Entertainment For Lively Minds
*Now* look what you've done! You have a go at Nickelback and suddenly we're at war with Canada!
The Massive's momentous decision to elect Nickelback the worst band in the world is drawing a waspish critical response from fans in their native Canada. Many of these make rather hurtful comments about the efforts of this sceptred isle. Such as:
"The British make me sick. The UK produces nothing but pop crap, tinny,whinny noise that doesn't even warrant being called music. Did you know even Canadian Music Stations laugh at the crap the UK produces? We have NO RESPECT for the talentless one (s)hit wonders, and would love nothing more than to quantine the UK "Music", along with the island."
Somebody else takes up the same theme....
.and you wonder why the rest of the world has no respect for the Brits? OMG!
I like that one because we're under quota for OMGs.
Nickelback have sold more record's than anybody on your
stupid list and they are up for song of the decade. Get your facts
straight. Oh, I forgot that you are from the U.K. Enough said.
That's right. Get your facts straight. I hope you feel chastened.
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On some of that logic
"Nickelback have sold more record's than anybody on your
stupid list ..................."
Following that logic .
Canada exports/sells more moose droppings than anywhere else , still it is a moose dropping .
Where does Celine Dion..
..fit into all this?
Where
can I find the results of the survey?
It's odd I hadn't thought
of Nickelback until this poll I wasn't sure they were even a band, sort of assumed they were put together for that jeans ad. Well you learn something new everyday. I'm off to listen to whinny pop and then maybe then maybe that great American band "The Band".
News to me
I wasn't aware that Canadia had radio stations, let alone that they laughed at our music.
I feel suitably chastened.
the hours must fly by
next up on CHAB Moosejaw's finest we have our daily let's "Josh about JLS" slot all this after Jo-beth with the travel and these messages...
Jeez...
they should read what some people on here say about Rush! Then they'd really be pissed off!
The "great sales equals great band" argument
will never hold water - bear in mind that one of the top selling singles of the 1990s was The Macarena.
Nickelback are awful - simple fact (although in their favour, they're not Maroon 5), but it doesn't ignore the fact that some truly great music has come out of Canada. I confess I do like the argument that runs: "You hate Nickleback? You must hate Canada!" You don't like the cold? Let's declare war on Antarctica.
Over sensitive
I think they're being a little over sensitive. Until yesterday I didn't even know Nickelback was a Canadian band. I would imagine that would be the case for many "voters" so it would hardly have been a vote against Canadian music in general ..... although, as someone else points out.. Celine Dion - I'd like to see them try and defend that one with the "UK produces nothing but pop crap, tinny,whinny noise that doesn't even warrant being called music" gambit.
I don't think they are awful
A little cynical maybe. They are very good at stadium AOR. That's not going to have many fans here obviously. I've seen them live, and they were Ok. They are not entirely my cup of tea - some of the ballads are dire too much for my ears - but "Rock Star" and some of the other songs on "All The Right Reasons" are very listenable.
I had the unfortunate experience of seeing them once.....
V Festival, 2004 (?)
They were on at about 2 pm,
They played "How You Remind Me" three times, the final time accompanied by fireworks. At 2.45pm in sunny Chelmsford.
They sank like a lead balloon.
Chad doesn't seem too bothered by the abuse...
Just like to point out
thet the current number one album in the UK, America and Canada is Susan Boyle so were all a bit shit really. Just my two penneth worth.
It's not me
That's not my fault either - I don't think I've heard anything by Susan Boyle and I'm sure I must have heard at least one track by Nickelback but not enough to know exactly what they sound like. I'm assuming from what I've read that they don't necessarily attract the same audience.
Is there
a term for the regularity in which comment sections of the net turn into xenophobic rants. It seems any clip on Yotube starts a US vs 'insert name of country' war.
anyway I say
Good point...
..all nations are surely capable of spawning dreadful music. Even Mali must have a Nickelback, (nothing on YouTube under Malian Nickelback alas).
Forget Mali
can you imagine how bad an American Nickelback would be!!
It's
ABOOT time Canadians stood up for themselves.
I blame David Hepworth
Anyone remember the 5th anniversary issue of the Word? In it Mr H lamented that some of the so-called celebs quizzed in the Word of Mouth feature had vanished from the pop radar - illustrating his point with something along the lines of 'Chad Krueger, anyone?'. Mere weeks later, the 'back had a megatastic smash with 'Hey Hey Let Me Be a Rockstar' which not only put Canadia on the map, but sold many more sofas for DFS than Gary Kemp's commercials ever did.
As we know (just ask 'Archie, Archie, Archie'), no-one makes a monkey out of Dave, so in his guise as Chimney Singing Russell Crowe he sets up and rigs the Worst Band of All Time (it's official) poll and suddenly, Nibblecack are seen as little more than a 15 years too late comedy grunge band and Canadia wants out of the EU. Job done eh Mister Hep?
Do you know?
I'm starting to get really worried about the way I get the blame for things I had nothing to do with. Show me where I typed the words Chad Krueger (apart from just then). And I didn't set up the Worst Band poll, nor did I contribute to it. I don't need no poll to tell me that the worst band of all time was Uriah Heep. I hold this truth to be self-evident.
I am however the person who gets all the abusive mail from irate elk botherers.
was only kidding, obv
-sorry, but I was sure it was in your article about mistakes made over the preceding five years - am I wrong or did you forget? Sadly I no longer have the issue in question.
Whaddya mean 'was Uriah Heep'?
The Heep, who still loom like Gods over their countless tawdry whipper snapper imitators, have had more than their share of moments of greatness. I'll send Mr Box round to enlighten you.
Sometimes I think one can safely presume that...
a musician will be great without knowing any more information than his or her name:
Jimi Hendrix
Thelonious Monk
John Coltrane
Django Reinhardt
And at times one can be sure of the opposite:
Mick Box
Wash your mouth out with soap!
Whilst I sympathise with your "don't blame me" comment - Uriah Heep the worst band in the world? Which world are we thinking of? Are they really crapper than Boyzone, or The Darkness, or The Streets, or (I could go on but you already get my drift).
Just what are the criteria for the WBITW epithet? Album sales? Live performance? Artistic merit? All of these? Heep have always been a great live band and a much better evening out (or in) than Bob Dylan (there, you've got me started on HIM again!). I don't agree with the Nickelback outcome either.
Canada has much to offer and we love it dearly, if only for Stargate SG-1. It's not all moose and beavers you know!
In our defence
We ae exceptionally kind to certain canadian artists round these parts. Laughing Leonard Cohen for instance?
yeah but sadly far too kind
on the annoying mewling wainwright offspring.
Do you think we could compromise
by sending The Stereophonics, Razorlight and Scouting for Girls to Canada?
better not look at all
the hoo hah about the highland clearances and kicking the Arcadians out of Quebec. I think the only solution for the Stereos* et al is sealing them in concrete in oil drums and storing the drums in deep slate mines like radioactive medical waste or co2 from power stations.
* careful though Kelly's half-life is expected be in low 1000's.
you remind me
just how ******* ***** nickelback are
awful music
Related Thread
Jed Clampett has started a thread so we can make some reparations by posting Canadian music we like :
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/thank-you-canada
thank you Canada
We feel bad about the Beatles. Sorry about them. Young upstarts, eh?
We bow before the altars of greatness spewing forth musical delights from your country:
Paul Anka
Bryan Adams
Bachman-Turner-Overdrive
Michael Buble
Celine Dion
Death From Above 1979
Daniel Powter
Crystal Castles
F**ked Up
Sum41
And more, if only I'd heard of the greats, such as Killer Dwarfs and Swallowing Shit. But I doubt anyone has.
Full Lists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_musicians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_from_Canada
And yes, there are some good bands, but those comments are just ridiculous. "Tinny, whinny (sic) noise"?? Have they not heard of Portishead?
A further development by F***ed Up - FEED THE WORLD!
Full story at -
http://pitchfork.com/news/37037-fucked-up-plan-all-star-cover-of-do-they...
They just don't read past the headline
Can we really take a bunch of precious N*ckl*b*ck fans seriously ? Did they actually read the thread ? Did they see what else got a kicking too ? Have they seen some of the opinionated dissections that seem commonplace hereabouts ?
And there seem to be some spurious assumptions underlying the contributions in this thread and for the affronted ones - this forum has international input - we're chucking crap in there from all over. Well I am anyway. If anything, this seems to have more of an age-mindset than a nationality-mindset.
But then, expecting rational critical thinking in any open forum is rather naiive of me. That's why I was surprised by this one and stayed, having avoided pretty much all of the others I've ever tripped over.
Sorry Mr Hepworth
I can't imagine much worse than an inbox full of irate messages from Nickelback fans. Let me know if you need a new 'delete' key after wearing down your present one.
It's the least I can do.
Nickelback
Are typical of "music business" product here in the Great White North
boring,generic,'orrible classic rock production,ugly yet facelessly so. They are product,they shift units, they are feted with music business awards. They are truly the gormless face of corporate rawk!
They may be many things but they ain't
gormless. I get the impression they are pretty smart - they know their market and play to it very successfully. Generic AOR, somewhat cynical - yup. But still better than Theory Of A Deadman (also from the land of the maple leaf)
lets be honest
is there really any difference between the two..I find gormless the perfect adjective...Canada's mainstream "industry" is so laughably stuck in its pre-internet days it is sad..the mainstream music machine is still in its satin tour jackets getting all nostalgic about mountains of cocaine on dressing room riders and its pathetic commercial radio stations..so full of "classic" rock and "alternative" music..a complete and utter shallow circus!
I don't think the industry is stuck
The industry is servicing a sizable and lucrative market. And not just in Canada, but from what I can see in the US, if a recent trip to LA is anything to go by, and Germany too.
And as Nickelback's "Rockstar" illustrates, some bands know things have changed, and can even indulge in a little ironic humour.
i really was not
making an argument that the industry was not selling huge amounts of product..industries sell massive amounts of all sorts of crap all over the planet all the time..if you think they are to be applauded for selling millions of Nickelback Cd's then jolly good for you! The industry will grind on and on and on! teh great thing about music is that if you're perpared to look hard enough there is tons of good music out there..I would site the Arts and Craft label in canad as a label that produces constantly amazing music!
Grrr, those nasty Canadians.
I for one will never listen to The Tragically Hip again...
Canada?
Remind me...
Isn't that the place Joni Mitchell, Neil Young & Robbie Robertson all to had to leave before anyone would take them seriously?
It ain't where you are from, it's where you are at!
*attaches large smiley to reinforce joking nature of post - I like Canada & Canadonians*
Is It True . . .
. . . that Canadians are the only nation to applaud when the plane on which they are travelling lands on the runway? I've never witnessed this, but have been told about it on a number of occasions. No idea if it's true, and if so, why.
This won't help
But I've been on a couple of flights where Italians have done the same thing, and on Canadian flights where no-one has.
I've been on planes where this has happened
Several flights landing in the US - mainly on internal flights, but also on some from the UK.
I've also experienced it on flights to Italy, and on one flight back from Italy.
Aer Lingus
Our flight from Heathrow to Shannon spontaneously applauded when the pilot put the plane safely down on Shannon's tarmac in, what felt like, Dorothy's tornado in Kansas!
I fly to Toronto pretty much
every other month, and no one has clapped on landing. But I might try it next time.
Russians applaud a safe landing as a matter of course
I probably would too if Aeroflot was my national airline
Israel too
Happened both to and from Tel Aviv on El Al. Probably genuine relief there.
This should explain things
As we only have gravity for six hours a day, we are of course very happy when our planes are able to land. I've never seen this applause you mention when I've flown, maybe because we are clutching our seat arms so we don't float away?
The Big Question
Is it safe to dance?
It's so silly...
...to think of music in national terms, anyway. It's not a fucking sport.
Yes. Maybe.
And yet in the UK - a very small island - we persist in thinking about it in regional terms. We place bands on the map, city by city, looking for trends and scenes to discuss. And there is something in that - bands are generally keen to claim / disown their place of origin. Must be something to do with the innately tribal nature of our species. Or it gives journalists something to write about...
I'm a Canadian
and I hate Nickleback with a passion. They represent everything wrong with modern mainstream rock to me.
Also Canadian
Nickelback sucks! We Canucks want to set them adrift on an southbound ice floe chained to some big rocks.
So are we all...
... (crowbars in dreadful, doesn't quite scan, pun) Bored Of Canada?
*gets coat, runs away*