Rage Against The Machine beats X Factor to Christmas number one

Simon Cowell is losing his mind...maybe he should say something witty and embarassing to himself, considering that he is an ass.

I'm glad I contributed my 5 downloads.
This wasn't a protest against Sony.
This was a Simon-Cowell-Keeps-Shoving-Shitty-Pop-Songs-Down-People's-Throats-And-We-Are-Tired-Of-It protests.

As Jamieson says, this is a win for the internet and not for music. Well done to the people who ran the Facebook campaign, although I still couldn't bring myself to be told to buy a record whose chorus is "I won't do what they tell me". It's OK to be be 'told' to be rebellious!!

I really dont like the song by RATM but thats mainly because its not my taste at all. Congratz to the Facebook group :)

Popular music tends to cycle from bad corporate driven content to real artists. We're at the end of a crap period. Rage Against the Machine were big back in a time where the art meant something.

I think we'll have a music revolution again this coming decade, when the kids get sick of the industry driven junk.

That being said, there are always good artists out there to be found. Just don't get caught up in what's a hit now or the fact it has to be new to be worth a listen.

I suppose it just makes the Christmas number one different to the last fews years in that its isn't a pop ballad cover.

Whatever. At lest it's a good song.

This is an epic win for the internet.

This is an audience sick of uninspired, uncultured trash slapping a zombie audience across the face.

But I dont even think te zombie audience realise they've been slapped, I dont think they even know who RATM are, or what the song really stands for. I dont think many realised there was even a movement, realised that people chose to take part in something a little awesome, something i dont think the zombie audience will ever experience.

This is not about dollars, it's about awesome people deciding to use a song inspired by struggle and truth to spraypaint awesomeness all over a dull, empty culture.

Despite 'the climb' to be a ballad of struggle, the song carries no weight because of Joe's lack of experience with struggle itself.

And while some people may consider this a win win situation for Simon Cowell, I think it may be the opposite. I respect Cowell for establishing a successful career, even if dont respect how he did it. He can have all the money and houses he wants, but for what he's like, i still wouldnt want to wake up as him. I think everone wins, except Simon Cowell.

I just hope as this colourful, inspired awesome bomb explodes all over the dullness, some of it lands on the zombies, and installs a sudden want to explore and create, to learn and be better, and above all else be awesome.

Meh. I don't like the typical RATM fan, and I don't like the typical X Factor fan.

There are certainly better RATM songs, but I can see why the song was picked.

Nonetheless, anything that upsets Simon Cowell gets my approval.

F__k you! I won't do what you tell me!

If I can calculate, that ends a 15 months decline of no rock tune at number one, when Kings of Leon with "Sex on Fire" was number one in September 2008, and do you know what, about time...

Joe Mcelderry said that he'd never even heard of RATM until this week. Says a lot really.

Who cares if it's on the same record label- the Rage campaign raised over £70,000 for Shelter.

http://www.justgiving.com/ratm4xmas/

This is definately a win for music.

Granted Sony are still making money on both records, but maybe this will show them that they don't have to release exclusively 'lowest-common-denominator' music, and that there is money in more raw, political and grassroots music.

And a free gig put on by RATM is definitely a victory for the UK's Rage fans.

Most importantly, I think it's made a lot of people realise that despite how pervasive this sort of reality TV can be there is a silent majority who still appreciate songwriting skill over a technically-talented voice (which i'm sure that Joe kid has, never heard him sing). On a bigger scale it's proof that people can't be completely controlled by corporate interest.

The important thing to ask is, where do we go from here? How can we put this power to an even better use, a better cause? We've shown that we're capable of using the technology we have to generate results, what should be the next target we point our sights at?

I really don't think this is all about money. I'm not really bothered about Sony and all that. I'm just so glad that a real song from real musicians out did that manufactured piece of garbage that simon cowell tried to sell.

So happy RATM won!