their Black Flag and Circle Jerk influences proudly and don’t deck out in “guy-liner”, and don’t buy into any steadfast fashion statements. Basically, you have to rely on their substance. Quality refusing to be sacrificed for a ticket punched into the lines of quantity. You know…the way it should be. Passionate, heart-felt, laid all on the line and if no one else buys into it, fuck it. We’re still gonna play, and we’re gonna continue making music, whether it be for this label or for another.
Aesthetics embodied fully, Rise Against kind of seemed to have nailed the coffin shut, and it appeared that they would be heading back to Fat Wreck with their collective tails betwixt their whipped legs in a matter of time. Until some one discovered that “Swing Life Away” was a damned decent track. Interest was stirred in the band outside of the realms of the punk rock
community, and eventually their label realized that this wasn’t a wasted expenditure.
But does selling records really indicate the quality of a band? Do chart positions, and number one singles really mean a shit? If they really do, then why the fuck is something that was once viewed and deemed so dangerous to the public, such as hip-hop now force fed to suburban kids with baggy clothes? Fads live, and die with in the same breath. This becomes so glaringly
evident when IPods hit the shelves, and all of a sudden consumers can cut the middle man right the fuck out, and just listen to what they want too. Radio isn’t the back bone to a successful act. Touring is. Earnest lyrics, passionate performances, and the unwillingness to compromise any of these factors are what make or break a band.
And you can’t market honesty. You just can’t market aesthetics, because when you do that becomes a self-defeating point. It’s kind of like how all singers want to be actors, and all actors want to be singers. Theres not one ounce of truth to any of it, but rather a stroking of ones own un-lived desires. Ones own, which makes honesty, integrity, and passion nearly impossible to market. The irony is that’s the one thing that could save a bloated machine like the record industry…it’s just impossible. But who fucking cares about record labels? At least major labels? Is the loss of the hit machine even a negative thing?
So here stands Rise Against. A band that should not be. A band that should not be on a major label, much less having two consecutive albums. Their last release, 2006’s “The Sufferer and The Witness” wound up topping out on the Billboard Charts at number eight. Number eight for a legitimate punk band? I don’t even think Bad Religion ever did anything quite that impressive in their major label days. Rise Against are the last real hope for music, and I intently believe this.
Each album progresses where the last one left off. The studio production be damned, when these guys come through your town it’s a guarantee that they will rock the place to the very foundation. Tim McIlrith’s voice melds over the often-times chaotic musical progression in such a chilling way…
Where they gain the most of my respect is how they’ve done so many things right. They maintain a majority of the punk community that embraced them prior to the big plunge, while continuing to search for a wider audience. They’ve played the
biggest festivals and tours, yet have the ability to still play a basement show (YouTube that shit). They don’t mind being support for any bands that they could honestly do well on a tour of their own, (for instance: Alkaline Trio, My Chemical Romance). Instead of growing complacent, they still hit with a veracity and hunger of a band you’d assume just started out. (Just listen to “Injection” off of “Sufferer and the Witness”.)
And how they present there politics, and beliefs in a way that’s actually admirable. Instead of hopping on “trend” causes, they aim for the broad spectrum of humanity and leave you to come to your own ideas about what really is right, or wrong. From animal rights, to ecological reasoning they stand for a lot, and you know exactly where it is they stand…but they almost seem to refuse to beat you over the head with it. There’s a lot to be said for subtlety, and assuming one is smart enough to see through the muck, mire and bullshit for what really exists.
They strike a chord with kids just scrounging for an ounce of honesty, who don’t have the patience to search out basement shows and the latest PunkNews.Org flavor. With their broader appeal, they become a gateway band to those who, despite having access to the internet have no clue, or idea where to start at with.
So why are they the last hope for music? That’s a pretty ambitious statement that may illicit many negative connotations, many of which just assuming that I’m a fanboy of Rise Against. The truth is: With the digital market destroying the old system of how mainstream music was presented to us, punk bands with no selling points aren’t exactly what’s going to be rushed out for. Image has become everything, and when you don’t focus on how you look, or how catchy a hook is…chances are you’ll never get much further than a short blurb in Spin Magazine, and a bunch of split 7 inches that frankly….not a lot of people will be able to hear, because of the million of splits available.
It’s always been the premonition that hard work, millions of miles logged in a van, e.p’s, splits, demos and full lengths on indie labels built your fan base enough for a major to take that gamble on you. Now it’s “Hey There, Delilah”, and the ability to get chicks panties all nice and moist. And the younger the better.
So here stands Rise Against. A humble band from Chicago, Illinois. No agenda to bash you over the head with, not an ego present in the fucking lot of ’em. A rock and roll band that’s putting passion before flash in the pan.
America’s culture rotates, always rehashing whats already been done. And while Rise Against aren’t the wholly original band, an aurora of them reeks of actual change. One that’s over due, and long needed. After the past cycles of Teen Pop, Nu Metal, Pseudo Grunge Revival…and this hair metal what the fuck ever, it’s time for a band harken to that of the Clash. Not one that sounds like them, because that’s absurdly blasphemous, but one with the aesthetic and ideals in the right place. Rise Against is just that band.
-Aaron “Latino Heat” Hale