"Killing in the Name"

Rage Against the Machine
(Epic, 1992)

Before this single even broke onto the airwaves, Rage Against the Machine were bringing out the hardcore rap-metal audience to clubs with the formula laid out here. They play with tempos, dynamics, and a series of repeated and opposing riffs. The song coils like a spring winding tighter and tighter with Zach de la Rocha's whisper-to-scream raps, then boings loose with agitprop refrains and Tom Morello's skittering guitar breaks. And the sentiments are suitable for frustrated teenage radicals of all ages: "Fuck you I won't do you tell me!"

-- Jon Garelick