Rage Against the Machine for Christmas Number One

Rage Against the Machine.

It's a name and a band that has been associated with socialism, anarchy, and a very left side look at the political scene in America. Well, in early December 2009, despite having been more than a year removed from their last tour and 17 years since their first album, Rage Against the Machine began making headlines again. Except this time, it was from outside parties who had no association with the band.

In early December, Jon and Tracy Morter of the United Kingdom began a Facebook campaign designed to make the song "Killing in the Name" by RATM the number one single in the U.K. for Christmas. For the five previous years, the Christmas charts had been dominated by Simon Cowell's show X Factor.

The campaign took on a very anti-corporate feel, and got the support of many celebrities across the world. Paul McCartney, who had appeared on X Factor with the finalists, even gave his support for the campaign.

After the group had gained nearly 750,000 members, the band spoke about the campaign and gave their support for it. Lead singer Zack De La Rocha said on BBC Radio DEc. 18th, "I think it would be a wonderful statement. The kids all over the U.K. have responded to this incredible Internet campaign. I think people would love to hear, a song that reflects some of the tensions that they're experiencing in their daily lives."

The campaign also took on another element as it became a way to donate to charity. The proceeds the band made from the sales were donated to the homeless charity Shelter, and group members were also encouraged to donate. Over $150,000 has been donated to Shelter.

Well, the campaign succeeded and "killing in the Name" outsold X-Factor winner Joe McEdlerry's single "The Climb" by nearly 50,000 copies. It was announced the winner on Dec. 20.

Not only was this a victory for good music over bad, but it was also a reminder of the weight social media carries. The group currently holds 980,000 members, which was about around what it had when it was named the winner. That is an astonishing number of people in any Facebook group, especially one which was only formed two months ago.

Furthermore, I think this also shows a shift in the pop music culture. It shows that people do not want to be force-fed their music anymore, especially songs which are re-made and were done better by the original maker (Miley Cyrus was the first to sing "The Climb"). And why not choose a song which defines a "I won't do what you tell me" attitude?

Here are some links to the news stories:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2777954/Rage-Against-The-Machine-guitarist-Tom-Morello-has-urged-music-fans-to-make-history-by-stopping-X-Factor-claiming-the-Christmas-No1-spot.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/dec/20/rage-against-machine-christmas-number-1

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=7742&more=1

A link to the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2228594104

Also, a performance by the band on BBC Radio, where they prove that they won't do what anyone tells them to do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZGUdcBBLc