Nov 22 2008
Nickelback’s New Release “Dark Horse”- Where’s the Inspiration?
This Tuesday, Nickelback released their “long-awaited” new CD entitled Dark Horse. I had been a fan of this band ever since my dad and I heard “How You Remind Me” on the radio years ago. He even took me to see their headlining show with Hoobastank, Chevelle, and Hinder on their “All the Right Reasons” tour. We had amazing seats and they blew me away.
Little did I know that their success would be “All the Right Reasons” to sell out and take the easy way to MTV fame. Their power ballad “Far Away” quickly reached the top of the charts, sending them to the top of the mainstream rock charts. This success prompted Nickelback to make an album with four songs in the “Far Away” model and filled up the rest of the album with the worst new trend in rock music.
In 2006 Buckcherry released their mega-hit single “Crazy B****” and reached instant stardom. I first heard that song from them in concert and I honestly liked it. The song had something different to it, it was nothing I had ever heard before. But after the song reached the top it had changed. It was more than just a song. After seeing it performed live at Crue Fest this summer, I quickly realized it was more than just a song, it was actually how they thought. They were by no stretch of the imagination the first band to ever try sleazy music. The hair bands in the ’80′s were doing this long before Buckcherry, but they never took it to that level. It went from being an enjoyable song to a crude child-like fantasy. Buckcherry wasn’t the only bold new band to try out this crude style, Theory of a Deadman released “Bad Girlfriend” and Saving Abel released “Addicted” and now rock music has a new trend, bad taste. Songs written by perverted, fantasizing young artists are making it to the top.
Not being a band to miss out on a trend, Nickelback embraced this new trend fully. The first single off their new CD that I heard was titled “Something in Your Mouth”. Their lyrics can be read here because I don’t think they’re appropriate for my father’s blog. Other new songs on the album like “Next Go Round”, “Just to Get High”, “Never Gonna Be Alone”, “Shakin’ Hands”, and my personal favorite “S.E.X.” where Chad Kroeger sings
“Sex is always the answer, it’s never a question,
‘Cuz the answer’s yes, oh the answers (Yes)
Not just a suggestion, if you ask the question,
Then it’s always yes. Yeeeah!”
Is this really creative? Is this the kind of music you’d expect from a 34 year old musician who has played with the likes of Carlos Santana and ZZ Top? Is this trend going to last? How long are we going to be forced to listen to the fantasies of a 34 year old man, or any other rock star who gets his hands on a pen and paper? At 17 it’s pretty reasonable to figure that this type of music is geared towards my age group, but I find them to be very immature. Here’s hoping this trend fades before I lose my faith in the genre.
-Matt
