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Cover of The Battle of Los Angeles by Rage Against the Machine
Cover: The Battle of Los Angeles

Song · Rage Against the Machine

“Guerrilla Radio” by Rage Against the Machine

From the album The Battle of Los Angeles (1999)

“Guerrilla Radio” by Rage Against the Machine appears on 36 radio countdowns from 19 stations between 1999 and 2026. It was first released in 1999 on the album The Battle of Los Angeles. Its best result is #5 on the WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1999. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #37 alternative song of 1999, #916 alternative song of all time and #285 of the '90s.

36countdowns
19stations
#5best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1999–2026years charted

Watch

Rage Against The Machine - Guerrilla Radio (Official HD Video)

Video from YouTube (RATMVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Guerrilla Radio" kicked the door in for The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine's third album, in 1999: a lead single that sounds like a pirate broadcast seizing the airwaves. Brendan O'Brien produced and mixed it with the band, and Nick DiDia recorded it.

The guitar squeals and stutters like a scrambled signal, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk lock into a punishing groove, and Zack de la Rocha spits out his words like a call to seize the transmitter. It became the only Rage song ever to reach the Billboard Hot 100 and won them the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. The video, directed by the husband-and-wife team Honey, Laura Kelly and Nicholas Brooks, opens on rows of workers bent over sewing stations in a stark white room.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 21 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1999 107
1999 39 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1999 101
1999 5 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1999 100
1999 14 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1999 107
1999 28 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 1999 89
1999 32 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1999 103
1999 22 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1999 101
2000 62 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2000 101
2000 29 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2000 102
2000 39 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2000 100
2000 32 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2000 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 201 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 839 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 59 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2000 31 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2002 86 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2002 463 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2004 85 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 226 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 76 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2007 1609 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1655 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 174 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1649 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 200 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 1480 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1465 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1448 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1495 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 97 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 113 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 116 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 480 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2022 203 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 167 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2026 262 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1999

Best songs of 1999 →
  1. 1What's My Age Again?blink-182
  2. 2Scar TissueRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3NookieLimp Bizkit
  4. 4Freak on a LeashKorn
  5. 5Praise YouFatboy Slim
  6. 6My Own Worst EnemyLit

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