Forget about dancing sugar plums and holiday ho ho hos, the most anticipated part of the British holiday season is which single will be #1 on Christmas Day. In recent years, Simon Cowell of X Factor and American Idol fame has ushered in the anticipated winner by proclaiming it to be the most magical song in the land. But the masses have started to rise up against the maestro and have been submitting revolutionary numbers to take the piss out of the whole thing. Last year’s anti-Cowell winner was Rage Against The Machine‘s “Killing in the Name.” Very jolly of them. But this year, it’s even better.

I heard about this year’s entry during an important news flash on NPR. Here’s a brief synopsis of this year’s bid to oust Cowell:

http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/06/cage-against-the-machine-campaign-silent-christmas

The best part of the whole thing is that Billy Bragg missed the recording session and had to, in his words, “phone it in.”

I’d vote for 4’33 over some icky holiday ballad, wouldn’t you?