Rage are Christmas Number One in the UK.
Does this mean the Machine has been raged against? Of course not, since the masses are still all buying *stuff*. In any case RATM are actually signed to Sony, which is the same label that X-Factor singles are put out on - so the label certainly isn't suffering. I don't expect Simon Cowell to become an insomniac over this incident.
Has this been a victory of style over substance? Possibly. Reaction to RATM's politics ranges from serious followers like anti-Globalisation types who love to
disrupt the economic order to more sanguine metal fans who like the music but don't buy into rock stars as political figures - and rightly so, as it's a rocky road lined with hacks who went too far and ended up creating a backlash against themselves (Bono, Sting, Geldof).
That said, it certainly can't be doubted that RATM are saying *something* in their music - whether it's a cause worth fighting for or not, the existence of a message is clear. The fact that music fans either love or hate RATM shows that they are at the very least a thought-provoking act - even if the only thoughts that come to mind for some people is how most efficiently to throttle the fuckers with their guitar cables.
On the other hand, who exactly is Joe McElderry and why should I give a fuck about him? What does he have to say, thought-provoking or obnoxious or anywhere in between, that I should listen to? He's just an 18-year-old that has worked a system and made it to the top. Ironically, his life is now far more precarious than it was before he was famous, as his expectation of what will be delivered to him has had its bar set to the stratosphere. With Cowell and Sony behind him, arena gigs, music videos and a slew of pop singles will follow - but what's his long term value? X-Factor and its ilk have had a history of dropping their winning act like it's hot after only about 6 months on average. What'll he be then, 18 and a half. And from then on his life will consistently fail to deliver him the highs that he is now already accustomed. He's
already getting rather cruel comments on his Facebook page about the imminent demise of his career. Eating kangaroo balls must surely come next. That's a tender age to be told that you're already past it, like Logan's Run on steroids. When I was 18 to 18 and a half, I went from first year college to... a little further through first year college.
X-Factor products are a victory of the bland over the complex. Corporate machinations over art. Groupthink over individualism.
People complain that Rage are vacuous because of the nihilism evident in taglines like "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me." The only message that I get from X-Factor, on the other hand, is "If a huge commercial media venture tells you to buy something, you should buy it." I know which is worse.