The X Factor Is Contrived, Regurgitated Rubbish - But So What?

So Matt Cardle won the The X Factor at the weekend and as expected, indie-music veterans are all across the country kicking at walls and indignantly throwing hats into dirt puddles, proclaiming Simon Cowell to be the devil and his reality show an inferno like gathering of non-talented sleuths. Cue yawn.

I’m so fed up of people jumping onto the “X Factor will ruin good music and in the end slaughter innocent children” bandwagon. After the final, hoards of anti X-Factor rants have been cooked up quicker than a can of micro-beans. But the fact of the matter is this: programmes like X factor have never been and never will be a threat to real music. Little to do with actual talent, they are staged entertainment shows that aim to serve men like Cowell’s pockets and our boredom.

I’m sure most of us know that X-Factor is a pile of contrived, regurgitated rubbish. So what? Without delving into the philosophical and/or moral issues behind such a show, we watch it because it’s- shock horror- actually fun. It may not be some people’s cup of tea and I’m alright with that, there are plenty of other mindless TV shows you can dedicate your time to. And if you’re the high-brow never settles into a night of bad TV sort, then you can bore off and do something else instead of insulting my intelligence because apparently, I don’t have the common sense or decency to enjoy something a tad more intellectual like you.

Musicians; stop moaning and make some good music instead, and for the record I don’t think 4 minutes of silence in some attempt to rekindle last year’s rage against the X Factor fire counts. The Cardle alternatives that bog our mainstream charts each year really aren’t much of a better option, are they? For the rest of you, if you want a genuine alternative to Cowell-mania, go to gigs; discover new bands and artists for yourself, stop wasting time sat at home watching X factor and then surprised at being so offended, complain about it. It’s predictable, it’s self-serving and it really doesn’t get us anywhere we aren’t now.

As Simon Neil, lead singer of the same band who sold their song rights to Cowell as the one whose fans are crying about being ‘murdered’ said: the show “is for the kind of people who buy ****ing Robbie Williams calendars" anyway. And for the rest of us, who just want to laugh at obese teenagers who hit each other.

Stop being such a damn killjoy, please.

Music Stars Who Have Appeared On The X Factor