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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Rage Against The Machine

  • Raging Against Christmas: Anarchy in the U.K.

    It’s quite a big deal to have the #1 single in the UK over Christmas. Over the years, that spot has hosted artists ranging from Band Aid (whose “Do They Know It’s Christmas” topped the chart in 1984) to Mr. Blobby (don’t feel bad if you don’t know who that is…unfortunately, I do).

    Anyway, for the past few years, the Christmas #1 in Britain has been tied in with “X Factor”, AKA the British version of “American Idol”. Like “Idol”, “X Factor” is spearheaded by Simon Cowell. Although the show doesn’t mean much on U.S shores, it has spawned at least one certified hitmaker (for a brief time, anyway) in Leona Lewis.

    One guy took exception to Cowell’s domination of the UK charts (and what it represents to true music fans) and started a Facebook campaign to get people to download Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” in the hopes that it would prevent “X factor” winner Joe McElderry from hitting the #1 spot with his cover of Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb” (I can’t make this stuff up folks).

    So, the results are in and the #1 single in the UK is…”Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine! Half a million people downloaded it last week, pushing the 18-year old song to the top of the charts. This chart victory is all kinds of symbolic, proving the fact that British music fans are a little tired of having processed musical cheese shoved down their collective throats (although it might have been better had they used their Facebook clout to promote a new artist who needs the publicity). It’s also cool that the guys from Rage have promised to donate money to charity as a result of their chart-topping success. Now if we could just do something about Susan Boyle here in the States…

  • RATM Unveils Tour Plans

    That was some good web marketing, boys. The dual countdown we told you about on Rage Against The Machine’s site?

    It’s a reunion.

    Duh.

    Tickets are on sale Saturday. Counter #2 is a countdown to the show. Nice job, web and music company. RATM must have liked the way things sounded when they tried it out. Maybe there will even be a (gasp!) album.

    Spinning In The CD
    Have to show some love. Listening to Rage’s Battle of Los Angeles. C’mon back. Jay-Z unretired. You can too.

  • What Machine Are They Raging Against? We Learn About Something Monday

    Rage Against The Machine, California’s metal men, are toying with the web community years after breaking up with an album in the can. Their website features two counters. Could one be for a new release? Perhaps, although their supposed last tracks were released several years ago. A tour? Even more likely, especially for the first counter.

    The two counters are spaced to go off at very different times. The early counter expires Monday, while the later counter is set for August 24.

    This is Internet viral marketing buzz at its best. No messy MySpace pages, no email blasts to “fan clubs”. There’s just a simple mystery at its finest from one of rock’s most creative outfits. Special props to MTV for learning that the site’s name is registered to a concert promoter.

    Since the boys reunited as the headliners for Coachella’s last night this year, that’s a good bet. Now if only their promoter knew that you can pay a few bucks more and make your registration anonymous. And what’s that second timer for?

    Spinning In The CD
    Amy Winehouse is fast becoming one of my new favorites. Back to Black is more than a year old, but it was one of those discs that just sat there. She is getting nowhere near the chart success she deserves in the US so show her some love next time you’re near a download or music store.