Music and 2011 - Christmas and X-Factor

The Christmas number one race is now on, with the X-Factor hopeful I really couldn't give a crap about I had a thought. At this time of year people try to buy a single to topple the almost guaranteed number 1. So far only Rage against the Machine have done it (2009). The year before Alexandra Burke had a hit with Hallelujah and Jeff Buckley (considered the best, although a cover in itself) came a close 2nd. It looks like the same may happen this year in 2010.
They have chosen a cover of a Biffy Clyro song. That is currently 6th in the iTunes chart with the original version. The song at the number 3 spot is The Trashmen - Surfin Bird. Which is also trying to do the same as Rage did last year.

Someone made a valid point to me the other day however, do you care about the chart and who is number 1 all year round? No, is the answer. So why worry now?

I also had a thought as there is also a song in the charts by Ellie Goulding. "Your Song". Originally by Elton John.

What we should be doing is a year long event. Anytime some talentless new idiot tries to cover a classic, we all buy the original song, so that at the very least in the charts we have an illistration to the youth of today the songs being fed to us now are not new, or edgy.
There are still bands that write music of their own (good or bad) but the music industry has seen what it is like in England for music.
People would rather go to a pub with a covers band because they may know the songs than try to get out there and find new artists.
I am in a band and getting people to shows is getting harder and harder, Money is an issue. To see original bands you tend to have to pay a cover fee, for a pub covers band you don't.

Now this won't work from one mans rant. And I know I don't have a huge web following. However if you see this blog, and agree please re-tweet it, Facebook it, spread the word.

In 2011 we are going to kill the covers from artists who don't/can't write their own music.

(I will add a few exceptions here, for instance Newton Faulkner did a cover of Teardrop by Massive Attack. You know he played it, you know he wrote his album and he is a great musician! There will be covers from good bands as well we can let that slide if they are still writing great songs of their own too.)

Happy Christmas everyone.

From the now clean shaven Tom.(see the November Blog)

Edit.

Posted a tweet to a few people one being @DaveGorman (thanks for reading and replying.) I may have missed the message I was trying to put across.
I am not trying to stop the crap music charting (it's going to happen) but I want people to know that there are real musicians out there who work hard at writing music. Work hard at getting somewhere. If the state of music carries on more venues playing the music we like will disappear and all we are left with is the chart music we don't want. (OK I maybe over stating it, but I see first hand how hard it is for good musicians to make a name for themselves based on music alone, Now you have to have an image or style that means by 25 you are too old!)
Here is a great example.
Saw a band supporting Wheatus a long time ago called Relish.
They had an album called Wildflower and it had some great songs on it.
Rainbow Zephyr was one of them.


I heard the riff one day on VH1 and thought, they made it!! Good for them. Nope.
This had happened.