Why do most of you hate Nickelback?

[sheetswannabe]

Ive noticed over the past years, mostly everyone on here HATES Nickelback. I for one think they are an amazing band, and I am just wondering why the people who hate them, dislike not their music, but the band themselves..

[Brian the Automator]

I think this pretty much sums it up

[RyDogg66]

They pretty much sum up most everything wrong with the dumbing down of the "arts" and lowest common denominator crap that is churned out without thinking and made to appeal to the masses. They really are an awful band.

[sheetswannabe]

I agree those 2!! songs sound alike, but what band doesnt have 2 songs that sound the same?

[logan82]

Wow, that is truely pathetic. I just didn't like them because they are the rock band equivalent of Britney Spears music. A bunch of mindless crap that panders to teeagers who have no money, but will beg their parents for money to buy CD's.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, while I don't care for Nickelback at all, a lot of bands tend to follow the same formula in multiple songs. I think the fact that Nickelback's music is just really generic, radio friendly, and boring adds to it, though.

[And That]

I agree those 2!! songs sound alike, but what band doesnt have 2 songs that sound the same?

Most bands carry similar styles throughout their songs because they are the same band that recorded those songs. "Sound the same" is up to the ear of the listener obviously. I can't say I've ever heard two songs (hit songs too, weren't they?) by the same band that sound more alike than those. (Maybe Muse?). And not to pile on, tho it's the only thing I have to say about Nickleback: they are creatively boring. Their songs are mass marketed copies of copies of copies. I can't say the individual musicians aren't skilled or lack creativity themselves, but whether it's the recording industry's foot on their throats or their own desire not to explore anything beyond what has worked for them in the past, they just suck. No, they're derivative of suck.

 

[davebobn]

Because their music is formulaic, generic, soulless, and poorly written...that sounds really harsh, but it's my opinion so sheets don't take it as an attack. Though I would like to know why you think they're "amazing."

[Brian the Automator]

'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars

 

I guess, to me, this sounds like something a 6th grader might write.

[apirk]

Pretty much everything that is wrong with rock n roll

 

But I will give them credit for writing catchy tunes

[sheetswannabe]

Their style is impetuous, their songs are impregnable, and they are just amazing. I would let them eat my children.

 

But on a serious note, I think they just are good because I like 5 or 6 of their songs. Rockstar is a great song, Animals, Feelin way too damn good, all great songs to me.

[sheetswannabe]

Brian, what would you write in a song thats about being a rockstar? I think thats a pretty good verse. Thats just me though, I guess you guys must listen to something amazing, even AC/DC one of the best bands has some WEIRD and easy lyrics.

[1992casey]

Here's what I'd write. The problem is that Shel Silverstein already wrote it.

Well we're big rock singers

We got golden fingers

And we're loved everywhere we go

We sing about beauty and we sing about truth

At ten thousand dollars a show

We take all kinda pills

That give us all kinda thrills

But the thrill we've never known

Is the thrill that'll getcha

When you get your picture

On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

 

Wanna see my picture on the cover

Wanna buy five copies for my mother

Wanna see my smilin' face

On the cover the cover of the Rollin' Stone

 

I got a freaky old lady

Name a Cocaine Katie

Who embroideries on my jeans

I got my poor ol' grey haired Daddy

Drivin' my limousine

Now it's all designed

To blow our minds

But our minds won't really be blown

Like the blow that'll getcha

When you get your picture

On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

 

Wanna see my pictures on the cover

Wanna buy five copies for my mother

Wanna see my smiling face

On the cover the cover of the Rollin' Stone

 

We gotta lotta little teenage blue-eyed groupies

Who'll do anything we say

We got a genuine Indian guru

Who's teachin' us a better way

We got all the friends that money can buy

So we never have to be alone

And we keep gettin' richer, but we can't get our picture

On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

 

Wanna see my picture on the cover

Wanna buy five copies for my mother

Wanna see my smilin' face

On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

Gonna see my picture on the cover

Gonna buy five copies for my mother

Gonna see my smiling face

On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

[Raw Biz]

These excerpts from Photograph basically sum it up:

 

Look at this photograph

Every time I do it makes me laugh

How did our eyes get so red?

And what the hell is on Joey's head?

 

This is where I went to school

Most of the time had better things to do

Criminal record says I broke in twice

I must've done it half a dozen times

 

Remember the old arcade

Blew every dollar that we ever made

The cops hated us hangin' out

They say somebody went and burned it down

 

Kim's the first girl I kissed

I was so nervous that I nearly missed

She's had a couple of kids since then

I haven't seen her since God knows when

 

They have just awful lyrics, basically every song sounds the same, they look like complete tools (especially Kroger), and they act like they are a "hard" band. That's probably the thing that pisses me off the most about them is they try and act like they are a hard rock band when they're not even close. The same is true of Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin. The three of them toured together last year and it was probably the worst tour of all-time (in terms of sheer awfulness). I just cannot believe that people listen to this crap and enjoy it. They all act like they are tough but in reality, they blow.

[jason21nl]

i just wonder how everyone that hates them ended up in one place, like BF. The sell millions of CDs yet you would probably have trouble finding 10 people that like them on this site.

 

for the record, I don't mind them at all.

 

message boards are weird sometimes. You could probably walk into a store and ask people if they like Nickleback and most would probably say yes. You come here, and hell no, they suck. I don't get it

[brewers19]

The Brewer-liking and Nickleback-hating genes are right next to each other on chromosome 12, and are thus often inherited together. It's simple genetics.

[PlayerHader]

rawbecht...You basically covered everything I was going to say.

1. I've always thought ALL of their songs (at least the ones that make it on the radio in WI) sound the same.

2. Who writes those lyrics? I absolutely am unable to listen to the song Photograph whenever it comes on. One line in particular makes me think of the poetry I'd try writing in 4th grade..."Kim's the first girl I kissed/I was so nervous that I nearly missed." HUH? You nearly missed the kiss? Did you hit her ear? @*@!?!? At least make something hard up like, "I couldn't lay her and then I got P!$$*d" if you are gonna reach for some weak rhyme.

3. The hard rock band poser thing doesn't bother me as much because I don't really care for real hard rock bands all that much. I will agree they seem like a bunch of pussies compared to "real" bands.

Nos. 1 and 2 definitely are the main contributors of my angst towards that band.

EDIT: Please don't taunt the cuss filter - b19

[Crazyk1294]

Nickleback's first album was OK ("Leader of Men", "Breathe") and then they turned everything into a love song. The breaking point for me into full-on hate for Nickleback was when "Hero" came out on the Spider-Man soundtrack and Chad Kroeger didn't split the earnings from that song with Josie Scott who sang and co-wrote the song with him. That's just slimy...

[gypcasino]

message boards are weird sometimes. You could probably walk into a store and ask people if they like Nickleback and most would probably say yes. You come here, and hell no, they suck. I don't get it

Yeah, for some reason the hardcore hipsters who hang on every word that Pitchfork says are the ones that come out of the woodwork when you're talking about music. You could also walk into the same store and ask people if they like Of Montreal, Vampire Weekend, or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and 0 out of 100 of those people will even know what the hell you're talking about. Unless the store is Atomic Records. I'm not saying the listening public has great taste but come on, I don't understand the complete disdain. First of all, Nickelback's "Rockstar" is obvious satire. Yeah, it's been done before by Joe Walsh, Dr. Hook, and even Great White ("Wasted Rock Ranger") but it's a catchy, fun tune. And "Photograph" isn't all that bad either.

 

At least make something hard up like, "I couldn't lay her and then I got P!$$*d" if you are gonna reach for some weak rhyme.

Yeah right on, cuz that'll get played on the radio.

And if people are gonna quote lyrics am I supposed to think that this is somehow the apex of lyrical genius?

 

Lies and betrayals

Fruit-covered nails

Electricity and lust wont break the door

Ive got a heavy coat- its filled with rocks and sand

And if I lose it Ill be comin back today

(Ive got a message for you)

Ill be comin back today

(I keep it in my hand)

You know Im comin back one day

(Ive got a sister or two)

And Ill be comin back today

Oh, it must be since it's from one of the greatest hipster albums of all time, Pavement's Slanted & Enchanted. It makes absolutely no sense but it's somehow a "low fi masterpiece." A fifth grader wrote what now?

I'm a pretty big music fan but I'm sometimes puzzled by the elitism of other music fans. I won't go so far as to say that I'm a fan of Nickelback but I actually like them a little bit more as the critical backlash increases. People listen to it because it's catchy and fun. It's not that hard to figure out.

 

Some of the reasons that people don't like them don't even make sense. Like this is a real reach-

3. The hard rock band poser thing doesn't bother me as much because I don't really care for rea hard rock bands all that much. I will agree they seem like a bunch of pussies compared to "real" bands.

I don't think they're an "amazing" band by any stretch of the imagination but I think they make music that the kids can relate to.

[Brian the Automator]

Brian, what would you write in a song thats about being a rockstar? I think thats a pretty good verse. Thats just me though, I guess you guys must listen to something amazing, even AC/DC one of the best bands has some WEIRD and easy lyrics.

I'm a fan of lyrics where things aren't completely overt and sophmoric. Maybe even a metaphor here or there.

 

[PlayerHader]

Gyp...I am by no means a music elitist. In fact, if it isn't played on the radio, there is a good chance I haven't heard it (for most music anyway). At least the lyrics you posted and made fun of could be made into something in the mind of the listener. I don't know the song or band so I'm not sporting any bias. I guess I'd rather listen to something like that (Champagne Supernova-a good example of a song I like that has lyrics that really don't make any sense on their own) than the lyrics and music put out by Nickelback. Anyway, just wanted to make it clear that my opinion is not that of a music elitist by any means. Nickelback just does not fit my tastes at all.

[GAME05]

maybe it's the definition of "talent" that needs to be addressed. no question Nickleback has the talent that record companies are looking for--radio-catchy music (variation on one song or not), lyrics that any 14-year-old can relate to and they're just completely harmless. so sure, they've got talent, but i think they suck because they haven't done a single thing that's musically unique and their lyrics are the poetic equivalent of an Andrew Dice Clay limerick.

 

so clearly some people like their stuff right now, but in five years when they're doing the State Fair circuit, nobody's going to remember a single thing they did. they're totally forgettable.

 

"Kim's the first girl I kissed/I was so nervous that I nearly missed." hilarious. stay tuned for their next album titled "I hope we can be friends", with the tracks "Alcohol is a drug, too" and "In bed by 10".

[burniebrewer]

Nickelback is way too mainstream for the majority of this board, plain and simple.

 

There are many bands over-pimped here that I'll never get, but that's the beauty of music--one man's crappy band is another's favorite. Who am I to judge, I like Twisted Sister!

 

I'm not a huge fan of Nickelback, but I get it...they've go a formula that works, so why change it? If you're a fan, make no apologies and seek no justification...just enjoy what you like.

[And That]

Yeah, for some reason the hardcore hipsters who hang on every word that Pitchfork says are the ones that come out of the woodwork when you're talking about music. You could also walk into the same store and ask people if they like Of Montreal, Vampire Weekend, or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and 0 out of 100 of those people will even know what the hell you're talking about.

As Brewerfan's resident hipster, I have to point out that this is a bit of a generalization, and I know that a number of the people who have posted in this thread as anti-Nickleback don't visit Pitchfork with any regularity, or at all. I'd also argue that just because people haven't heard of them, it isn't the bands' faults, nor really is it the people's faults. There is so much music out there that isn't played on the radio, the radio the people who listen to it don't control, that whatever is there, they'll listen to.

 

 

If the gurus at Clear Channel thought of Montreal (yah, I am hipster enough to know the "o" in "of" is lowercase) would give their station better ratings and ad revenues, they would play of Montreal. Same with major record labels. That's just the way it is. For some reason, Nickleback still generates a lot of revenue for the people who want it, so they keep getting played and keep churning out the same old recycled whatsis of whatever group they replaced as the go-to group among the demographic they are marketed to appeal to.

 

[burniebrewer]

I don't know of Montreal.

 

I mean, I know of Montreal, it's in Canada.

 

If the gurus at Clear Channel thought of Montreal (yah, I am hipster enough to know the "o" in "of" is lowercase) would give their station better ratings and ad revenues, they would play of Montreal.

 

But if they received mainstream radio play, you hipsters wouldn't be able to like it and you'd all become Nickelback fans because they weren't on the radio anymore!http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif