Right, so we did it. It feels like VE Day all over again. Simon Cowell's corporate tyranny has been de-throned, the ring cut from his finger; the Great British Public (and right now I'm happy to call them that) has propelled Rage Against the Machine to the summit of the UK Charts. And it feels amazing.
Victory is only made sweeter by tragedy that would have been had the X Factor triumphed. Had Joe McElderry been number one, it would have been proven, once and for all, that SyCo's brand of inoffensive, gymnastic balladry had won over the nation, and even the biggest and most supported music campaign in English, and probably world, history had been defeated. That would have been a disaster, and the 958'419 fans of the original Facebook group would go to bed tonight feeling cowed - or should that be Cowell'd?
X Factor will win again next year. And you know what, I don't care. There may well be other attempts at toppling next year's winner, but none will have the same unifying effect that this one had. But we proved our point. People still like music thats - a huge cliché I know - real.
Its nice to know bands can still offend people. The hell-raisers of old are all dead or have lost it, John Lydon being Culprit Number One. Rage's live performance of Killing in the Name was just another slice of anarchy that provoked outrage and made headlines in a week ridden with it. How did the BBC not see it coming. The goddamn line they wanted changed was the now-classic 'fuck you I won't do what you tell me'; did they really expect them to change it? Morons. It made for a brilliant moment though.
The Machine has successfully been Raged against.
