Chad Kroeger performs with Nickelback at the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.A new documentary, “Hate to Love: Nickelback†premieres at TIFF 2023.
Chad Kroeger performs with Nickelback at the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.A new documentary, “Hate to Love: Nickelback†premieres at TIFF 2023.
This year, the º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøInternational Film Festival attempts to solve one of Canada’s biggest mysteries: Nickelback — why? Or, more specifically, why, more than every other band in the world, does Nickelback evoke such vitriol?
on Friday, seeks to answer that question through an in-depth analysis of the group’s polarizing presence. It’s quite an ambition, considering that, despite the extreme reactions the band tends to garner, so much about them is simply … average.
There’s no denying the band’s success. Since the release of “How You Remind Me†in 2001, Nickelback has solidified itself as a Top 40 mainstay with an astonishing 50 million albums sold. And yet, the band continues to land on the receiving end of punch lines and, frankly, disbelief that in the year of our lord 2023, we continue to hear from them.
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Every well-rounded zeitgeist needs a villain and Nickelback is ours: mainstream rock stars who arose alongside the catalytic, experimental acts of the 2000s and 2010s who were largely the antithesis of mainstream guitar-rock. How could anybody champion Nickelback amid a landscape of Broken Social Scene, Tegan & Sara or Final Fantasy?
It didn’t help that radio play made the band impossible to escape. We now dine at the buffet of streaming apps but, a decade ago, we weren’t given a choice to endure Chad Kroeger’s voice in the name of Can-Con. Thus, what may have been an average band singing average dad rock songs evolved into something more sinister: Nickelback became representatives of an outdated mainstream agenda. They epitomized what better underground music was actively avoiding. The choice to loath was easy.
In many ways, that reaction was understandable. More than a few Nickelback lyrics are overtly misogynist — see “I like the dirt that’s on your knees†from “Figured You Out†(2003) — while others seem like a stream of (semi) conscious thought. From 2005’s “Photographâ€: “How did our eyes get so red? And what the hell is on Joey’s head?†(I mean: rage.)
But so many other, worse bands have generic melodies and dumb lyrics. Nickelback know how to capably play their instruments. Kroeger can sing. Esthetically, they dress like any other dude you’d see running errands on a Saturday, with even Kroeger’s once-iconic wavy yellow bob having been snipped into a sensible haircut. This puts Nickelback in a unique position: they remain culturally relevant, in part, because of how much fun it is to hate them.
While their palatable mediocrity sends many into rage blackouts, the group simultaneously maintains a fan base of millions who adore them. has outlasted trends, TV shows and three presidencies. Twenty-two years after their first single, they’ve managed to maintain — and even grow — their fan base. While so many of us are quick to append “guilty pleasure†to our musical tastes (lest we be judged), Nickelback’s fans are overt in their adoration.
And why wouldn’t they be? Their allegiance to the four-piece from Alberta not only ensures the group’s survival but ensures they’re part of the cultural conversation. It’s quite a feat for an average band who might otherwise have chugged along and been received with indifference.
Instead, in 2023 we’re still asking questions about Nickelback. Why does the band remain so fascinating? Why do they get their own TIFF documentary? And why do we all already know that millions of people are going to end up seeing it?
“Hate to Love: Nickelback†debuts Friday at 2 p.m. at Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. The band plays a free show at the Festival Street Music Stage Friday at 7 p.m. See for information.
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