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I've really enjoyed this years X Factor, there's been some very good singers on there. Although the two I was backing didn't win I thought that the winner has got a very good voice and could be very good with the right guidance.

Lady of Mystery wrote:the winner has got a very good voice

This is the problem with X Factor though - they always have a great voice, the problem is they do not generally have a personality becoming of a major mainstream singer.

Most X Factor winners have better singing voices than the vast majority of any successful singer in history, the problem is they do not have the charisma to match so once all the hype dies down they disappear back in to non-existance.

RATM are a great example. Famous, multi million selling, fantastic to listen too but can Zack sing?

Not really.

Grimshaw wrote:I always say my favourite musicians would never make it on X Factor. Shane MacGowan; awesome lyrics, wouldn't get passed the auditions. Joe Strummer; same applies.

Is it naughty to quote yourself? Oh well just done it.

Yes this is the thing that annoys me. Sure they can sing, but you can stroll past any old boozer and hear a half decent karaoke singer. How about getting someone who can write music, write albums, and stamp their personality on it? People can say that tired old line 'The Beatles were a manufactured band', and they were, but at least they wrote their own songs.

Zack may not be a brilliant singer but his voice is perfect for RATM and he has a shed load of passion which makes the music even more powerfull. Anyone who's seen them perform live will tell you that is a genuinely emotional experience that I don't think you'll ever get from an X-factor winner. Music should be full of passion and should hit you in a very profound physical and emotional level.


There are 2 audiences competing here. There are the x-factor fans who have every right to like and buy whatever music they like regardless of what anyone thinks of it and then there are the other fans who have decided to have a little wave towards the mainstream media outlets and say: "guess what? We're still here and we're not going away."

Nothing will really change because of this but if we never stirred things up occasionally, we'd never gave had any of the awesome 'alternative' music that we love do much.

One of the things I like about all this is the fact that a song doesn't need to be a current single release in order to make it into the charts.

Now that MP3 downloads are recognised, anything sold by registered stores is valid.

I had a quick hunt for Christmas music on Tesco.com, and found Nerf Herder's seasonal ditty, 'I Got A Boner For Christmas'.

I'd like to nominate that one for Christmas Number One in 2010!

Pete

How does one go about releasing a single, i.e. how long does it take? I heard fantastic song written by a Leeds student the other day called "Stay Warm This Christmas", it was funny, sweet, original if not slightly Noah and the Whale-esque, but would be a fantastic Christmas number 1. Hmm...


Lomster, the problem is that although you might think the X-Factor winner is a good singer, he's basically a trained monkey. Yes, a trained monkey with a good voice, but he's been coralled, vetted and schooled in the ways of short-lived celebrity to within an inch of his life already. He will have absolutely no say in the song he sings - he's a puppet. Singers have had songs written for them for years, but they put their own stamp on it as has been said. Dion Warwick certainly didn't write "Walk on By", but it's still "her song" in many ways. Next year, you simply won't remember this poor little faceless chap. He offers nothing to the world of actual music, only to the world of making money from music.

You can try to argue that people "buy it if they like it", but it's hardly a fair competition, is it? The show is basically one long build up to a record release - as I said before, prime time free advertising for hours every weekend. They blast everyone else out of the water with sheer exposure. If Iceland started delivering free basketfuls of cheap sausage rolls to the door of every house, cheap sausage rolls would probably win "best Christmas food 2009", despite the fact they're pappy, bland and incredibly bad for you.

I even heard Jo Wiley on Sunday making the most soul destroying, banal sh*t-chat about X Factor (obviously I already find Jo Wiley annoying, but my mind was elsewhere and I hadn't consciously realised it was her on the radio. Rest assured the minute I did, it was changed). When a publically funded DJ... not only that, but a DJ who is supposed to be big on "hip new bands" and "local talent" spends my TV license sitting on air talking about the meaningless outcome of a commercial juggernaut... come on. The DJ who is sent to glastonbury due to her supposed indie credentials and rock chick nature ( ) ... I mean, really, COME ON!

Farlsborough wrote: The DJ who is sent to glastonbury due to her supposed indie credentials and rock chick nature ( ) ... I mean, really, COME ON!

Jo uses rock concerts as hunting grounds to suck the life force from young rock folk to try and retain her youth. She's so "hip and with it", that's why she's so "cool".

I think she's a great DJ and I used to love listening to her when she was on the weekday afternoon show, but I'm starting to lose respect for Jo Whiley, as sad as I am to say it. She's just not radio 1 anymore... she'd be better on another show somewhere

I have no interest in X Factor, but sadly it gets the ratings and it's still making a bucketload for both Cowell and ITV, so it's going nowhere. And because it gets ratings in the 16-30 demographic, it's gonna be talked about and played to death on radio 1. Sadly.

Farlsborough wrote:How does one go about releasing a single, i.e. how long does it take?

It's achingly easy to get your songs on itunes these days. Numerous digital distributors are crying out for bands to give them their music so you can pay them a monthly tab for putting it on itunes, napster, amazon mp3 etc.

Whether or not simply having it on there means it can then enter the chart I'm afraid i don't know. If it's registered with the MCPS/PRS brigade, and has an ISC number, in theory it should be eligible.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE currently outselling Joe's X-factor dirge. See BBC news for detail. COME ON!!!

Apparently, one of the online stores allows you to 'gift' the song to people, and each sale counts towards the chart, as each copy is going to a different recipient.

Haven't done it myself, but I might still be tempted...

Pete

I felt the need to harass fellow facebookers last night about this. Probably quite a shock for them as I've not used it in ages (apart from to join the TM group).

Edit: Was just on ITN lunchtime news too! In my heart of hearts I am pretty sure it will get annihilated when the X Factor single is released on CD tomorrow but there's a small Christmas part of me that hope's RATM wins.

well my best friend and I have just got our tickets for X Factor Live in Brighton

Anyone fancy joining us?

Only if they'll let me take an Uzi into the arena with me.

And let me stand at the front.

Lady of Mystery wrote:well my best friend and I have just got our tickets for X Factor Live in Brighton

Anyone fancy joining us?

Some people have far too much time and money.