Cut Nickelback A Break...That's Right, I Said It.

So Billboard did a piece last week detailing the positively behemoth success of Nickelback's 2005 album All The Right Reasons. The album came out two years ago tomorrow, and has not left the Top 30 Chart since then, selling at least 25,000 copies every week for the 102 weeks it has been on the charts.

Here's where the shocking part comes in:
Nickelback's fifth album, released Oct. 4, 2005, has become a phenomenon that's not only eclipsed "Silver Side Up" but is arguably the biggest rock album of the century so far. It's been in the top 30 of The Billboard 200 for 102 consecutive weeks and is currently No. 7. The last artist in that rarefied position was fellow Canadian Shania Twain, whose 1997 release "Come On Over" spent its first 123 weeks in the top 30.

Is anyone else a little shocked/disturbed by this statement? Biggest rock album of the century? From Nickelback? Did I just see four horsemen fly past?

OK, don't get me wrong; as bands go, Nickelback really isn't THAT bad. They're not really any worse then Linkin Park or Daughtry or 30 Seconds to Mars. What kills them is the fact that they get so much exposure from the radio and the media. Admit it; you wouldn't be nearly as annoyed with Nickelback if you didn't hear one of their songs once every half hour on the radio, and in promo spots for a billion TV shows. Granted releasing 7 singles from an 11-track album doesn't help their case, you don't see Daughtry or even a radio-friendly band like Matchbox 20 getting the kind of nonstop, mind-numbing airplay that Chad Kroeger and company do. In my point of view, this kind of situation has only occurred once before, and gives way to my new music culture phenomenon:

American Idiot Syndrome: When a band releases an album that is by most initial accounts anywhere from 'decent' to 'classic', but then oversaturation by the radio, MTV, etc. results in a sudden shift in approval for that band/artist.

As indicated by the name, this kind of thing happened to Green Day after they released American Idiot. That CD was (and is) amazing on so many levels, and for the first month or two of its release, the masses agreed. Then "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" became huge and got played on the radio a bajillion times, followed closely by "Holiday" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends", and before long the general public turned its back on Green Day, calling them overrated and self-righteous. Half of that may be true; just listen to Billie Joe Armstrong preach on Bullet in A Bible. The same basic thing happened to Nickelback with All The Right Reasons. But it's not entirely a band's fault when they get overplayed. Besides, don't radio stations generally play songs that people request? So then in theory aren't the same people accusing a band of being overplayed or whatever amongst the same people who influence what the radio plays?

Either way, Nickelback has said they're done promoting All The Right Reasons and probably won't re-enter the studio until sometime in 2008, allowing everyone to take a breather and remember that somewhere deep down in their hearts, they know Nickelback isn't as bad as they'd like to believe.

Who knows? We might even come to *gasp* miss them for awhile.

Nickelback - Photograph
Savin' Me
Far Away
If Everyone Cared
Rockstar

Nickelback - A View From the Top [Billboard.com]

==TJ==

Linkin Park toys with fans and Axl's being Axl

Current Music: 30 Seconds to Mars - From Yesterday

Following up on the previous entry, amazon.com's UK site currently has September 17th listed as the release date for Chinese Democracy, which would translate to September 18th here in America. A new logo/potential album cover has found its way onto the net:

Looks to me like its done in the same typeface as one of the early Linkin Park logos:

You decide.

While on the subject of LP, the band says we can expect the first single sometime this month. numerous reports place the release of their fourth album anywhere between April and summertime. For what it's worth, Best Buy's website lists a May 1st release date AND suggests an "EXPLICIT LYRICS" label. Is Linkin Park gonna get dirty on us?

New links on the left; both mp3 blogs that deal in mainstream music. I tend to like Idolator more 'cause it's on a national scale, whereas Music Slut appears largely based out of New York.

I've got more in me, but I'm gonna hold out till tomorrow or Monday when I'm back on campus. Oh yeah, thanks to Heartless Bastard for the link that produced the "Better" rip last entry.

==TJ==

Can You Cover Up These Eyes?

Apologies on the 48 hours without updating. But this is a good one, I promise.

So AOL's music branch has started a project where they bring in current rock bands and have them do stripped-down covers of songs/artists that influenced them. It's actually a pretty good idea. The best example by far is AFI doing David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust":



(Video may not work on Firefox. If so, here's the link. I'm gonna try to upload an mp3 of it in the near future)

They have other covers from bands like Hellogoodbye (Frank Sinatra), 30 Seconds to Mars (The Police), and Rise Against (Buffalo Springfield). So that got me wondering about other bands and what covers I'd like to see them do. Here are 5 of my picks.

Bright Eyes - Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan): A lot of people say artists like Dylan or The Beatles are untouchable and that their work is so perfect it shouldn't be redone by anyone. I disagree. No artist has reached such an echelon. As proof of how a cover can be done right, go youtube Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Paul McCartney's performance of "Numb/Encore/Yesterday" from the 2006 Grammys. Conor Oberst has already drawn Dylan comparisons, and the thought of him hearing him wail on the chorus to one of the greatest songs of the '60s makes me giddy. Odds of this one happening are slim, but it's still one a great musical fantasy of mine.

The Killers - Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney/Wings): I don't know if its The Killers' '80s revival sound, or the fact that the opening lyrics are "When You Were Young..." (also the name of a Killers hit), but I think this song is in Brandon Flowers's wheelhouse. It's got a perfect mix of bravado and campiness, and its totally not impossible to see The Killers try to pull it off in the near future. I'm dead serious here. Can I please get someone at Island Records on this?

Foo Fighters - Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas): Dave Grohl and co. are already known to do this one live from time to time. Since Grohl has already said that the chances of covering anything from Nirvana are slim, perhaps they could do a studio version of this one just for kicks. Ignoring the Foo's lack of a keyboardist, I think this one has some real potential. Foo Fighters have proven they can do the big arena rock-style tracks, I want to see them go all the way with it.

Godsmack - Nothing Else Matters (Metallica): We all know Godsmack can do the 3-minute, balls-to-the-wall rock, but the closest they've come to expanding was "Serenity", which was a solid track to end the Faceless album, and The Other Side EP, which had little to offer since they ignored it after that. Sully Erna has the voice to pull off the soft end of the Metallica hit, and I think trying to expand on the softer edge of their range might yield something pretty cool.

Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac): I haven't come up with who I want doing this one, but there are a couple candidates, and this is definitely one that could turn into a hit for someone if done right. I can see The Fray doing this one (they've got the vocal harmony to do it), or even the Barenaked Ladies (though it might be too serious for them nowadays), or perhaps give it to 30 Seconds to Mars (for a much angstier take on it). But I think The Fray have the best shot of a hit with this one.

That's my list. If you read this blog, please comment and let me know. It'll make me feel better and give my ego that tiny little boost.

==TJ==