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What's the ultimate scale, mode or chord progression to score a full-out protest riot? We break down the head-banging music theory of Rage Against The Machine to find out.
That's right, let's examine the... SEVERAL... different tonalities that appear throughout Rage's "Killing In The Name," a hit anthem of the mid-1990's loaded with heavy guitar riffs, dissonant bass intervals, and some hardcore tonal ambiguity. It's almost as if the very essence of "unrest" or "friction" was built right into the music itself... 🤔
In fact, there's so much to explore and love about this iconic song: its embrace of Blues tonality, wild tempo changes, the unabashed defiance of its lyrics.
So, is this the best "protest song" ever written? Well, eat your heart out Woody Guthrie, because Rage is comin' for ya!
*Warning: This video contains brief footage of police violence.
0:00 - Intro
1:30 - Anchored in D, but not really.
3:49 - What is happening here?
5:06 - Blues defiance
6:44 - A pot boiling over
8:53 - The final breakdown
10:21 - Coda: Second life
References
Dr. Ethan Hein's blog post on blues tonality: www.ethanhein.com/wp/2014/blu...
The "Fight Songs" episode of our podcast Themes and Variation: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
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