Hits Sales Chart-10/31/05
Averi

Re-Nickelback

Back in the twenty first century I was on the phone with Eddie Rosenblatt,
President of Geffen Records.  We were discussing a band and he asked me
what was the PERCEPTION of the act.  He said that’s what truly matters,
not the statistics.

Perception is Nickelback is a joke.  And that perception was built on the
Web.  If you didn’t get e-mailed that MP3 wherein the band’s two big sound-alike
hits were cut together to make one you’re so far out of the loop you should
focus on making new friends.

I liked the Nickelback album BEFORE the one with "This Is How You Remind Me",
and I told Derek Shulman, then running Roadrunner, so.

I think "This Is How You Remind Me" is a FANTASTIC track.  That, ironically,
I can still listen to today.

But then they followed up this phenomenal track with one that sounded just
like it.

That’s the measure of true artistry.  Whether you’ve got enough
self-confidence to continue to explore, rather than cave to market demands
and deliver what’s expected of you.

Nickelback does not get to rewrite history.  Does not get to say we did one
for them, now we’re doing one for us.  That’s the MOVIE business, not the MUSIC
business.  Movies are mega-expensive, music is cheap.  It’s the MARKETING
that’s expensive.  But does it have to be this way?

Sheryl Crow is blabbing in every interview how her last album made her feel
dirty, that she delivered what THEY wanted and then depressed decided to make
THIS record.  That’s like me saying I’ve made a deal to write for
hitsdailydouble, and then, after pocketing the check, and we know this isn’t a good
example, since "Hits" pays so poorly, going indie again and telling you to believe in
me once more.  No, I’d be forever labeled a sell-out.

I like the guys below.  They’re just doing their jobs. But they’re myopic. 
They’re out of touch with the street.  Even if Nickelback is SELLING records
most people see them as a one trick pony.

So, let this be a warning.  Protect your image, that’s all you’ve got.
Which, is why, if you whore yourself out for a commercial, we can never
believe in you again (except maybe for Snoop, he seems to get away with it, he
seems to be laughing how he’s ripping off the man as he’s pitching the product).

So, cite all the numbers you want.  On the street, Nickelback is done.  Maybe
if they make a FEW more good CDs.  And in interviews reveal their souls. 
THEN, maybe people will be interested again.
But now they’re looking for something new.

Ever notice how acts no longer have a career anymore?

It’s because they’re no longer artists, they’re BUSINESSMEN!

By: bob | 2005/11/02 | Music Business | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

23 Responses to Re-Nickelback »»


Comments

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  1. Ron Burman
    Comment by Ron Burman | 2005/11/02 at 20:35:27

    Hey Lefsetz, how are you? Do you actually have own the new Nickelback
    record , "All the Right Reasons" ???  Have you actually given it a real listen? 
    If not I’d love to send you a copy to spend some time with.  In my opinion and in
    many other peoples, this is a very mature and advanced record for them that
    displays real growth in song writing and yet it still rocks for the core fans. 
    Why are you such a hater of things that are successful and mainstream ?  This
    band has sold almost 20 million records world wide on 4 albums.  They have
    toured the globe tirelessly, put in more time meeting and greeting the fans and
    supporters then most any other current mainstream rock band.  
    They are good musicians, and great song writers who write every mans, Rock &
    Roll.  Much like the 70’s& 80’s classic rock bands: the Guess Who, BTO,Bad
    Company, Foreigner, Styx, The Eagels, etc.. etc.etc.

    Nickelback aren’t trying to be cool or please anyone, other than themselves
    and their fans. And you know what, it’s obviously working.

    This is only the first track on the new album and we are all ready out
    trending the last record by a whopping 56% sales at the same week.
    There are so many faceless hipster, hyped bands, that are the flavor of the
    moment that come and go with every season.  However, there are very,very few
    ROCK bands that can deliver time & time again,and continually touch the public
    with poignant songs, that touch people and people can actually sing along to
    and remember the melody and the lines.
     
    I implore you to give it another listen & give them a fare shake. And not be
    just another one of the haters.

    Nickelback & their songs, will be played and remembered by our children and
    the next generation. Much like many of the songs & bands you regularly
    reference in your column.

    Thanks and respect,
    Ron Burman
    Senior VP A&R Roadrunner Records

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  2. Larry LeBlanc
    Comment by Larry LeBlanc | 2005/11/02 at 20:35:45

    ‘Fess up….you haven’t even heard the new new Nickelback LP. Your comments
    make that easy to figure out. Gotcha dude because this album is a departure.
    Yep, the other three (in fact) were conveyer belt projects. This one isn’t & it
    is far, far better than you’d expect. Sorry Bob….Nickelback is the new Guess
    Who…critics hate their guts; guys like you don’t understand them or told
    care; and they have a solid audience, even scoring their first #1 LP this time
    out. Sounds like the Guess Who, in fact. You goofed fella. Go listen to that
    single again. That doesn’t sound like Kenny Chesney???? Larry

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  3. Jonas Nachsin
    Comment by Jonas Nachsin | 2005/11/02 at 20:36:00

    Bob-
    You should offer the same to the other Canadians in Nickelback, because
    despite your opinions regarding the credibility of either the album or the band-
    that’s your prerogative although I certainly don’t agree- the fact is it is a
    bonafide smash song and album.  Everyone else seems to think so, where are you
    coming from?  The band’s best debut to date was 200K, and that album went on to
    sell 3 million.  This one came in at 325K week one, also a big number
    especially relative to the market these days, but impressive enough on its own.

    How many other albums this year, or recently went 1-2-4-2 on the Billboard
    chart (similar to Hits)?!! (from our research dept: "Nickelback stays in the Top
    5 for their 4th consecutive week which makes them one of only 8 artists to
    achieve this in 2005.  Other artists include 50 Cent, The Game, Mariah Carey,
    Coldplay, Now 18 & 19, & Kanye West.")

    Or sold just shy of 800K in 4 weeks?!  And for a rock band?!

    As for the 23% decline, it’s expected (actually, it’s a lower decline than
    most) in a fourth week unless you hold Nickelback to some sort of mathematically
    impossible standard (no album I know with a high debut HASN’T gone down
    similar or in most cases higher percentages in the following few weeks).

    I thought you would be writing about how much else has fallen beneath it in
    only weeks 2 or 3 vs. the Nickelback week 4!!  That seems to be what everyone
    else is noticing.

    If you are trying to make a larger point about sales erosion, fine, but leave
    this album out of it as it is inaccurate.

    Please consider revising your perspective-

    Jonas

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  4. Bob Johnsen
    Comment by Bob Johnsen | 2005/11/02 at 20:36:16

    Bob,

    In answer to your lazy pun and flawed analysis regarding Nickelback’s current
    sales trajectory, I’m surprised that I am the one to inform you of  the
    following:  Superstar releases street big, and generally decrease from  there.  Of
    these releases, the records that find traction fall more slowly  and
    eventually find a level.  While I thought this was common knowledge in  the industry
    (especially within the self-styled industry pundit/journalist contingent), it’s
    clear from this email that  you’ve confused Nickelback  with any number of
    less-buzzing artists. 

    Let’s look at the numbers:

    Week one:
    Nickelback’s "All the Right Reasons" was the #1 album when it debuted,
    selling 325,000 units.  That’s more copies sold in a debut week than the vast
    majority of #1 artists in 2005 – only 50 Cent, The Game, Kanye, Coldplay, DMB,
    Mariah, System, R Kelly, and Faith Hill sold more in their debut week. 
    Nickelback’s debut outsold Green Day (’04 debut), Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Rob Thomas,
    Springsteen, Hillary Duff, and every other record of 2005.  The debut number is
    also 125,000 more units than  their previous album’s first week.

    Week two:
    The album drops from #1 to #2 with a 48% decrease in sales, selling 170,000. 
    The only artists who saw better percentage drops in their second week were 50
    Cent at 32% and Mariah Carey at 44%.  Of the artists listed in week one that
    had bigger first weeks than Nickelback, all others saw their sales drop more
    sharply than Nickelback in week two.  

    Week three:
    Nickelback had a 23% drop to #4 on the chart with 131,000 units.  The 2005
    average drop for #1 album in it’s third week is 35%, and Nickelback had the
    fourth lightest third week drop of all the #1 artists of the year. The titles with
    lighter drops in their third weeks were Kenny Chesney at 18%, Mariah Carey at
    13%, Rob Thomas at 14%, and Nickelback’s  figure tied with Hilary Duff. Out
    of these artists, raw-numbers wise,  Nickelback still outscanned Thomas and
    Duff in their third week. 

    Week four (this week):
    Nickelback’s percentage drop is 21%, to 101,000 units, which drives them back
    up to #2 on the chart.  Average fourth week drop among all #1 debuts was 23%,
    and in their fourth week Nickelback scanned 72% more than R Kelly, 17% more
    than System of a Down, and 34% more than DMB did in  their fourth week. 
    Significantly, Nickelback stays in the Top 5 for their fourth consecutive week,
    which makes them one of  only 5 artists to achieve this in 2005.  The other
    artists in that superstar group are 50 Cent, The Game, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, &
    Kanye West.

    Nickelback’s new record has already passed some of the biggest records of the
    year in four week cumulative sales, and based on it’s continued  climb on the
    radio charts (currently the Track America chart #3 song in the country) and
    corresponding sales, it will pass a good many more in week-to-week comparisons
    in the coming months, and in total end-of-the-day sales. 

    If you’re looking for evidence of superstar artists that street strong and
    fall off quickly, take your pick from many of the names listed above.  If the
    subtext of your comment is "record labels are churning out  one-hit wonders and
    not developing artists!", again look elsewhere.  Over  six years, Nickelback
    has developed from an indie rock band in a van touring through the Canadian
    winter, to one of the biggest rock bands in the world, through repeated and
    consistent success.  Ill-informed cheap shots aside, you might find something to
    respect in that.

    Sincerely,
    Bob Johnsen
    Senior Director of Marketing
    Roadrunner Records

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  5. George Maniatis
    Comment by George Maniatis | 2005/11/03 at 10:20:25

    WOW. Passion!!

    It’s wonderful to see Ron Burman and crew from R/R working their asses off
    for their artist.  Much respect to them.

    I completely disagree with you on this one Bob.
    You can’t deny the power of a song and a "real fan base" build on endless
    touring.

    Best.
    George M

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  6. John McGlasson, Jr
    Comment by John McGlasson, Jr | 2005/11/03 at 10:20:43

    Hi Bob-I’m John McGlasson, I own o.i.e.Records,Ltd. http://www.oierecords.com I
    agree with you for the most part about Nickelback, I don’t give a damn how many
    records they’re selling, the perception is that they are a joke. If not a joke,
    then they are seen as adolescent pop for kids.
         Until the big industry focuses on selling records to adults instead of
    focusing only upon jr. high kids, you are going to have people like those who
    responded to your thoughts on Nickelback, industry people, in a position to
    actually do something, going blue in the face to make ridiculous comparisons to
    great bands of the past to give their mega-million dollar glorified garage
    bands credibility.
         Nickelback should never have left the garage. For one guy to say that
    we’ll be talking about them a generation from now or whatever he said was
    laughable. Whether I like the bands he compared them to or not, I can hum 5 songs
    from each of them, never owning a Styx, Eagles, or BTO album in my life. I swear
    to you that I didn’t even know Nickelback was still around til your email,
    much less be able to hum, or even name, a song from them. They’re no more
    relevant to music history then will be a cold product that came and went. Millions
    of people may buy a McRib when it’s offered, but historically relevant?
         I don’t know a single person in my life over 13 who owns, or would own,
    a Nickelback cd. Bands like Styx and Eagles were made by catering to adults.
    Kids will follow, for the same reason I buy on cd today all the albums my dad
    had when I was growing up. I don’t let 12 year olds guide my decisions, in any
    aspect of my life or my business. Thanks.

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  7. John-Luis Moretti
    Comment by John-Luis Moretti | 2005/11/03 at 10:21:08

    i agree wholeheartedly with you Bob, all that Nickelback do is provide for
    the lowest comon denominator. unfortunatly being what they are there are a lot
    of them and they buy a lot of records. Unfortunatly they don’t buy music that
    is nessisarily good but music that is familiar, generic and unconfrontational.
    They hear the track on radio (played 1000 times a day) say to themeselves,  
    "Ahh, there’s something that will go well next to my "puddle of mud", "staind"
    and "fuel" albums." go out and buy it then go home content that they have
    bought the same album 20 times. the reason why those artists rarely see the light
    of day after album 3 (can you name fuels last album?) is because someone new
    takes thier place. a good record doesn’t drop in sales as weeks go on. as more
    of the core fans hear it and love it with each consecutive listen they go out
    and rave about it to more and more friends. these friends then borrow or
    listen to the album from theier friends and after a few listens decide to buy it
    themselves. that whole process then repeats over months and months. that’s how
    classic albums are discovered. None of the following albums debuted at number
    one then dwindled in sales by weeks 4, yet they are arguably some of the best
    albums in the last 10 years. Radiohead – ok computer, Moby – play, Oasis –
    definetely maybe etc etc. i don’t think i can trust any album that hits number one
    spot immediatly on release. that place has been bought by record companies
    and it’s how they tell the lowest comon denominator that this is an album that
    you have to get becasue everyone else has got it. anyone who cares for REAL
    music doesn’t even know a chart exists. In Australia, our last winner for Idol
    competition immediatly sold triple platinum. Two thirds of that were returned to
    the company within 2 months and the rest marked down to $10, i know i work
    for the biggest CD retailer in the country. So please can anyone give me any
    reason why i chart place is an indication of how good an artists they are and how
    popular they are? That’s why Bob, you were asked about perception. REAL musos
    know that charts and sales stats are bullshit. lowest comon denominator bands
    will sell truck loads, but i doubt they get ever get more than 3 albums on a
    record deal adn there will always be a best of at the end of them.

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  8. Michael Beinhorn
    Comment by Michael Beinhorn | 2005/11/03 at 10:21:23

    Yeah Bob, why don’t you revise your perspective Bob, why are you a hater Bob,
    everyone else thinks it’s a smash Bob, what the hell is wrong with you anyway
    Bob; why can’t you toe the fucking line and not say such mean, cruel things
    about such superlative talent whose legacy will outlast all sentient life on
    this planet? Don’t you know talent when you hear it or can’t you at least
    recognize insanely HUGE record sales when they’re stuck in your face- capitulate,
    dammit, CAPITULATE NOW!

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  9. Talley Griffith
    Comment by Talley Griffith | 2005/11/03 at 10:21:47

    You’re dead on the money.

    These Roadrunner guys emailing you are like
    Scientologists…they believe their own propaganda!

    Go ahead: DARE THEM to email any random 25 people on
    MySpace and cull the opinions of Nickelback in general
    (much less the new CD). I dare them to.

    A salesman, is a salesman, is a salesman…but music
    fans cannot be sold on the snake oil. I’m sure the
    Nickelback guys are really talented and have
    potential, if they’d use it. Instead, EVERY song they
    write, perform, or even produce for others sounds like
    "the formula".  See Korn and Bizkit for prior
    examples.

    Nickelback is going the way of disco, and NO they
    won’t be remembered as the new "Guess Who" or "Eagles"
    but more like the Ohio Players or Bay City Rollers.
    It’s recycled bubblegum rock ballads time and again.
    I’ve heard the new CD, and once you’ve heard the first
    3 songs, you’ve heard everything else on the CD (and
    everything else they’ve EVER made).

    Don’t be hoodwinked by the evangelists. Nickelback is
    a religon nobody wants to believe in. They are to
    modern rock what Britney Fox, Winger, and Kix were to
    hair rock in the ’80s. Forgettable.

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  10. Bartley McGowan
    Comment by Bartley McGowan | 2005/11/03 at 10:22:08

    Okay, so you print a few emails from dudes disagreeing with you.

    What’ s up man?  Where are the few hundred of us that had to have said
    "you’re right on, nickelback sucks"

    Seriously, i can’t stand them.

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  11. Rich Levy
    Comment by Rich Levy | 2005/11/03 at 10:22:29

    bob, when did this band EVER have street cred?  The people buying this record
    are the same people who bought creed and buy 3 doors down records. They are
    called the public and they have spoken.

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  12. Barbara Sedun
    Comment by Barbara Sedun | 2005/11/03 at 10:22:52

    Bob – although I agree with 90% of what you write (no it’s not an accurate
    percentage – I don’t have the time, energy or inclination to keep tally) I think
    you’re off the mark with nickelback. I can’t predict where they will be
    twenty years from now but I know one thing – somebody will be writing how you’re
    writing now and reminiscing about how chad’s songs touched him. I know I will
    be. Already I have vivid and fond memories of driving in the mountains to see
    nickelback at an outdoor festival in the lower fraser valley in bc. Before they
    were signed. rented convertible. Warm day (no it doesn’t always rain in
    vancouver) and leader of men blasting on repeat on the cd player, singing along at
    the top of my lungs and grinning like an idiot. And now I’m late to see a band.

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  13. Jamie Myerson
    Comment by Jamie Myerson | 2005/11/03 at 10:23:11

    these numbers we’re all talking about… they are meaningless.  this is all
    being analyzed in a microcosm – under a microscope.

    numbers mean something is good? really? does that also automatically mean
    that our future generations are going to be singing these songs in years to come?
    come on! i am so insulted by the comparison to the bands you mention.  the
    eagles, joni mitchell, etc… these are legends.  they will endure.  they will
    endure like classical music has spanned CENTURIES.  this nickelback song ‘photog
    raph’ is going to last 300 years or more? like in 300 years beatles songs
    will be in the same music history books as nickelback, 50 cent, the game, mariah,
    coldpay and kanye west.

    right.

    i sincerely do not fucking think so.

    this is all music made in a factory and fed by the machine down the throats
    of the drones.

    let’s look at the big picture here please can we?

    bob, please continue with your bashing of bullshit
    music/acts/business/people. it is most enjoyable.

    the numbers are meaningless.

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  14. Saro Mardirosian
    Comment by Saro Mardirosian | 2005/11/03 at 10:23:31

    who cares about the numbers, the music does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to inspire the
    soul!!!

    Britney, NYSNC and Backstreet boys sold more records   They are Businessmen
    NOT artists.
    I think Bob is right, most will agree, you have to listen and listen and
    listen to find growth in the band.
    I want something that will punch me in the face!!!!  I want to say holy shit,
    I have to go buy that.
    Chad has a formula and exploits it, PERIOD!!
    Sorry!

    Oh…BTW dont EVER compare Nickelback to the Guess Who.  Just the opening
    riff of American Woman is better than anything Nickelback could EVER hope to
    write.  Please spare us.

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  15. Ron Burman
    Comment by Ron Burman | 2005/11/03 at 10:23:51

    Actually is the #3 download in the country in 4th week, we were #1 download.
    Photograph is almost Double Platinum on RIAA    digital certifications…….
    Not to mention that our hits on AOL live, VH1  Live unplugged online, etc,etc.
    Were some of the most hit music streams online….. This coupled with the
    tradutional record sales, makes both this new SMASH single and band actually
    HIGHLY checked out.     Obviously you’re the one missing the point, there probably
    are more people checking out this song and this band then any other ROCK band
    in North America.   I’d venture to say this record is actually Nickelbacks
    best record to date and will possibly be their biggest selling as well……..
    I’m not lookng to change your mind, just want the band to get a fair shake.  
    It’s so easy to be a hater of something that’s hugely successful and deemed
    uncool.   But this is about good songs that appeal to regular people.  Not too
    cool for school urbanites…….

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  16. Scotty Campbell
    Comment by Scotty Campbell | 2005/11/03 at 10:24:10

    I couldn’t agree  more Bob…and they seem to be missing the most obvious
    point…what’s money really got to do with it? Little Jimmy Scott may well be
    seen as "The man who never happened"…after his hit with Hampton…he vanished,
    same as Solomon Burke…one hit, and 45 years of people thinking you were
    dead. Does this somehow subtract from the value and beauty of the marvellous
    records they made between that time, and their recent ressurections? of course
    not..Those records are marvellous…sales be damned. Even if I liked Nickelback
    (they once offered to open for me for $50) and I dont….I wouldn’t like them
    because of the gross units.

    Is Shania really the greatest/most successful female vocalist of all time?
    (by the way…that’s a lie I’d love to take to task…she’s sold I believe 48
    million records…nothing to sneeze at, but how can she make that claim when
    Patti Page had sold 115 Million by 1979?….Publicists these days seem to think
    they can just claim whatever they want…truth be damned…Pisses me off)

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  17. Don Affleck
    Comment by Don Affleck | 2005/11/03 at 10:24:31

    ….it’s tough – you write a great song, like "This Is How You Remind Me" and
    it does well for both the lovers of solid rock songs and the machine behind
    the plastic cd covers…….but when it comes time to get creative and produce
    more ‘art’, you’re left with that ultimate dilemma – do i do what i want to do
    and go hire a 40 piece orchestra to continue from where Pink Floyd’s ‘The
    Wall’ left off or do i do what i know works, what’s tried tested and true?  I
    think it was somewhere along the contemplative path that Nickelback ceased to
    worry so much about art and focused more on continuing to build a successful and
    sustainable musical career, and to that end they have indeed been successful!
    In today’s "all-business" approach to the music industry I think it’s
    important for musicians/artists to sustain a comfortable standard of living, so that
    at some point they can once again return to the nature of their very being; to
    create.  This is what turns every true artist on – not sales statistics or
    applause or enormous stage productions, but creating in the moment, jamming and
    simply put, turning nothing into something.  Of course without the monetary
    means to even buy a set of new guitar strings, musicians can face an enormous
    challenge to merely stay alive – so if presented with a way to turn lead into
    gold, how difficult it must be to say "no way!" – trying to avoid selling out is
    like trying to avoid doing your homework in highschool; you can do it, but it
    won’t get you anywhere.  Eventually you have to pay your bills and eventually
    you’ve got to eat.
    Nickelback can afford to eat and live quite comfortably and their ability to
    work the system to their monetary advantage should now allow them to return to
    being the artists they oncer were – but wait…..were they ever truly
    artists?!  This entire discussion seems to be based on one rather glaring assumption:
     that Nickelback at some point, sold their soul to the devil of the industry
    in order to make millions of dollars to the detriment of their art; but maybe
    they were never true artists to begin with – perhaps they were just performers
    who happened to have a gift for giving the mainstream what it wanted. 
    Perhaps it’s not so much that they’ve sold out, but that they’ve honed in on the
    only skill they ever possessed in the first place. Perhaps they’re just not
    artists, because as a manager of a group of true artists myself, there’s just no
    way that any true artist could ever sell out – even if we as managers try to
    lead them toward a corporate compromise, it’s just not possible when you’re face
    to face with a true artist.  It’s like you’re banging your head up against a
    wall as you attempt to explain to an artist why he/she should try remixing
    their work so that it conforms to what commercial radio expects everyone else to
    want!  And if you ever do get them to do it, all you get is a band that begins
    to lose faith in the ability that attracted you to them in the first place –
    the whole thing slowly collapses and out of the darkness inevitably shines a
    neon sign that, once the dust settles on the conformist creation that the
    mainstream has carbon copy cloned, reads Nickelback Inc.

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  18. Eric Danton
    Comment by Eric Danton | 2005/11/03 at 10:24:51

    I got similar e-mails after I wrote this about Nickelback a couple weeks ago
    (though not from their label). And I dig the Guess Who.

    "All the Right Reasons" (Roadrunner), Nickelback’s latest, might well be the
    most useless album released so far this year. It’s an unrelentingly bad
    patchwork of songs calculated to stake out a piece of as many different musical
    turfs as possible. The result is a record with no identity of its own by a band
    without any original ideas. It’s inconceivable that Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top
    played on this record of his own free will. Did Nickelback blackmail him? Do
    they have compromising photos of him? Someone should investigate this.

    Anyway, the songs. "Follow You Home" is a fairly blatant rip-off of
    Mountain’s "Mississippi Queen," and the ballad "Photograph" sounds like a heavier
    version of something Kenny Chesney was too smart to include on his latest album.
    It’s hard to tell on "Next Contestant" whether singer Chad Kroeger is upset that
    rivals keep hitting on his girlfriend, or if he’s secretly turned on by it.

    The whole record is full of pointless guitar riffs and Kroeger’s attempts to
    sound tough for muscle-bound moshers and sensitive (yet rugged, and manly) for
    power-ballad girls who were suckered in by "Hero," his vapid contribution to
    the "Spider-Man" soundtrack.

    By the time it’s finally over, Nickelback has certainly demonstrated all the
    right reasons, if we’re talking about never making another album.

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  19. Eddie Williamson
    Comment by Eddie Williamson | 2005/11/03 at 10:25:11

    good fucking on you, bob, for sticking to the truth.  they are the
    wallflowers ten years later.  maybe creed if they get lucky.

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  20. Tim White
    Comment by Tim White | 2005/11/03 at 10:25:29

    Isn’t it funny how the guys in charge of maximizing profits off the
    Nickelback record are shouting out the defense of it? It’s like Bush telling us why we
    should get more troops killed – of course, you idiots!  You’ll look like
    idiots if you don’t defend your idiocy!

    I love this truth:  Big Sales don’t mean Great Music.  Many times, quite the
    opposite. Nickelback will never EVER be like the classic rock bands, just like
    CREED (bigger than NB) will ever be classic either.  Classic means that the
    songs are infused in your brain so that you are aware of them even when they’re
    not playing. 

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  21. Karen Bliss
    Comment by Karen Bliss | 2005/11/03 at 10:25:46

    chad kroeger has definitely taken what he admittedly has called a  formulaic
    writing approach in the past and actually stretched out  lyrically, so…still
    writing hooky rock songs, he extends beyond the
    cliche and puts a twist on his subject matter. he seems comfortable and 
    confident enough now to do that. seriously, READ the lyrics on this  latest
    nickelback album, or even just the lyrics to the single,  "photograph," you will
    see. much like bryan adams, he is able to create  music for the masses…besides,
    compared to those dreadful black eyed peas lyrics, kroeger is bob dylan.

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  22. Damon Lawner
    Comment by Damon Lawner | 2005/11/03 at 10:26:03

    FAce it Bob, it’s ALL a fucking joke, wake up and smell the bullshit,
    Rock and Roll is only to live on with the great recordings of the past, just
    as Classical had it’s era, Jazz had it’s era, Blues had it’s era, Punk had
    it’s era, even Grunge had it’s era, so Rock and Roll had it’s era, but it’s OVER,
    the best of the best CAME and WENT, stop second guessing yourself or letting
    these half ass bastards try and fool you, we KNOW what great rock and roll
    was, feel blessed that we EVER got to taste it, because the youth can only
    REMINISCE about it, but you were THERE, so stop trying to convince yourself you are
    right, YOU ARE RIGHT, ROCK AND ROLL IS DEAD! So is America and so is the
    revolution and so are the artists and the dreamers, all DEAD

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  23. By the numbers – On The Download
    Pingback by By the numbers – On The Download | 2011/12/28 at 04:59:16

    […] to your hats — taking a potshot at Nickelback's sales figures. And when the label fired back, he called them (Ooh!Ooh!) a "joke". (Then he really hit below the belt by making reference to the mp3 listed above, a […]


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  1. Ron Burman
    Comment by Ron Burman | 2005/11/02 at 20:35:27

    Hey Lefsetz, how are you? Do you actually have own the new Nickelback
    record , "All the Right Reasons" ???  Have you actually given it a real listen? 
    If not I’d love to send you a copy to spend some time with.  In my opinion and in
    many other peoples, this is a very mature and advanced record for them that
    displays real growth in song writing and yet it still rocks for the core fans. 
    Why are you such a hater of things that are successful and mainstream ?  This
    band has sold almost 20 million records world wide on 4 albums.  They have
    toured the globe tirelessly, put in more time meeting and greeting the fans and
    supporters then most any other current mainstream rock band.  
    They are good musicians, and great song writers who write every mans, Rock &
    Roll.  Much like the 70’s& 80’s classic rock bands: the Guess Who, BTO,Bad
    Company, Foreigner, Styx, The Eagels, etc.. etc.etc.

    Nickelback aren’t trying to be cool or please anyone, other than themselves
    and their fans. And you know what, it’s obviously working.

    This is only the first track on the new album and we are all ready out
    trending the last record by a whopping 56% sales at the same week.
    There are so many faceless hipster, hyped bands, that are the flavor of the
    moment that come and go with every season.  However, there are very,very few
    ROCK bands that can deliver time & time again,and continually touch the public
    with poignant songs, that touch people and people can actually sing along to
    and remember the melody and the lines.
     
    I implore you to give it another listen & give them a fare shake. And not be
    just another one of the haters.

    Nickelback & their songs, will be played and remembered by our children and
    the next generation. Much like many of the songs & bands you regularly
    reference in your column.

    Thanks and respect,
    Ron Burman
    Senior VP A&R Roadrunner Records

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    1. Larry LeBlanc
      Comment by Larry LeBlanc | 2005/11/02 at 20:35:45

      ‘Fess up….you haven’t even heard the new new Nickelback LP. Your comments
      make that easy to figure out. Gotcha dude because this album is a departure.
      Yep, the other three (in fact) were conveyer belt projects. This one isn’t & it
      is far, far better than you’d expect. Sorry Bob….Nickelback is the new Guess
      Who…critics hate their guts; guys like you don’t understand them or told
      care; and they have a solid audience, even scoring their first #1 LP this time
      out. Sounds like the Guess Who, in fact. You goofed fella. Go listen to that
      single again. That doesn’t sound like Kenny Chesney???? Larry

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      1. Jonas Nachsin
        Comment by Jonas Nachsin | 2005/11/02 at 20:36:00

        Bob-
        You should offer the same to the other Canadians in Nickelback, because
        despite your opinions regarding the credibility of either the album or the band-
        that’s your prerogative although I certainly don’t agree- the fact is it is a
        bonafide smash song and album.  Everyone else seems to think so, where are you
        coming from?  The band’s best debut to date was 200K, and that album went on to
        sell 3 million.  This one came in at 325K week one, also a big number
        especially relative to the market these days, but impressive enough on its own.

        How many other albums this year, or recently went 1-2-4-2 on the Billboard
        chart (similar to Hits)?!! (from our research dept: "Nickelback stays in the Top
        5 for their 4th consecutive week which makes them one of only 8 artists to
        achieve this in 2005.  Other artists include 50 Cent, The Game, Mariah Carey,
        Coldplay, Now 18 & 19, & Kanye West.")

        Or sold just shy of 800K in 4 weeks?!  And for a rock band?!

        As for the 23% decline, it’s expected (actually, it’s a lower decline than
        most) in a fourth week unless you hold Nickelback to some sort of mathematically
        impossible standard (no album I know with a high debut HASN’T gone down
        similar or in most cases higher percentages in the following few weeks).

        I thought you would be writing about how much else has fallen beneath it in
        only weeks 2 or 3 vs. the Nickelback week 4!!  That seems to be what everyone
        else is noticing.

        If you are trying to make a larger point about sales erosion, fine, but leave
        this album out of it as it is inaccurate.

        Please consider revising your perspective-

        Jonas

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        1. Bob Johnsen
          Comment by Bob Johnsen | 2005/11/02 at 20:36:16

          Bob,

          In answer to your lazy pun and flawed analysis regarding Nickelback’s current
          sales trajectory, I’m surprised that I am the one to inform you of  the
          following:  Superstar releases street big, and generally decrease from  there.  Of
          these releases, the records that find traction fall more slowly  and
          eventually find a level.  While I thought this was common knowledge in  the industry
          (especially within the self-styled industry pundit/journalist contingent), it’s
          clear from this email that  you’ve confused Nickelback  with any number of
          less-buzzing artists. 

          Let’s look at the numbers:

          Week one:
          Nickelback’s "All the Right Reasons" was the #1 album when it debuted,
          selling 325,000 units.  That’s more copies sold in a debut week than the vast
          majority of #1 artists in 2005 – only 50 Cent, The Game, Kanye, Coldplay, DMB,
          Mariah, System, R Kelly, and Faith Hill sold more in their debut week. 
          Nickelback’s debut outsold Green Day (’04 debut), Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Rob Thomas,
          Springsteen, Hillary Duff, and every other record of 2005.  The debut number is
          also 125,000 more units than  their previous album’s first week.

          Week two:
          The album drops from #1 to #2 with a 48% decrease in sales, selling 170,000. 
          The only artists who saw better percentage drops in their second week were 50
          Cent at 32% and Mariah Carey at 44%.  Of the artists listed in week one that
          had bigger first weeks than Nickelback, all others saw their sales drop more
          sharply than Nickelback in week two.  

          Week three:
          Nickelback had a 23% drop to #4 on the chart with 131,000 units.  The 2005
          average drop for #1 album in it’s third week is 35%, and Nickelback had the
          fourth lightest third week drop of all the #1 artists of the year. The titles with
          lighter drops in their third weeks were Kenny Chesney at 18%, Mariah Carey at
          13%, Rob Thomas at 14%, and Nickelback’s  figure tied with Hilary Duff. Out
          of these artists, raw-numbers wise,  Nickelback still outscanned Thomas and
          Duff in their third week. 

          Week four (this week):
          Nickelback’s percentage drop is 21%, to 101,000 units, which drives them back
          up to #2 on the chart.  Average fourth week drop among all #1 debuts was 23%,
          and in their fourth week Nickelback scanned 72% more than R Kelly, 17% more
          than System of a Down, and 34% more than DMB did in  their fourth week. 
          Significantly, Nickelback stays in the Top 5 for their fourth consecutive week,
          which makes them one of  only 5 artists to achieve this in 2005.  The other
          artists in that superstar group are 50 Cent, The Game, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, &
          Kanye West.

          Nickelback’s new record has already passed some of the biggest records of the
          year in four week cumulative sales, and based on it’s continued  climb on the
          radio charts (currently the Track America chart #3 song in the country) and
          corresponding sales, it will pass a good many more in week-to-week comparisons
          in the coming months, and in total end-of-the-day sales. 

          If you’re looking for evidence of superstar artists that street strong and
          fall off quickly, take your pick from many of the names listed above.  If the
          subtext of your comment is "record labels are churning out  one-hit wonders and
          not developing artists!", again look elsewhere.  Over  six years, Nickelback
          has developed from an indie rock band in a van touring through the Canadian
          winter, to one of the biggest rock bands in the world, through repeated and
          consistent success.  Ill-informed cheap shots aside, you might find something to
          respect in that.

          Sincerely,
          Bob Johnsen
          Senior Director of Marketing
          Roadrunner Records

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          1. George Maniatis
            Comment by George Maniatis | 2005/11/03 at 10:20:25

            WOW. Passion!!

            It’s wonderful to see Ron Burman and crew from R/R working their asses off
            for their artist.  Much respect to them.

            I completely disagree with you on this one Bob.
            You can’t deny the power of a song and a "real fan base" build on endless
            touring.

            Best.
            George M

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            1. John McGlasson, Jr
              Comment by John McGlasson, Jr | 2005/11/03 at 10:20:43

              Hi Bob-I’m John McGlasson, I own o.i.e.Records,Ltd. http://www.oierecords.com I
              agree with you for the most part about Nickelback, I don’t give a damn how many
              records they’re selling, the perception is that they are a joke. If not a joke,
              then they are seen as adolescent pop for kids.
                   Until the big industry focuses on selling records to adults instead of
              focusing only upon jr. high kids, you are going to have people like those who
              responded to your thoughts on Nickelback, industry people, in a position to
              actually do something, going blue in the face to make ridiculous comparisons to
              great bands of the past to give their mega-million dollar glorified garage
              bands credibility.
                   Nickelback should never have left the garage. For one guy to say that
              we’ll be talking about them a generation from now or whatever he said was
              laughable. Whether I like the bands he compared them to or not, I can hum 5 songs
              from each of them, never owning a Styx, Eagles, or BTO album in my life. I swear
              to you that I didn’t even know Nickelback was still around til your email,
              much less be able to hum, or even name, a song from them. They’re no more
              relevant to music history then will be a cold product that came and went. Millions
              of people may buy a McRib when it’s offered, but historically relevant?
                   I don’t know a single person in my life over 13 who owns, or would own,
              a Nickelback cd. Bands like Styx and Eagles were made by catering to adults.
              Kids will follow, for the same reason I buy on cd today all the albums my dad
              had when I was growing up. I don’t let 12 year olds guide my decisions, in any
              aspect of my life or my business. Thanks.

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              1. John-Luis Moretti
                Comment by John-Luis Moretti | 2005/11/03 at 10:21:08

                i agree wholeheartedly with you Bob, all that Nickelback do is provide for
                the lowest comon denominator. unfortunatly being what they are there are a lot
                of them and they buy a lot of records. Unfortunatly they don’t buy music that
                is nessisarily good but music that is familiar, generic and unconfrontational.
                They hear the track on radio (played 1000 times a day) say to themeselves,  
                "Ahh, there’s something that will go well next to my "puddle of mud", "staind"
                and "fuel" albums." go out and buy it then go home content that they have
                bought the same album 20 times. the reason why those artists rarely see the light
                of day after album 3 (can you name fuels last album?) is because someone new
                takes thier place. a good record doesn’t drop in sales as weeks go on. as more
                of the core fans hear it and love it with each consecutive listen they go out
                and rave about it to more and more friends. these friends then borrow or
                listen to the album from theier friends and after a few listens decide to buy it
                themselves. that whole process then repeats over months and months. that’s how
                classic albums are discovered. None of the following albums debuted at number
                one then dwindled in sales by weeks 4, yet they are arguably some of the best
                albums in the last 10 years. Radiohead – ok computer, Moby – play, Oasis –
                definetely maybe etc etc. i don’t think i can trust any album that hits number one
                spot immediatly on release. that place has been bought by record companies
                and it’s how they tell the lowest comon denominator that this is an album that
                you have to get becasue everyone else has got it. anyone who cares for REAL
                music doesn’t even know a chart exists. In Australia, our last winner for Idol
                competition immediatly sold triple platinum. Two thirds of that were returned to
                the company within 2 months and the rest marked down to $10, i know i work
                for the biggest CD retailer in the country. So please can anyone give me any
                reason why i chart place is an indication of how good an artists they are and how
                popular they are? That’s why Bob, you were asked about perception. REAL musos
                know that charts and sales stats are bullshit. lowest comon denominator bands
                will sell truck loads, but i doubt they get ever get more than 3 albums on a
                record deal adn there will always be a best of at the end of them.

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                1. Michael Beinhorn
                  Comment by Michael Beinhorn | 2005/11/03 at 10:21:23

                  Yeah Bob, why don’t you revise your perspective Bob, why are you a hater Bob,
                  everyone else thinks it’s a smash Bob, what the hell is wrong with you anyway
                  Bob; why can’t you toe the fucking line and not say such mean, cruel things
                  about such superlative talent whose legacy will outlast all sentient life on
                  this planet? Don’t you know talent when you hear it or can’t you at least
                  recognize insanely HUGE record sales when they’re stuck in your face- capitulate,
                  dammit, CAPITULATE NOW!

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                  1. Talley Griffith
                    Comment by Talley Griffith | 2005/11/03 at 10:21:47

                    You’re dead on the money.

                    These Roadrunner guys emailing you are like
                    Scientologists…they believe their own propaganda!

                    Go ahead: DARE THEM to email any random 25 people on
                    MySpace and cull the opinions of Nickelback in general
                    (much less the new CD). I dare them to.

                    A salesman, is a salesman, is a salesman…but music
                    fans cannot be sold on the snake oil. I’m sure the
                    Nickelback guys are really talented and have
                    potential, if they’d use it. Instead, EVERY song they
                    write, perform, or even produce for others sounds like
                    "the formula".  See Korn and Bizkit for prior
                    examples.

                    Nickelback is going the way of disco, and NO they
                    won’t be remembered as the new "Guess Who" or "Eagles"
                    but more like the Ohio Players or Bay City Rollers.
                    It’s recycled bubblegum rock ballads time and again.
                    I’ve heard the new CD, and once you’ve heard the first
                    3 songs, you’ve heard everything else on the CD (and
                    everything else they’ve EVER made).

                    Don’t be hoodwinked by the evangelists. Nickelback is
                    a religon nobody wants to believe in. They are to
                    modern rock what Britney Fox, Winger, and Kix were to
                    hair rock in the ’80s. Forgettable.

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                    1. Bartley McGowan
                      Comment by Bartley McGowan | 2005/11/03 at 10:22:08

                      Okay, so you print a few emails from dudes disagreeing with you.

                      What’ s up man?  Where are the few hundred of us that had to have said
                      "you’re right on, nickelback sucks"

                      Seriously, i can’t stand them.

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                      1. Rich Levy
                        Comment by Rich Levy | 2005/11/03 at 10:22:29

                        bob, when did this band EVER have street cred?  The people buying this record
                        are the same people who bought creed and buy 3 doors down records. They are
                        called the public and they have spoken.

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                        1. Barbara Sedun
                          Comment by Barbara Sedun | 2005/11/03 at 10:22:52

                          Bob – although I agree with 90% of what you write (no it’s not an accurate
                          percentage – I don’t have the time, energy or inclination to keep tally) I think
                          you’re off the mark with nickelback. I can’t predict where they will be
                          twenty years from now but I know one thing – somebody will be writing how you’re
                          writing now and reminiscing about how chad’s songs touched him. I know I will
                          be. Already I have vivid and fond memories of driving in the mountains to see
                          nickelback at an outdoor festival in the lower fraser valley in bc. Before they
                          were signed. rented convertible. Warm day (no it doesn’t always rain in
                          vancouver) and leader of men blasting on repeat on the cd player, singing along at
                          the top of my lungs and grinning like an idiot. And now I’m late to see a band.

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                          1. Jamie Myerson
                            Comment by Jamie Myerson | 2005/11/03 at 10:23:11

                            these numbers we’re all talking about… they are meaningless.  this is all
                            being analyzed in a microcosm – under a microscope.

                            numbers mean something is good? really? does that also automatically mean
                            that our future generations are going to be singing these songs in years to come?
                            come on! i am so insulted by the comparison to the bands you mention.  the
                            eagles, joni mitchell, etc… these are legends.  they will endure.  they will
                            endure like classical music has spanned CENTURIES.  this nickelback song ‘photog
                            raph’ is going to last 300 years or more? like in 300 years beatles songs
                            will be in the same music history books as nickelback, 50 cent, the game, mariah,
                            coldpay and kanye west.

                            right.

                            i sincerely do not fucking think so.

                            this is all music made in a factory and fed by the machine down the throats
                            of the drones.

                            let’s look at the big picture here please can we?

                            bob, please continue with your bashing of bullshit
                            music/acts/business/people. it is most enjoyable.

                            the numbers are meaningless.

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                            1. Saro Mardirosian
                              Comment by Saro Mardirosian | 2005/11/03 at 10:23:31

                              who cares about the numbers, the music does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to inspire the
                              soul!!!

                              Britney, NYSNC and Backstreet boys sold more records   They are Businessmen
                              NOT artists.
                              I think Bob is right, most will agree, you have to listen and listen and
                              listen to find growth in the band.
                              I want something that will punch me in the face!!!!  I want to say holy shit,
                              I have to go buy that.
                              Chad has a formula and exploits it, PERIOD!!
                              Sorry!

                              Oh…BTW dont EVER compare Nickelback to the Guess Who.  Just the opening
                              riff of American Woman is better than anything Nickelback could EVER hope to
                              write.  Please spare us.

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                              1. Ron Burman
                                Comment by Ron Burman | 2005/11/03 at 10:23:51

                                Actually is the #3 download in the country in 4th week, we were #1 download.
                                Photograph is almost Double Platinum on RIAA    digital certifications…….
                                Not to mention that our hits on AOL live, VH1  Live unplugged online, etc,etc.
                                Were some of the most hit music streams online….. This coupled with the
                                tradutional record sales, makes both this new SMASH single and band actually
                                HIGHLY checked out.     Obviously you’re the one missing the point, there probably
                                are more people checking out this song and this band then any other ROCK band
                                in North America.   I’d venture to say this record is actually Nickelbacks
                                best record to date and will possibly be their biggest selling as well……..
                                I’m not lookng to change your mind, just want the band to get a fair shake.  
                                It’s so easy to be a hater of something that’s hugely successful and deemed
                                uncool.   But this is about good songs that appeal to regular people.  Not too
                                cool for school urbanites…….

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                                1. Scotty Campbell
                                  Comment by Scotty Campbell | 2005/11/03 at 10:24:10

                                  I couldn’t agree  more Bob…and they seem to be missing the most obvious
                                  point…what’s money really got to do with it? Little Jimmy Scott may well be
                                  seen as "The man who never happened"…after his hit with Hampton…he vanished,
                                  same as Solomon Burke…one hit, and 45 years of people thinking you were
                                  dead. Does this somehow subtract from the value and beauty of the marvellous
                                  records they made between that time, and their recent ressurections? of course
                                  not..Those records are marvellous…sales be damned. Even if I liked Nickelback
                                  (they once offered to open for me for $50) and I dont….I wouldn’t like them
                                  because of the gross units.

                                  Is Shania really the greatest/most successful female vocalist of all time?
                                  (by the way…that’s a lie I’d love to take to task…she’s sold I believe 48
                                  million records…nothing to sneeze at, but how can she make that claim when
                                  Patti Page had sold 115 Million by 1979?….Publicists these days seem to think
                                  they can just claim whatever they want…truth be damned…Pisses me off)

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                                  1. Don Affleck
                                    Comment by Don Affleck | 2005/11/03 at 10:24:31

                                    ….it’s tough – you write a great song, like "This Is How You Remind Me" and
                                    it does well for both the lovers of solid rock songs and the machine behind
                                    the plastic cd covers…….but when it comes time to get creative and produce
                                    more ‘art’, you’re left with that ultimate dilemma – do i do what i want to do
                                    and go hire a 40 piece orchestra to continue from where Pink Floyd’s ‘The
                                    Wall’ left off or do i do what i know works, what’s tried tested and true?  I
                                    think it was somewhere along the contemplative path that Nickelback ceased to
                                    worry so much about art and focused more on continuing to build a successful and
                                    sustainable musical career, and to that end they have indeed been successful!
                                    In today’s "all-business" approach to the music industry I think it’s
                                    important for musicians/artists to sustain a comfortable standard of living, so that
                                    at some point they can once again return to the nature of their very being; to
                                    create.  This is what turns every true artist on – not sales statistics or
                                    applause or enormous stage productions, but creating in the moment, jamming and
                                    simply put, turning nothing into something.  Of course without the monetary
                                    means to even buy a set of new guitar strings, musicians can face an enormous
                                    challenge to merely stay alive – so if presented with a way to turn lead into
                                    gold, how difficult it must be to say "no way!" – trying to avoid selling out is
                                    like trying to avoid doing your homework in highschool; you can do it, but it
                                    won’t get you anywhere.  Eventually you have to pay your bills and eventually
                                    you’ve got to eat.
                                    Nickelback can afford to eat and live quite comfortably and their ability to
                                    work the system to their monetary advantage should now allow them to return to
                                    being the artists they oncer were – but wait…..were they ever truly
                                    artists?!  This entire discussion seems to be based on one rather glaring assumption:
                                     that Nickelback at some point, sold their soul to the devil of the industry
                                    in order to make millions of dollars to the detriment of their art; but maybe
                                    they were never true artists to begin with – perhaps they were just performers
                                    who happened to have a gift for giving the mainstream what it wanted. 
                                    Perhaps it’s not so much that they’ve sold out, but that they’ve honed in on the
                                    only skill they ever possessed in the first place. Perhaps they’re just not
                                    artists, because as a manager of a group of true artists myself, there’s just no
                                    way that any true artist could ever sell out – even if we as managers try to
                                    lead them toward a corporate compromise, it’s just not possible when you’re face
                                    to face with a true artist.  It’s like you’re banging your head up against a
                                    wall as you attempt to explain to an artist why he/she should try remixing
                                    their work so that it conforms to what commercial radio expects everyone else to
                                    want!  And if you ever do get them to do it, all you get is a band that begins
                                    to lose faith in the ability that attracted you to them in the first place –
                                    the whole thing slowly collapses and out of the darkness inevitably shines a
                                    neon sign that, once the dust settles on the conformist creation that the
                                    mainstream has carbon copy cloned, reads Nickelback Inc.

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                                    1. Eric Danton
                                      Comment by Eric Danton | 2005/11/03 at 10:24:51

                                      I got similar e-mails after I wrote this about Nickelback a couple weeks ago
                                      (though not from their label). And I dig the Guess Who.

                                      "All the Right Reasons" (Roadrunner), Nickelback’s latest, might well be the
                                      most useless album released so far this year. It’s an unrelentingly bad
                                      patchwork of songs calculated to stake out a piece of as many different musical
                                      turfs as possible. The result is a record with no identity of its own by a band
                                      without any original ideas. It’s inconceivable that Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top
                                      played on this record of his own free will. Did Nickelback blackmail him? Do
                                      they have compromising photos of him? Someone should investigate this.

                                      Anyway, the songs. "Follow You Home" is a fairly blatant rip-off of
                                      Mountain’s "Mississippi Queen," and the ballad "Photograph" sounds like a heavier
                                      version of something Kenny Chesney was too smart to include on his latest album.
                                      It’s hard to tell on "Next Contestant" whether singer Chad Kroeger is upset that
                                      rivals keep hitting on his girlfriend, or if he’s secretly turned on by it.

                                      The whole record is full of pointless guitar riffs and Kroeger’s attempts to
                                      sound tough for muscle-bound moshers and sensitive (yet rugged, and manly) for
                                      power-ballad girls who were suckered in by "Hero," his vapid contribution to
                                      the "Spider-Man" soundtrack.

                                      By the time it’s finally over, Nickelback has certainly demonstrated all the
                                      right reasons, if we’re talking about never making another album.

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                                      1. Eddie Williamson
                                        Comment by Eddie Williamson | 2005/11/03 at 10:25:11

                                        good fucking on you, bob, for sticking to the truth.  they are the
                                        wallflowers ten years later.  maybe creed if they get lucky.

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                                        1. Tim White
                                          Comment by Tim White | 2005/11/03 at 10:25:29

                                          Isn’t it funny how the guys in charge of maximizing profits off the
                                          Nickelback record are shouting out the defense of it? It’s like Bush telling us why we
                                          should get more troops killed – of course, you idiots!  You’ll look like
                                          idiots if you don’t defend your idiocy!

                                          I love this truth:  Big Sales don’t mean Great Music.  Many times, quite the
                                          opposite. Nickelback will never EVER be like the classic rock bands, just like
                                          CREED (bigger than NB) will ever be classic either.  Classic means that the
                                          songs are infused in your brain so that you are aware of them even when they’re
                                          not playing. 

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                                          1. Karen Bliss
                                            Comment by Karen Bliss | 2005/11/03 at 10:25:46

                                            chad kroeger has definitely taken what he admittedly has called a  formulaic
                                            writing approach in the past and actually stretched out  lyrically, so…still
                                            writing hooky rock songs, he extends beyond the
                                            cliche and puts a twist on his subject matter. he seems comfortable and 
                                            confident enough now to do that. seriously, READ the lyrics on this  latest
                                            nickelback album, or even just the lyrics to the single,  "photograph," you will
                                            see. much like bryan adams, he is able to create  music for the masses…besides,
                                            compared to those dreadful black eyed peas lyrics, kroeger is bob dylan.

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                                            1. Damon Lawner
                                              Comment by Damon Lawner | 2005/11/03 at 10:26:03

                                              FAce it Bob, it’s ALL a fucking joke, wake up and smell the bullshit,
                                              Rock and Roll is only to live on with the great recordings of the past, just
                                              as Classical had it’s era, Jazz had it’s era, Blues had it’s era, Punk had
                                              it’s era, even Grunge had it’s era, so Rock and Roll had it’s era, but it’s OVER,
                                              the best of the best CAME and WENT, stop second guessing yourself or letting
                                              these half ass bastards try and fool you, we KNOW what great rock and roll
                                              was, feel blessed that we EVER got to taste it, because the youth can only
                                              REMINISCE about it, but you were THERE, so stop trying to convince yourself you are
                                              right, YOU ARE RIGHT, ROCK AND ROLL IS DEAD! So is America and so is the
                                              revolution and so are the artists and the dreamers, all DEAD

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                                              1. By the numbers – On The Download
                                                Pingback by By the numbers – On The Download | 2011/12/28 at 04:59:16

                                                […] to your hats — taking a potshot at Nickelback's sales figures. And when the label fired back, he called them (Ooh!Ooh!) a "joke". (Then he really hit below the belt by making reference to the mp3 listed above, a […]

                                              This is a read-only blog. E-mail comments directly to Bob.

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