Mitt Romney's chosen candidate for Vice President, Paul Ryan, is a bit of a music fan, so it seems. But music, unfortunately, isn't much of a Paul Ryan fan. Earlier this week, the Silversun Pickups issued a cease and desist to Ryan's people for the use of their song "Panic Switch," and now, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello has come out with a statement slamming Ryan, printed on Rolling Stone's website.
Ryan has said that Rage is his favorite band, and that fact baffles Morello.
"I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is. Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of 'F*** the Police?'Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings."
Sick burn, bro.
Morello also says he hopes that Ryan is just a mole, faking his way into Washington to, in fact, Rage against said Machine, but based on Ryan's history of voting for typically right-wing bills, we're pretty skeptical.
Now, in Ryan's defense, the politician claimed that he likes Rage's "sound, but not the lyrics," which is odd to us, because typically when a band earns "favorite" status, it's because we like, nearly literally, everything about that band. Not just a small part.
But Morello says that Rage's music affects people in different ways, and that while some tune in and hang on to every work, some people concentrate on throwing elbows in the pit.
Morello says that perhaps Ryan was "moshing when he should have been listening," but that he understands where Ryan is coming from.
"Don't mistake me," Morello writes. "I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta 'rage' in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment. Basically the only thing he's not raging against is the privileged elite he's groveling in front of for campaign contributions."
OUCH, Paul. OUCH.
Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to go listen to the music AND lyrics of Rage Against the Machine.