Power 96 Cool One Recap: Rage Against the Machine

Last week I started out the Power 96 Cool Ones with a mellow pop/rock tune from Player, so I thought I'd better end the week with something that rocked. To that end I chose Rage Against the Machine's "Sleep Now in the Fire" from their November 1999 release, Battle of Los Angeles. The single made it to No. 112 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, No. 116 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 8 on the Alternative Songs chart. Released more than three years after their second studio effort, the album topped the charts at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

I've always enjoyed listening to Rage Against the Machine as they channel their anger, frustration and rage into their music creating catchy, anthemic, fist-pumping tunes. I do have to admit that I purchased their self-titled first effort because the album cover caught my eye. After listening to it I thought, these guys are never going to get any airplay unless they clean up some of the lyrics, which they did to some extent, and thankfully their label released radio-edit versions of their songs.

Today at 4:35PM on the Power 96 Cool One, brought to you by Kelly's Auto Parts in Faribault, we pay homage to David Bowie, who passed away yesterday at age 69.