The Battle of Los Angeles (album)
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| The Battle of Los Angeles | |||||
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| Studio album by Rage Against the Machine | |||||
| Released | November 2, 1999 | ||||
| Recorded | 1998 | ||||
| Genre | Rapcore | ||||
| Length | 45:23 | ||||
| Label | Epic Records | ||||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien Rage Against the Machine |
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| Rage Against the Machine chronology | |||||
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The Battle of Los Angeles is the third studio album by Rage Against the Machine. It was released on November 2, 1999, one day short of the seven-year anniversary of the release of their first album, and over three years after their second studio album, Evil Empire. Between Evil Empire and Los Angeles, the band released a live album, titled Live & Rare.
The song "Calm Like a Bomb" is featured in the credits of The Matrix Reloaded. The videos to "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify" were directed by documentor Michael Moore.
The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 selling 420,000 copies its first week. That week saw a busy CD release schedule. The album denied Mariah Carey's highly anticipated album the chance to open at #1. "Guerrilla Radio" was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, albeit heavily edited on the Nintendo 64. Time named it the Best Album of 1999. It was listed as #53 in SPIN Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005.
The album cover art was an original artwork by the LA Street Phantom aka Joey Krebs aka Joel Jaramillo, a well-known Los Angeles artist who has exhibited at numerous galleries in Los Angeles, New York City and throughout the United States. Despite claims to the contrary, the image was not inspired by images from the 1992 street riots of LA or from images of Munich, but by the band's own music and words, and represents one in a series of images of the artist's work, which can also be seen on various street murals in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
The Battle of Los Angeles was heavily influenced by the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. "Testify", "Sleep Now in the Fire", "Voice of the Voiceless", among other songs, include direct quotes from the novel, and mention key Orwellian terms in the lyrics.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Testify" – 3:30
- "Guerrilla Radio" – 3:26
- "Calm Like a Bomb" – 4:58
- "Mic Check" – 3:33
- "Sleep Now in the Fire" – 3:25
- "Born of a Broken Man" – 4:41
- "Born as Ghosts" – 3:21
- "Maria" – 3:48
- "Voice of the Voiceless" – 2:31
- "New Millennium Homes" – 3:44
- "Ashes in the Fall" – 4:36
- "War Within a Breath" – 3:36
- "No Shelter" – 4:06 (European, Australian and Japanese bonus track).
[edit] Singles
- Guerrilla Radio - 1999
- Sleep Now in the Fire - 2000
- Testify - 2000
- Calm Like a Bomb - 2000
[edit] Personnel
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[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Billboard 200 | #1 |
| 1999 | Top Canadian Albums | #1 |
| 1999 | Top Internet Albums | #1 |
| 1999 | UK Album Chart | #23 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Guerrilla Radio" | Modern Rock Tracks | #6 |
| 1999 | "Guerrilla Radio" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #11 |
| 1999 | "Guerrilla Radio" | Canadian Singles Chart | #6 |
| 1999 | "Guerrilla Radio" | UK Singles Chart | #32 |
| 2000 | "Sleep Now in the Fire" | Modern Rock Tracks | #8 |
| 2000 | "Sleep Now in the Fire" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #16 |
| 2000 | "Sleep Now in the Fire" | UK Singles Chart | #43 |
| 2000 | "Testify" | Modern Rock Tracks | #4 |
| 2000 | "Testify" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #3 |
[edit] Awards
- 2000 Guerrilla Radio Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy Award
- 1999 #1 Rolling Stone Critic Pick (Best Album of 1999)
| Preceded by Supernatural by Santana |
Billboard 200 number-one album November 20 - November 26, 1999 |
Succeeded by Breathe by Faith Hill |
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Axis of Justice Tom Morello and Serj Tankian's Activist Website "Axis Of Justice"
- Vietnow.org Rage Against The Machine news resource and forum
- The Battle of Los Angeles (album) at Allmusic
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