But they’re better groomed than Crosby, Stills and Nash.
[Video][Website]
[3.55]
Micha Cavaseno: When I used to work at Pathmark, one of my co-workers was this dude who really rode for Nickelback, Tool, and Yes. Strange union there, but weirder shit has happened. Anyway, when he mentioned Nickelback I was of course judgmental, but he offered the argument that while he knew the singles were terrible “on their albums, they’re a really good bad AC/DC cover band.” Such self-awareness! So, the single is ‘real’ Nickelback as their fans know them, and that’s cute that by this point they know their fans will support a really clumsy, hamfisted, pigheaded madlibs of a ‘political’ single. I can’t be too mad at that weird gesture of mutual appreciation when the whole world is laughing at them. In a way, Nickelback are like ICP with no identifiable qualities save being trash.
[1]
Jonathan Bradley: #OccupyNickelback
[3]
Anthony Easton: I didn’t expect something so actively political from the people who gave us “Rockstar.” This either means that my politics is unsophisticated, or that the NSA is so egregiously evil that Kroeger could notice it. I suspect it is the latter.
[5]
John Seroff: The sonic equivalent of that one guy at the rally who smells janky, has to lead every chant, gets super aggro with the cops and won’t stop hitting on your sister. I don’t mean to be paranoid, but dude is giving me hella narc vibes.
[3]
Leela Grace: The Nickelback of “Rockstar” made themselves approachable via aspirational excess, but there is no touchable imagery here, no goals or plans, no feeling of desperation. And why would there be? Do these Canadian millionaires really care about constraining the NSA?
[2]
Scott Mildenhall: Playing with the form to unparallelled degrees of irony through steadfast refusal to adapt, wrapped in a straightfaced assertion that no-one could smash it up harder, it’s the height of camp — the unintentionally intentional. The mechanics of its absurdity work so smoothly even Kroeger and co needn’t notice, part of a perpetual performance; not made, but lived. They can’t help it: they are the Canadian Status Quo. Only not as good.
[5]
Megan Harrington: I don’t understand why no one ever accuses Nickelback of irony.
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: Metallica’s “Sad But True” rewritten for “relevance.” Oooh, references to Wall Street! And the 1% on their yachts! And change!
[1]
Alfred Soto: The chanting convinced me; so did the power chords backing the part decrying “Pentagon confusion,” which happens to be true. And Kroeger gives the impression that reading the NYT one morning pissed him off. The friends who were and remain part of #Occupy won’t listen to “Edge of a Revolution” — they regard Nickleback as suspiciously as Crosby, Stills and Nash — but this is one of the few topical songs in recent years that succeeds on its terms. Of course it’s hamhanded and silly — so was “Ohio.”
[6]
Patrick St. Michel: Who, exactly, are fans of Nickelback? The har-har-ing crowd of “Nickelback are THE WORST!” meme-shouters long ago became more vocal (and annoying) than whatever crowd keeps sales up, and I really can’t imagine what the “average Nickelback fan” looks like, other than they either have very thick skin about their musical preferences or don’t connect to the Internet to much. “Edge of a Revolution” isn’t a good song…and “Nickelback – but political!” is about as cynical as you can get…but maybe the message, as generically “shit’s bad, guys” as it is, is what some people need to hear? Like, the sort of person who doesn’t know what a Tumblr is and could potentially hear “Edge of a Revolution” and say “Chad’s right…shit is fucked” and maybe go vote sometime. I don’t know, but one bonus point for trying.
[4]
Brad Shoup: They know Mutt Lange’s in the 1%, right?
[4]