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Artist News
More RATM v X-Factor chatter
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 17 December 2009
Hey, guess what, since yesterday there’s been yet more yabbering about this whole Rage Against The Machine v ‘X-Factor’ winner Joe McElderry Christmas number one thing.
First up, RATM guitarist Tom Morello has again come out in support of his band. Which is big of him. He’s also said that he’ll donate some of the money he receives from the boost in sales ‘Killing In The Name’ has received this week to charity.
Speaking to BBC 6music about the campaign, Morello said: “This shouldn’t be misinterpreted. This is a grass roots effort. It’s nothing against the candidates or the guy that runs the show [‘X-Factor]. A little dose of anarchy for the Christmas holidays is good for the soul. I love the independent spirit of the British rock fans. Your country has a great rich history of cutting-edge, exciting rebel music. Whether it’s the early Stones and The Who, or The Clash and The Sex Pistols, or Prodigy and Muse, I think that people are just fed up with being represented every Christmas holiday, being spoon fed some overblown, sugary ballad that sits at the top of the charts. That top spot doesn’t belong to anybody – any TV show or any 90s political rock band. Let the people decide”.
He added: “The one thing about the ‘X-Factor’ show, much like ‘American Idol’, if you’re a viewer of the show, you get to vote for one candidate or the other but you don’t really get to vote against the show itself… Until now!”
Well, apart from all the other times. But, yeah, this is for charity, so we’ll let him off. Morello revealed that he will be making a donation to a UK-based children’s music organisation in the near future in the hope that some of the kids it supports will follow in his footsteps. He explained: “Me personally, I am going to donate part of my proceeds from the sales to an organisation in the UK called Youth Music, which is the UK’s largest children’s music charity. My hope is that one of the results of this whole thing is that there will be a new generation of rockers who will take on the establishment with the music they write”.
In addition to that, the official Facebook-based campaign group to get RATM to the top of the chart has raised nearly £40,000 for Shelter, and now online retailer Recordstore.co.uk has also announced that all proceeds from the sale of ‘Killing In The Name’ on its site will go to the same charity.
Recordstore manager Steve Wheeler explained on the company’s blog: “This isn’t about money. It’s about the statement it makes: that millions of pounds in TV exposure may make a powerful tool but when dissenting voices join together they can make an equal impact. Some may scoff that this is hardly an important cause for people power to suddenly take effect but if the members of the public who have joined the Facebook group that began this quest take a minute to check out Rage Against The Machine and the views they hold then maybe we’ll see some real changes in the world”.
Which all sounds like battle lines have been firmly drawn. So, what message would Morello like to send to Simon Cowell? He said: “I bear him no ill will. He’s going to be fine either way”.
That’s all good, then. But what stage is this race at now? Well, as we reported yesterday, while Rage took an early (and substantial) lead, the band and their supporters were dealt a potential blow by the release of the CD single of the ‘X-Factor’ song yesterday. Hmm, it’s the physical CD single release that might make the difference, not words I have to type very often these days.
Official Charts Company boss Martin Talbot explained: “Joe McElderry’s single will do disproportionately well physically. The single’s market now is 98-plus per cent digital. The physical market doesn’t really exist for most releases, but for releases of this status and ones that are going to cross over to the gift purchase market as well, is going to sell significantly on CD”.
However, bookmakers Ladbrokes are backing the underdog, having slashed the odds on RATM making it to number one on Sunday to 8/11, making them the favourite. The move comes just days after they said that RATM had no chance and closed the book on Christmas number one bets. The company’s Nick Weinberg, said: “Joe’s loss of favouritism is a landmark moment in Christmas number one betting. It was inconceivable just a few days ago, but the gamble on Rage Against The Machine has taken us completely by surprise. For so long the battle for festive supremacy has been a procession for the ‘X-Factor’ – not any more”.
In other related news, stars of both ‘X-Factor’ and ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ have come out in favour of Rage Against The Machine, sort of (click here) and others are just wondering why they can’t all get along (click here too).
