The Christmas Top 40 ...

Top 40 Sun 20 Dec 09
Well ... unbelievable ... Cowell's in his counting house and he must be counting more than he would have been were it not for the intervention of Rage Against The Machine ... but at at last he's been deprived a Christmas Number One - it would have been a fifth in a row... Rage sold 500,000 - 50,000 more than Joe McX-Factor. Click here for the story on BBC Rage news page.

A word on Sundays Radio One Chart Show host Scott Mills .... he's so much the guy who should be the regular host, he's so much better than Reggie Yates. Scott, a frequent deputy for five or six years is a dj's dj - technically brilliant he plays a supporting roll to the records rather than the other way round. His sharp wit is matched by his perfectly engineered inserts .. and he is genuinely funny. Why do have they got Reggie Yates on that show? When you hear Scott's flawless presentation you can only conclude there's a box and a tick involved somewhere.

Christmas cheer is in shorter supply this year - last year a record twelve entries made the Top Forty - this year only four seasonal songs from The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, Mariah Carey, George Michael, The Pet Shop Boys and a fifth - a novelty record from The Muppets & Queen.

8 new entries & 2 re-entries – 2 up, 23 down, 2 non-movers

This Week ... Last Week ... Weeks In ... Artist ... Title

1 new RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Killing In The Name Of

2 new JOE McELDERRY The Climb

3 1 8 LADY GAGA Bad Romance

4 2 5 PETER KAYS ANIMATED ALLSTARS The Official Children In Need Medley

5 new 3OH!3 & KATY PERRY Starstrukk

6 15 6 ROBBIE WILLIAMS You Know Me

7 14 6 CHERYL COLE & WILL I AM Three Words

8 3 4 RIHANNA Russian Roulette

9 re-entry 4 JOURNEY Don't Stop Believing

10 4 11 BLACK EYED PEAS Meet Me Halfway

11 5 7 KE$HA Tik Tok

12 11 5 X-FACTOR FINALISTS You Are Not Alone

13 8 3 ALICIA KEYS Doesn't Mean Anything

14 new GEORGE MICHAEL December Song

15 9 2 CHUCKIE & LMFAO I'm In Miami Bitch

16 6 3 TIMBALAND & NELLY FURTADO Morning After Dark

17 13 9 CHERYL COLE Fight For This Love

18 18 3 POGUES & KIRSTY MacCOLL Fairytale Of New York

19 7 5 JASON DeRULO Whatcha Say

20 10 4 CHIPMUNK & TALAY RILEY Look For Me

21 19 3 MARIAH CAREY All I Want For Xmas Is You

22 26 10 ALEXANDRA BURKE Bad Boys

23 24 10 MICHAEL BUBLE Haven't Met You Yet

24 16 14 JAY-Z & ALICIA KEYS Empire State Of Mind

25 25 7 JLS Everybody In Love

26 12 6 PIXIE LOTT Cry Me Out

27 20 25 BLACK EYED PEAS I Gotta Feeling

28 23 3 N-DUBZ & Mr HUDSON Playing With Fire

29 new LEONA LEWIS Stop Crying Your Heart Out

30 35 2 SATURDAYS Ego

31 re-entry MILEY CYRUS The Climb

32 new MUPPETS & QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody

33 21 8 WESTLIFE What About Now

34 30 4 SUSAN BOYLE Wild Horses

35 29 8 FLORENCE & THE MACHINE You've Got The Love

36 new ALEXANDRA BURKE Broken Heels

37 22 8 JAY SEAN & LIL WAYNE Down

38 28 6 LEONA LEWIS Happy

39 17 5 50 CENT & NE-YO Baby By Me

40 new PET SHOP BOYS It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas

America's Hot 100

This Week ... Last Week ... Weeks In ... Artist ... Title

1 1 14 JAY-Z & ALICIA KEYS Empire State Of Mind

2 3 10 KE$HA Tik Tok

3 2 7 LADY GAGA Bad Romance

4 4 17 IYAZ Replay

5 5 17 OWL CITY Fireflies

6 7 19 DAVID GUETTA & AKON Sexy Chick

7 6 18 JASON DeRULO Whatcha Say

8 8 13 BLACK EYED PEAS Meet Me Halfway

9 9 10 BRITNEY SPEARS 3

10 10 24 JAY SEAN & LIL WAYNE Down

New New Year
Just over a week til a new decade - the teens, errm.. the nn's, th's or whatever it's gonna be called ... a new crop of bills ... and Phoooey ... Jaffa and myself will be at Ten Feet Tall Dancing Off The Naughties errrm Noughties on New Years Eve through til 5am on New Years Day 2010

Rage vs Cliff for the revolution...?
There was a time when Cliff's Christmas Number One 'Mistletoe & Wine' seemed like a harmless, bland, middle of the road seasonal ditty ... twenty one years on with Rage Against The Machine's observational 'Killing In The Name' a Christmas Number One I think it's worth comparing and contrasting just who's lyrics offer the greater threat of insurgency. While Rage's 'Killing' is obviously a slamming critique of something 'Mistletoe & Wine' is fighting a rearguard counter revolutionary defence of Christianity ... it sometimes seems it's fast becoming a subculture itself .... I think Cliff may just have it here ... contrast the lyrics for yourself below ...

Killing In The Name!

Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Huh!

Killing in the name of
Killing in the name of

And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
But now you do what they told ya
Well now you do what they told ya

Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses
Uggh!

Killing in the name of!
Killing in the name of

And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control (7 times)
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya!

Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Come on!

Yeah! Come on!

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
Motherfucker!
Uggh!

Mistletoe & Wine

The child is a King, the Carollers sing,
The old has passed, there's a new beginning.
Dreams of Santa, dreams of snow,
Fingers numb, faces aglow.

Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine
Children singing Christian rhyme
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see

A time for living, a time for believing
A time for trusting, not deceiving,
Love and laughter and joy ever after,
Ours for the taking, just follow the master.

Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine
Children singing Christian rhyme
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see

Silent night, holy night

Its a time for giving, a time for getting,
A time for forgiving and for forgetting.
Christmas is love, Christmas is peace,
A time for hating and fighting to cease.

Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine
Children singing Christian rhyme
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see

(repeat x2)

christmas time, silent night
mistletoe and wine, holy night
Children singing christian rhyme,
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see.

Evans until 2047
If Chris Evans stays on Radio 2's Breakfast Show as long as Sir Terry ... his last show will be in 2047. We noted the way the BBC were trying to suggest it was a mere 27 years Wogan had been the shows' presenter - ok he had a break for TV - but Wogan began on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show in 1972 - so there.

Snow - blame them
The snow chaos has clearly been caused by the Pet Shop Boys and Chris Moyles. Each has new songs proclaiming snow's absense at Christmas - Moyles with 'Never Gonna Snow' and the Pet Shoppers with a hit at 40 this week 'It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas'. Thanks guys.

TI-me's nearly up
Rapper T.I. was released from prison in Arkansas today after serving seven months behind bars -- and the rapper's lawyer says he'll spend the rest of his sentence living in a halfway house. T.I. -- real name Clifford Harris -- was sentenced to 366 days in the Forrest City penitentiary earlier this year, after he was busted in 2007 for sending his bodyguard out to buy machine guns and silencers. T.I.'s lawyer, Steve Sadow, told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that the rapper is expected to report to Dismas Charities Atlanta West in Georgia tonight -- where he'll live in a halfway house for the next three months. After his sentence is completed, T.I. still has to complete 500 hours of community service and 23 days of home incarceration. 23 December 2009

Balloon Boy Bill
The two morons behind that terrible "Balloon Boy" stunt are finally going to have to pay the price for all of their dumb-assery.. a cool $42,000. The Larimer County District Attorney's office claims it sent the bill to Richard and Mayumi Heene.. demanding the couple pay restitution to the agencies which took part in the rescue attempt when they thought 6-year-old Falcon Heene had gone airborne in a massive Jiffy Pop-style hot air balloon. According to the Denver Post, the DA claims the Heene's $42k will go towards the police, the national guard and the Federal Aviation Administration -- who all played a role on October 15. A lawyer for the Heenes claims they won't pay a cent until they see receipts and records -- we're pretty sure there's no shortage of TV footage. 23 December 2009