Song of the Day: Rage Against the Machine - Calm Like a Bomb

     I know, I know, Rage Against the Machine is neither terribly heavy nor terribly new, but they're still getting the Song of the Day nod today. Why? It's a bit of walk, but here goes. I've had people tell me that The Battle of Los Angeles is the best Rage record, to which my reply has always been (as it usually is) "No way! The old stuff is better!" or something similar. And while I still like older Rage better, today I finally get what my friends are talking about.



     Picture me driving to work this morning: it's like 4:30, still dark out, and I've got my mp3 player on shuffle instead of just listening to whole albums like I usually do. "Calm Like a Bomb" comes on, and as that sick bass intro gives way to the explosion of the whole band, it dawns on me that while the first two albums might be rawer or more intense, Battle is a refinement of Rage's sound. It's like they were sketching out what they wanted Rage Against the Machine to be on the first two albums, and by the third they'd honed it to a laser beam. I get it now guys.

     Your song today is of course "Calm Like a Bomb" by Rage Against the Machine from 1999's The Battle of Los Angeles. Put it on and turn it up.