# Why the Hate for Nickleback at Half-Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666 "2011-12-01T03:58:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/1 "2011-12-01T03:58:15Z")
The CNN website must have THE most annoying Op-Ed regulars, often stealing from ESPN. (Or, do they own ESPN?) Anyway, they slammed the choice of Nickleback for the (then) pending Lions game. Even after the game, there were a lot of negative comments against Nickleback. Why? OK, so we don’t all agree on musical taste, but is Nickelback so bad? I don’t get all the pent-up hostility towards them. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/2 "2011-12-01T03:59:28Z")
What’s red and yellow and looks good on Nickelback? fire Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/3 "2011-12-01T04:10:39Z")
Who? Nickelback?? Never heard of 'em. Nickelsack, now them boys suck something truly royal. They are a truly polarizing band. You either love em or have heard 'em before. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/4 "2011-12-01T04:14:26Z")
While desperately trying to find some listenable music this morning, one of the stations I hit had a DJ commenting on the complaints that a Canadian band played at halftime on a U. S. holiday. Could that be it? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/5 "2011-12-01T05:40:48Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > While desperately trying to find some listenable music this morning, one of the stations I hit had a DJ commenting on the complaints that a Canadian band played at halftime on a U. S. holiday. Could that be it? Nah, they’re from right next door to me and I concur with all right-thinking people everywhere in the belief that in a just and orderly universe Nickelback’s second paying gig would have been being drowned in a sack for a laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Untoward\_Parable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Untoward\_Parable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Untoward_Parable)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/6 "2011-12-01T05:53:45Z")
Ya that band is very bad. They should have released a single and nothing. else. ever. At least then people could have imagined what other sweet stuff they might be capable of instead of quickly realizing it was nothing. else. ever. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/7 "2011-12-01T05:56:22Z")
I actually do not hate them. At all. Having heard what passes for pop/top 40 music, I have no idea how it is that it’s Nickelback getting all the hate. Also, no idea what the furor is. It’s not like anyone had listened to Janet Jackson for at least a decade before her wardrobe malfunction, and nobody bitched THEN. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/8 "2011-12-01T06:02:25Z")
Nickelback is a band that has one song with which they mix and match lyrics. They are pure throw-away pop guys masquerading as rockin’ dudes. Their music is very nondescript and nonthreatening, which is why they’re so beloved by the Top 40 set. The reason we had a problem with Nickelback is because it’s part of the ongoing trend with the NFL of finding the least offensive musical acts that they can think of and pretending that we will be entertained. If that’s what they’re offering, why bother? Granted, it’s better than Ashlee Simpson or the geriatric acts they’ve been foisting on us these past few years, but if that’s the best they can do (or are willing to do) most of us will stick to highlights or analysis. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/9 "2011-12-01T06:32:48Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > OK, so we don’t all agree on musical taste, but is Nickelback so bad? I don’t get all the pent-up hostility towards them. A previous thread: > **[Why All The Nickelback Hatred?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=585611)** > > Seriously. Some of you act like this band has never been a decent heavy pop band. Sure, many of their recent offerings suck balls and are primary examples of narcissism, bad lyrics and corporate shlock, but their big CD Silver Side Up actually has... ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/10 "2011-12-01T06:52:08Z")
There was a petition to get the Lions to pick somebody else for halftime: > **[Sign the Petition](https://www.change.org/p/the-detroit-lions-replace-nickelback-as-the-halftime-show-for-the-thanksgiving-game)** > > Replace Nickelback as the halftime show for the Thanksgiving game Some of the reasons given include: They’re Corporate Rock, man and uh… that’s about it. Well, there was the guy who said “Nickelback is to music what Hitler was to European Jews. End of story.” Apparently, Nickelback has been mass-killing other musicians. Seems like you’d hear about that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/11 "2011-12-01T13:43:45Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Nickelback is a band that has one song with which they mix and match lyrics. [QFT](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvujgcbaCF8) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/12 "2011-12-01T13:55:26Z")
Yeah. Why couldn’t they have had a real musician perform at half-time? Like Enrique Iglesias with special guest Pit-Bull. What a joke. The fluffy half-time show, broadcast by a huge corporation, was too corporate and too fluffy? You know what petition I would have signed? This one: Fuck the the half-time show. Tell those pussies to get back out there again and start hitting each other for my entertainment, goddamnit. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/13 "2011-12-01T13:57:20Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > [QFT](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvujgcbaCF8) Is that the one where someone mixed two Nickleback songs together by playing one through the left speaker and the other through the right? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/14 "2011-12-01T14:23:46Z")
Kid Rock is more of a “Detroit” kind of band/singer and represents the area better. [Apparently, Nickelback is willing to do anything to be accepted in Detroit(funny video with them).](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTj3fPYaWmg) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/15 "2011-12-01T16:36:08Z")
The band name presumably also makes them sound football-friendly to the NFL. Although maybe it has some other meaning in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/16 "2011-12-01T16:44:41Z")
They’re like Creed, only less edgy. Seriously, they’re just very bland and boring. They’re not horrible or anything, but a rock band shouldn’t put you in mind of other better rock bands when you listen to them. It shouldn’t make you doze off either. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/17 "2011-12-01T17:02:53Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > Is that the one where someone mixed two Nickleback songs together by playing one through the left speaker and the other through the right? Yes. The verses, chorus, bridge, and dramatic pause all aligned perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/18 "2011-12-01T17:13:13Z")
I like a couple of their songs, though I’m not a fan. They’re just the current band to hate. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/19 "2011-12-01T17:35:33Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Yes. The verses, chorus, bridge, and dramatic pause all aligned perfectly. That made me laugh when I heard it a few years back. Are they are using the same chord patterns in both songs as well? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666/20 "2011-12-01T20:04:20Z")
The hatred for Nickelback sort of confuses me. It’s not that they don’t deserve to be rejected as musicians, it’s just that they share the same faults as all of the other clearchannel corporate music. They don’t seem to be especially bad in this regard. So it’s weird to me that people that listen to all the clearchannel top 40 bland safe corporate rock stuff have randomly decided to throw their hatred at Nickelback, and seem to be oblivious that the reasons they hate nickelback applies to all the other music they listen to. It’s sort of like if there were people that watched all of those daytime tv judge shows, but they all agreed to hate one in particular for no discernable reason. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-nickleback-at-half-time/604666.md?page=2)