George Mason University's Green Machine marching band plays Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" and they crush it.

George Mason University Green Machine plays Rage (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

http://twitter.com/dr_ultimately Iain Marcks

EP.IC.
http://twitter.com/fractos Adam Christie

Well that’s my wedding music sorted.
Angryjim

With all that awesomeness of horns, the guitar (bass?) in the background seems a bit redundant.
- EH
  
  They use guitar and drumset, probably in a sideline pit, which is common, but I think is cheating. To their credit, I’ve certainly heard worse band arrangements for rock songs.
  - http://twitter.com/andrewctenor Andrew Pickett
    
    Definitely cheating… electric guitar in a marching band? You’d need a good long cord.
    
    But yes, I’ve definitely heard worse.
    - Stitch
      
      In my college marching band my friend used a battery powered pignose amp on a sling.
      - EH
        
        Those PigNose amps actually have strap buttons. :)
    - gmr2048
      
      In my high school marching band (in the late 80s), I played electric bass. We had a wheeled cart on which a Peavey amp and 2×15″ cabinet were mounted. Some poor freshman was enlisted to push the thing. The whole rig was powered by a car battery (and some form of inverter/converter/transformer, I imagine, but I don’t remember that part specifically). I tended to stay with the percussion section, so we didn’t do a *lot* of movements on the field, but we were definitely mobile.
      - wrybread
        
        So were you subjected to constant jokes about Take the Money and Run, where Woody played cello in a marching band?
querent

It’s a medley. Bit of “Bulls on Parade” in there.

Teacher of the mother fucking year.
Cowicide

Best band leader, evar. [the girl with the red shirt/pink heart]

Gives me hope for the future. Be great if they did this in front of Congress during a parade.
- http://deansli.st/ Dean Putney
  
  This is the future, dude. Live it.
http://www.mikezed.com mzed

Almost makes me wish I was in marching band again. Gotta get these folks at an Occupy event.
rob_cornelius

and one time at band camp…. we fucking rocked
Tommy Timefishblue

So much new James Bond theme music in there.
franko

that was SWEET. the kid in the red shirt was feelin’ it. : )
- kansas
  
  Ya! I want the kid in the red shirt on my team.
http://kyleclements.com/ Kyle Clements

The epic epicness of this video is epic.
Jim Anderson

Shouldn’t RIAA be going after them about now? Damn pirates, corrupting our young!
http://twitter.com/openfly ǝɔʎoſ ʇʇɐW

That actually came out surprisingly well. I was not expecting that.
microcars

just went to their website, more awesome goodness, including a version of the medley played at a game!
millie fink

Kids who won’t hang out with the girl in red don’t know what they’re missing.
shibumi

this was impressive.
For High School bands, this one blew me out of the water. This is 2009, however the latest incarnation played in the Rose Parade this year. Kyoto Tachibana Green band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2BcDMr08c0&feature=related
- coffee100
  
  It’s spectacular. The sad thing is I doubt there’s an American school band that could match them any more. We’re so busy destroying music programs in this country we don’t have time to teach students this level of discipline and excellence.
  
  The profound joy I see in this performance is unfortunately matched by the profound sadness I feel for the millions of students who will never know the satisfaction of being applauded for a good musical performance.
  
  Once again, Japan has taken an American invention and done it better. Good for them.
  - morcheeba
    
    I think band is regional … they’re not a big deal where I grew up, but in the midwest where most of my family is from, the whole community was behind them 110% and as a result, they rocked!
  - LinkMan
    
    That Japanese band is very, very impressive (especially for a high school), but there are some high school bands in the US that are pretty awesome, too.
    
    And then there are the semi-pro “World Class” corps of Drum Corps International, which blow away the scholastic bands. If you ever get a chance to catch their championships on ESPN (or ESPN8 or wherever it is that they air), do it. They blow away the scholastic bands.
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAB2g38cEVw&
- http://www.jjsaul.com Jim Saul
  
  Amazing, and included one of my favorite pieces ever from Benny Goodman. (yeah, written by Prima, I know)
- EH
  
  nothing personal, but i’m quite sick of “embedding disabled” for youtube. total misfeature.
gothicgeek

goosebumps!
ahmacrom

This should be the National Anthem
http://twitter.com/MrAaronSwainEsq Aaron Swain

Fuck you I won’t play what you tell me.
opgu

they are a Pep Band, not a marching band. hence the drumkit, electric instruments, etc.
ToMajorTom

We played “MacArthur Park” when I was in band. It was the 70s, and we were very uncool (clearly). But this band = awesome!
coffee100

It has always been distressing to me how instrumental bands are presented in popular culture. They are always weak, thready and out of tune whether in a television show or a movie (and particularly in live news coverage)

People who play instruments (other than guitars, keyboards and drums) are also always presented as basement-dwelling losers. This despite the fact that some of the most accomplished Americans have been instrumental musicians. Louis Armstrong immediately comes to mind, for example.

Then of course, there’s the growing idiocy in society of people who question the need for any course of study beyond those required to assemble consumer electronics.

What most people don’t realize is that a really good marching band makes a sound more glorious than any other music known to man. This band is an excellent example of such a sound.
http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios

“Girl in red, you’re at an 11…we’re gonna need you at about an 8″
- Anon Ymous
  
  Fuck you, I won’t play how you tell me!
Jay Converse

They’re a pep band, I know because they invited me to play with them a few months ago. I’ve been playing tuba in pep and jazz bands since the 70′s, and the charts that Doc Nix has commissioned are some of the toughest I’ve ever seen. Many of the bass charts are a straight transcription of the original electric bass lines, which is OK for the band’s electric bass player, but rough on all but the best tubists (which I’m not).

When GMU was the Cinderalla team in the final four a couple years ago, the b-ball team lost, but the pep band beat the other three bands in a separate contest.

I used to be a pep band purist, thinking electrification was a tragedy. But after a dozen performances with them, I’m a convert. The fans love it, so what do I know?
http://www.newimperative.co.il/ אלי

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL3X20QP4Ts
bklynchris

Its official: George Mason University has unofficially made it to the short list (ones I will pay for) of colleges my kids will apply to. And I want my daughter’s roommate to be the chick in the red, and I want my son’s girlfriend to be my daughter’s roommate. That chick ROCKS!!!
- olrac57
  
  It’s official, that it’s unofficial?
jes5199

Rally round the family!
http://twitter.com/SallyStrange Sally Strange

If you liked this, then check out HONK! the loose affiliation of activist marching brass bands from across the country.

http://honkfest.org/

List of bands and band websites can be found on the HONK! page. I’m sure if Occupiers want to ask a brass band to come do their thing, there’d be someone who was interested.
http://www.unwesen.de/ unwesen

Bit of a medley going on there.
Comrade7

Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me…. motherfucker!

I love that part… :D
i_prefer_yeti

I would buy so many candy bars to support this school program.
grimatongueworm

Rally round tha family, with a pocket full of shells!
http://twitter.com/ColumbusArea Adolph Marx

any brass band in New Orleans could do this.
- CountZero
  
  Yeah, so? Your point is?
http://twitter.com/winkytwit Neil Winkelmann

Teacher rocks. Great.

There was a marching band a while back that did Radiohead’s “Airbag” a while back. Epic, too.
Kevin Osborne

GMU takes money from the Koch brothers.
- twency
  
  And as this video shows, clearly they are the worse for it.
http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

I confess I thought that would be “nice try”, but it’s actually just as intense sonically as the original pieces.
- Guest
  
  RATM should tour with Souzaphones
http://www.fark.com/ Two Wolves

“This one time, at band camp, I stuck a flute in my…”
http://twitter.com/unavailableband FRSunavailable

Seriously.. .Check out this cover:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyyK6hc2VQk
BabsonTask

“…a really good marching band makes a sound more glorious than any other music known to man.”

You were doing quite well – right until that.
meowdy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKXCXbWgkg

why don’t more marching bands cover these dudes? their percussion is marching band ready. besides, they bring super powers to any team.
http://twitter.com/Stefing Stef of Ing

Schools need to engage interest to educate – what better way?
MOTHERFUCKER!
- Guest
  
  No doubt. Who would skip THAT class?
RJ

Holy shit. I remember some insane house parties involving that music. Never thought I’d see a high school band crush that shit. Nicely done, Green Machine. You have officially earned your cool points.
http://profiles.google.com/thomasgokey Thomas Gokey

Piccolo against the machine! Parade on parade?
Guest

I vote for the piccolo with the well developed Slayer muscles (headbanging). She had the most fun.
http://twitter.com/AndrewHitz Andrew Hitz

We don’t have a marching band at George Mason. This is the Green Machine, our amazing pep band led by the head banging Dr. Mike Nickens.

Pretty awesome right?
CountZero

If I was thirty-odd years younger, I’d be moving heaven and earth to get to America, find the honey in the red tee and demand she marries me!
Rockin’ babe, she’s feeling the music with a passion. Great band, and fantastic teacher for printing the passion to his students.
FlukeHawkins

Oh god, I remember when this video got posted last semester and GMU was internet famous for a while.

Best part? I got to this article from Tom Morello’s twitter, so doublekickass that he likes it. Hopefully he’ll hit the Patriot Center. I’d just about die.
benenglish

Former Drum Major here. Kudos. Warms my heart.

I have opinions about the way things should be in bands, marching bands, pep bands, whatever and my normal instinct would be to pick nits with several posters above but, y’know, it’s just too nice to see a band having fun and competently making music. CTM (continue the mission), folks. You made this old DM smile and I really needed it this morning.
bfly

Another marching band, another arrangement, this one by the Always Drinking Marching Band - http://youtu.be/LpFl_HQugRk
http://onespeedgo.blogspot.com/ John Romeo Alpha

It’s like that movie “The School of Rock” except this actually rocks.
http://www.facebook.com/dagard Ryan Brown

If I ever meet the girl in the red heart shirt, I’m marrying her.
pipenta

Count me as a member of the girl-in-red fan club!
BUTY Damien

In Bordeaux where i live we have the awesome Pastor of Muppets, that do something similar all year long, with local heroes Jenx’s drummer doing a great job :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yfjxq5XwvU&list=UUeSM8bHu8ULfm_GsjRCfhkw&index=2&feature=plcp
- MooseDesign
  
  I admit I initially only clicked on the link because the name Pastor of Muppets made me chortle… That said, very enjoyable.
http://twitter.com/nesnora nesnora

As a former band geek, I *loved* this. Give this instructor an award!
MooseDesign

Fantastic… It felt like a classic Bond movie theme to me. Could have done without the vocals though. Still, awesome.
http://twitter.com/joaop79 Joao Paulo

Minha escola podia ter aulas de MÚSICA ASSIM!!!! ia ser IRADO!!

Marching band plays Rage Against the Machine

Read more in Music at Boing Boing

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