https://modestwalrus.com/tags/1996/Recent content in 1996 on Modest WalrusHugoen-usMon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/bulls-on-parade-by-rage-against-the-machine/Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/bulls-on-parade-by-rage-against-the-machine/<h2 id="why-i-reacted-to-this-song">Why I Reacted To This Song</h2> <p>There&rsquo;s no truer words than what Zack de la Rocha lays down here. The anger is real and it&rsquo;s pointed at something specific, not just noise for its own sake.</p> <h2 id="original-by-artist">Original by Artist</h2> <div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen" loading="eager" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3L4YrGaR8E4?autoplay=0&amp;controls=1&amp;end=0&amp;loop=0&amp;mute=0&amp;start=0" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" title="YouTube video"></iframe> </div> <h2 id="about-this-song">About This Song</h2> <p>&ldquo;Bulls on Parade&rdquo; was released in 1996 on Rage Against the Machine&rsquo;s second album, <em>Evil Empire</em>. Written by Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello, the song takes aim at the military-industrial complex and the way arms manufacturing and war profiteering keep the machinery of conflict running. The guitar solo is one of the most recognizable in rock; Morello gets the vinyl-scratch sound by setting one pickup to full volume and killing the other, then rubbing his fretting hand across the strings over the dead pickup while flipping the selector switch like a killswitch. No turntable involved, just a guitar rewired to sound like one.</p>https://modestwalrus.com/music/if-i-ruled-the-world-by-nas/Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/if-i-ruled-the-world-by-nas/<h2 id="why-i-reacted-to-this-song">Why I Reacted To This Song</h2> <p>Nas has always been one of the sharpest voices in hip-hop and &ldquo;If I Ruled the World&rdquo; is one of his most enduring records. Pairing him with Lauryn Hill on the hook turns an already great song into something timeless.</p> <h2 id="original-by-artist">Original by Artist</h2> <div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen" loading="eager" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-8dyp89uWxA?autoplay=0&amp;controls=1&amp;end=0&amp;loop=0&amp;mute=0&amp;start=0" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" title="YouTube video"></iframe> </div> <h2 id="about-this-song">About This Song</h2> <p>&ldquo;If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)&rdquo; was released in 1996 on Nas&rsquo;s second album, <em>It Was Written</em>. The track samples Kurtis Blow&rsquo;s 1985 song of the same name and pairs Nas&rsquo;s verses with a hook sung by Lauryn Hill of The Fugees. It became one of Nas&rsquo;s biggest commercial hits, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, and remains one of the most recognisable hip-hop singles of the era.</p>