Let me go on record saying that I RESPECT Chad Kroeger for how good he is at writing hit “songs” that are smashed into your head with the ferocity and subtleness of a jackhammer, but I still don’t “like” his music.

Apparently I’m not the only one. The Winnipeg Jets, Canada’s newest (returning) Hockey franchise now have a city wide campaign started by the citizens to STOP Nickelback from playing the team’s kick off weekend.

…Winnipeg Free Press are responsible for this open letter to Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League…when it comes to the possibility of a “major Canadian concert act” playing NHL FaceOff, a four day event leading up to the Winnipeg Jets home opener against the Montreal Canadiens on October 9.

The message?  No Nickelback…for the love of god, no Nickelback.

Here’s a few snippets from Williams and Kives’ letter, courtesy the Winnipeg Free Press…

As people who love music and love Winnipeg even more, we have a request: Please ensure this does not happen. The return of the NHL to Winnipeg is something we have been dreaming about for 15 years. Please do not sully the celebration with the presence of a band whose existence is antithetical to the very concept of celebration.

Nickelback began as a derivative act. They processed the post-grunge of the late 1990s — already dated at the time — into an even more homogenous morass. They are the musical equivalent of a margarine sandwich on white bread. The 2001 success of How You Remind Me merely inspired the band to produce even more formulaic music that was derivative of itself. Critics like us have been panning the band so long we have forgotten it once had a couple of hooks.

If Nickelback precedes the return of the NHL, the chant will change from “Go Jets Go!” to “No Chad No!”

Valid, well articulated points.  The pair go so far as to offer an alternative to Nickelback by suggesting the NHL choose Arcade Fire, a group the writers describe as uplifting and anthemic. (More@BusinessInsider)

Music Consciousness
Voyno