re: Nickelback wasn’t as bad as people made them out to be

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Chevelle, Slipknot, SOAD


These are some fringe bands, no?

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Not even a little bit fringe. These were all VERY mainstream bands that got heavy radio play on alt rock stations, back when those used to be a thing.

Outside of Metallica, Slipknot is arguably the most "mainstream" metal band of all time.
Duality - Slipknot

Chevelle was basically bargain Tool, which isn't a bad thing. They made a living by taking Tool-esque riffs and playing them for 3-4 minutes rather than 7-9. As a result, they were hugely popular despite not being a darling to the music media culture that was obsessed with the garage rock scene at the time. Chevelle has had multiple albums certified platinum.

Shameful Metaphors - Chevelle

System of a Down was also very popular, just maybe not quite so much as Slipknot. They also got tons of alt radio airplay with songs like Chop Suey and Aerials.

Toxicity - System of a Down

In my opinion, I think there are 3 reasons why post grunge is particularly hated right now:

1. It is the first music that is entirely quantized. Recording technology went through a massive change throughout the 90's from bands playing live in a studio to everything being gridded to a click track. Essentially, all post grunge was to a click track on the grid, while a lot of grunge wasn't, and all "classic" rock wasn't. As such, by eliminating natural variations in tempo, people who aren't used to listening to that type of music can't put their finger on why, but think it sounds hollow, artificial, and lacking in energy. Meanwhile, folks who grew up after this switch think non-quantized music sounds rough and of poor production quality.

2. It's in that awkward age between current and vintage. Post grunge is clearly too dated to be thought of as current or cutting age. At the same time, it's not old enough for people to be nostalgic about it or see it as vintage. However, it's about 5 years away from being big in nostalgia, I wish I was kidding. Fred Durst already made a come back this year. I used to play Limp Bizkit to get people to leave a bar at closing time. Now, all the young kids throw down to it and vibe.

3. Post grunge was not the preferred music of the "taste-maker" crowd. The music media folks loved garage rock that emulated The New York Dolls. They loved Jack White, The Strokes, and similar bands. Meanwhile, the theater and alt kids (the kinds of people who tend to go on to being youtubers and bloggers later in life) largely listened to pop punk and emo. The popular kids were listening to hip hop. The gate-keeper metal heads thought post-grunge was for sissies while they listened to grindcore and heavier music.

Post grunge was the music of the blue collar folks. Post grunge was the music of the normies who liked music that rocked, but had lyrics they could understand. It was for people who didn't like the whiny juvenile sound of pop punk or the crazy parody of americana that was early bro country of the 2000's. The kids who listened to post grunge went on to be cops, plant workers, mechanics, and own countless small businesses.

Tastemakers tend to be as far removed from those professions as possible. As such, post-grunge has almost zero presence in pop culture, yet absolutely DOMINATES streaming. Don't believe me? Look how many monthly streams Chevelle or Breaking Benjamin have compared to media darlings 21 Pilots. Post grunge is the silent plurality of music.

Figured You Out - Live from Sturgis

Not a huge Nickleback fan but damn this is a hell of a live performance

When I think post grunge, I think the following bands:
Creed
Nickelback
Breaking Benjamin
P.O.D.
Three Days Grace
Shinedown
Seether
Puddle of Mudd
Hinder
Staind
Trapt
Chevelle
Incubus
Three Doors Down

The grunge bands thought they were phony sellouts. The metal guys thought they were normie losers. The pop punk kids thought they were too morose and sad. The hip hop fans thought they were too white. The country crowd thought they were too dirty and scary looking (despite a bunch of post grunge musicians going on to make bro country). The classic rock guys thought their music was too boring and lacking in "energy" (due to it not having natural tempo variations).

I was in high school during the peak of post-grunge and listened to all of that stuff at the time. Of all of the music that I listened to as a teen, I probably continue to listen to post-grunge the least. It really just doesn't resonate with me as an adult outside of a couple albums.

I am 50... Ive heard the names of those bands you listed in my question about post-grunge, but they weren't for me whenever they came out... I cant say I'm familiar with their music, but I know that sound...

Depending on the station, Chevelle may have gotten more play.

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That says a lot about your lack of taste.

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Comments like that are what makes this board unreadable sometimes. And it says a lot about your arrogance. Tastes in music vary. Some of them (most) vary from yours. That doesn’t make them bad, just different. This is true in music, books, any kind of art. Hell, modern country music makes me want to drive my truck off a bridge. Doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just not my taste.

I’m guessing you’re a young man. You’ll learn all this when you grow up.

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ou can give me the finest paints, brushes and canvas and I promise what I produce will not be art.

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This is nonsense. They give elephants huge brushes. Have them stand on a huge canvas. Someone changes the colors on the brush. The elephant paints. Some people call it art.

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That doesn’t make them bad, just different

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I mean, art can be objective. I don't think nickelback's "art" is very meaningful. I don't think any intelligent person would disagree. their lyrics are pretty awful.

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Nickelback: Figured You Out
“I love your lack of self respect/ while you’re passed out on the deck/ I love my hands around your neck.”

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That's just objectively terrible.

The problem I have with Nickelback is, like Creed, they lay the macho bullshite on way too thick without providing lyrical wit or insight to balance things out. And their most known song, "Rock Star", still sounds like a beer commercial jingle.

The best way I can describe it is "music for bros". Chad and Kyle with their tribal neck tatoos like to listen to it while doing beastly preacher curls supersets.

Another reason I think a lot of people hate them: Chad Kroeger really does come across as super lame. He wants to be this huge rock god, but none of those other major rock icons respect him at all, because they all know it's a corporate sham.

they started writing awful party rock/sex anthems and it just came off as lame to me and a lot of other people. every song is a bro dude anthem and that's off-putting to most.

Once how you remind me went big, they decided to make a career out of rewriting that song 15 different ways and passing it off as a new thing each time.

The reason many music fans hate them, and I'm talking people who take music seriously and treat it as art, rather than entertainment, is that they come off as a homogenized bland rock band who write songs to sell records and be put into commercials. It's really lowest common denominator and it bugs people who are really into music.