effort boys; it’s just a little too late to be taken seriously. #3: Canadian Let’s face it – Americans love to hate Canada. It’s like our little brother; every time it starts to get a little success of its own, we have to knock it down. Rush comes out with some of the best albums of the 70’s, and we make it uncool to like Rush. Justin Bieber becomes the global heartthrob of tween girls, and we make him the most disliked artist ever on YouTube. Nickelback produces a few hits, and we make them a punchline. With Canada, these things just happen. Poor Canadians. #4: Fame This is perhaps the most obvious; people love to shit on fame and success. This is especially true for a band who adopted its style for the sole purpose of achieving fame. Naturally, Nickelback is the archnemesis of this hipster generation. By their own admission, they intentionally veered from grungy songs like “Leader of Men” to the style found on Silver Side Up because they thought (correctly) that they would become more popular if they adopted a more mainstream sound. To me, there is nothing
wrong with being mainstream, but a “sellout” like this breeds contempt among music fans. What kind of unartistic tools would do such a thing? Well, a lot of people actually, including Nirvana, a band that is revered by many of the same people that despise Nickelback. Now, I am not saying Nickelback is better than Nirvana by any means; it’s just that if you’re going to hate on them for the idea of “selling out,” keep in mind that they’re not the first band to want to be popular. I’m not sure why I’m being so defensive about Nickelback here. Maybe I feel bad for them. Maybe I’m still trying to justify attending one of their concerts. In the end, I think it’s because we all owe them a lot. The joy of laughing at their songs with friends or watching mash-up videos of their hits is something that most of us can relate to. And what’s the point of music that does not elicit some sort of emotion? And that is why, though they may be outwardly despised, Nickelback will always have a place in our hearts. Or maybe we just hate them.
Naturally, Nickelback is the arch-nemesis of this hipster generation. 37