Why do hated bands top the charts?

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Few bands inspire such intense hatred as Nickelback.

The post-grunge Canadian quartet has been trashed, bashed and hated on by countless critics, music snobs and other like-minded souls. So have much-maligned acts like Hinder, a rock band from Oklahoma; the Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas, who have spawned infectious rap hits "My Humps" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart"; and Britney Spears, who in her heyday ruled radio but was condemned for everything from her voice to not writing her own songs.

Yet these acts have sold millions upon millions of albums. So are the critics wrong? Do music buyers have bad taste? Is this karmic payback to all the haters?

"There are some bands that, let's face it, are critic-proof," said Nathan Brackett, a senior editor at Rolling Stone. "Just like there are some movies that are critic-proof. Nobody is really reading the reviews for 'Norbit,' you know? And nobody's reading Nickelback reviews either." (And what does Nickelback think?)

That might be a good thing. Nickelback's "All the Right Reasons," which debuted at No. 1 on the charts in the fall of 2005 and was still number 16 this week, was called "hard-rock ridiculousness" by The New York Times and "unspeakably awful" by Allmusic.com. Even the late Nirvana frontman and grunge icon Kurt Cobain would disapprove, suggested Rolling Stone, which called the disc "so depressing, you're almost glad Kurt's not around to hear it."

Young people who "are introduced to these bands on the radio, they don't have a lot of baggage," Brackett said. "A lot of kids don't care if an act, you know, kind of took their guitar sound from some other band."

Post-grunge outfits like Nickelback and Hinder continue to be popular -- or wreak havoc, whatever your opinion -- in part because they appeal to the estrogen set, said Craig Marks, editor in chief of Blender magazine. A "slightly hipper band" will sell more albums to guys than girls, he said.

"They're selling a lot of records to very casual music fans who don't buy a lot of CDs," Marks said. "When you're selling 5 million albums like Nickelback or 2 1/2 million like Hinder, and especially when you're making your mark with big ballads that are kind of wedding songs, then you're selling records to both males and females. And that's often how you get from selling 1 1/2 million records to selling 4 or 5 million records."

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:49 (eighteen years ago)

When "teenage girls or tween girls like an artist, that's often a sign that ... the artist isn't cool," said Marks, who also gives Spears as an example. "You know, 'My little sister likes them.' "

Advertisements, music reviews and fashion trends tell us that "cool" is an edgy rapper, an up-and-coming hipster band or a British chanteuse like Amy Winehouse. Cool is not Nickelback or the Black Eyed Peas. They're not so uncool that they're cool, like Fountains of Wayne.

They're just, in a word, uncool.
Hurling batteries

Chris St. Peter, 26, of New York, witnessed this hatred years ago at a concert in Boston, where Nickelback was opening for another band in front of an indie-rock crowd.

"They threw batteries at them, which is also terrible but also really funny," St. Peter said. "Nickelback represented everything I think they hated."

Though he didn't hurl any batteries, St. Peter gives the band a thumbs-down. "I hope they go the same way as, like, Creed, and they just sort of disappear."

But for every hater there's a lover like Jaclyn Hafenstein, 30, from Madison, Wisconsin. "Don't they trash them because their music is considered simple, not unique?" she wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Why is that bad? Whatever it (is) they're doing, it makes me bob my head and sing along! I can't say that for every band, whether I like them or not."

Often, bands that are popular in places like Wisconsin get dissed by snobs on the coasts. "There's a real danger with ... writers being in their kind of music-critic clique, you know, in either New York or L.A. or San Francisco, and kind of ignoring these bands just because all the critics they know and all the kind of so-called cool kids are ignoring these bands," Brackett said.

He points out that classic acts like Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Billy Joel were at first ignored by critics. Then again, he said, "there are a lot of times when music critics are right."

Acts hoping to collect both money and respect would do well to study an It band like Fall Out Boy, which sells heaps of records to teen girls while delighting the critics, too. They don't take themselves too seriously, unlike, say, the Killers in their latest incarnation or -- again -- Nickelback.

It all comes back to Nickelback, doesn't it? At least they're now big enough to headline their own shows, and that means no batteries will be hurled.

Only verbal ones, from outside the venue.

"You know, you have to be really popular in order to corral that sort of hatred," Marks said. "It's the best ballplayer on the visiting team who gets booed during the introductions. No one boos the guy off the bench, but you always boo the star of the other team. You know, it is a tribute to their success."

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:50 (eighteen years ago)

Nickelback faces critics amid popularity

NEW YORK (AP) -- With the recording industry in a slump, bands can no longer expect blockbuster sales -- except for Nickelback. Past multiplatinum albums are no guarantee of future success either -- unless you're Nickelback. Concert sellouts aren't guaranteed -- but that doesn't apply to Nickelback.

It's been almost 18 months since the release of "All the Right Reasons," which has sold more than 5 million copies on the strength of hits such as the ubiquitous "Photograph." The Canadian band's tour is selling out arenas nationwide. All this followed up the triple-platinum "The Long Road" in 2003. And still, the commercial powerhouse shows no sign of slowing.

Nickelback has also recently branched out to the arena of benevolence. Digital sales from their latest hit, the activist anthem "If Everyone Cared," are being donated to Amnesty International and International Children's Awareness Canada.

"In a climate that a lot of people aren't doing that well, we're very, very fortunate," Nickelback's leader, vocalist Chad Kroeger, said in a recent phone interview.

"We're just lucky that we've been able to make a connection to fans of all ages, instead of just hitting with one group of fans or one age group," he added. "Our fans are really over the map, and that makes it really easy when we pull into town to draw a large variety of people who want to sit and listen to Nickelback songs." (Some other popular bands critics hate)

Not everybody wants to sit and listen to Nickelback -- mainly, most critics. Ever since the release of 2001's six-times platinum "Silver Side Up," they've gotten routine drubbings from music journalists and others who deride their radio-friendly, soaring rock songs as unoriginal, insipid or, perhaps of the worst all, Creed-like. (Some other popular bands critics hate)

But it's easy for Kroeger to tune talk like that out -- especially with thousands of fans screaming in his ear every night.

"We don't listen to critics anymore. I don't think we've ever listened to critics, but we don't even pay attention to it anymore," Kroeger, 32, said.

The gruff-voiced, curly haired Kroeger, who is also the group's lyricist, has tuned out the doubters before -- especially when it came time to release "All the Right Reasons," as industry insiders told them they'd never repeat the success they had with "Silver Side Up" or even "The Long Road."

"Usually, if (bands) do what Nickelback has done, you watch it decline. You always watch, they come out and they'll have some success early on and it always seems to trickle off, it never seems to gain momentum," he said. "We worked so hard to make sure that that didn't happen with this album."

Kroeger's devotion to detail in his songwriting is one reason why the band has had such success, says hit songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who recently worked with him for another project.

"He'll write it, and then he'll go back and say, 'The chorus isn't right, the verse isn't right.' He spends weeks perfecting each song, making it the absolute best it can be," she said. "Great melodies, great lyrics and a great band makes for a winning combination."

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:51 (eighteen years ago)

Going for big audiences

Kroeger says the band worked particularly hard on the latest record -- seven months -- and always tries to cast a wide net in terms of the songs' appeal so they can have the broadest audience possible. It's not something a lot of acts like to admit -- a yearning for mass success -- but Kroeger scoffs at the notion that bands shouldn't want mainstream appeal.

"I really don't understand that. I've never understood that. Criticism of people who want as many people as possible on the planet to sing along to their songs," he said, laughing. "Sounds ridiculous to me."

And the band feels their success has extended beyond just hits. The charity campaign from "If Everyone Cared" has raised over $200,000, according to Kroeger. The song, accompanied by a powerful video, pushes the idea that global change for the better starts on an individual level -- call it Nickelback's "Man in the Mirror."

"We wanted to inspire people that were going to see the video and maybe show people that you don't need a team of personnel, you don't need a lot of money," he said. "What we're showing in the video is an individual that decided that they would like to somehow make a change and make the world a better place on their own, and they succeeded."

At first, the band was concerned how the message would be perceived: "We were worried about coming across preachy," Kroeger said. But as the band thought of their enormous reach, it made them more inclined to include it.

"If you can take that power and turn it toward positivity and awareness and trying to make a world a better place that's a great motive," he said.

While the song is a growing success, it doesn't seem to have changed critics' perceptions. Recent tour write-ups have been at best ambivalent, and some downright hostile.

But the band measures their success not by critical acclaim, but by their fans. And a recent meeting with a young father, wearing the picture of a little girl on his T-shirt, gave Kroeger all the acclaim he needed when he asked the girl's identity.

"He said, 'That is my daughter, and we lost her, and your song "Far Away" is the only thing that got us through that loss,' " Kroeger said. "That was just very moving for me."

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:51 (eighteen years ago)

I only ever think about Nickelback when Idolator mentions them.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:52 (eighteen years ago)

I'm somehow disappointed this wasn't souldesqueeze round 2

― marmotwolof, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:52 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, give it time.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 04:56 (eighteen years ago)

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:02 (eighteen years ago)

The song, accompanied by a powerful video, pushes the idea that global change for the better starts on an individual level -- call it Nickelback's "Man in the Mirror."

Oh get fucked.

― Drooone, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:02 (eighteen years ago)

But hey, people love them, so more power to them. As long as I don't have to listen to it, I don't care.

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:03 (eighteen years ago)

Digital sales from their latest hit, the activist anthem "If Everyone Cared,"

I HOPE I NEVER EVER EVER HEAR THIS SONG. ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARMOT.

― marmotwolof, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:04 (eighteen years ago)

Actually, I'm wrong: they will forever have "This Is How You Remind Me" on Buzz Ballad compilations.

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:04 (eighteen years ago)

And let's face it, the song title "If Everyone Cared" is fucking hilarious. Their entire existence was worth it for the laugh that gave me.

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:06 (eighteen years ago)

And the dude's afghan hound head is also somewhat amusing.

― Drooone, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:08 (eighteen years ago)

If everyone cared, we wouldn't need Nickelback to help us envision such a scenario?

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 05:34 (eighteen years ago)

Hello, we are UK people. N-back is only that "you remind me" song, which is not exactly ubiquitous for us.

So, go us!

― Mark G, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 08:34 (eighteen years ago)

Yes but we have the Stereophonics, Mark.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 08:47 (eighteen years ago)

Haven't heard them for years either. I can stand "Dakota" it's good.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 08:48 (eighteen years ago)

I'd like Nickelback to come back into a pop cultural fame as well as a "sales but nobody gives a shit" one as well, so we can go back to making "lol Jesus lion" gags about C. Kroeger's hair.

― Dom Passantino, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 08:51 (eighteen years ago)

how many rock songs have topped the Billboard chart since Nickelback? just one or two (Green Day?)?

― blueski, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 09:44 (eighteen years ago)

None, at last count

― Mark G, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 09:48 (eighteen years ago)

None, unless you count Messrs Blunt and Powter.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 09:50 (eighteen years ago)

"So are the critics wrong? Do music buyers have bad taste? Is this karmic payback to all the haters?"

Sometimes. Who knows. ???

― Pye Poudre, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:37 (eighteen years ago)

Hahaha.

"Dakota" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the entire recorded output of Nickelback

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:41 (eighteen years ago)

So are Nickelback like Elvis Presley (except alive and, well, slightly less talented perhaps), taking good and cool and hip music from somewhere else, but turning it into commercial hits?

― StanM, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:41 (eighteen years ago)

releasing all their number one record one a month from January until January?

― Mark G, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:42 (eighteen years ago)

No, there's nothing "cool" or "hip" about Nickelback's music. At all. Well, unless you consider rehashed Seven Mary Three as "cool" and "hip" somewhere.

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:48 (eighteen years ago)

Dear Stan,

Yes, Nickelback are exactly like Elvis Presley.

― Pye Poudre, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 12:51 (eighteen years ago)

Even the late Nirvana frontman and grunge icon Kurt Cobain would disapprove, suggested Rolling Stone, which called the disc "so depressing, you're almost glad Kurt's not around to hear it."

but John Lennon might've dug it? what a bizarre comment

"They're selling a lot of records to very casual music fans who ~~don't buy a lot of CDs~~ don't read music magazines,"

― m coleman, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 13:07 (eighteen years ago)

Or, less condescendingly still: [i]"They're selling a lot of records ~~to very casual music fans who don't buy a lot of CDs~~..."

― Pye Poudre, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 13:12 (eighteen years ago)

(You know, plus the [/i] thing.)

― Pye Poudre, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 13:13 (eighteen years ago)

Dear Pye Poudre,

thank you!

― StanM, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 13:19 (eighteen years ago)

I guess they are sort of the US equivalent to Coldplay except:

1. They (Nickleback) suck
2. Coldplay often get good reviews
3. Coldplay fans do often read music magazines.

The number of haters is roughly the same though, and the same kind of people are the ones who hate both the most.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 14:05 (eighteen years ago)

Clear Channel, the radio monopoly, likes them

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 14:16 (eighteen years ago)

And many of their listeners I guess

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 14:17 (eighteen years ago)

The thing about Nickelback is, they may have huge success now, but are they going to have much of a legacy beyond being able to play the Midwest for the next 50 years? Probably not. They're just way too derivative. I mean, yeah Norbit made a bunch of money, but it isn't going to be remembered as much besides a punchline. I don't even have much of a problem with Nickelback and the like beyond the fact that they are incredibly boring.

I know that's kind of the daily affirmation of music snobs everywhere, but get real. Hugely successful bands have a 'legacy' and are remembered by future generations, whether you want them to be or not. How many bands are in the RnR Hall of Fame that you would consider derivative or cheesy? Not every tasteful indie band gets to be the Velvet Underground of their generation, in the larger sense they're forgotten while what was popular stays in the history books.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 14:24 (eighteen years ago)

Desi, Dino and Billy to thread.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 14:28 (eighteen years ago)

Red States Win

― sexyDancer, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 14:35 (eighteen years ago)

Ha! Using the Velvet Underground/tasteful indie band argument on me doesn't work, because I don't give a rat's ass about either (although the Velvet Underground had some good songs, no denying that). And I'm not going to kid myself and say that anyone is going to remember Nightwish or Iced Earth or In Flames beyond a small group of metal nerds. But yeah, I may have underestimated them. I actually do have a friend back in Pennsylvania who really likes the band, and started a post-grunge boring rock band because of them and their ilk. I could see them becoming like Bon Jovi, who I think had a similar career trajectory: they spun off a whole new brand of populist commercial rock, and they were still having hits and selling records long past their expiration date (although I actually like Bon Jovi). Ultimately, though, I suspect they will be remembered for their handful of hits and starting a musical trend just waiting to be nuked by the next Nirvana. VH1 will get much mileage out of them in 15 years. But like I said, I absolutely support people enjoying them and buying their records. It means that Roadrunner will have the capital to support the better bands on their label!

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:21 (eighteen years ago)

Uh, yeah, I'd be apologetic about invoking the Velvet Underground cliche, but you invoked the "next Nirvana" cliche, so I'm not even gonna bother.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:27 (eighteen years ago)

"Ha!"

― Catsupppppppppppppp dude ‫茄蕃‪, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

Not every tasteful indie band gets to be the Velvet Underground of their generation, in the larger sense they're forgotten while what was popular stays in the history books.

Not really! I don't think 'the test of time' really validates bands in either direction, populist or not. Critical 'chattering classes' love does actually matter when you're talking about how we remember popular music, even if it takes them awhile to come around to it (Led Zeppelin) or not (some boring forgettable but insanely popular band from the 70s that i'm sure no one who wasn't actually alive in the 70s knows)

― deej, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:31 (eighteen years ago)

Mods plz change thread title to Rolling Nickelback Laments 2007

― The Macallan 18 Year, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:32 (eighteen years ago)

How does Nickelback relate to Journey?

― Display Name, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:35 (eighteen years ago)

I wonder if CNN asked people "Nickelback: name your reasons why they are so bad and hated?"

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:38 (eighteen years ago)

Journey shits all over Nickelback

― marmotwolof, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:39 (eighteen years ago)

I did invoke that cliché! I've got lots more where that came from, too. I'm not even convinced that there is going to be a next Sex Pistols/Nirvana/cleansing of the palate, whatever you want to call it, since the music scene has become so irrevocably fractured. At any rate, the rest of my point stands.

Journey >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Nickel Back.

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

Nickleback <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Journey <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Boston <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Steely Dan

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 21:35 (eighteen years ago)

the best thing about this article is that it refers to Britney Spears' "heyday" in the past tense.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 21:38 (eighteen years ago)

hongro otm

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 21:40 (eighteen years ago)

are they going to have much of a legacy beyond being able to play the Midwest for the next 50 years?

Huey Lew1s is doing a surprise performance for an Insurance Company's conference attendees here this week.

― g®▲Ðұ, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 21:43 (eighteen years ago)

Dude, nobody rocks harder than Boston. Nobody.

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 22:04 (eighteen years ago)

Dude, nobody rocks harder than Boston. Nobody.

Well.. Pantera and Sepultura for starters. Not that I see rocking hard as a point anyway, but.....

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 08:27 (eighteen years ago)

I would imagine that the lead singer of Boston is currently very hard to rock.

― Marcello Carlin, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 08:34 (eighteen years ago)

Were Journey the Nickleback of their generation?

― Display Name, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 12:09 (eighteen years ago)

No, some band ripping off Journey was the Nickleback of Journey's generation.

― mulla atari, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 12:54 (eighteen years ago)

just like me, they long to be, close to you

― fandango, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 13:45 (eighteen years ago)

Journey were basically ripping off Boston anyway.

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 15:02 (eighteen years ago)

i'd put journey over boston

― gff, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 15:34 (eighteen years ago)

journey and boston are both cool. they don't deserve to be mentioned with gross canadians.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 15:43 (eighteen years ago)

Why do hated bands top the charts?

payola

― abanana, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 16:38 (eighteen years ago)

Returning to the original question: http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003563939

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 17:06 (eighteen years ago)

Well at least Johnny Marr finally gets a number one album in the States.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 17:07 (eighteen years ago)

(I was kidding about Boston. Although I do like Boston lots, way more than Steely Dan at any rate. But that's a subjective thing anyway.)

I don't actually have a problem with Nickelback for being popular or unoriginal. I just find them incredibly boring, which is the biggest sin in my book. My theory (which I realize isn't exactly original in and of itself) is that they're popular for the same reason that McDonald's is: good advertising, they're everywhere, and it goes down easy even though it's bad for you. The really interesting thing is, they're on an independent label (or, were; Roadrunner just got bought by Warner, but for most of their popularity Roadrunner was independent). A really big independent label, but independent nonetheless.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 18:23 (eighteen years ago)

The point I am trying to make is that Reo/Journey/Styx were the Creed/Nickleback/Seven Mary Three of the late 70's and early 80's.

― Display Name, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 19:00 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe, but those bands at least had a sense of fun to them that the current crop don't. I'm not a big REO Speedwagon fan, but it's hard not to hear a Journey or Styx song and just enjoy it for the sheer goofy delight that it is. The post-grunge bands are just way too dour and serious to derive much enjoyment from, even when they try to write "party" songs.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 19:05 (eighteen years ago)

Yes, I agree with 'display name'

Album-Oriented-Rock (AOR) answers.com on album oriented rock
"The radio consultants, Kent Burkhart and Lee Abrams had a huge impact on AOR. Beginning in the early 70s they began contracting with what would become hundreds of stations by the 1980s. Lee Abrams had developed a “Super Stars” format, pioneering it at WQDR in Raleigh NC, and had been very successful in delivering large ratings. Basically, Abrams took Top 40 principles and applied them to AOR. While his “Super Stars” format was not quite as tight as Top 40 radio, it was considerably more restricted. This company controlled playlists for a substantial segment AOR stations all over the US. This might be considered somewhat ironic, considering the format’s origins were based on a free-form approach without playlists. Lee Abrams is now Chief Programming Officer for XM Satellite Radio."

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

Everybody knows that Loverboy rules all, anyway.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 19:12 (eighteen years ago)

Then you get the Telecommunication Act of 1986 that allows Clear Channel to buy up lots of stations and further streamline rock and top hits radio. Then someone can dig up the old thread on why commercial rap/r'n'b radio is arguably more fun (at least to most ilxers ears) than commercial rock radio.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 19:15 (eighteen years ago)

If by "more fun" you mean "excruciatingly painful," sure.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 20:00 (eighteen years ago)

To each his own, you can have Nickelback.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 20:48 (eighteen years ago)

Or Journey if you prefer.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 20:53 (eighteen years ago)

I do prefer Journey! That's why, if I have to listen to the radio, I only listen to the classic rock station or Indie103 Los Angeles. Otherwise, I just listen to CDs. But we've gotten off subject. Payola or not, people legitimately do like these bands. Airplay doesn't necessarily equal massive commercial success, although it certainly helps.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 21:50 (eighteen years ago)

― Joseph Kallinger, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 22:25 (eighteen years ago)

I guess so Joseph. Where are Arcade Fire in the charts now? Have they gotten any commercial rock radio airplay or video airplay (and yea I know some people hate them now too, but for different reasons )

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 22:32 (eighteen years ago)

Nickelback have had lots of successful imitators thus far. Three Days Grace, Hinder, Submerse, Cross Fade... I think all of those bands had at least a decent sized hit.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 22:46 (eighteen years ago)

Hinder, Submerse, Cross Fade...

Is it weird that I've never heard of any of these bands?

― j-rock, Thursday, 29 March 2007 02:33 (eighteen years ago)

― The Reverend, Thursday, 29 March 2007 02:36 (eighteen years ago)

It's not weird, it just means you're fortunate! (On a random side note, J-Rock, how possible is it you could join some of us in Hawaii for an October FAP, assuming you're still in Japan?)

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 29 March 2007 02:38 (eighteen years ago)

Hey guys, check it out!!!

NICKELBACK LYRICS

"If Everyone Cared"

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive

[Chorus:]
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing

Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)

[Chorus x2]

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

[Chorus]

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died

― Curt1s Stephens, Thursday, 29 March 2007 02:53 (eighteen years ago)

Shit sandwich.

― marmotwolof, Thursday, 29 March 2007 02:58 (eighteen years ago)

dude worked on those lyrics for WEEKS!!!

― Display Name, Thursday, 29 March 2007 03:28 (eighteen years ago)

Now that Nickelback have a mega-successful imitator (Daughtry) will they now appear more "credible"? I'm thinking the way STP made Pearl Jam seem kinda credible, how Bush made STP seem credible, how Creed made Bush seem almost credible, how Nickelback made Creed seem...something.

Wow, you've got a really loose definition of the word "imitator." Aside from one or two pretty obvious instances of some of the bands you named deliberately trying to sound like another, that's a really shaky lineage of influence you've put together there. I know they're all in the same vague grunge/post-grunge subgenre, but let's not get carried away here.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 29 March 2007 05:15 (eighteen years ago)

Could the same thing have been said for Air Supply? I cannot imagine that band recieving critical acclaim but this didn't hurt them in the sales department.

― NYCNative, Thursday, 29 March 2007 05:47 (eighteen years ago)

... oh man. Nickelback must be stopped.

― Jeff Treppel, Thursday, 29 March 2007 05:47 (eighteen years ago)

Let's all buy 6-volts and go see Nickelback.

― marmotwolof, Thursday, 29 March 2007 05:50 (eighteen years ago)

If Everyone Cared

― circa1916, Thursday, 29 March 2007 05:52 (eighteen years ago)

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