Well done everyone. We really showed 'em. We showed The Man that he can't mess with Da Kidz.But, actually, we really just doubled the amount of money that Sony BMG made out of this year's christmas number one. And, despite clear instructions to the contrary in the song's lyrics, we did exactly what They told us to do.The truth is, of course, somewhere between the two extremes.I know it's only a christmas number one and doesn't mean anything at all, but I couldn't help feeling really happy when I heard the news last night. It really felt like people were telling Cowell "enough is enough". We've had enough of the anodyne tripe that is pushed out year after year by X Factor, Pop Idol or whatever it's called this week. There are still some people out there who want to hear real music. Of...

A long time ago I mentioned what I thought about the Christmas No 1 Single on this blog, so last night (although I would rather it was George Michael's December Song) I was pleased to see Rage Against The Machine knock the X Factor Single away from the No 1 spot.It's obvious that this was political and nothing to do with whether all buyers concerned were Rage Against the Machine fans, but for many years many of the record buying public have been sick of seeing songs reach the Christmas No 1 which are unworthy of the position, songs which would otherwise be swiftly forgotten and sadly get remembered for years.Let this be a move towards the Christmas No 1 being exclusively for memorable talent from artists with a degree of longevity...

On an utterly trivial note it amuses me that Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine is the Christmas number 1 having beaten another of Simon Cowell’s tedious productsThe hot favourite had been X Factor winner Something McElderry with a cover of a Miley Cyrus song. Mephistopholes Cowell is not happy (but who gives a shit?)Krissi Murrison, editor of the NME, stated “It proves not only that the public have better taste than Simon Cowell gives them credit for, but that it there is actually an alternative to the pap we have been fed by X Factor for the past six Christmases, The assumption was obviously that no-one could topple the combined power of ITV and X Factor - especially not a grassroots campaign with zero marketing budget. But this just proves that anything is possible....

If I had to choose between Joe McElderry’s climbing cover and Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name, I would have chosen the latter. Luckily I didn’t have to choose between the two songs. I exercised my freedom to support neither campaign.Those who supported the campaign to get Rage Against the Machine to the top of the Christmas chart were attacking Simon Cowell, who they believe has a Visit seniorspeaks.blogspot.com to read the entire entry....

So “we” won. As of early this evening Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ out-sold Simon Cowell’s latest “protégé”, Joe McElderry, to the number one spot in the UK singles chart. In an era when single sales continue to dwindle, it’s certainly been a while since the race for the number one meant as much as it did today, been so tight, and come completely out of an online campaign. 500,000 sales of ‘Killing in the Name’ compared with 450,000 for ‘The Climb’, with profits of the leading single going to the charity Shelter [link appears to be down at the min]. Via Twitter, Tom Morello, announced that the band will play a free gig in the UK if the single reaches number one. For decades...

Is it me?  I can’t help but be baffled by the news report I’ve just seen about the shocking result of the traditional race to be number one in the Christmas chart.  I say shocking, but it isn’t really – I think it was to be expected, really.  On one side, we have the X-Factor juggernaut, with a technically brilliant singer releasing a worryingly catchy song (Joe McElderry is a great singer [his performances that I've seen were near-as-dammit to flawless], there really is no question, I’m just not convinced he’s a superstar), on the other side you have a Facebook-fuelled campaign to get an alternative track to the top spot.  Never underestimate the power of Facebook. Essentially, the choice of song (Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing...

Christmas Number One this year is very different to the past four years. The X Factor winner has not won the chart battle, but the “anyone-but” candidate has sold more. I didn’t participate in the so-called revolution or example of “people power” for one good reason: I preferred Joe McElderry’s song “The Climb” to Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name”. It’s a better song – even though I didn’t buy that one either. I think it’s pretty ridiculous to set up this sort of petty campaign just to oppose Simon Cowell and his variant of pop music – it is, quite obviously, what people like. Why else would they a) vote for them in the show and b) purchase the music? (Even though many of them...

A victory for Facebook but the Christmas number 1 is pretty dire, says the blogger aged a lot nearer 50 than 20! I think Joe McElderry and "The Climb" is actually pretty good and Joe has a good career ahead of...

LA rap-metal rockers Rage Against the Machine have scored an unlikely UK Christmas number one with a reissue of their 1992 hit Killing in the Name, beating off competition from some lame-o on some ITV talent show. The race for the coveted 2009 festive top spot was a close run thing from the start of the week, with as little as a few thousand sales separating the song from its nearest competitor, Simon Cowell Bought Me a Number One, a cover of The McDonald Rockers’ 1994 pop ’smash hit’ by Little Timmy O’ Tool. Or whatever his name is. The momentous, chart-shaking news follows a widespread campaign to get the record, which deals with corruption in society, to the top of the Chrimbo tree after a string of awful Britain’s Got Talent Xmas #1 buy-outs. Simon...

It sounds really quite petty and spiteful, but it is all really thoroughly honourable and perfectly democratic.There was a certain expectation that Joe McElderry’s ‘The Climb’ would be the 2009 Christmas Number One; a sort of divine right coronation of the anointed winner of X-Factor reality TV pop. And so an internet-driven protest based around the accursed and damned Facebook set out to challenge the omnipotence of Simon Cowell and the hegemony of Syco and Sony Music’s manufactured pop which mesmerises the TV-addicted masses every Saturday and Sunday evening and persuades them that what they watch is what they might like to hear at Christmas.And it has worked for four years.But X-Factor Christmas songs are not like the one’s Cranmer used to know, where the tree tops glisten...

So Rage Against the Machine is number one. Fanstastic, at last common sense prevails and the grip of the Christmas No One by the evil Simon Cowell has been broken. Maybe we will have a real contest again with honest Christmas songs. People Power...... Comments...

So Rage Against the Machine are still in the running for Christmas no. 1 here in the UK, as people buy the single in order to defeat the X-Factor’s Joe McElderry. Whoever wins, Sony wins, as that label has signed both artists. What’s particularly interesting is watching how the media, the celebrities and the political establishment are interacting at the moment. Cheryl Cole’s remarks are intriguing, to say the least, attempting to motivate us patriotic Brits (excuse me while I vomit) to keep Americans off the Christmas number 1 spot. “It’s David versus Goliath and it’s not fair on Joe. It’s getting out of hand…If that song, or should I say campaign, by an American group is our Christmas Number One I’ll be gutted for him and our...

Elin Nordegren could be paid more than $50 million extra for sticking with Tiger Woods - Telegraph. If Elin Nordegren divorces Tiger Woods, I shall be impressed. She is a wronged woman. He has humiliated her. If she has fallen out of love, she cannot be blamed. If she takes......

Well that time of year has come round again. The snow has fallen, the lights on the Christmas tree beckon, and all around little faces beam with good cheer. Every year we celebrate traditions – mistletoe, yule logs, and of course the Christmas hit single. In recent years, this has been predictably a manufactured piece of pap from Simon Cowell’s latest winner from”The X Factor.” Except this year, it looks like the public have had enough of being led by the nose on what counts as the number 1 single. Here is what may be the beginning of the end of the worst period of media control by a single individual. Ladies and gentleman, Rage Against the Machine. If that is not your cup of tea then you could always go for the more melodic and witty masterpiece by the brilliant...

An Electric Goose oldieAnd these are, of course, very...

Hi there. How's it hanging? How's your bum for lovebites?Haha.Nearly went out today, but there was a short blizzard.Have to go out tomorrow for cat litter.Courtney Cox came on Scrubs, so I turned the sound up. It wasn't too bad, but TV as a medium is just so over. Except Friends, of course. Why watch, when you can do? I said the same on Comment is Free about golf. In reference to Tiger...

I have my doubts about the reasoning for the RATM for Xmas thing being as I love the song but this seems to trivialise it while simultaneously validating the Xmas Number One…but…. as they are giving their windfall income from the song selling to Shelter and promise a free gig if it makes it to No. 1, beating the X Factor drivel, it is worth a go (although surely a seasonal version with ‘Bah Humbug I won’t do what you tell me’ alternating with ‘Fuck You’ should be on the cards with jingle bells added, what?). Details at the Facebook page, cheapest place to buy that figures in charts is Tunetribe (no bulk purchases that will be ignored) at 49p or this arcane way of doing it for free. This is them this week doing a live performance for Radio 5-...

Is it Art ?There’s not much Xmas cheer or goodwill to all men in Nipomo, California right now. It might be the season to be jolly but folks are not feeling particularly jolly towards neighbour Ron Lake. Mr Lake thinks Xmas has become too commercialised – too much emphasis on Santa and pressies, and not much attention paid to Jesus. Citing his constitutional right to ‘freedom of expression’ he has created a little tableau depicting a dead Santa on the ground with a shotgun-toting ‘Jesus’ standing over him. The neighbours are upset about his display, particularly the effect it will have on little kids passing by and are petitioning to have him remove it. Mr Lake sees his display as an expression of his repressed creativity. Hhmm, I don’t know if...

TV show boss Simon Cowell is inadvertently helping Rage Against the Machine in their chart battle with X Factor winner Joe McElderry.Cowell has previously spoken out against the 'cynical' Facebook group trying to get the RATM track to the number one spot over Christmas.But now, anyone searching for Simon Cowell on Amazon.co.uk - one of the UKs biggest MP3 retailers - is being advised to buy 'Killing In The Name' over 'The Climb ' by McElderry.The 1992 track appears at the top of a list of projects suggested by other customers - something which is sure to annoy Cowell in the run up to the Christmas number 1.But what is guaranteed to hurt him more is that he hasn't worked out a way of making money out of the the RATM track… maybe we will see one of his other acts covering it soon....

Charles McDonald, of Florissant, Mo., says he put a Brillo pad down on his sink, and days later when he picked it up, there was the face of Jesus.He says he won't be cleaning it off any time soon....

Not the best of the Downfall parodies, but not the worst either. Me?  Since you ask, I joined the Facebook group for the craic, but didn’t download the track.  Still got the CD from when it came...

Some people I know at a hedge fund have come up with an alternative Christmas song for the square mile to ensure festivities. You can enjoy it here....

Well there are now only eight sleeps to Christmas Day which means on my countdown of the decades Christmas number ones we are up to 2002.She is now one of the people who si helping the shape the sound of the Christmas Number Ones as one of the judges on the X-Factor but in 2002 Cheryl Cole was part of another talent show band that made that top spot. Girls Aloud were top with Sounds of...

...tried putting Christmas Spirit in the tank but it messed up the...

Sick of the way the charts are dictated by those with the financial clout to shove anemic crap down our throats? Tired of how the race for Christmas Number One is just another way of advancing consumerism without content? Want to see a world where music isn't simply about 'units sold' but represents something deeper.Well here is the grassroots campaign for you - thwart Simon Cowell's army of evil robots and give Rage Against the Machine the top spot this Winterval. I was initially unsure about this campaign but the more arguments I heard against it the more convinced I became that this was something worth backing, particularly as it led me to digging out my RATM CD's and leaping round the room in a most unladylike fashion.This Radio Five interview with the band is interesting, not least...

Someone had the really dumb idea of letting Rage against the machine play live at 9am on a BBC talk radio show today. Guess what happened? yep, they didn't play the Radio friendly version like they promised too. The presenters we're so spellbound by what was going on they didn't cut it and we get to hear a mortified producer screeching 'get rid of it' before she finally cuts the...

No, is the basic conclusion of my article on Comment is Free today: In reality, the X Factor could only dream of having as many voters as we take for granted in UK elections. Ten million votes may sound like a lot, but it is only two-thirds the number of people who voted in the European parliament elections this year and a third the number of people who voted in the 2005 general election. The campaign to get Rage Against the Machine’s Killing In The Name to deny Joe McElderry the Christmas No 1 also suggests that the X Factor can alienate the public as much as any MPs’ expenses scandal. Read the full article...

STACEY Solomon may not have won the X Factor but mentor Dannii Minogue is still smiling, thanks to a revolutionary new product made from bee venom. The Aussie judge criticised for overusing Botox has now turned to the organic alternative produced by beautician to the stars, Deborah Mitchell. Dannii, aged 38, who was criticised during the last series of X Factor for appearing too plastic due to her overuse of Botox injections, has even highlighted the Bee Venom Mask produced as part of the organic Heaven range on her blog, claiming it really is “an alternative to Botox”. Deborah – who owns Heaven beauty salon in Shifnal, Shropshire, and has developed her own range of beauty products and therapies, with a celebrity client list including Victoria Beckham and Michelle Pfeiffer -...

Did Jessica Simpson get it on with Tiger Woods? I doubt it, sorry to say if he paid her that much attention she would have clung onto him like a leech and the game would be open then. Tiger Woods is... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

LIZ at Livingwithkids asks: "What's your favourite Christmas song?" This one is mine. Hope you like it. There's not a dry eye in the house here, let me tell you... And the lyrics are...

As US iPhone users rally to bring down the AT&T; data network and UK music lovers rage against the X Factor, we take a look at chartbombing, polljacking and the rise of 'one-click...

2 Big Stories More 20mph zones on the way As reported by the BBC, new advice to Councils will recommend 20mph zones around schools and in all residential areas, plus a reduction of the speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on rural main roads with a history of accidents. The BBC have also produced a road traffic deaths map: find all the deaths in 2008 and see how many were near you (in my case, fewer than I’d expected). One question local authorities may ask about having more 20mph zones is whether they need to have traffic calming measures too. Until now, the zones have normally involved speed humps, chicanes and similar but putting in hundreds more speed humps around our residential streets may be neither popular nor affordable. Battle commences for Christmas no. 1 As the Guardian...

Tory leader says there is 'probably something we can learn' from the X Factor supremoDavid Cameron, the Tory leader, said today that politicians could learn from X Factor supremo Simon Cowell, but he stopped short of offering the pop impresario a job in any future Conservative government.Asked if there would be a place for Cowell in a Tory administration, Cameron told talkSPORT radio: "I'm a great believer you should go beyond the Westminster fish tank."You do need to get outside Westminster and find talented people. I have met Simon Cowell a couple of times. He's incredibly talented."There probably is something we can learn in politics [from him]."Cameron's comments follow news that Cowell is thinking of producing a "political X Factor", in which hot topics are debated and voted on by...

I have already complained about Simon Cowells X-Factor single ruining the Christmas number one, rock band Rage Against The Machine is ahead of X Factor winner Joe McElderry in the race for the Christmas number one, early sales figures suggest.A Facebook group aiming to get the bands 1992 hit Killing In The Name to the top of the festive chart has already attracted more than 750,000 members.I'm buying neither, but ROTM I do like, unlike the manufactured Ebenezer Cowells rubbish!Source.Here is the RATM song...This post started off on my blog - http://lifetheuniverseandcombom.blogspot.com - there are so many features on there that are not in the newsfeed, or posted elsewhere, you really need to check it out!...

Rock band Rage Against The Machine is pushing ahead of X Factor winner Joe McElderry to claim the Christmas number one, early figures...