Chances are not many folks are going to take the time to review the new album from Nickelback and will instead just give it a categorical thrashing. So when the album leaked earlier this week I allowed my curiosity (and yes, my casual fandom) to get the better of me and I grabbed a copy of Dark Horse, the band's sixth record.
Produced by Mutt Lange, Dark Horse is in many ways a far cry from the band's 2005 monster All the Right Reasons. The tone is nastier, slightly more reminiscent of the band's breakthrough Silver Side Up. Leadoff track "Something In Your Mouth" is a stripper anthem a la Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch" that's about as raunchy as the title suggests. The band goes even more balls-out on "Burn it to the Ground", a riot-inducing track that would make even Rage Against the Machine proud. On top of those is the album highlight "Next Go Round", which takes the hair-metal influence the band failed to get right on the last record ("Animals", anyone?) and puts a shotgun to its head. Let it be known here that the common complaint that Nickelback lacks spine is irrelevant. But Nickelback (and Mutt Lange's) greatest success here is getting Chad Kroeger to remove the pole from his ass. For the first time it sounds like Nickelback are actually having fun with these songs. Few moments here feel forced, and where Reasons album closer "Rockstar" quickly became the biggest joke in rock music this decade, this time around "This Afternoon" has a low-key, everyman quality to it that lends itself better to a drunken singalong.
That said, the Candian quartet is still very much interested in getting people to hear the music, hence the smattering of radio-friendly cuts here. "I'd Come For You" has some glaring comparisons to Mutt Lange's last production effort, Shania Twain's Up!. First single "Gotta Be Somebody" will rear its head once more in time for prom season, and Tim McGraw probably deserves a writing credit on "If Today Was Your Last Day" (the lyrics positively wreak of "Live Like You Were Dying"). But even these songs are nothing like the recycled tuneage of All The Right Reasons or the stinker that was The Long Road.
In spite of its successes, you can't help but remember once in awhile that this is indeed still a Nickelback record. The chorus to "S.E.X" is a takeoff of an old joke that every college frat boy has heard or told a thousand times "Sex is always the answer / It's never a question / 'Cause the answer's yes". Groan. Likewise "Never Gonna Be Alone" is a straightforward, boring affair that sounds like it was piecemealed together from "If Today Was Your Last Day" and "Gotta Be Somebody". And overall it just feels a bit too polished. Lange's production is good on the singles, but a bit overdone on the real rockers on the album. It kind of feels like a college dorm that got febrezed a few dozen times before the parents came over. It's clearly dirty and raw, but there's a layer of cleanliness designed to distract you from that. Ultimately it's that distraction that takes away from some of Nickelback's best work to date.
On Dark Horse take an incremental step forward from their past angst-ridden melodramas. It's a very small babystep and the band is still in their comfort zone, but listeners should take their victories where they come. That said, in a year where Coldplay grew up and filled out, Kanye West is channeling 60's soul, and Guns N' Roses are putting a steel toed boot to rock & roll's neck, Nickelback's growth is coming up just a tad bit short.
Final Score: 6.5/10
Nickelback - Burn It To The Ground
Back later with a look at the new Kanye West material and hopefully a look at the newly-leaked David Cook record.
==TJ==
Showing posts with label Nickelback. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nickelback. Show all posts
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Stuff That Fell Through The Cracks
In a strange way, I feel like the fact that my last post got enough attention to get taken down is worthy of being noted. So click here to see the email Blogger sent me to inform me thus.
So in spite of my best efforts, there are still bits and pieces from the music world that end up slipping under my radar and don't get the coverage they deserve here. So I'm devoting this post to giving those stories at least some of what they're due.
=Guns N Roses may yet get to fill out a tax form this year, and the American people may yet get a free Dr. Pepper. Sources close to the band confirm that retail outlet Best Buy has scored exclusivity rights to the release of Chinese Democracy, which may well be out around Thanksgiving (Rolling Stone says mark November 25th on your calendars) if sources are to be believed. It's already been confirmed that a song called "Shackler's Revenge" is on Rock Band 2 and that another song entitled "If The World" will be featured in the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Russell Crowe film Body of Lies. Word on whether or not either song will see a wider, digital release in the near future remains to be seen.
Damn, and here I thought Kevin Cogill had the exclusive rights to Chinese Democracy's release.
=Fall Out Boy are taking umbrage with the release of the video for "I Don't Care", claiming that the label tampered with the vid my adding meaningless product placement. Pete Wentz wrote a rant about it on his blog only to have it get removed by the record label, and having seen the clip in question, I can't say the band's claim is baseless. The editing of the cellphone shot is kinda shady and gratuitous, but since its only there for at best 3 seconds, not sure its worth the complaints. The video itself is fantastic though. Props for the cameos by Mark Hoppus and the fake Sarah Palin.
(The cellphone clip in question is at about 1:34 in this video, which I'm surprised I found given that last I heard it was getting pulled down left and right)
=Metallica is in an interesting jam regarding their new album Death Magnetic. There's been a bunch of complaints about the mastering of the CD, which apparently doesn't lend itself well to being played at loud volumes. Metallica is defending the mastering, saying it sounds exactly how they want it to sound. Likewise, someone went and remastered the album using the version released for Guitar Hero III. Props to Matt at Addicted to Vinyl for getting a copy out there. Since I'm still listening to my leaked copy I can't speak to the sound quality being bad, but anyone who knows for sure is welcome to offer their thoughts.
=Nickelback is offering their newest single "Gotta Be Somebody" for free on their website until 6AM EDT on September 30 (so for the next 6 hours from the time I'm typing this). Idolator hit it on the head when they called this track a prom song, but it's pretty good nonetheless. I can imagine this song scoring a scene somewhere near the end of this season of Smallville, what with the grandiose lyrics and Killers-esque synthesizers in the beginning of the track. Based on this and the fact that apparently Dark Horse might have a "Parental Advisory" tag on it, Nickelback may well be letting their balls drop a bit for this record, sales and spins be damned. This album might be worth the cash after all.
That's all I've got for now. The pulled post from earlier spooked me a bit, so no mp3s with this one. I'll make up for it tomorrow with a shitload of reviews and other goodies.
==TJ==
So in spite of my best efforts, there are still bits and pieces from the music world that end up slipping under my radar and don't get the coverage they deserve here. So I'm devoting this post to giving those stories at least some of what they're due.
=Guns N Roses may yet get to fill out a tax form this year, and the American people may yet get a free Dr. Pepper. Sources close to the band confirm that retail outlet Best Buy has scored exclusivity rights to the release of Chinese Democracy, which may well be out around Thanksgiving (Rolling Stone says mark November 25th on your calendars) if sources are to be believed. It's already been confirmed that a song called "Shackler's Revenge" is on Rock Band 2 and that another song entitled "If The World" will be featured in the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Russell Crowe film Body of Lies. Word on whether or not either song will see a wider, digital release in the near future remains to be seen.
Damn, and here I thought Kevin Cogill had the exclusive rights to Chinese Democracy's release.
=Fall Out Boy are taking umbrage with the release of the video for "I Don't Care", claiming that the label tampered with the vid my adding meaningless product placement. Pete Wentz wrote a rant about it on his blog only to have it get removed by the record label, and having seen the clip in question, I can't say the band's claim is baseless. The editing of the cellphone shot is kinda shady and gratuitous, but since its only there for at best 3 seconds, not sure its worth the complaints. The video itself is fantastic though. Props for the cameos by Mark Hoppus and the fake Sarah Palin.
(The cellphone clip in question is at about 1:34 in this video, which I'm surprised I found given that last I heard it was getting pulled down left and right)
=Metallica is in an interesting jam regarding their new album Death Magnetic. There's been a bunch of complaints about the mastering of the CD, which apparently doesn't lend itself well to being played at loud volumes. Metallica is defending the mastering, saying it sounds exactly how they want it to sound. Likewise, someone went and remastered the album using the version released for Guitar Hero III. Props to Matt at Addicted to Vinyl for getting a copy out there. Since I'm still listening to my leaked copy I can't speak to the sound quality being bad, but anyone who knows for sure is welcome to offer their thoughts.
=Nickelback is offering their newest single "Gotta Be Somebody" for free on their website until 6AM EDT on September 30 (so for the next 6 hours from the time I'm typing this). Idolator hit it on the head when they called this track a prom song, but it's pretty good nonetheless. I can imagine this song scoring a scene somewhere near the end of this season of Smallville, what with the grandiose lyrics and Killers-esque synthesizers in the beginning of the track. Based on this and the fact that apparently Dark Horse might have a "Parental Advisory" tag on it, Nickelback may well be letting their balls drop a bit for this record, sales and spins be damned. This album might be worth the cash after all.
That's all I've got for now. The pulled post from earlier spooked me a bit, so no mp3s with this one. I'll make up for it tomorrow with a shitload of reviews and other goodies.
==TJ==
Friday, September 5, 2008
Nickelback Had Their Fingers Crossed!
Chad Kroeger doesn't seem to be good at keeping promises. Late last year Nickelback assured the masses that it would be some time before we heard from the band again. In my exploration of Billboard's news site as I sit bored in the library, I came across the following.
GAH!!! Who allowed this to happen? Look, I admit to being a casual Nickelback fan, but I'm still hearing all bajillion singles from All The Right Reasons on the radio far too often. When I heard Nickelback was going away for a bit, I thought I'd be out of college before I heard a new song. I kinda wanted that to be how it was. An 18-month hiatus is nothing, especially since I bet you used that time to write and record this new album.
I was having a good night before I heard this news.
==TJ==
New Nickelback Album Due In November
Nickelback's next studio album will arrive Nov. 18 via Roadrunner, just in time for the holiday retail season. First single "If Today Was Your Last Day" will hit U.S. radio outlets Sept. 30.
I was having a good night before I heard this news.
==TJ==
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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==
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==
Monday, August 6, 2007
VLM Makes A Triumphant Return!!
OK everybody, I'm back! The month off was pretty awesome, but let's just dive in to the music!
-The Foo is back! The Foo Fighters have set September 25th as the release date for their new album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. A tentative tracklisting is on their myspace page, and early last week the first single "The Pretender" leaked onto the internet. The song isn't quite as good as "The Best of You", but as a sign of what's to come on the new album, I'll take it. In addition, the Foo Fighters have released a 10th anniversary edition of The Colour and the Shape with new bonus tracks. Normally this would suck and reek of corporate underpinnings, but since the bonus tracks are decent and they don't jack the price of the album up, it marks another classy move by the always awesome Dave Grohl.
Ruling on the Field: 6.5/10
Foo Fighters - The Pretender [via sendspace]
-Joining in on the fun is Jimmy Eat World, who slated October 16th as the release for Chase This Light, and also re-released Clarity and Static Prevails in anticipation. No single out yet, but look for one in the next few weeks.
Ruling on the Field: I want a single, dammit!
-A very large (and probably long overdue) "F--k you!" goes out to Chad Kroeger and the guys from Nickelback. The commercially angsty Canucks just reissued their 2005 smash All the Right Reasons with three pointless live tracks and a DVD of music videos. Since I'm pretty sure everyone who's going to buy All the Right Reasons already did so, this move just marks a cheap marketing ploy to scrounge another 30 bucks out of Nickelback's "hardcore" fans. Real smooth, guys...real smooth.
Ruling on the Field: Fuck you, Nickelback!!
-I Ruckused Sum 41's controversial new album Underclass Hero shortly after coming home, and damn it if it isn't a throwback to what punk rock is SUPPOSED to sound like! The title track is a ballbuster of the highest caliber, and nothing on the album is inherently bad, it just tends to lean into territory already walked by the likes of Blink 182. Regardless, Sum 41 comes through again with what might be the most underrated punk album of the year.
Ruling on the field: 7.5/10
Highlight Reel: "Underclass Hero", "Speak of the Devil", "March of the Dogs"
-My list of CDs I need to hear has expanded, now including Who We Are from Lifehouse (tentative ruling based on what I have heard: 8.5/10), Smashing Pumpkins' new album Zeitgeist, and the new one from Velvet Revolver. More on those when I sit down and hear them in full.
-Linkin Park released the video for their second single off Minutes to Midnight, "Bleed it Out". Love the camera work and the song's awesome, but didn't Coldplay already trademark the whole everything-in-reverse idea?
OK that's all. Back later
==TJ==
-The Foo is back! The Foo Fighters have set September 25th as the release date for their new album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. A tentative tracklisting is on their myspace page, and early last week the first single "The Pretender" leaked onto the internet. The song isn't quite as good as "The Best of You", but as a sign of what's to come on the new album, I'll take it. In addition, the Foo Fighters have released a 10th anniversary edition of The Colour and the Shape with new bonus tracks. Normally this would suck and reek of corporate underpinnings, but since the bonus tracks are decent and they don't jack the price of the album up, it marks another classy move by the always awesome Dave Grohl.
Ruling on the Field: 6.5/10
Foo Fighters - The Pretender [via sendspace]
-Joining in on the fun is Jimmy Eat World, who slated October 16th as the release for Chase This Light, and also re-released Clarity and Static Prevails in anticipation. No single out yet, but look for one in the next few weeks.
Ruling on the Field: I want a single, dammit!
-A very large (and probably long overdue) "F--k you!" goes out to Chad Kroeger and the guys from Nickelback. The commercially angsty Canucks just reissued their 2005 smash All the Right Reasons with three pointless live tracks and a DVD of music videos. Since I'm pretty sure everyone who's going to buy All the Right Reasons already did so, this move just marks a cheap marketing ploy to scrounge another 30 bucks out of Nickelback's "hardcore" fans. Real smooth, guys...real smooth.
Ruling on the Field: Fuck you, Nickelback!!
-I Ruckused Sum 41's controversial new album Underclass Hero shortly after coming home, and damn it if it isn't a throwback to what punk rock is SUPPOSED to sound like! The title track is a ballbuster of the highest caliber, and nothing on the album is inherently bad, it just tends to lean into territory already walked by the likes of Blink 182. Regardless, Sum 41 comes through again with what might be the most underrated punk album of the year.
Ruling on the field: 7.5/10
Highlight Reel: "Underclass Hero", "Speak of the Devil", "March of the Dogs"
-My list of CDs I need to hear has expanded, now including Who We Are from Lifehouse (tentative ruling based on what I have heard: 8.5/10), Smashing Pumpkins' new album Zeitgeist, and the new one from Velvet Revolver. More on those when I sit down and hear them in full.
-Linkin Park released the video for their second single off Minutes to Midnight, "Bleed it Out". Love the camera work and the song's awesome, but didn't Coldplay already trademark the whole everything-in-reverse idea?
OK that's all. Back later
==TJ==
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Snow Patrol gets the Spider-Man single
The soundtracks to the Spider-Man film franchise have been awesome so far, and they've each yielded a single or two. The first one had "Hero" by Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) and Josey Scott (Saliva), as well as "What We're All About" by Sum 41. The 2004 sequel saw the emergence of Dashboard Confessional with "Vindicated". AOL Music just announced that Snow Patrol will get the leadoff slot for Spider-Man 3, due out May 4th, with its new song "Signal Fire". The soundtrack is due out May 1st, according to amazon. No word yet on a video for "Signal Fire", but its a safe bet one's in the pipeline. Meantime here's the track and album artwork. Personally I think the song is alright, but it doesn't hold a candle to either "Vindicated" or "Hero"
Snow Patrol - Signal Fire
==TJ==
Snow Patrol - Signal Fire
==TJ==
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