[The Irony Of] Rage Against the Machine Can Only Be a Good Thing

I was once a misanthropist, despising anyone who would follow a commercial trend. But just before 7pm on the 20th December 2009 Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name' was announced as the Christmas number one, and I quickly began to love a majority of people for their appetence, dedication and, yes, rage.

Musical anarchy is now in the spotlight thanks to the people that said "no!" to the X-Factor machine churning out another soulless number one for the fifth year in a row. Between the 13th December and the 20th December, Rage's single sold more than 500,000 copies through downloads alone, after a campaign by fans Jon and Tracy Morter was set up on the social networking site Facebook, telling people to buy the single and make it the number one commercial hit at Christmas. Ironic, many thought, considering the repetitive nature of one of the verses in 'Killing in the Name' being "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!"

It didn't even matter that the band were part of Sony -- the same company as the X-Factor contests -- as the act of mass downloading was a statement against the repetitive karaoke nature of the so-called "reality show" that marketed itself as the pinnacle of human existence. This was a grass-roots campaign, which involved the people banding together to make their voices heard, resurrecting the rebellious nature of a seventeen year old record, and breaking the trend of artists churning out another overproduced "love" ballad.

Although I will admit that Rage have done better songs than 'Killing', and it would've been good to see an independent act gain similar recognition for all their effects, I do believe this to be one of the most important acts of musical justice for quite some time. The mediocrity of the news headlines aimed to teach us that a person could earn respect by competing on a television show against a bunch of dull, lifeless nine-to-fivers, sacrificing one's creative abilities for a huge cash contract and ten minutes of fame.

Despite being called "mean bullies" by a man who insults people regularly on Saturday night television and a woman who was accused of racial assault, the people that have been truly fed up with X-Factor cover songs taking up the number one spot each Christmas for the past five years have fought on... and won.

Revolution begins with change, and, as buyers of Rage's single, we have changed the course of history of the music charts. The theme of corrupt government officials being members of the KKK, definitely isn't the typical, cheerful sound of Christmas, but the rage that comes with the lyric "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" assertively parallels the apprehended individual that obeys the commands of X-Factor judges.

And yet further irony of this rebellious, bulk music purchasing, is that it has brought many of us together. As frontman de la Rocha put it after hearing the official chart positions on BBC Radio One, "[This was] more about the spontaneous action taken by young people throughout the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly and less about the song and the band."

Some may argue the bad weather stopped many McElderry fans getting to the shops to buy his CD, while others believe that such a factor was an act of fate in an anti-authoritarian Rap-Metal group reaching the peek of the charts on this very day. The arguments will go on, but the fact remains Rage Against the Machine are number one, Christmas 2009. And, as Ragers, we are united and very proud.