I can't believe how delighted I am to see Rage Against The Machine reach Christmas number 1.
It doesn't matter that they will probably disappear out of the top 40 next week, it doesn't matter that Sony, therefore Simon Cowell, will profit financially from the sales of the record. In my opinion it really, truly matters that a Facebook group was able to rouse a million plus members to register their protest against a reality show monopoly and push a 1992 protest song to the most prominent position in the music industry.
I watched the X factor this year, and I was delighted to see Joe win, because he has the kind of voice that deserves to be heard on a wide scale. But in no way, shape or form should a hastily produced, lazy Disney cover be given divine right to top the music charts, which remain a powerful instigator of music taste. Whether or not R Joe has a decent career will be down partly to his work ethic, partly to his management, but he has the kind of head start that unsigned bands are never, ever likely to get. In the grand scheme of things, he has already experienced massive success.
So many good things come of this; Shelter gets a huge donation from the sales of the song, Rage have promised to come back to the UK to perform for free, and social media has finally proven the weight that it carries. Most importantly, the music buying public, plus those who market and sell it, are reminded that, when given the opportunity, people will vehemently reject mass-produced, lowest-common-denominator pop music in favour of music that actually means something. Even if they have to go back to 1992 to find it.
Too early to predict if X Factor will change its format to accomodate this in any way - I imagine not, but you never know. But as a band member used to performing in front of 3 people in a pub, whose first rock music purchase was Rage Against The Machine, this is a dose of Christmas cheer that I never, ever expected. And it feels all the better for it.
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