Rage against the Machine for Christmas Number One – Viva la Facebook?

So I’ve just dipped into my Christmas turkey and I’ve been informed that the rap-metal band has triumphed against Simon Cowell and his well oiled X factor machine. I think this is a relevant topic because it’s perhaps the first time that the establishment has been made to see vulnerable; could this be the catalyst for a new era? This of course wouldn’t have been possible without the vessel that is social networking website Facebook. Two very ordinary people from Essex started a small group protesting the grip Simon Cowell has on today’s charts, persuading to the UK that the X factor monopoly could be broken. The result is symbolic, this is perhaps the first time that the people have overturned the seemingly inevitable, throwing a spanner in the cogs of the manufactured product that this year goes under the vise of Joe Mcelderry.

Guitarist Tom Morello said it had "tapped into the silent majority of the people in the UK who are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another". I don’t believe this campaign had the intensions of it being a personal attack on Joe or Simon; it’s more of a protest on the large corporations and hierarchy’s that survive to serve themselves at the expense of culture. My fundamental belief is that music is an art form and shouldn’t be modified for economic gain. It’s about the charts being interesting again and Facebook has been the instrument in making this happen. I’m inclined to reject the criticisms of Rage against the Machines success, that it was out to sabotage Joe Mcelderry and this was a hate campaign against his boyhood dream. Simon Cowell himself stated "I think it's quite a cynical campaign geared at me that is actually going to spoil the party for these three." I don’t agree with the idea that the X-Factor winner has a divine right to the number one spot and I view this as a sign of change to come, digital media can connect the masses in ways never seen before and this has been a product of how powerful it can be.

Obviously it is important to keep perspective, X-Factor will live on and Mr Mcelderry has the backing to still become a hit. He will indefinitely will still make a mint and he’ll release at least a handful of hits, in fact this saga could potentially help him steer away from the X-factor circus and aid him create his own artistic footprint on the charts. Viva la internet, viva la Facebook and power to the people!

As the cliché goes, this isn’t personal Mr Cowell, its just business.