Music

I don't credit it enough, but punk and (some) metal music really did aid in my arriving to my current state of understanding of the world. Not so much going to shows and participating in the pits (though I found that unforgettably exciting and meaningful), but the feeling of like-mindedness amongst all of the people there made me remember that there are important aspects of humanity that haven't been steamrolled over. This also helped me prepare for making comrades in my current fight on the progressive front.

If I have no name specific bands, there are really only two that I was ever truly fanatical about: Bad Religion and Rage Against the Machine. This is not to say that I only enjoyed these two bands in the punk/metal genre, but that they are the only two I gave a shit enough to follow and listen to on an album by album basis.

Both of these bands, though they are in two different genres of rock music (BR being punk, RATM being metal or funk-metal), helped bring me to a closer understanding of society and the world than any other groups or artists, though others like Mos Def helped me understand things about society I could never forget.

Bad Religions cutting cual guitars and fast-paced tempos are mesmerizing in themselves, not to mention the onslaught of lyrical genius displayed in many of their songs. Tracks like "Leaders and Followers", "The Handshake", "You", and "21st Century Digital Boy" became anthems I lived with week to week. I feel like this band was the first to make me feel empowered and make sense out of the confusion I felt in this complicated society. From "Leaders and Followers":

Recognition by proximity, and a brand new face
Just a smidgen of the success pie, and a pinch of social grace
You can play with the big boys, or you can tell them what to do
But sooner or later there's another one like you.

Rage Against the Machine was the band that helped direct me once I'd been taken out of the shadows by Bad Religion. They take you step by step, song by song, through a web of lies, deceit, and hidden messages in society and government. De La Rocha's verbal machine gun fire is undeniably legit, as you can feel the passion and anger flow from each syllable.

From "Guerilla Radio":

A spectacle monopolized
The cameras eyes on the choice disguised
Was it cast for the mass who burn and toil?
Or for the vultures who lust for blood and oil?
They hold the reins, stole your eyes
All the fistagons, the bullets and bombs
Who stuff the banks
Who staff the party ranks
More for Gore or the son of a drug lord
None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord.

Yes, music played an indispensable role in my arrival to my current realization of the world.