Joe McElderry vs Rage Against The Machine

Rage Against The Machine vs. X Factor has caused quite a stir so far this week, and Moopy is no different. At the moment, poll results put support for RATM ahead 63.41% to Joe McElderry's 36.59%.

Even those rooting for an X Factor win acknowledged The Climb as tepid at best (well, most people did...) - it's pretty much musical wafers, making tap water look like the flavour option. It's also true that if ANY established artist released that, or any breakthrough artist, we'd RIP THE SHIT out of it like a pack of RABID DOGS.

Yet this also raised the debate of the "real music brigade" - is it sheep mentality to support RATM (furthemore on that point, is the X Factor any less sheep mentality?) - identified as people who only like singers who write their own songs, bands who play live instruments, etc and deride anything that deviates from that. Yet these rules aren't exclusive, as was pointed out using the example of Ricky Wilson from The Kaiser Chiefs, who is neither a songwriter nor an instrumentalist. He's just a singer. However, because his songwriter and his musicians are actually in a band with him rather than working behind the scenes, his music will always be seen by a lot of people as more "real" than, say, Girls Aloud. Indeed, the opinion was put across that as long as real instruments are involved a song could be described as real music whereas a dance track that just uses samples and electronics without an obvious structure would just be SOUND. Perhaps such debate proves only that it's not just rock fans who are music snobs.

Still, despite the X Factor dominance over the past five years, it's reassuring how much people still value the Christmas #1 as something more than an unapologetic display of consumerism - either way, you always have to remember that the X Factor is a talent show and it is voted for by people who regularly watch ITV and enjoy it - i.e. morons.

With RATM at #1 in Tuesday's midweeks, this argument could roll on for some time.

Check out:
Xmas No.1 Race: Joe McElderry vs Rage Against The Machine
What is REAL MUSIC and what IS NOT?
Christmas Midweeks (15/12/09)
Rage Against The Machine for xmas #1