pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

the lyrics to that song are kinda like Nickelback tried to take all of the reprehensible shit that they tiptoed around on other songs and put it front and center.

like basically anybody who sings it at karaoke has hologram fedoras added to their heads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIlNIVXpIns

where's the funny (probably fake) story that UMS posted about Kroeger singing that song at full volume in a restaurant than peacing out

soref nice pictures of the reality show demographic

I respect Nickelback for being willing to just tee one up for the Photoshoppers like this. (This is an official promo pic; I remember when we got it in, at the label.)

http://hammerworld.hu/images/upload/Nicke178.jpg

Oh yea, one line from "Figured You Out" is "I love my hands around your neck." But no, you're right. Hating this song is definitely reflexive and classist.

Again, maybe I could see it working if the music sounded creepy and intense, or maybe even if it were manically upbeat, but over generic workmanlike alt-rock chug, those lines just... sit there in an unpleasant way. I'm honestly not even sure what they're going for.

(Assuming/hoping that Kroeger is trying to portray a violent misogynist there and does not endorse the viewpoint himself)

When people derided Bon Jovi's nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the basis of no one ever citing Bon Jovi as an influence, Nickelback seemed like one of a few bands that actually might.

reminds me of the dudes (and some women!) who find that buckcherry song "sexy"

like yeah, i get this is transgressive and sounds like the stupid stories your friend with a bad dating history tells after two beers about how a good hatefuck is so great. but, jesus, do you really need songs about using people with no self-reflection other than "lol i guess i am bad for liking this"

that nickelback song reads like they heard the nine inch nails song "reptile" on a bar jukebox and made it explicitly about sex with groupies you hate, and removed any pretense

they really do look like their audience. like phish. or icp. people identify. i can dig that. that's just not my tribe. i have an uneasy peace agreement with them though. they leave me alone. i leave them alone. unless, um, i need my car towed. or my dryer fixed. or anything involving tools.

it doesn't help as far as stereotypes go that i live next to Trump dudes i kinda hate who make huge bonfires in their backyard and park their truck next to the bonfire and blast shit like nickelback late into the night. i don't judge ALL fans based on them though. maria did actually see them shooting fish in a barrel one day. i kid you not. there are also three large apparently non-working boats in their backyard.

lol i am so sorry

reminds me of a work friend who lives outside of town. the next property over is a farm with some trees/scrubland next to his property. so of course the idiot neighbors and their friends come over to shoot semiautomatic weapons at thing and be loud in the tree line right next to him

one of those dudes ext door actually put on a statue of liberty crown and held a *honk for trump* sign for passing cars on election day. maria yelled at him. and he said he didn't understand why she had a problem because maria and him were both white...

almost as if people who are white would have a problem with... ok this hurts my head, time to shotgun some beers around a fire pit

Nickelback hate is reflexive, received wisdom. kind of classist, too

― flappy bird, Saturday, February 11, 2017 6:12 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol this so woke

Nickleback is a tea set doily compared to the guys that sing the "Let The Bodies Hit the Floor" song

I have bad news for you about the guy who sang that

more specifically, about his body and it's disposition re: the floor

That’s the problem with the internet and social media and stuff: the stuff that you like, you can’t say what it is that you like about something. If you like something, it’s supposed to be beyond the intellectual. But I will ride for Nickelback—I want that on the record. ‘Farmer John Misery: I ride for Nickelback.’

Given a choice, I'd take an hour of Nickelback over ten minutes of Father John Misty, and I'd put that on my mama

I've never heard a note of that guy's music, but his whole late-period-Jim-Morrison-wearing-one-of-Nick-Cave's-suits look is way more offensive than his being into Nickelback.

Lol mh

i hate how "performative" has spread so quickly. dude is a performer, what do you expect? he gives good interviews, i like them better than his music

Socioeconomic class issues don't account for the hate - being shitty does - but Nickelback fans I nonetheless suspect firmly fall into the same socioeconomic class as fans of the band's hard rock/hair metal/AOR etc. predecessors. Which is to say, white working class, a familiar phrase these days. They're not necessarily deserving of disdain, but they do get mocked, and I'd argue get mocked for stereotypical socio economic class signifiers before musical taste. That is, for looking like Nickelback fans first, and being Nickelback fans second.

I guess I'm unconvinced that Nickelback's audience belongs to a class that is less wealthy and powerful than the that of the people who hate Nickelback, which is the kind of 'classism' that would most concern me. (I think I would still hold to this if it is true that their audience largely belongs to the white working class, as it is defined here, i.e. ≈64% of the white population in the US, privileged relative to the non-white working class, predominantly urban/suburban, and pretty diverse in employment).

than the that of the people

i'm pretty sure a large portion of nickelback's adult audience makes more money than me. they look like solid citizens.

there are lots of people who just want solid dependable ram tough slightly anonymous no-frills no-surprises music and it speaks to their solid sense of self in language that they understand (or bolsters their lack of strength and hey me too) and don't need to think about it too hard because its just music and it serves a purpose and pumps you up or soothes you when you are feeling blue in the car after work and there is too much traffic. sometimes i envy people who just use music for very specific times and purposes and don't obsess over it and make a big deal out of things. though they probably obsess over other things. like fishing poles. the right kind of fishing poles. tires. i hear my neighbors next door talking about tires sometimes. it's weird that i feel separate and apart from normal white folks but i just didn't grow up with christ or even normalcy and i know that we all eat a lot of chicken and potatoes but i often feel like i am passing when i talk to them. plenty of great normal people out there though. i'm not selling them short. i talk to them from time to time when they want to sell me their dead grandma's records. (and i'm also not saying that they don't feel deeply about the songs and artists they like. i have no doubt that they do.)

also: i am watching every episode of Friends on Netflix (blizzards, snow days, february...) and that one where they go to the Hootie concert still strikes me as weird for some reason? i don't know why. i guess it makes the most sense for Ross. maybe just because they're in new york? but they were hootie's demo kinda.

Scott, sounds about right. Also, if you're in Canada, they play this stuff on radio as part of Canadian content standards, and a lot of people think radio = what's in. Obvious point I guess.

i was impressed by the grizzled guy in his 50's who was looking for CDs yesterday who came up and said "Do you have any Flo Rida, Toto, or Survivor...?"

i do like surprises.

as far as Canada big goes, i'd rather listen to The Stampeders. talk about huge.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/473524872153288704/e42nji0e.jpeg

I am glad Ross brought up cancon because I saw a couple people on twitter being all "nickelback is fine" and realized they were subject tof our neighbor's cultural sponsorship regime

i was impressed by the grizzled guy in his 50's who was looking for CDs yesterday who came up and said "Do you have any Flo Rida, Toto, or Survivor...?"

i do like surprises.

― scott seward, Monday, February 13, 2017 1:40 AM (nine hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd be disappointed if you didnt give this man a big hug.

BONKERS! B-O-N-K-E-R-S!

http://pitchfork.com/news/71539-animal-collectives-new-song-is-kinda-bonkers-listen/

possibly the most irritating band on the planet

Because of their music, because of the critical discourse that surrounds it or both?

everything

the visual design too

maybe even especially

but is there anything inherently good in nickelback's sound

ahahah i didn't even make the connection when I heard the new song, the AC is appealing directly to p4k now...

These five words in my head
Ain't learned another chord yet

Nickelbonkers!

Misread that as 'Nice bonkers!'

Just popping in to say that the pic on this Grammy piece is fucking amazing

http://cdn3.pitchfork.com/blog/1441/1d3abc80.jpg

the trophy might as well be one of those cartoon time-bombs with the words WHITE PRIVILEGE emblazoned on it.

is it true The Pitchfork Review is over?

Chad Ubovich is already a proven guitar hero, having played in Fuzz and with Mikal Cronin

really stretching the definition of "guitar hero" here, guys

Love that classic Ubovich tone

i mean, he does rip and he's played in several good bands