Nickelback, "How You Remind Me" & The Slow Death of Grunge

What to say about Nickelback? To say that they are terrible is played out, so very predictable. To say that they are secret geniuses of post-grunge balladry isn’t quite right either. But whatever you may think, their first single off Silver Side Up will always endure. It is the definitive sound of radio for the early 2000s. A nuevo classic rock standard shot through the lens of grunge. 220 seconds of candied hooks, unshakeable melody, and surprisingly crunchy guitars. However forces beyond their control coalesced to make sure that Nickelback became inescapable. This is how “How You Remind Me” happened.

#nickelback #postgrunge #MusicDocumentary

Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.

00:00 Introduction
00:41 But First: What is Post-Grunge?
03:41 The Early Days of Nickelback
09:35 Creating "How You Remind Me"
15:41 The Massive Success of "How You Remind Me"

Soundtrack
Luar - Citrine (  / luarbeats  )
Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
Luar - Anchor (  / luarbeats  )

You can also follow me here:
Twitter:   / trashtheory  
Facebook:   / trashtheoryyt  

The Pitchfork 500 by Scott Plagenhoef and Ryan Schrieber, 2008, Fireside
“Nickelback's Crossover Hit Changes Everything” Corey Moss, MTV News, Sep 2001
“Nickelback: Mint Condition” Jeff Cornell, MTV News, Sep 2001
“Nickelback Down Under” Joe Matera, Australian Musician, Dec 2001
“Cowboy From Hell” Ian Winwood, Kerrang!, Feb 2002
“King of Pain: Heartbreak, Trauma, Jail” Paul Elliott, Kerrang!, Jun 2002
“Nickelback's Next Single Inspired By 'How You Remind Me' Girl” Jon Wiederhorn; Jeff Cornell, MTV News, Jul 2002
“The New Grunge: The Second Coming?” Paul Elliott, Q Magazine, Oct 2002
“Road To The Grammys: The Making Of Nickelback's 'How You Remind Me’” Corey Moss, MTV News, Feb 2003
“Rockstar! How The Fuck Did That Happen?” Tom Bryant, Kerrang!, Feb 2008
“My five-year feud with Nickelback” Ian Winwood, The Guardian, Mar 2008
“A Night With the World’s Most Hated Bands” Chuck Klosterman, Grantland, Apr 2012
“The MH Interview: Chad Kroeger” Eric Spitznagel, Men’s Health, Oct 2012
“Radio-Friendly Unit Shifters” Chris Molanphy, Pitchfork, Sep 2013
“Lorde and the Alternative Chart's Hot 100 Moment” Chris Molanphy, Pitchfork, Oct 2013
“Our Hate Has Saved Nickelback” Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, Nov 2014
“Nickelback Won The ’90s Culture War” Michael Tedder, Stereogum, May 2016
“The Nickelback phenomenon: explaining the world’s most hated band” James Lachno, The Telegraph, May 2017
“The story behind How You Remind Me by Nickelback” Henry Yates, Classic Rock Magazine, Aug 2017
“Farewell to Kerrang!, the lone champion of working-class metalheads” Ian Winwood, The Telegraph, Jul 2020
“Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger Goes Deep on ‘How You Remind Me,’ The Fight That Inspired It & His ‘Jesus Christ’ Hair in the Video” Maria Sherman, Billboard, Aug 2021
“The Number Ones: Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me”” Tom Breihan, Stereogum, Oct 2022


Or support me on Patreon:
  / trashtheory