Sending up the system

Ever since Gary Jules and Michael Andrews scored a Christmas number 1 with "Mad World" in 2003 defeating the Darkness, there has been something of an undercurrent in British popular culture in upsetting the system. This was amplified when the annual practice of sending the X-Factor winner to the festive top spot got well under way and culminated in Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" beating X-Factor victor Joe McElderry in 2009.

Of course, there was plenty of muttering that it was very convenient that a back catalogue single from Sony was up against a new single from a Sony label and thus making tons of cash for the corporation in the process. Regardless of that, the precident had been set and come 2010, a number of campaigns got under way. Biffy Clyro fans protested at then incumbent X-Factor winner, Matt Cardle and his cover of "Many of Horror"; Scott Mills orchestrated a bid to get The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird" to the top spot and the too-cool-for-school camp was covered by a collective covering John Cage's silent piece 4'33".

Ultimately, due to the split in the market nobody managed to topple Matt Cardle from the top of the X-Factor wave.

So where does that leave the systemic sabotage? Well, its fair to say that nobody has got a campaign of any momentum together in 2011. There are a few Nirvana fans bleating that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" should be given a push, but ultimately the public feeling is that we can't be bothered this year. Which is a shame. I'd like to see the whole thing sent up properly. Perhaps resurrect a novelty single recorded for an event that has no current relevance. Or maybe we could take something deeply unfashionable that hasn't been heard since it was released. Or something that tabloid readers would find offensive.