A new story from the Associated Press explores the gap between critical acclaim and album sales, and asks how it's possible for a band like Nickelback to sell millions of records when seemingly every music critic hates them. The article also names Hinder, the Black Eyed Peas, and Fountains of Wayne as critically dissed bands with strong album sales. It's a real think-piece.
You can read the whole story at Canada.com.
Thoughts:
-Each of these 4 bands is a completely separate case. The Black Eyed Peas get plenty of love, just not when they're releasing crap like "My Humps." Fountains of Wayne had a large underground following before they broke through with "Stacey's Mom," and they continue to be well respected by many people. Hinder is awful, but damn would I love to hang out with those guys.
-I think Nickelback gets a bad wrap. They're generic rock music. How they became the most hated band in music, I will never know. I would consider them the absolute definition of mediocrity; therefore, a bunch of bands would be better and a bunch of bands would be worse. If you hate them because of what they supposedly "represent," then you're putting the music secondary. Honestly, I think most critics don't really hate Nickelback that much; it's just an easy joke.
-Throwing batteries at a band is not funny. It's been done. Philly fans threw batteries at J.D. Drew when he played his "homecoming" game at the Phillies' stadium. You'd think a bunch of people who hate a band for being generic would find a unique object to throw at them. Some people have no sense of irony.
-People need to stop using the "Zeppelin was bashed by critics, too" defense. Zeppelin was the exception, not the rule. Let's not let this get to a point where the guys from Good Charlotte start claiming that they "feel Robert Plant's pain."
-The article makes a great point about New York/L.A. vs. Middle America. Then again, you never see 1,200 pound people from New York or L.A. getting removed from their bed by the Jaws of Life on "Maury Povich." They also don't have sex with deer. So I guess each place has its pros and cons.
-Another great point with the star athlete comparison, although Chad Kroeger is probably a much more clutch hitter than A-Rod.
-You write catchy songs - good or bad - and you're going to have fans. Hell, I bet there are tons of people out there who love that "Laffy Taffy" song.
-A few months ago, I was in the car with my mom and Green Day's "When I Come Around" came on the radio. This was one of my favorite songs growing up, and I think it might have been the first CD I ever bought. As we all know, Green Day is admired by many rock critics. When the song came on the radio, my mom started humming along. Well, that's about as uncool as it can possibly get. Don't get me wrong, my mom rocks, but to have anyone's mom know a song much ruins its coolness factor. What's the point? Everything will eventually become uncool. You just gotta deal with it.
