Nickelback

I've always wondered, does anyone outside of Canada take them seriously?

They sell millions of records, but I've never seen them revered for having any musical talent or relevance.  But of course it's not their fault for existing on a grand scale - the music industry did that part for them and their lowest-common-denominator style of pop-rock.

Newspapers and magazines often carry disclaimers like "Love 'em or hate 'em, they're popular."  That's definitely not the sign of someone who's respected for their work.

They won a few Juno awards a couple years ago, which has disgraced the once-proud term "Juno."  Now it's all about fads, short-term sales and politics., as opposed to long-lasting art - just like the Grammys, Oscars, and just about everything else.

Canada has a very rich music culture, but outside of the country, very few artists are well-known - Rush, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka, Daniel Lanois, etc.  Are Nickelback part of this group according to the rest of the world, or are they shunned?  I'm very curious to hear people's opinions on this one.

People hate them in the US!

I have vague memories of Nickelback being played on the radio here in Finland. However, I think they were moderately popular over here back in the 1990s when we still had a tv program, which was based on a Much Music-format. I am too lazy to check with google, but I do believe they came here once, or even twice. Unfortunately, I cannot remember any of their songs, or what day it is today...

Every band has their fair share of haters. Nickelback are no different. I saw them a couple fo years back in concert and I have to say I thought they were excellent and they do have a large following here in Scotland. Radio here does play them, but its mainly the same old hits they play, which is kind of a shame in a way but not entirely untypical of radio these days.

Nickelback is the kind of band that lots of people actually do hate, and the kind of band that lots more say they hate because they think taste demands it.  They're the second selling foreign band in the US behind the Beatles in the last decade. That's nothing to sneer at when you consider how difficult it is for most Canadian artists to break the US market in any real and lasting way.  Our most significant artists usually end up with small cult followings or end up performing for expats: Barenaked Ladies, Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, so many others.

To me, they create simplistic, forumulaic hook driven rock and roll with lyrical content that couldn't really be any more facile.  But...but.  If you can listen to stuff like their cover of 'Saturday Night..' or 'Burn it to the Gound' without cranking the stereo or car radio and rocking  out, you may not have a pulse.  On a pure gut level, some of their stuff just works. It's not anything people will be listening to reverentially in 20 years, but it will be part of the soundtrack of the lives of a large part of a generation.

I like Nickelback a lot. I own a couple of their albums (one of which I've barely listened to as I've lend it to a friend who is yet to return it), and I wouldn't mind seeing them in concert next time they visit Australia.


I understand why people don't like them; they're repetitive, not particularly creative, a little nasty at times, and they are not among the most creative groups around. But they do what they do very very well. They'll never make the Hall of Fame, and they won't be remembered as greats, however it ultimately doesn't matter. They're extremely fun! :D


BTW, when mentioning well known Canadian artists, Leonard Cohen shouldn't be forgotten. :D

Are they still around? Or just 'big in Belgium' these days?

Their 2008 album Dark Horse has not left the charts in both Canada and the US since it's release  2 years ago.  It's still in the top 10 in Hard Rock in Canada, and has never been out of the Top 100 in the US.  Crazy but true.

Amazon wrote:

BTW, when mentioning well known Canadian artists, Leonard Cohen shouldn't be forgotten. :D
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I'd add Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Bryan Adams to the well known list as well.

I know them as 'worst band ever', which is quite an achievement.

Nickelback is actually pretty popular here in Nepal... I definitely know more Nickeback fans than Queen fans here (but of course Queen is more popular in general - who hasn't heard of 'We Will Rock You'?).

I personally haven't got into listening Nickelback though, a lot of friends recommend it so I'll probably eventually get to it. Any suggestions of a good Nickelback song?

This is one of their more recent:  it's a ridiculous song aimed at a demographic that maxes out at about 16 years old and is all about getting drunk and stupid.  It's repetitive, simplistic and predictable.  And it rocks.   Heh heh.

Sir GH wrote:

Canada has a very rich music culture, but outside of the country, very few artists are well-known - Rush, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka, Daniel Lanois, etc.  Are Nickelback part of this group according to the rest of the world, or are they shunned? 

I've only heard of Rush and Nickeback. Rush is actually one of my favourite bands.

Brian Adams is also from Canada, right? "Summer of '69" is pretty popular here. Not that I care much about this but I do remember Brian Adams mention in "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut" where "Terrance and Philip", a Canadian film causes controversy:
Interviewer: But Mr Minister, it isn't like this film is the first troublesome thing to come out of Canada - let us not forget Brian Adams.
"Canadian Minister for Movies": No, no, the Canadian government has apologised on Brian Adams on several occasions!
LOL

GratefulFan wrote: "I'd add Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Bryan Adams to the well known list as well."


Absolutely. :D They are all terrific, especially Alanis who is (along with Tammi Terrell) one of my two female solo artists. Recently though I've been on this Leonard Cohen kick, so I immediately thought of him.

"If you can listen to stuff like their cover of 'Saturday Night..' or 'Burn it to the Gound' without cranking the stereo or car radio and rocking  out, you may not have a pulse."

One might just have standards.  A song has to be pretty damned kicking before I'm going to crank any stereos over it.  Nickelback are truly a pustulant example of a modern band.  I can't be entirely specific about the things I find so nauseating about them, but if you read the book "Mixerman" then you might get a better idea of why I have such feelings of despair with the state of popular music these days.