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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE SUCCESSFUL IN RAGING AGAINST SIMON COWELL

 Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 12:30pm by

zack de la rocha simon cowellSomewhat unexpectedly but undoubtedly awesomely, the bid to propel Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” to the top of the U.K. Christmas Singles chart has actually been successful. The initial download sales figures showed Rage ahead, but X Factor winner Joe McElderry was expected to overtake them when his track was released on CD. Snow, ice and a general boredom with X Factor prevented that from happening as Rage held onto the coveted top spot, ending a four-year run of #1 tracks by winners of Simon Cowell’s X Factor (the U.K.’s version of American Idol).

News like this is ultimately pretty inconsequential, but it always feels like a victory when an artist of merit overtakes generic pop tripe. Check out a live, expletive-ridden performance of “Killing in the Name” that Rage did on the BBC last week.

-VN

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  • d.o.g.o.b.g.y.n.

    Unfortunately we’ll probably never see anything like this happen in the States. Oh well, guess this is just one more area where Europe is cooler than the US.

  • Chief

    They’re playing a free show in the U.K. as a victory party too.

  • Insomnivore

    Sony BMG are the only winners here, they released both songs. Capitalism remains intact and we get to celebrate Xmas with a song about poice brutality…….festive!

    • Jim Flames

      As someone who joined the campaign along with many people I know, i disagree. It’s a victory for fans of good, real music over the domineering manufactured stuff put out there by X-Factor. Money was never an issue, it was all about the people saying “we don’t like what you’re shoving down the public’s throats.”

      The RATM campaign didn’t rely on constant barrage of press, tv ratings and advertising X-Factor had. It was people choosing to spend a few pence on a download single.

      • Spike

        It also would not have worked with any other song in my opinion. The sony being the only winners argument is irrelivent to the goal of this campaign and Im tired of hearing it to be honest

        • Insomnivore

          I’m sorry but the fact that Sony released both songs is completely fucking relevent, you don’t boycott Coke by buying Sprite and expect anybody to take you seriously. The fact that they could have picked any song and got it to number one in place of the X Factor song just makes what happened look like a poorly thought out cry for attention from a couple that tried and failed to do this last year with Rick Astley and are now planning their own single for next year. It really only proves that television and facebook are equally useful tools if you wish to herd dumb fucks toward the trough of your choosing, you just need to tempt some of them with the suggestion that they’re being transgressive.

          • evilfatguy

            100% agree. The spirit was there, it was just in the wrong place.

          • Spike

            Why are you sorry? And how would this situation have played out in your utopia then? The fact that sony owns both IS irrelivant, what would you prefer? An unsigned band? A metal blade band? A roadrunner band? An Earache band? People are making money either way, yes? It just happens to be sony this time, but the campaign wasnt against sony, it was started by a couple who probably need more sex or a hobby, but thats besides the point also. They started it for a bit of fun, Im pretty damn sure they didnt expect it to come to this. If you want a totally true anti-capitalist campaign then you outright boycott buying music so nobody makes an extra penny, but where would that have got us? The unsuspecting general public would continue to buy Joes record and make it reach number 1 and the campaign wouldve slipped under the radar. SURELY this is better than that? Am I missing something?

            I do know that not everyone buying the rage song wasnt thinking oh this might stick it to the man and this is a significant victory for true music over the dripfed xfactor shite blah blah blah blah, I know that 99% of the people doing it were doing it because humans tend to jump on the bandwagon at the first oppourtunity that comes along. But isnt that how all things come about? A small few lead the way and people choose whether they are hoping aboard or staying behind based on its exterior and appeal to them. The rage campaign gave people a bit of fun and “rebellion” then people told them it was important so more people jumped aboard, do you not think we know this?

            This campaign wouldnt have worked with any other band in my opinion, except maybe system of a down, but what you gonna do? Invent a time machine? Its a good accessible song that on the exterior to your average guy in the street has shock value and some sort of message. I know fine well the integrity of RATM, theyre signed to sony and wipe their arses with money whilst screaming about the nasty capitalists spoiling all the fun for us hard done by real people on the street, boo hoo. But they get the message out, theres probably a reason that the true anti-capitalist bands didnt get used for this, its because people sadly do not want to know. Very few people who took part in this campaign gave a fuck about the underlying issues, but there you go, thats humanity for you. Rage was used, sony made money, the xfactor didnt make it to number 1, thats a success in my eyes. £60,000 was raised for the charity shelter aswell.

            Im just not seeing where people are coming from who were opposed to this.

      • bearbomb

        Well said. I’m more than satisfied.

  • Fufkin

    Well this makes me proud to be British. Bravo!

  • Spike

    This is awesome news. I bought two copies because of this campaign last week and wouldve bought a third if HMV had a physical copy of it, but it wasnt available anywhere to purchase on CD or vinyl where I looked. Just shows it absolutly stormed joes shitty hannah montana cover, clearing it by 50,000 copies on downloads only. Its just such a shame this campaign brought so many cynics and miserable, pretentious pricks out of the woodwork to comment on how it was bullshit. The people have most definitly spoken and it has highlighted all that is wrong and right with not only the music industry but society as a whole in all its uneducated, dripfed, soul sucking glory. I couldnt be more in favour of this campaign and I actually tuned in to the chart show live like a 12 year old girl.

    I am not the biggest rage fan in the world, they arent strictly my cup of tea and they are compelled to be capitalist despite their image and “message” but they are the perfect tool to use against the masses who would buy joes record. I like the romanticism of an almost 20 year old half arsed anti establishment song beating a song that has been promoted to no end to millions of people for the past 6 weeks. It just shows the integrity of the 20 million people who supported the xfactor when the single only sold 450,000 units compared to RATMs 500,000, based on a primitive social network campaign to “take the power back”.

    Its an awesome statement however much its marinated in inconvenient capitalist truths that we have been more than reminded of by the press this last week. I know that Sony is laughing all the way to bank but this campaign couldnt have worked in the “tr00est” of conditions with a truly anti-capitalist song unlike killing in the name of. And for that reason I firmly believe that the people who were against this campaign were either being pedantic or just straight up like being anally raped by auto-tuned ballads for the whole family, both of which arent too desirable.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rich-Peto/509357110 Rich Peto

    No. Sony aren’t the only winners. Us British fella’s get a free gig, and the campaign raised over 70 000 for the homeless charity: Shelter.

  • SHOCKTROOP

    RATM need to forget worrying about pop singles charts and concentrate on writing some new material or actually doing a tour. they’ve been back together over two years now and they haven’t done a goddamn thing other than a handful of shows. whats their deal?

    • I killed a Dunky

      +1 Dude u nail it. now being honest if RATM decides to record new tunes they wil have to overcome years of singing the same songs plus break they same sound they have imposed for years. I personally would not like 2 hear an album thats sounds like Evil Impire or The Batlle of Los Angeles, Rocha wil have to improve his singing part,, kinda go back to the style of Inside Out and Morello take the guitar solos to a new level.. Just my 50 cents

    • cougar party

      I kinda doubt their will be any new material for this band. Zach has been working on is solo album for what? 15 years now? Obviously he’s difficult to work with and a perfectionist of almost the level of Axl Rose.

      I used to love RATM when I was a teenager, but really the only album of theirs that stands the test of time is their S/T. Based on the pop-rock abortion, Audioslave, I doubt Morello and the rest of the crew have enough good ideas to make a great record.

      I think a smattering of live shows here and there is all you can really hope for at this point.

      • thisisnotcarlos

        Zach De La Rocha released the One Day As A Lion EP last year.

        • cougar party

          really? How was it?

          • Gunnar

            Very much different from RATM. Political still, but it was basically just a drum kit and Zach. It was still good, though.

  • iolanach

    Who gives a shit?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Lopett/1657496210 Andrew Lopett

    Other than making music have they done anything to fight against the stuff they are protesting?

  • i think

    just to let you know ratm would never win x factor they are not good joe should of won he has nice hair and stuff

  • wormdrive

    Did you see the interview on CNN? Simon is pissed. haha you Douche bag.

  • http://thenumberoftheblog.wordpress.com/ groverXIII

    Anything that takes Simon Cowell down a notch is okay with me.

    • http://www.flamingtusk.com Zosimus

      Exactly. I mean, would it have been a billion times better if the anti-X Factor song were, say, Burzum’s “Jesus Tod”? Yes. But why be all sour grapes about it?