Rage Against The Machine Are Christmas Number One

Merry Christmas everyone,

Fuck you! I wont do what you tell me.

Why? If it was a decent song and got to no 1 on it's own merit and not from a stupId anti media campaign fair enough, but everyone involved is more of a pathetic idiot than any of the x factor followers - very sad individuals all round unfortunatley.

@ Julie,

It wasn't an anti-media campaign in my view. The Christmas number one is something of a great British tradition, they're never actually (normally) any good but it's always a bit of fun having something which would never normally chart be celebrated for once, whether it be Bob the Builder, Mr. Blobby, or even a song off the Donnie Darko soundtrack. The X-Factor took all of the spontaneity out of this event.

I've heard "The Climb" a few times, as I have heard all of the X-Factor winners, even the show had gotten lazy: same soppy ballad, same tried 'n' tested cover version, even the same damn key change in the last chorus as the mixer is pushed up on the string section.

With all the laziness on the part of the X-Factor show producer, music producers and with an admittedly technically talented singer alas lacking much of anything besides a tragic back-story (which they always have) can you argue that Joe did anything besides turn up? The protest was against this stale predictability and an attempt to reinvigorate the charts, and let's face it, a 17-year-old song wasn't going to reach number one without some kind of campaign about it.

In a democracy, you cannot be upset when the people speak, even if it's a sentiment you disagree with!

It's all very well Simon Cowell bleating on about how Joe was robbed, but his tactics are no less underhanded than a campaign to stop an X Factor winner automatically getting the top spot.

Simon Cowell knows that on completion of X-Factor the song will be a hit whatever time of year, so why make it Christmas!! It is just a marketing ploy and this year I am glad to see that it failed.

Whatever happened to Christmas songs that had something to do with Christmas, songs that will be played every year like Merry Christmas Everybody.

Well, I bought Rage against the Machine to make a point.

To Rage I Say "Well done guys, great to oust X-Factor". To Simon Cowell I say "Don't whine about this result when you use the power of X-Factor to get to number 1 at Christmas, instead why not make it finish earlier in the year."

before I wade in with the fuck you, you just did what they told you antics, can someone tell me how much Sony BMG made? ie, before you subtract me back to the ocean floor, I'm actually interested as to the economic outcome of people caring about what happens in a consumer chart. or did they donate all the proceeds (including label share?) to bunnies and kittens? honestly interested...

RATM sold 500,000 copies whilst Joe sold 450,000 so we're talking nearly a million purchases altogether at an average of 99p per download/physical CD. So we're talking big bucks for the big-wigs.

It's nice to here, though, that any profit the band make will go to the Shelter organisation as well as a foundation teaching children how to make music.

I also read that a large chunk of the pro-Rage buyers will be donating whatever money they won at the bookies straight to Shelter too and already the proceedings has gone up from £70,000 to £80,000 in little over a day. Not bad right?

Sure it was one of the most consumerist-based 'fuck you' campaigns in a long time but to a lot of people, i think it went deeper than just knowing all Sony staff were off to buy a yacht this Christmas.

*hear

Even by the X-Factor's standards, Joe's song is far from great, but it still sells as good as half a million copies just because of the publicity. If some unheard of band had released the same cover just as well, it wouldn't of broken the top 100. Leona Lewis deserved the Christmas number 1, but it's good to see that the X-Factor doesn't control the country just yet!

"It's nice to here, though, that any profit the band make will go to the Shelter organisation as well as a foundation teaching children how to make music".

Are you sure that's the case Brad? When I heard Zac interviewed he said that a portion of the money raised would go to shelter, you know, after they've bought a new speedboat and got a Simon Cowell tattoo.