Album: Evil Empire (1996)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Rage Against The Machine lead singer Zack de la Rocha has said that this song was written to celebrate the death of former US president Richard Nixon, who passed away in 1994 at 81. Usually when a public figure dies, even his critics say only nice things, but De la Rocha has only vitriol for Nixon, and he's not going to sugarcoat it.
  • In the 1995 movie Higher Learning, there is a remixed version of this song.
  • Despite never being released as a single, nor ever having a music video, "Tire Me" won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance. It was the first of two Grammy wins for Rage Against The Machine, who won the same award in 2001 for "Guerrilla Radio."
  • "Tire Me" appears on Evil Empire, the second Rage Against The Machine album. All four of the group's albums were released during their initial run from 1991-2000. They had two reunions (first in 2007, again in 2022) but didn't put out any new music. The band stuck almost exclusively to political songs, with the exception of their last album, Renegades, which is all covers. That one was released in 2000 after they broke up.

Comments: 2

  • Sam from Seattle, Wathe lines "I want to be Jackie Onassis/ I want to wear a pair of dark sunglasses" is from a song called "Jackie Onassis" by Human Sexual Response.
  • Steven from Waldwick, NjIn the movie, "Higher Learning," there is a remixed version of this song credit: http://www.musicfanclubs.org/rage/discography.htm Soundtracks and Compilmations
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."