Nickelback Plagiarize Themselves

Can a band plagiarize itself? One listener in Canada has implied as much by taking two songs by the band Nickelback and superimposing them over one another to emphasize the similarity.

Mikey Smith, a 21-year-old college student and musician in Alberta, Canada, heard two of the band's songs on the radio and immediately noticed something was strange.

"I kind of noticed, well, you can hum the melody of the other one over this one, and I wondered why this is," Smith says. "So I tried to put them together, one on the left speaker, one on the right speaker. And it was actually ridiculous how similar they were."

What Smith noticed was that Nickelback's earlier hit song, "How You Remind Me," sounded very similar to one of the band's newest songs, "Someday." Once the similarity was discovered, the songs started piggybacking around the Internet with the moniker "How You Remind Me of Someday."

Smith admitted that he tweaked the songs a bit to create his musical Frankenstein, but he says he did so to prove how similar the songs are. He wanted to make a point to his friends and girlfriend, a big Nickelback fan.

Well, she was.

"She pretty much despises Nickelback now," Smith said.

Smith said he put his remixed Nickelback song on his Web page so his friends could listen to it. But once on the Web, Smith's creation got loose.

"A lot more people heard it than I was expecting," he says. "And it's everywhere. I couldn't stop it if I tried."

Responses to Smith's discovery have been mixed. Some say he's a genius, while others have been less complimentary.

Nickelback's publicist has not commented on Smith's discovery, but bassist Mike Kroeger was asked about it in an interview with the Cleveland Free Times. Kroeger told the newspaper, "I think that's remarkable for someone to notice that there's a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

Smith says that's grounds for fraud. He claims Nickelback is ripping off its fans, some of whom might not realize it.

This is not the first time a band has been accused of copying itself. In the mid-1980s, John Fogerty was sued by Fantasy Records, which claimed the singer's "Run Through the Jungle" and "Old Man Down the Road" were the same song. Fogerty won the case with the help of expert witness Gerald Eskelin, a forensic musicologist in California.

Eskelin says that just because the Nickelback songs sound familiar, that doesn't mean they are the same.

"The melodies are different in these two songs," Eskelin says. "The only thing that's the same is the bass line or the chord structure."

Read more at NPR.org.

Comments

[Gein]

This is really old news.

But yes, Nickelback sucks.

[getts182]

I remember being young and naive back in the day and buying Nickelback's Silverside Up CD. The article reminded me of how I need to get rid of their music from my collection. Tonight.

[Comeback Kiddd]

This is no suprise. I thought everyone already knew that

[dcoyle4040]

I heard Laars was going to sew them over this because its the same bass notes used in "Enter Sandman"

Oh man this is like two years old.

Not just that, but he sped up someday and removed a line from one of the verses to make them match up better. He also removed as solo from How You Remind Me.

Funny, but fake and ancient.

[HavokStrife]

This is about as old as those two songs are...

[weirdjohn87]

I was pretty sure everyone new this already?

[GuitarJunkie]

i heard that file of the song over two friggin years ago...THATS THE REASON WHY NO ONE LIKES NICKELBACK...old news.

[jpast]

I almost threw up when the bassist compared his shitty band to AC/DC. Thats bush league

[GuitarJunkie]

This kid is an idiot though? fraud? big deal, the band is bad so they needed two singles and made them sound similar.

[thejester]

thanks UG for keeping us posted on this riveting topic

[2late2know]

It's pretty old news, but seriously I don't see why this guys girlfriend will suddenly hate the band out of something like this. I hardly think she can call herself a nickleback fan (or any fan of a band) if she's willing to drop them that easily.
By the way I don't like nickelback too much, but this is kind of pointless to go through this just for not liking them

[Bootsauce]

its never too late when discussing how nickelback has now become a rotting, putrid, stinking bag o' puke..can a band get any dumber or more irrelevant?

[Metal_Rich]

This should have been made a thread in the pit, not a bloody news article, and even then you would have got 1000 people saying "Old as time itself".

Either way, I still like both songs. If it sounds good, why complain?

[Fly-swatter]

that kid is a loser with obviously no life lol...i'm not even a fan of Nickleback i think that kid is a douche.

[Giant Tool]

i think thats a load of crap. it's not plagerism, look at billy talent, all of their songs sound similar because they have their own style. look at korn, they did freak on a leash, which has had several remixes done, so that smith guy is a retard

[pucci6d6]

this article made me lmao so hard through the whole thing
1st, the songs are the "same" (idk i never heard them)
2nd, his girlfriend hates the band now
3rd, just when i thought the article died, the forensic musicologist, i laughed so hard
i hate nickelback, but what a douche for having so much time to do that and diss a band

[-xCaMRocKx-]

yer.. kinda obvious just by listening to them.. most people would just stop there, but some take it too far by putting them over the top with each other. i think we should tell this guy about blink 182, and see how many more "news" stories we can get outta this subject.

[poona]

Man this news is old...many bands are like that anyway. Blink 182, Sum 41, Dragonforce. Nickelback is no exception. I do like to listen to Someday though, its a nice tune

[Cobalt Blue]

i was gonna say, i thought i had heard 'someday' on the radio and turned it off a long time ago...

' "She pretty much despises Nickelback now," Smith said.'
she picked that reason to hate them? I used to like the band actually but then I got annoyed by a vast majority of their songs have the same sort of song structure... you know slowish verse, heavy chorus, repeat.

*shudder* i hope nobody compares Nickleback to AC/DC ever again though.

[dieloony2]

who cares, its nickleback, there not exactly musical geniuses

[South-of-Heaven]

Old. And who cares about complexity?

[Ba11sINurFAC3]

Haha as if there needed to be some innovative experiment to demonstrate how much this band blows.

[break-me-in]

Metal_Rich wrote:

This should have been made a thread in the pit, not a bloody news article, and even then you would have got 1000 people saying "Old as time itself".

Either way, I still like both songs. If it sounds good, why complain?

I agree.

Besides, plenty of bands have done this. Sum 41 have done it, Nirvana intentionally made Rape Me sound like Teen Spirit, AC/DC have so many similar songs it's ridiculous, New Born and Sunburn by Muse have a similar structure, DragonForce have some very similar songs, as do Snow Patrol... The list goes on.

[Ali-b912]

shit i need an edit button,

poona wrote:

Man this news is old...many bands are like that anyway. Blink 182, Sum 41, Dragonforce. Nickelback is no exception. I do like to listen to Someday though, its a nice tune

one of my friends was humming the part after the line take your pants off from the blink 182 song and i realised was identical to dammit also by blink. i played i too him and we laughed our asses off at it for like 5 minutes. i havent heard the take ur pants off one but he hadnt heard dammit and he says they are identical (he has nearly perfect pitch, like a semittone off)

[ironman316]

yeah i heard about this like 6 years ago. he didn't find it out. selfish bastard. lol. i found out on the radio!

[Korzack]

Haha well that's gotta be a first, eh? Specially considering how you remind me's still the song most folk know the band for

[senor_penguin]

hahah pwnd

[CJRocker]

Slow news day I guess...

[stumaster18]

Nickelback is anything but shitty. They are not a joke. AC/DC is a joke. Probably the biggest joke band of all time. Talented, but a joke band. Nickelback is a fantastic live band, and if TWO of their hundreds of songs sound the same, I think it's safe to say we can cut them a break. Like c'mon.

[GuitarGod610]

Distinct style my ass. Nickelback is anything but distinct. They represent everything about music that is bland and stale like a bagel that you leave outside for weeks, or in this case, years. If anything, they're an exact Creed clone at best. Besides that, every Nickelback song I've heard on the radio is the same stuff that they've been spitting out their entire career, not to mention that it's insanely hard to tell all those hits apart from eachother because they're essentially the same song.

[CyreniaBass]

Let them write the music. They have a style that works for them.

[Jondy]

while I agree they could just as well hire a techy to write a nickelback song generator script, this is so old the dinosaurs heard about it before they died.

[Nor'Easterbass]

i heard the mashup on 104.1 WBCN over a year ago. damn this is old news.

[Nebblacktip]

You know, i really hate Nickleback (see GuitarGods610 for all the reasons why, he covered it quite well) And i heard about this and saw the video thingy about two years ago. My roommates and i laughed about it and that was it. Not to compare Nickleback to bands with actual talent, but The entirety of the Ramones First Album Sounds the same, and i love it to death anyway. If the band is good, who cares?

However, i still think Nickleback Sucks. Gabba Gabba Hey

[Paradise Lost]

Just like trivium did with The Crusade/Ascendancy.

They also suck.

[beggles]

The crusade and ascendancy are two completely different albums, you just bought trivium into this so you could say they suck, dont be stupid

[kjlee2112]

i'm pretty sure that you have no life if you pay this much attention to something as dumb as this. if somebody likes the song, let them. jesus. did anybody say this crap about led zeppelin? they have tons of similar sounding songs.

[IlikeMetal]

old as hell news, but its from NPR so...

[IlikeMetal]

...or is it some anti-nickelback person trying to influence public opinion?

im going with some retard stirring up nearly 3yo news, to try and ruin a bands credibility

[Captain Chaos]

Its the first time I hear about this.

[taytay8b]

this is really sad, if you dont like the band, then who cares. obviously i dont care, and neither does anyone else. you got nothing good to say, then dont say it. as well, yes nickelback have their distinct genre of alternative/rock but look at AC/DC, or Billy Talent, or Creed etc. etc. It all sounds the same, song after song after song. As well, if you guys have already listened to this the guy tweaked each song so much that you couldnt even tell what you were listening to. He pulled out a whole bunch of verses from how you remind me and sped up Someday like crazy. So, In my opinion, there not the same song. The chord patters and strum patters dont even match. And as the for the guy who did this to prove his point, what a douche, he obviously has no life. Okay, if a band has a distinct genre then yes you will get stuff that sounds similar. And everyone who thinks this douchebag is right should really post what type of music you listen to so i can make of it too.

[tim311mahoney]

mike kroeger is right, even if his band hasn't put out a good album since The State. but nickelback fans are the MTV type and thus too uneducated to realize the similarities. So no harm, no foul.

[deansouthpaw]

don't you compare zeppelin to nickelback

don't you put that curse on me ricky bobby

[PekarGuitar]

kjlee2112 wrote:

i'm pretty sure that you have no life if you pay this much attention to something as dumb as this. if somebody likes the song, let them. jesus. did anybody say this crap about led zeppelin? they have tons of similar sounding songs.

Man,comparing Nickelback to Zep? At best that is ballsy and ignorant. At worst that is music heresy and a musical inquisition must be started. Begone Music Heathens!

[TJ1991]

cos no band has ever had 2 slightly similar songs...?

[Hexagram]

Paradise Lost wrote:

Just like trivium did with The Crusade/Ascendancy.

They also suck.

I'm sorry Helen Keller, but you must not have even listened to the albums

[alquinna]

Honestly, this was kinda old news man. Other band like linkin Park, Sum 41 and Billy Talent do that. But so what, I still like it. But why would nickleback release their singles sounding like each other. I mean, if you buy their albums, there has to be a few songs that sound diffrent but yet, they release ones that are similar. Im not saying its bad or anything but if they release singles that are diffrent from what they usually do, it would then show how diverse they really are.

[xmurderoticax]

"I think that's remarkable for someone to notice that there's a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

I think he means "When you're a shitty band making shitty music, you tend to lose all creative thought and start dishing out rehashed radio garbage so that we can bullshit our fans into buying our albums (but we honestly still don't know why they do)."

[dcoyle4040]

I like a range of music and someday all you Metal heads will grow up and realize that Nickelback wasnt as bad as you thought. Trust me you will. Then you'll realize that they made millions off there style of music and you ended up as a floor cleaning tech. because you were to naive to open your minds to more than one style of music.
I like music not just one type of music.
Beatles, AD/CD, Metalica, Megadeth, Sabath, Slayer, Judist Priest, Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Mamas and Papas, James Taylor, Ben Harper, Cat Stevens, Yellowcard, Greenday, Cross Canadian Ragweed.....You get it yet?
There popular for a reason.. and its not cuz they suck

[IainDavies_2]

I love Nickelback, and it may be true that Someday and How You Remind Me sound similar but the guy is a loser to think that he's proving something to the world. Although i love AC/DC, you can listen to all of their songs and find that they plagiarised themselves, they always use the same chords, but they're still good. What a loser to think he's proving something. Oh and to Paradise Lost: to Trivium do not suck,YOU SUCK!!! Ascendancy and The Crusade are two completely different albums.

[HukedAnFonix]

If they wrote the song they "copied" and they can get by recycling their own stuff, more power to them. Its their stuff, they can do what they wish with it. Its not the first time its been done, it certainly won't be the last. Listen to Wonderwall, by Oasis, and then listen to their song Do You Know What I Mean? In the non-chorus part, it sounds almost exactly the same. Also Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, and There's No Home For You Here, by the White Stripes, are quite similar in some parts as well. Woohoo. People tweak material that THEY wrote themselves. Not a big deal in my opinion. (Granted the guys from Oasis admit ripping off some people at times, but I don't think Wonderwall ripped anyone off).

[dcoyle4040]

Just to clarify I dont think there the best band ever or anything. Just give them some slack every artist thats written hundreds of songs is bound to change something they like up into something else

[alex-led-zepp91]

im sorry but did kroeger jus call nickleback "distinct"and compare them to ac/dc,
he's havin a laugh

[ze monsta]

rofl, comparing AC/DC to nickelback...

[psychokiller99]

stumaster18 wrote:

Nickelback is anything but shitty. They are not a joke. AC/DC is a joke. Probably the biggest joke band of all time. Talented, but a joke band. Nickelback is a fantastic live band, and if TWO of their hundreds of songs sound the same, I think it's safe to say we can cut them a break. Like c'mon.

lol, wow, ACDC owns nickelback, i don't care from what angle you look at it, commercial success, creativity, talent, malcom and angus could play a lot of different shit, but they wanna rock n' roll, they are great at what they do...those fools from nickelback play what the record label execs tell them to play...garbage

[jdyoungca]

I found this article reasonably hilarious. Living in Canada we tend to get bombarded with bands like Nickleback due to Canadian content rules on the radio, and I have joked in the past that Nickleback has only ever actually written about 3 songs and they just keep cutting them and sticking them back together in a different order and repackaging them for release. But now its been scientifically proven!

[troyponce]

Old news is OLD.

[2mins2midnite]

WAT!!!!
This is stupid, nickleback cannot plagerize themselfs casue they made the music so they cannot get charged.

[mrryan]

if they were metallica they would be suing themselves.

[Metallica708]

This is incredibly old...

[ibanezguitarz07]

who cares if two of their songs sound alike? if people still like the song then why make a big deal just because it sounds like another one of their songs

[ready2breakdown]

Shadows Fall should be the next one to fall out for this out too. But the thing is it's way more evident with them. Most of the Threads of Life sounds like riffs from older songs, riffs and even solos!!! lmao.

[SchitzoJoe]

"When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

Hah. The Beatles have a distinct style, and none of their songs sound similar. Slipknot has a distinct style and none of their songs sound similar. Avenged Sevenfold sounds distinct and none of their songs sound similar. Tool has a VERY distinct sound and 99% of their songs don't sound similar.

He's such a retard.

[Junesongtrigger]

Mikey Smith is a fantastic guitarist, he's from where I live. He isn't an idiot, he just took this a lot further than it had to be taken. It is clear that Nickelback use the same structure in practically every song and every song is very similar but that just proves that people like repetition. Check out Mikey Smiths purevolume website and listen to a song called "On The Wing" because it is wonderful.

[Jondy]

alquinna wrote:

Honestly, this was kinda old news man. Other band like linkin Park, Sum 41 and Billy Talent do that. But so what, I still like it. But why would nickleback release their singles sounding like each other. I mean, if you buy their albums, there has to be a few songs that sound diffrent but yet, they release ones that are similar. Im not saying its bad or anything but if they release singles that are diffrent from what they usually do, it would then show how diverse they really are.

it's because to our ears it sounds very lazy. linkin park you can tell from listening to it, inspite of a formula, that they did spend alot of time and worked very hard on their stuff. nickelback's stuff just sounds very lazy. they never do anything different... hell if they just experiment with effects some more or try new guitar tones it might be different.

[9badarv]

dude, who cares if 2 songs from the same band sound similar. bands usually have a signature sound

[Metallica rulz]

duhh.. every song sounds exactly the same, known that for years. i think its because they use the same picking pattern on the acoustic songs, and on the others...well they just sound the same, no excuse.

[DaddyTwoFoot]

This is literally years old.

[taytay8b]

ok this is pissing me off, the bassist in the interview didnt compare nickelback to AC/DC goddammit! He's using an example, not comparing what bands are better. He said that you'll get other bands LIKE AC/DC using the same distinct style. He didnt say, We're better than AC/DC and we're comparing them and our band is better! You guys should really read before you say shit. And yes I know AC/DC is probably about 10x better than Nickelback, I'm just trying to correct some of you asses who can't read.

[sardonicgoat]

the fact that nickleback makes similar sounding songs doesn't make them a bad band. It's the fact that they suck at making good music that makes them a bad band. i mean there are bands that have distinct sounds, like i can always tell when a song is by the Smashing Pumpkins, or the Mars Volta, or Weezer, or Slipknot, or Jimi Hendrix, or.....you get the point. The good bands have a distinct sound that when you hear them you know it's them and it doesn't remind you of anyone else. The problem with Nickleback is that they have a distinct sound that sounds like every other "rock" band out there today. Not to be a cynic, but the vast majority of new "rock" music sounds the same, except for a few very talented bands.

[bbsbass]

Ali-b912 wrote:
one of my friends was humming the part after the line take your pants off from the blink 182 song and i realised was identical to dammit also by blink. i played i too him and we laughed our asses off at it for like 5 minutes. i havent heard the take ur pants off one but he hadnt heard dammit and he says they are identical (he has nearly perfect pitch, like a semittone off)

ahahahaha! you're both talking about the same song douche. when blink played damnit live sometimes they would say "take your pants off" at the beginning of the song during the intro riff, which is the riff that you're talking about. so yes, i can understand why they would sound the same. since it's the same song. way to go

[samerika]

sardonicgoat wrote:

i mean there are bands that have distinct sounds, like Weezer.
The good bands have a distinct sound that when you hear them you know it's them and it doesn't remind you of anyone else.

Oh yeah i always feel better of being a big weezer fan :P

And yes you are right, every song sounds a bit similar,
for example take the green album, on which eveyr song is very similar.
Or Make believe, you can notice that Cuomo bought a new talkbox, because it is in lots of solos, and only in that album.

This news reminds me a bit of oasis, who have "copied" their selves lots of times, for example they have two songs that use the same chords in the same order and with similar rhythm.

[Megalomaniac16]

Wow, I never realized Nickelback's songs sounded similar! Good thing this article was written!

[lead131619]

OLD! haha i heard a clip that did the same thing a couple years ago when someday first came out..

[Regular_Guy]

A lot of people are complaining about the ACDC comparison in the article. Although ACDC is certainly a much better band, it is true that they are lacking in the variety department, all their songs sound very alike. A lot of bands have songs that sound really similar, Nickelback just happens to have been called on it.
That being said, Nickelback sucks.

Checked.

[CobenBlack]

i dont think it matters, they are a good modern band and in my anything but humble opinion there arent enough of those.

[aliceinnirvana]

I really, really dislike Nickelback.
I liked them when I first heard them.
Then every single that followed sounded identical.
Now every time I hear the singers' voice I want to puke.
Also, yea, this article is about something ancient.

[HumanitysDeath]

You could say the same damn thing about AC/DC, so who cares.

[MrGtD]

When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC,

Did he just compare Nickelback to AC/DC?!

[fiendcracker]

nicleback=posers >.

[scarfacesuit]

nickelback has always sounded the same. this is old.

MrGtD wrote:

When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC,

Did he just compare Nickelback to AC/DC?!

no, he said nickelback sounded the same in their music, and AC/DC does too. he means that they both have distinct styles, not that they're the same style.
i mean, i still like both bands, but this guy has a point.

[radioplay]

Giant Tool wrote:

i think thats a load of crap. it's not plagerism, look at billy talent, all of their songs sound similar because they have their own style. look at korn, they did freak on a leash, which has had several remixes done, so that smith guy is a retard

i agree,and as much im not a huge nickelback fan, look at bands like Boston, U2 and AC/DC...i love AC/DC but to me almost every one of their songs sounds the exact same

the only reason this is on UG is people actually like AC/DC.

[Ishiga]

Everyone knows that Nickelback couldn't write a unique song if their life depended on it. They're a carbon-copy generic piece of sh!t excuse for noise.

They're there for one reason and one reason only.

Saturday night, nothing to do, lots of sound in your ears. That's the one purpose they serve rather well.

[werty22]

Not surprising.

[Elypson]

dieloony2 wrote:

who cares, its nickleback, there not exactly musical geniuses

So you have to be a musical genius to write good music?
Songs dont have to be technical to be good...

I like Nickelback and saw that website 2 years ago. I stil like them, i think they write good tunes.. my music taste goes from one extreme to the other and somedays i just want to listen to something thats easy listening..

Besidses, its not like they claim to be something amazing, if you watch any interviews they do they seem to be pretty humble about their success. Give em a break. Even if they arent your cup of tea..

[earplay]

haha @ haters.

Nickelback is an incredible band.

the end.

[matt_fender_3]

all of ac/dc's songs sound the same. yet no article.
eww i don't like that band

[euan_soad]

Who cares, Maiden use teh same chord progression in nearly every song and look how good they are \m/

[protestthehero8]

jpast wrote:

I almost threw up when the bassist compared his shitty band to AC/DC. Thats bush league

ac/dc is gay anyways. i'd rather listen to Nickelback any day than hear ac/dc's singer's annoying voice. and yes, i know, chad kroeger has an annoying voice as well, but personally i think that ac/dc's singer;s voice is so much more aggravating.

[protestthehero8]

euan_soad wrote:

Who cares, Maiden use teh same chord progression in nearly every song and look how good they are \m/

AMEN. Maiden rule.

[Wylde-Carde]

Egads..Nickelback recorded two songs that sound the same...with some tweaking....just like AC/DC did with the riffs in "Who Made Who"(1986) and "Thunderstruck"(1990), and just like Alice Cooper did with his songs "Reflected" from Pretties For You(1969) and "Elected" from Billion Dollar Babies(1973)..

[yonathon]

i think nickelback are pretty awesome so screw you all hahahahahah

[吉他手成年]

Yeah i heard about this a while ago on some news station

[British Josh]

i laughed at that forensic musicologist guy. seriously. its like "What do you do for a living?" "Oh, I'm a t.v. repair man. And you" "Oh, well I'm a forensic musicologist." haha

[the boogieman]

very old news

but it gives me hope that society will finally boycott nickelback

[tamargoguitar]

I love these guys but i hate the fact that they compare themselves to ac/dc

[LosVatos88]

nickelback is a terrible band with hardly any technical skill or creativity at all...not trying to offend anyone, just stating what i believe to be true

[Cresspo]

taytay8b wrote:

this is really sad, if you dont like the band, then who cares. obviously i dont care, and neither does anyone else. you got nothing good to say, then dont say it. as well, yes nickelback have their distinct genre of alternative/rock but look at AC/DC, or Billy Talent, or Creed etc. etc. It all sounds the same, song after song after song. As well, if you guys have already listened to this the guy tweaked each song so much that you couldnt even tell what you were listening to. He pulled out a whole bunch of verses from how you remind me and sped up Someday like crazy. So, In my opinion, there not the same song. The chord patters and strum patters dont even match. And as the for the guy who did this to prove his point, what a douche, he obviously has no life. Okay, if a band has a distinct genre then yes you will get stuff that sounds similar. And everyone who thinks this douchebag is right should really post what type of music you listen to so i can make of it too.

Dream Theater, Symphony X....well, not really sounding EXACTLY the same all the time right?

on topic:
I have this wma file on my pc...(yeah i know, start the flaming) and it's indeed weird but i really hated to see someone compare nickelback with ac/dc....it;'s just disgusting

[rebreh]

It is pretty old news. Besides I rember when they fist came out they were good. But they sold out to pop rock now there songs suck huge ginormous eggs

[guitgrinder]

OK, so I've discovered a couple things reading the comments here:
1) It is musical "heresy" to compare NB to AC/DC or Zeppelin, and 2) You're all saying the smae things over, and over, and over...

I'm not the biggest Nickleback fan, though they've got a few that are decent, but I'm gonna defend a statement from them here. He didn't say "we're just as good as AC/DC," he basically said that some bands have "predictable songwriting." And if you argue that AC/DC does not, then you're an idiot, 'cuz even they themselves know that. It's all about giving the fans (whoever they may be) what they want to hear. Some bands just choose not to be so adventerous in their sound... especially when it's one guy doing 98% of the songwriting. Since it's "blasphemy" to compare them to AC/DC and Zep (which, btw, LZ I & II are basically the same album), I'm gonna compare them to the almighty Slayer. Slayer have done like, 10 songs over and over throughout the past 20 years or so. Kerry even admitted that. I guess what I'm sayin' is that it don't really matter if you play the same 3 chords in two diff. songs as long as you find other things to do differently... like lyrics, drum patterns, whatever. If you hate Nickleback, why do you care? If you like Nickleback, why would you care?

[Second Rate]

I don't dig nickleback, but there is nothing wrong with a band copying itself. It's just a formula they know is gonna work..... A "security blanket" you could call it. If they had written their singles by swiping riffs and melodies from other artists (like i dunno... Green Day or Lamb of God), then I could see a reason to complain.

[chuckschuldiner]

Old or not, this isn't news at all. Just a real obvious fact that everyone should have been able to point out by themselves.

[koolfoolinapool]

leadgtr wrote:

dcoyle4040 wrote:

I heard Laars was going to sew them over this because its the same bass notes used in "Enter Sandman"



THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE BECAUSE METALLICA WOULD SUE ANYTHING THAT HAD A PULSE IF THEY COULD!!

All they ever sued was Napster.

They actually supported Beatallica when they were getting sued.

But I'd be pretty pissed if someone stole my bass notes and put em in their song.

[Kegan]

dcoyle4040 wrote:

I like a range of music and someday all you Metal heads will grow up and realize that Nickelback wasnt as bad as you thought. Trust me you will. Then you'll realize that they made millions off there style of music and you ended up as a floor cleaning tech. because you were to naive to open your minds to more than one style of music.
I like music not just one type of music.
Beatles, AD/CD, Metalica, Megadeth, Sabath, Slayer, Judist Priest, Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Mamas and Papas, James Taylor, Ben Harper, Cat Stevens, Yellowcard, Greenday, Cross Canadian Ragweed.....You get it yet?
There popular for a reason.. and its not cuz they suck

comparing the beatles and bands like yellowcard or green day is about as stupid as you can get.

The beatles have (or had, rather) talent and brilliant songwriting ability, while yellowcard writes whiny punk songs for teenage kids without musical taste. The beatles have over twenty-five or so singles, while yellowcard has less than ten. It takes actual musicians to write good albums from beginning to end. Listen to Rubber Soul or Revolver for a week, and then try and compare the two bands.

And, of course, Nickelback is crap, but so is a good 45% or so of music. Apparently this is old news anyways.

[Seidenschnur]

I spoke to Chad Kroeger once about how I heard "This Is How You Remind Me" on the radio about 30 times a day. He then pointed to the venue (Aragon Ballroom, Chicago--around 5,000) and said, "We wouldn't be able to pack this place if you didn't hear it!" I shit you not. He was remarkably clever and he also was about 5'10" tops. He's just an average sized Canadian dude who writes the most predictable pop drivel since 'Nookie' by Limp Bizkit. Thanks for nothing, Chad.

[MrDude]

Oops I Did It Again and Hit Me Baby One More Time are pretty much the exact same song.

Also, Sum 41's new song Underclass Hero is basically a mash-up of some of their old songs.

[Major Seventh]

Nickelback... 5 albums, 4 chords. Although I don't actively hate them, they are probably one of the blandest bands in existence.

[Astaldo]

i really like nickelback
the guitar is my tone and chads voice is awesome

[BLS australia]

Hey stuff all u freakin idiots. YOU DONT EVEN KNOW GOOD MUSIC EVEN IF IT HITS U IN THE FACE! Nickelback are one of the only bands which can pull off countless number one's. They deserve more than all u people out there abusing and degrading them.

[wyldeshredder]

BLS australia wrote:

Hey stuff all u freakin idiots. YOU DONT EVEN KNOW GOOD MUSIC EVEN IF IT HITS U IN THE FACE! Nickelback are one of the only bands which can pull off countless number one's. They deserve more than all u people out there abusing and degrading them.

manufactured,plastic ass,push my wheelbarrow of money to the bank pop/rock...i guess if thats what makes u tick....

[Longshanks]

Has anyone noticed that Linkin Park does this in like every one of their songs?

[thankyougermany]

mrryan wrote:

if they were metallica they would be suing themselves.

ROFL!

[SoftParade1967]

So what? Nickelback is an amazing band and nothing can change that. And for what wyldeshredder said. THERE NOT FUCKING POP ROCK!!!! there ****ing metal!! Listen to there good songs! Side of A Bullet, Animals, Woke Up This Morning, Holdout your Hand, and contless other songs. Those are ****ing metal riffs!!

Nickelback owns all the modern day bands.

[jplay5]

well first off, i hate nickelback...ruining the record industry

secondly, when everyone finally gets tired of nickleback, the singer can sue Hinder, because those two bands are ****ing identical pieces of shit

[Longshanks]

SoftParade1967 wrote:

So what? Nickelback is an amazing band and nothing can change that. And for what wyldeshredder said. THERE NOT FUCKING POP ROCK!!!! there ****ing metal!! Listen to there good songs! Side of A Bullet, Animals, Woke Up This Morning, Holdout your Hand, and contless other songs. Those are ****ing metal riffs!!

Nickelback owns all the modern day bands.

Learn to use the correct use of the word "there" (there, they're, their).

[DopeDanny]

omg a band copied themselves!! yea ok shit like that where songs sound alike has been around with the ramones and misfits and probably way before that shit like the old jazz guys n shit would do each others song and so on n so fourth

[nickel3t]

stumaster18 wrote:

Nickelback is anything but shitty. They are not a joke. AC/DC is a joke. Probably the biggest joke band of all time. Talented, but a joke band. Nickelback is a fantastic live band, and if TWO of their hundreds of songs sound the same, I think it's safe to say we can cut them a break. Like c'mon.

AC/DC is no joke...ur the joke

[BLS australia]

Nickelback are a band which sound as awesome live as the studio recording! people dont realise how good of a songwriter Chad Kroeger is.

[dann_blood]

the1 wrote:

Nickleback suck ass. Radio Rock with predictable chord changes and cheesy as hell tunes that make youy cringe.

Yes, because you are obviously the guitar virtuoso of our time.
But wait, according to 90% of UG, you have to be writing music as technical as say John Petrucci or Paul Gilbert to be considered good!
Not to mention that half you twats complain about hearing radio songs. TURN OFF YOUR FUCKING RADIO'S!! Download the albums from torrentz and you'll see that the other half of the albums are decent hard rock tunes.
And again, most of you fail to realise what the point of releasing a "single" is about - getting popularity. What music company in their right mind is going to put a single out that the minority might like, but the majority wont?
When someone defines why Nickelback is actually a bad band, apart from the ever useful "but they play teh powerchordz!!!, they sound like teh popzorz rockzorz, they arent Led Zeppelin!!!", then maybe I will change my opinion on them.

[BLS australia]

HASN'T ANYONE HEARD SIDE OF A BULLET? IT WAS DEDICATED TO THE ONE AND ONLY DIMEBAG DARRELL! IF ANYONE SAYS THAT SONG IS BAD OR EVEN HINTING TO IT, THEN U R SERIOUSLY F**KED IN THE HEAD!

[sum_ugly_man]

nickelback's only "good" song is the tribute to only and only dimebag darrell, the rest are too, i donno, too nickelback-ish, theyre really overrated, and im a canadian who's saying that

[fluffylump2]

OH REALLY?

[BLS australia]

Stuff all that prog crap, who cares if ur a virtuoso which can shred 100 notes per second. It doesnt always have to be technical, like all those crappy ass prog bands like dream theatre. The things they lack which good bands like nickelback have. MELODY, MEMORABLE LYRICS AND CATCHY SONGS. ( these are just some of the many feats of nickelback and their awesome musicianship.)

[sherwood123]

BLS australia wrote:

Stuff all that prog crap, who cares if ur a virtuoso which can shred 100 notes per second. It doesnt always have to be technical, like all those crappy ass prog bands like dream theatre. The things they lack which good bands like nickelback have. MELODY, MEMORABLE LYRICS AND CATCHY SONGS. ( these are just some of the many feats of nickelback and their awesome musicianship.)

that made me LOL so hard. Just give up now, you will NOT win this argument. Old news too.

[Heavy Metal Man]

BLS australia wrote:

HASN'T ANYONE HEARD SIDE OF A BULLET? IT WAS DEDICATED TO THE ONE AND ONLY DIMEBAG DARRELL! IF ANYONE SAYS THAT SONG IS BAD OR EVEN HINTING TO IT, THEN U R SERIOUSLY F**KED IN THE HEAD!

I agree, side of a bullet is a awsome song. Nickelback are a awsome band!!!!!
Who cares if two songs sound remotely the same, no true nickelback fan would give a S**t.

NICKELBACK ROCK!!!!!

[evilangel98]

pretty much every band does this.....i don't see what the big deal is. I'm not the biggest nickelback fan, but i like some of their songs.

[The Man Himself]

Did you guys know that Dirty Deeds by Acdc also sounds like TNT by Acdc? Nobody cares, Nickleback sucks because they ***** themselves out. Nickleback is pop and pop is designed to appeal to a larger audience, thats why it has things about it like the whole song surrounding the chorus just to get one catchy hook. Some people like a catchy hook and some people hate it because they look more into whats going into the music. Nobody has to shred 100 notes per second they just have to be doing it for the right reasons.

[vIsIbleNoIsE]

his girlfriend is an idiot for consequently hating nickelback

[motorbreath_445]

im not so sure everyone knows about this, but john fogerty was allready accused of "plagerising himself", only it was by his old lable. and as i seem to recall (after decided in the U.S. supreme court) that you cannot plagerize yourself. so in conclusion...shut the **** up for the love of god

[laxslinger]

Nickelback are popular whipping boys for wanna-be rockers and 'serious' music fans, much like Beavis and Butthead. But clearly many people love them as their last three CD's have sold more than any rock group out there right now. Many people love to hate them but millions just plain love em.

[guitarsolo_17]

yep...hey to let the poster of this know...Yngwie Malmsteen is considered an amazing guitarist, and he uses the same licks in alot of his music..but it's still great listening...really quite pointless to try and find similarities...

[GreekRockr9]

jpast wrote:

I almost threw up when the bassist compared his shitty band to AC/DC. Thats bush league

True dat brother.
I hates me some Nickelback.
The guys girlfriend needs to get over herself.
And lately I've been half expecting a UG headline saying "GUITAR LEGEND JIMI HENDRIX DIES FROM CHOKING ON VOMIT".

Don't flame each other.

Checked.

[taytay8b]

okay, if you guys think nickelback is so crapy, then listem to their first full-length album "Curb", it was an indi release, its been re-released as a major but its all very very heavy grunge/metal riffs that appeal to metal fans. They lost this heavy-ish type of sound when they went mainstream, trust me, do some downloading or something, Curb is their best and heaviest album, with some good old style metal riffs straight from 1996!

[smurfpiss]

This is insanely childish, both songs just happen to be in the same key utilizing the same scale. The melodies are different and more importantly in the type of music Nickelback does it's the lyrics that are most important so NEWSFLASH! the lyrics are different and that is more than enough to separate them. They are telling two totally different stories discussing two different issues...

Moreover tell me how many songs in the world use the oh so famous I-IV-V progression? Every one is plagiarizing each other then..

When it comes down to it production qualities, lyrics and arrangement really separate songs from each other not some stupid chord progression..

[kryzay311]

a radio station around here did that with 2 Creed songs, too. funny how Creed and Nickelback are both pretty bland

[PAsistem]

PekarGuitar wrote:

kjlee2112 wrote:

i'm pretty sure that you have no life if you pay this much attention to something as dumb as this. if somebody likes the song, let them. jesus. did anybody say this crap about led zeppelin? they have tons of similar sounding songs.


Man,comparing Nickelback to Zep? At best that is ballsy and ignorant. At worst that is music heresy and a musical inquisition must be started. Begone Music Heathens!

thats ballsy? well then i must have bowling balls for what im about to say. there is NOTHING good about led zeppelin. all of their songs drag on and on and go nowhere and they are terribly overrated. but i guess theyre the COOL band to like and jimmie page is the dude to have a hard over. at least nickelback songs dont make me want to fall asleep. led zep is DATED. i will listen to nickelback and like what i hear. and that, my friends, makes me feel a lot better than going on a thread getting on the anti-creed/nickelback bandwagon.

Checked.

[true_rocker3122]

lmfao!! i knew all of their songs sounded the same....like crap

[Masonpwiley]

Old news. Every Nickelback song sounds the same to me.

[the_bi99man]

Cobalt Blue wrote:

i was gonna say, i thought i had heard 'someday' on the radio and turned it off a long time ago...

' "She pretty much despises Nickelback now," Smith said.'
she picked that reason to hate them? I used to like the band actually but then I got annoyed by a vast majority of their songs have the same sort of song structure... you know slowish verse, heavy chorus, repeat.

*shudder* i hope nobody compares Nickleback to AC/DC ever again though.

He wasn't even comparing Nickelback to AC/DC in a musical sense, or a quality-of-music sense, he was just pointing out that AC/DC is another band that everyone loves who has an extremely distict style that makes them sound so similar to themselves that could release a brand new song that no one in the world has ever heard, tomorrow, and anyone who listens to AC/DC would know it was them after the third powerchord. On to Nickelback: No one cares if their songs sound the same, as tons of people have already said. Turn on your local pop music station and listen for 20 minutes, you'll see. Nickelback is still better than just about every other pop-rock band out there, mostly because they know how to write a good metal riff when they need to. Seriously, their newest album is loaded with great metal riffs. "Follow you Home", "Fight for all the Wrong Reasons", "Side of a Bullet". Good old-fashioned metal -minus the vocals. I know I'd rather listen to anything by Nickelback than Fallout Boy, Hinder, Doughtry, or anything else that gets play on pop music stations with electric guitars.

[Bobbito315]

First of all imo the man did imply that he was in the same league as acdc. Which would be a false statement.
To me nickelback is a band that writes songs based on what people want to hear rather than on talent and skill. But I don't blame them, I would write the same pop bullshit that you hear on the radio every five minutes if it sold 5 million of my albums like it has for them. As far as side of a bullet goes, it sounds so heavy to you mainstreamers because they purposefully tried to imitate the style of dimebag as tribute, they've said it themselves the article's probably still here on UG. Nickelback is indeed the very definition of a mainstream rock band, not hard rock. Hard rock to me would be something like present day Metallica. And as for the creed comparisons, Creed had Mark Tremonti who is one hell of a guitarist, I don't even know who the guitarist is for nickelback. So imo Creed>nickelback.
And I don't know anything about their old stuff so everything I said above is only relevant to present day.

[Thrasher21]

nickelback suck, why does anyone even care about there music, its pathetic, now kreator and venom thats music right there...

[pratt121]

Nickelback... cheesiest lyrics ever?

Every song sounds the same, the lyrics are shallow and loser-esque, and I strive to be as far from them musically as possible. I can't understand how they're so commercially successful, but that's America for you.

[Rockwillnevrdie]

well clearly nickelback sucks, that must be why they have sold so many albums and made more money then any of you will ever see, yeah they definitley suck live too, thats why they have sold out shows all over the country, and the way that their songs are played on the radio and all of yours aren't....that definitley says they suck eh

...tools, get a clue

[rockr09]

I like some of their songs, such side of a bullet and How you remind me, well, and some of their singles when I haven't heard them a million times. They aren't the best band, but their certaintly no Fall Out Boy or other various "wannabe" emo bands.
And Side of a Bullet is not metal, just cause they detune their guitars, turn the gain up some, put in a pinch harmonic everynow in then, and put in a "Chopped up Dimebag Solo" does not make it metal.

[DANZIG767]

rockr09 wrote:

I like some of their songs, such side of a bullet and How you remind me, well, and some of their singles when I haven't heard them a million times. They aren't the best band, but their certaintly no Fall Out Boy or other various "wannabe" emo bands.
And Side of a Bullet is not metal, just cause they detune their guitars, turn the gain up some, put in a pinch harmonic everynow in then, and put in a "Chopped up Dimebag Solo" does not make it metal.

THANK YOU!! i HATE side of a bullet, its a terrible song, leave the real metal to the real metal bands

[Crack_Hitler]

Nickelback songs all sound the same? Tell us something we don't know.

[breadfan82]

It's about time somebody called Nickelback's bluff. Their song do all sound the same. Now, if we could just get someone to do the same to Godsmack...

[breadfan82]

*songs

[super_wipper]

Big deal, atleast they didn´t copy someone else,like two hundred other bands out there does. Why hate them for using a kick ass bass line and chord structure again, that they come up with? Metal fans are the most childish and crying fans there is. Look at blues or jazz its pretty much always the same chord structure.

[Sloofus]

Should try the same thing with audioslave

[Rajah]

As most have already said, this is so damn old! Not even worthy of a news story. There was a MP3 of the exact song doing the rounds years ago.
You'd get the same thing with many bands.

[Rajah]

And for those who haven't heard it, where have you been?
http://jeffmilner.com/2005/02/this-is-how-you-remind- me-someday.htm
Posted in May of 2005.

[metallica72487]

thats no suprise alot of songs sound alike especially ones on the radio thats kinda of funny that guy would put that much time in effort in just to try to figure that out even if a song does sound similar just because you just realized that doesnt really mean you should stop liking the song if you actually liked it before

[spiderfizz]

"I think that's remarkable for someone to notice that there's a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

so he's basically saying that their songs are aloud to sound the same bacause they're awesome? surely true "hit quality" isnt a song that sounds dull and identical to most of your other songs

[Mr_Whatsisname]

the offspring does the same...listen to the chorus of "dirty magic" and then to the "have you ever" chorus... the same thing on the riff of "long way home" and "can't repeat" kindah lame...cuase actually they CAN repeat :P

[chinesechipmunk]

I vastly prefer both songs combined than on their own... is it just me who thinks that?

[timmy2tone]

I can't believe they compared themselves to AC/DC.

Now thats a real joke.

[t3h guitar n00b]

Leave nickelback alone. So they use the same key and chord progression in two songs. Everyone says they sound the same, he isnt comparing himself to ac/dc, he is just making a point. I completely agree with him, some of ac/dc songs sound the same just like most of nickelbacks do. Im not saying nickelback are great, but what about oasis, they use similar chord progressions. Just stop bagging them

[Eternal_One]

Wow I heard this like 2 years ago. Old news, but I guess new to some.

[Art13]

listen to Disturbed, now they have the same songs with different lyrics

[tesla_fan]

well i for one dont like nickelback, but they still sell alot of records so they must be doing something right. anyway most of you homos are just pissed because they found success and your still at home playing in your gay little garage band doing cover songs

[SicSeb]

jpast wrote:

I almost threw up when the bassist compared his shitty band to AC/DC. Thats bush league

They didn't compare the bands. Just that they both have a style of their own.

I don't like Nickelback but if you try your best to persuade your girlfriend that her favorite band sucks than you are pretty much a tosser.

[wilson 595]

I ****ing hate this band and I ****ing hate the people that claim this copying shit even more

[Dewey1040]

anybody who knows nickelback knows that every other song they write sounds the exact same, they have fast paced songs like animals which sounds almost the exact same as Favorite Damn Disease(i think thats the name of the song) and then theres the softer side of nickelback which 7/10 songs written by this band sounds like. Photograph, How you remind me, Savin Me, all that shit sounds the same.

And then teh guy says when you have a distinct style you run the risk of sounding similar, and that is why this band sucks ass. Learn how to write a variety of music like talented bands like all those bands you look up to.

[nikh158]

Status Quo anyone? They`ve recorded just two songs in 40 years, the fast one and the slower one. And managed to make them stretch over about a gazillion albums. Maybe they`ll sue the Foo Fighters, as the breakdown in their latest tune (the pretender) sounds just like every Quo record ever made (well the fast ones anyway).

[Zebrahead_SICK]

GuitarGod610 wrote:

Distinct style my ass. Nickelback is anything but distinct. They represent everything about music that is bland and stale like a bagel that you leave outside for weeks, or in this case, years. If anything, they're an exact Creed clone at best. Besides that, every Nickelback song I've heard on the radio is the same stuff that they've been spitting out their entire career, not to mention that it's insanely hard to tell all those hits apart from eachother because they're essentially the same song.

ok mate, if you cant tell the dif between side of a bullet and far away, then i recommend seeing a doctor about your ears.
i am a fan of the band and i do see some similarities between the two songs, but that guy says they are ripping off the fans. No-one is forcing them to buy anything, they are spending money because they like a song. end of. also, as people have said, many bands do this,

[pete38]

nickelback suck end of story! They gayed up drop d and then tune down a step and gayed up drop c tunings!

[soulphonate]

I never knew about this. Anyways, just shows they have a limited style (i.e.-Their style isn't a versatile one). Perhaps I never heard about this because I don't listen to them. Whenever I listen to the radio it's either classic rock or NPR. And when I watch t.v., usually syndicated sitcoms. Anyways, play more versatile stuff lazy bastards! Get out there and mix it up.

[FretboardToAsh]

Like I give a damn, or like anyone else does. Several bands just recorded the same song and mixed it a different way to put it out on an album. I haven't heard anyone complain about all those megadeth re-recordings of every album they have.
If you like it buy it, if you don't **** off and complain somewhere else.

[Necro-cide]

Giant Tool wrote:

i think thats a load of crap. it's not plagerism, look at billy talent, all of their songs sound similar because they have their own style. look at korn, they did freak on a leash, which has had several remixes done, so that smith guy is a retard

One problem with your comparisons there mate.

Billy Talent are also absolute wank.

And what the hell?

Freak on a leash?

You just mentioned it and said there were remixes, that backs up your point in absolutley no way.

You, sir, are a douchebag.

[Necro-cide]

I guess this is pretty much the same as the "Red hot chilli peppers" argument in essence.

[Necro-cide]

the_bi99man wrote:

I know I'd rather listen to anything by Nickelback than Fallout Boy, Hinder, Doughtry, or anything else that gets play on pop music stations with electric guitars.

While i didn't agree with your whole comment, i agreed with this bit.

[SpiderInMyRoom]

"I think that's remarkable for someone to notice that there's a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

Now this, this is truly why I can't stand this band. And I thought it was just Chad Kroeger who was the arrogant douchebag.

[emo=Fights=yay]

large hater of any nickleback put on the radio but i still think this doesnt matter its not their fault that their F**k wits they probably didnt realise. on the other hand i do like the song "animals" if im in calm mood.

Checked.

[steelovdeth]

how dare they mention AC/DC!

[lastknownsurviv]

Like the band care what anyones got to say.
theyve made it and there's a reason theyve made it and thats coz there catchy.
i dont see the problem with them to be honest theres a reason why their albums been in the charts for almost two years. its not fluke or luck.
it's because they sound the same but theyve got something that every1 can listen to at anytime.
so all you people out there need to re think why you hate nickleback, because all it is, is you matter of taste, and probably a great deal of peer presure.
i bet most of you at some point liked them, but have been forced away from them coz of your peers opinions.
your all closet fans else you wouldnt be reading this.
end of.

[2icdude]

no, the reason we're reading this is cause we love seeing nickelback, a band with no real musical talent besides throwing some catchy vocals over 4 chords for 3 minutes, getting called out for sucking. the reason their albums are on the charts is because people who dont know anything about music hear nickelback on the radio and find their songs catchy... but really its not catchy once you realize that every song of theres is incredibly simple and similar to each other .. not to mention that no musicians that i know actually like nickelbakc cause they realize that theyre not talented. at all

[warfalcon53]

buttloads of bands do that. fade to black and the unforgiven are the same exact chord progression. they sound completely different which is awesome, but they are the same thing, from a musical stand point. all of ac/dc's songs are the same. but the worst ever is slayer. every friggin song, same crap, angel of death, raining blood, south of heaven is just raining blood at quarter speed. youve really just gotta face it, so much music has been made music is just gonna be the same stuff over and over again...oh yea, and nickleback does kinda suck. and most of their crap is the same too, everything his him goin "ahhh, aaa aahahh" and then some "melodic" thing after. such dook.

[Gregoric]

i've learnt several iron maiden songs on guitar which have literally IDENTICAL progressions..here's a few..

For the greator good of god's verse riff is exactly the same chords as the chorus for blood brothers

Different world and hallowed be thy name all have exactly the same chord progressions in their verse riffs and are the same as the first part of the evil that men do's chorus...

There's two examples but it's not like Iron Maiden are being stitched up for fraud by some arrogant student who is just doing it because it's something to do.

I'm not a nickelback fan but I think doing them for fraud is just bullshit, they can write their songs however they like, because they're THEIR songs.

[Nick_porter333]

Also try 'Enter Sandman' and 'King Nothing' by Metallica... (but i couldn't really care cause they are both good songs... i mean, the lyrics are different, and it sounds different at a first listen, so i cudnt care less (same with Nickelback))

[zepledfan413]

I don't get this...why do we have to analyze music SO much? Why isn't this kid concerned with rap? I can't tell the difference between an of those so called "songs"

Whatever, I'm gonna go play guitar.

[AngusVanSlash]

psychokiller99 wrote:

stumaster18 wrote:

Nickelback is anything but shitty. They are not a joke. AC/DC is a joke. Probably the biggest joke band of all time. Talented, but a joke band. Nickelback is a fantastic live band, and if TWO of their hundreds of songs sound the same, I think it's safe to say we can cut them a break. Like c'mon.


lol, wow, ACDC owns nickelback, i don't care from what angle you look at it, commercial success, creativity, talent, malcom and angus could play a lot of different shit, but they wanna rock n' roll, they are great at what they do...those fools from nickelback play what the record label execs tell them to play...garbage

I completely agree. To say that Nickelback is a better band than AC/DC is ignorant. You say that Nickelback is a great live band like AC/DC couldn't play a live show to save their life. AC/DC could arguably be one of the greatest live bands ever. And they've been doing it for over 30 years now. And even through the 80's and the hair metal and the power ballads era, AC/DC has never once sold out and put 4 weak love songs on an album (Photograph, Far Away, Savin' Me, & If Everyone Cared). I don't mind two songs sounding similar, & I agree that every band has its own sound, but don't dare compare Nickelback to AC/DC cause AC/DC will kick their ass in every way from musical talent to performing live. That's all I have to say.

[Slooj]

why are you all saying he is comparing Nickelback to AC/DC or Zeppelin? he was giving an example you retards

[davibrods]

xmurderoticax wrote:

"I think that's remarkable for someone to notice that there's a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style, such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

I think he means "When you're a shitty band making shitty music, you tend to lose all creative thought and start dishing out rehashed radio garbage so that we can bullshit our fans into buying our albums (but we honestly still don't know why they do)."

I would personally phrase it as "We're a pop band and all pop songs have to sound the same to have popular appeal or people who aren't really into music and just listen to the hits will feel alienated and won't like it, therefore pop bands have to make the same old songs over and over". But then again, I'm a polite person and don't push my musical tastes on others, so i'm not bothered if a random nickleback fan reads my pos, because i doubt they'll get offended.

[ArcherTheVMan]

what difference does it make?

[rocksheretostay]

This is really old news. And I mean, Mike was right. Nickelback does have a pretty unique sound, and they base everything around several types of Rock and Roll chord progressions and patterns, so sooner or later their bound to become similiar. But its not the same song, Someday has so many more effects and has a solo, and how you remind me has a much more 'rock' sound to it. Plus, these are both from earlier in Nickelbacks career before all the right reasons and if you listen to their new cd, they really have evolved and no longer use simple chord progressions. So if you really want to hate nickelback because 2 of their early songs are similiar go ahead, but i guarantee you'll never see as good of a concert as nickelback

[Kegan]

PAsistem wrote:

PekarGuitar wrote:

kjlee2112 wrote:

i'm pretty sure that you have no life if you pay this much attention to something as dumb as this. if somebody likes the song, let them. jesus. did anybody say this crap about led zeppelin? they have tons of similar sounding songs.


Man,comparing Nickelback to Zep? At best that is ballsy and ignorant. At worst that is music heresy and a musical inquisition must be started. Begone Music Heathens!


thats ballsy? well then i must have bowling balls for what im about to say. there is NOTHING good about led zeppelin. all of their songs drag on and on and go nowhere and they are terribly overrated. but i guess theyre the COOL band to like and jimmie page is the dude to have a hard over. at least nickelback songs dont make me want to fall asleep. led zep is DATED. i will listen to nickelback and like what i hear. and that, my friends, makes me feel a lot better than going on a thread getting on the anti-creed/nickelback bandwagon.

despite me thinking you're just trying to be "ballsy" (or proving your musical manliness, or whatever you're trying to impose upon UG readers) I have to assume you've never listened to a Led Zeppelin song all the way through.
That being said, I hate Stairway to Heaven and most of their longer songs, but you'd probably enjoy tracks like "Travelling Riverside Blues" or "Heartbreaker" as much as the next person.
that is, unless you hate 60's recordings (AKA "the best recordings!") with a passion or something.

[Kegan]

I should also mention that Franz Ferdinand's second album has two songs, one after another, which sounds almost exactly similar. ("Evil and a Heathen" and "You're the reason I'm leaving")
But, that doesn't mean I've stopped liking Franz Ferdinand.
Lots of songs sound similar. That doesn't mean they have spoil the band's other songs.

[Arch1119]

Nickelback does suck....listen to the lyrics of "If Everyone Cared"...they basically say that they are the exemplary people and that if everyone was like them the world would be a better place...if everyone was actually like them...i'd call it hell

[caucasian_ninja]

I was hoping for someone to mention this publicly, so that Nickelback would have to answer to it. Muwahahaha! All their songs do sound exactly the same; start with an acoustic or clean guitar, let Chad bark over it, distort it at the chorus, play riff A distorted, chorus, bridge with simple lead, chorus, back to clean for the outro. All sounds the ****ing same...

Also, "forensic musicologist"? What the hell?

[Gab_Chris]

if u guys despise nickelback for this particular reason, it would be logic to despise acdc as well (we all know that acdc wrote ''only one''song in their lives but ''arranged it'' in different ways ). If u don't despise them then stop despising nickelback too. (talent is not the issue here)

[Darkone666]

they try to compare themselves with AC/DC?!?!?!
thats crap he isn't half the guitarist Angus is.

[Kegan]

Rockwillnevrdie wrote:

well clearly nickelback sucks, that must be why they have sold so many albums and made more money then any of you will ever see, yeah they definitley suck live too, thats why they have sold out shows all over the country, and the way that their songs are played on the radio and all of yours aren't....that definitley says they suck eh

...tools, get a clue

Sales have nothing to do with talent, and I'm certainly not the first person to have ever pointed that out.

To call us 'tools' because we don't like a band despite its high sales could very well mean that we're tools for not liking the Backstreet Boys, N-Sync, or Britney Spears. Perhaps you're the one without logical opinion?

That being said, I suppose everyone's entitled to musical opinion. All the same, how many albums are sold means little to a band's ability or talent, and only makes them richer money-wise.

[goldmember1217]

Nickelback is god awful. I can't stand them.

[bassmanjoe08]

Im sure if you name ANY artist, youll find 2 or 3 of their songs that sound the same.

[Zebrahead_SICK]

i think people should lay off nickelback. I know everyone has the right to own opinion, i understand, but some of you guys are just going too far.

many bands have songs that sound similar, thats not a reason to start going mental flaming the band.

A lot of you guys keep talking about talent. they may not be the most technically demanding songs in the world, but nickelbacks talent is being able to play the music they love for their fans and sells millions of records around the world.

and for the last time, THEY ARE NOT COMPARING THE ABILITY OF THEIR BAND TO AC/DC! He is saying that they both have unique styles, so all of those people who have gone ZOMG,AC/DC PWN THEM, HOW DARE THEY COMPARE THEMSELVES!!!!!, i highly recommend learning to read.

[GU1T4R-H3R0]

well this is really old and everyone and their brother has seen this video but im posting it anyway http://youtube.com/watch?v=BbCzGt7S7M4

[leeprechaun]

Nickelback are awesome, someday and how you remind are both great songs, this smith guy's pathetic, just because nickelback are a successful band and he's not he has to try and knock them,...thats why hes the music student and nickelback are the ones with CDs on the shelves

[AC/DC10]

Fogerty won the case by bringing in his guitar and playing the two songs.

[lextexrex]

Gerald Eskelin, a forensic musicologist in California.

Sounds like he has fun everyday.

[saosin22533]

haha nickelback
i really dont like them and this sounds like them, me and my friends who have a club against them we always say every song sounds the same, the funny thing is all of the songs are bad

Checked.

*Tries to extinguish the flame-fest futilely*

[5_Strings]

dcoyle4040 wrote:

I heard Laars was going to sew them over this because its the same bass notes used in "Enter Sandman"

what's there in enter sand man's bass line to steal anyway ?

[Rajah]

Even the damn article this was taken from is 2 and a half years old! Why bother having this as news?

[TragedyxLLBD]

Fly-swatter wrote:

that kid is a loser with obviously no life lol...i'm not even a fan of Nickleback i think that kid is a douche.

hahahaha.
so true, muh feathuh'd friend.

[Cobalt Blue]

the_bi99man wrote:

Cobalt Blue wrote:

i was gonna say, i thought i had heard 'someday' on the radio and turned it off a long time ago...

' "She pretty much despises Nickelback now," Smith said.'
she picked that reason to hate them? I used to like the band actually but then I got annoyed by a vast majority of their songs have the same sort of song structure... you know slowish verse, heavy chorus, repeat.

*shudder* i hope nobody compares Nickleback to AC/DC ever again though.

He wasn't even comparing Nickelback to AC/DC in a musical sense, or a quality-of-music sense, he was just pointing out that AC/DC is another band that everyone loves who has an extremely distict style that makes them sound so similar to themselves that could release a brand new song that no one in the world has ever heard, tomorrow, and anyone who listens to AC/DC would know it was them after the third powerchord. On to Nickelback: No one cares if their songs sound the same, as tons of people have already said. Turn on your local pop music station and listen for 20 minutes, you'll see. Nickelback is still better than just about every other pop-rock band out there, mostly because they know how to write a good metal riff when they need to. Seriously, their newest album is loaded with great metal riffs. "Follow you Home", "Fight for all the Wrong Reasons", "Side of a Bullet". Good old-fashioned metal -minus the vocals. I know I'd rather listen to anything by Nickelback than Fallout Boy, Hinder, Doughtry, or anything else that gets play on pop music stations with electric guitars.

you make a point. i would much rather listen to Nickleback than any of those bands. but my reason for not liking them that i didn't feel like going into earlier was one time my mom played Silver Side Up (i think thats the name of the album)literally 12 times in 2 days. until I took the CD out of the player and hid it for 8 months. to this day the sound of the guys voice just fills me with rage. before that point I did like the band.

[dale-banez]

dieloony2 wrote:

who cares, its nickleback, there not exactly musical geniuses

haha that gave me quite a chuckle

[Revolution_87]

anyone actually really listened to nickelback after silver side up? if u think their material after that is "shit" then you guys really dont know music very well.

Nickelback are great songwriters and Chad Kroeger gets way too much stick for what reason? writing a commercially successful song or 2?

And Nickelback are just as good as AC/DC imo. Since Back in black the dc have sucked major ass

[Revolution_87]

sorry for bein a nuisance guys but wen ppl rip on good bands because of commercial success or somethin it really annoys me.

if ur gonna rip into someone make it a true violater of good music like 50 cent or Jessica simpson or something.....although jessica simpson would get tapped lol

[HellrzngPinhead]

Doesn't this moron realize that when you write music you generally write your melodies and chord structures within a particular key, and this is bound to happen? Especially in a semi-pop rock band, where the structure of the songs follows a very monotonous pattern. If you want to hate a band, find an easier way of doing it and a better reason than saying "Oh, these songs sound exactly alike."

On another note, why does a kid who has enough free time to dick around with a pointless task such as this even HAVE a girlfriend to begin with?

[fagelamusgtr]

I think a lot of people already knew that nickelback copied a lot of melodies and riffs from other songs of theirs. My mom knew it and she only ever heard their songs a few times.
I noticed this about a year ago. Only on person, the rythme guitar in my band agreed with me. Now I know im not the only one who thought that.

[zackk]

yeah, their songs sound similar. i still like them although the sole reason some people dont like them is becuase they are popular. it doesnt matter if the music is good or not, they are popular and a select group of people are going to hate them for that reason. also, like thier bassist said, listen to ac/dc. some of thier songs are remarkably similar.

[wombcat]

A band plagiarizing themselves? That's like telling someone that you just thought the same thought twice, and having them accuse you of stealing your own thoughts from yourself. I actually don't like Nickelback,though, so I am not defending them.

[kradamek]

i guess the same thing happened wit ac dc like it said in the article. i think lots of ac dc songs sound alike but thats my opinion

[boxcarblink94]

question, WHO CARES?
the dude who made the remix should get a life and do something meaningful with himself.

[Kereth]

Honestly... listening to the mashup right now (and yeah, I know it's old) and um... apart from having the same length in verse and chorus, they sound nothing alike. Different vocal melodies, different guitar parts etc. I mean c'mon, of course there's going to be similarities in chord structure and stuff, but at the end of the day, you can tell a huge difference between the two.

The guy who did this hates the band so much, he has to try and make everybody else hate them? Dude should get a life. I hope he's spent the last couple years since he did this trying to get one.

Other than that: Nickelback aren't that bad. I like them... so sue me.

[LaLaLaLoopy]

I give nickelback credit, all you hear is how everyone hates them,yet every album sells more than the last.Is "all the right reasons" their "back in black" their "Sgt pepper" who knows but they are doin somethin right.So their not the heaviest band out there or topics and lyrics aint all that dark but they are a solid rock band....I saw em live and they put on a better show than VanHalen...now before you jump all over me,I didnt say they were better than Halen, just put on a better show...as for this article, pointless....

Cleared/Checked.

You flame, I warn. Simple as that.

[grunger549]

i personally cant stand nickleback, but for real a lot of bands have songs that sound similar to each other.

oh and just because Side of a Bullet is dedicated to Dimebag doesnt mean its a good song.
i love pantera and damageplan;i love dimebag. but side of a bullet is a shitty song and i think Dimebag would be better honored by a band that is actually metal

[RyanMcCartney]

Lets be honest...

There's nothing that hasn't already been done.

If Nickelback have found the perfect formula for making a hit record, then we should all take a leaf out of their book.

Originality can only be found in the persons style of playing their song, many songs sound similar where no news of plagiarism comes up...

One that springs immediately to mind (due to it never being off the radio) is 'The View - Same Jeans'... which is a complete rip off of Fat Boy Slim's remix of 'Brimful of Asha'...

[Nybb]

Wow, commenting on articles like this is almost pointless, lol.

Like everybody else, I have this song on my computer from like two years ago. Old news. But he edited the songs...this shouldn't be a reason to dislike them all on its own.

The fact is, though, that this is intentional...Chad Kroeger said in an interview that ever since their big hit "How you Remind Me" that he's been trying to follow that same musical formula in order to create more hits.

[toolmns]

The State - only good album before their big shitty hit how you remind me.

[Amoremon]

What bullshit. The two songs "sound similar". Wow, what a ripoff. I feel so ripped off now I might go and cry. The kid is a moron. So what if they do sound similar, they're both quite decent songs, and really, if this is a ripoff, then you can call every second song a ripoff by a "lookalike riff" or a "similar toned chorus". And of course most people here are now using it just to spit more on a band, which makes the situation even more pathetic.

Get a life people. This is making an elephant out of a fly. You people just have nothing better to do. And just for the record I am not really a Nickelback fan. I'm in fact a person who know what OPINION is.

[Amoremon]

And lol, just for the record, I googled for this mix he made. Let's say the songs are NOT at all that alike. They start similar, the chords are similar in the beginning, but later NOTHING sounds the same. Especially the choruses, and man, the singing is different all along...and he made "How You Remind Me" a lot quieter because of that. Just to "make" them fit. And I bet he's lying, if his gf stopped liking Nickelback because of this, then she's either a really lame fan, or he's way too manipulative...or whatever, not like I care...

[dann_blood]

Article is ancient.
And well, UG seems to have shown how completely ignorant and hypocritical so many on this site are.
So they arent the most technical band in the world, they have singles that are popular to mainstream. Listen to a WHOLE album from Nickelback and tell me that the other tracks dont even it out. Dont give me the "id rather not have my ears bleed LOL LOL LOL" BS.
And someone, PLEASE, state to me why Nickelback are such a bad band that also doesnt apply to the bands you like?

[everlong93]

And well, UG seems to have shown how completely ignorant and hypocritical so many on this site are.
So they arent the most technical band in the world, they have singles that are popular to mainstream. Listen to a WHOLE album from Nickelback and tell me that the other tracks dont even it out. Dont give me the "id rather not have my ears bleed LOL LOL LOL" BS.

yeah agreed- nickelback singles- crap, nickelback albums- awesome.

[buckethead_jr]

dann_blood wrote:
And someone, PLEASE, state to me why Nickelback are such a bad band that also doesnt apply to the bands you like?

We don't like their sound?

[Azwethinkwedo]

do you think if nickleback read these comments then they would consider killing them selves. or changing their names and moving to asia.

[Ace Frehley]

^Lol!Well he didn't discover something new.All the american Hard Rock songs sound REALLY familiar!At least the vocals!Listen to Nickelback,Theory of a deadman and 3 doors down and you will see the similiraty.

[Kegan]

LaLaLaLoopy wrote:

I give nickelback credit, all you hear is how everyone hates them,yet every album sells more than the last.Is "all the right reasons" their "back in black" their "Sgt pepper" who knows but they are doin somethin right.So their not the heaviest band out there or topics and lyrics aint all that dark but they are a solid rock band....I saw em live and they put on a better show than VanHalen...now before you jump all over me,I didnt say they were better than Halen, just put on a better show...as for this article, pointless....

Sgt Pepper contained musical genius AND sold well.

See that little difference there?

I hate to sound like I'm bashing Nickelback, but they've got a hell of a long way to go before they reach the level of quality that the beatles stumbled upon with Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

[korn_dawg]

9badarv wrote:

dude, who cares if 2 songs from the same band sound similar. bands usually have a signature sound

Yeah.. but they're sayin it's the exact same chords with the exact same rhythm and time and the lyrics match up musically almost exactly from song to song, the only difference is one song has a solo and the solo was removed for the other. Like, if it was a different band doing it, they would be sued for plagiarism and not just simply labeled a Nickelback "ripoff" or "wannabe". Although this news is ancient. Old Nickelback is alright I think, you can't even recognize them if you only know newer songs.

[rebreh]

Guys, every band has one song that is similar to another.

[bamann]

Mr. Smith probably would be hard pressed to write one song...let alone two. Oh, sorry, I forgot. He's a genius. Who cares?

[Symmetry4321]

ha, thats funny =]

[vanzahan]

whoever said nickelback sucks is an ignorant dumbass. just coz you dont like the music doesnt mean they suck.
and you know what, they do have a distinct sound. and maybe some songs do sound similar. but they're making more money off those songs than any of you are right now im sure. at least they have the capacity to make some sort of music. so lay off them man. im not a fan of nickelback myself but come on.

[RachelRC]

Someone needs to tell the bassist that it's not a destinct style when TWO OF YOUR SONGS (or all of them if you're anti-nickelback like myself) ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!!!

[2icdude]

RachelRC wrote:

Someone needs to tell the bassist that it's not a destinct style when TWO OF YOUR SONGS (or all of them if you're anti-nickelback like myself) ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!!!

lol true

[Vengeance00]

Of all band sin the world for mike Croeeger to compare himself to he picks AC/DC.
Hell's bells = Photograph?

[mofo99]

Nickleback is not my "favorite" band, but I do enjoy listening to them... and shit they have a formula that sells records! Thats why the music industry exists. There are 1,000s of songs that sound similar, so who gives a shit...They are popular because they write "radio" tunes. I love it all from Metal to Sinatra. So Smith is an idiot and just because a band writes songs that millions of people buy, doesn't mean they suck, its just they know how to write hit songs. Even if you dont like it. And why compare bands? AC/DC and Nickelback are two totally different bands in different eras who both wrote "popular" music that sold millions Just listen and enjoy the music who cares about all this other BS!

Cleared/Checked.

[blueskid99]

it happens.music has been around since the beginning of time,and i guarantee that anytime someone writes a song,it's probably been done before.it's a lot like literature in the theory that there is only one story.to say that it's fraud is retarded.besides-all rock music consists of are I-IV-V changes with a ii or a vi thrown in here and there.it's really not that big of a deal,and to crucify a band over something like that shows narrowmindedness.if you want to show a rip off,try evanescence.the bridge from "Call me when you're sober" is the exact same as the bridge from "bring me to life".it's even in the same key...

[benwillrock21]

Making some songs is copying form other songs. Also its not like that all songscan be differnt in every different way. If u take a couple of pages from sheet music you will notice a pattern with the chords that will come up often. For example a realy common one is GCFBEAD. aND NICKELBACK RULES END OF STORY FOR THOSE SH*T BAGS WHO ARE JEALOUS IF EM

[maJ estY]

mrryan wrote:

if they were metallica they would be suing themselves.

What an incredibly fresh and original joke.

[godofthunder95]

Nickelback has their own discinctive sound. Every song sounds alike. If they want two songs to sound pretty similar they can because they wrote the songs. I think that its their own decision. Both songs rule and they dont even sound that alike. You are WRONG!!!!

[xtylerakatoastx]

PAsistem :
PekarGuitar wrote:

kjlee2112 wrote:

i'm pretty sure that you have no life if you pay this much attention to something as dumb as this. if somebody likes the song, let them. jesus. did anybody say this crap about led zeppelin? they have tons of similar sounding songs.


Man,comparing Nickelback to Zep? At best that is ballsy and ignorant. At worst that is music heresy and a musical inquisition must be started. Begone Music Heathens!


thats ballsy? well then i must have bowling balls for what im about to say. there is NOTHING good about led zeppelin. all of their songs drag on and on and go nowhere and they are terribly overrated. but i guess theyre the COOL band to like and jimmie page is the dude to have a hard over. at least nickelback songs dont make me want to fall asleep. led zep is DATED. i will listen to nickelback and like what i hear. and that, my friends, makes me feel a lot better than going on a thread getting on the anti-creed/nickelback bandwagon.

i agree. i like nickelback alot more than zepplin

[altophoenix]

five iron frenzy wrote two different songs with the same melody/music and only changing the words, they sound different, but you can play them together and it is freakin' amazing to listen to!!!

[Kegan]

I really can't help but think you guys who say things like "there is nothing good about led zeppelin" are just asking for attention.

Anyone who actually knows Led Zeppelin's catalog well enough to judge their overall musical ability will tell you that they have plenty of songs with little or no "bore-factor" in them.
If you're actually going to go out on a limb and use words like "nothing" when describing a band like Led Zeppelin who get plenty of credit for their prescense in the evolution of Rock and Roll, at least look at the more exciting songs like "Misty Mountain Hop" or "Communication Breakdown," especially before calling them boring.

[Longshanks]

xtylerakatoastx wrote:

PAsistem :
PekarGuitar wrote:

kjlee2112 wrote:

i'm pretty sure that you have no life if you pay this much attention to something as dumb as this. if somebody likes the song, let them. jesus. did anybody say this crap about led zeppelin? they have tons of similar sounding songs.


Man,comparing Nickelback to Zep? At best that is ballsy and ignorant. At worst that is music heresy and a musical inquisition must be started. Begone Music Heathens!


thats ballsy? well then i must have bowling balls for what im about to say. there is NOTHING good about led zeppelin. all of their songs drag on and on and go nowhere and they are terribly overrated. but i guess theyre the COOL band to like and jimmie page is the dude to have a hard over. at least nickelback songs dont make me want to fall asleep. led zep is DATED. i will listen to nickelback and like what i hear. and that, my friends, makes me feel a lot better than going on a thread getting on the anti-creed/nickelback bandwagon.

i agree. i like nickelback alot more than zepplin

Please go and do the rest of humanity a favor and go jump off a bridge. And while you're at why don't you go ahead and name all of Zeppelin's "tons of similar sounding songs."

[AgentHappyDay]

"When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

LMAO. i knew every song of theirs sounded alike, i just never heard of all this happening. i hope nickelback wrecks their tour bus.

[PlayMeSomeFloyd]

When you copyright a song what makes up those rights are words and melody. I could name dozens of songs that sound similar. If someone could copyright a chord progression the music available to us as a listener would be SIGNIFICANTLY less than it is. I know alot of people dislike Nickelback because they are popular and have gained major sucess (which I personally find rediculous), but like them or not, the idea that they are "ripping off" thier fans because a couple songs sound pretty close is really reaching. This guy's girlfriend needs to find someone who has better ways of occupying his free time.

[scorchy21]

Nickelback is just a group of desensitized guys that play what the mainstream music companies tell them to. They are not smart enough to be original and write DIFFERENT songs without reusing old material.
Fans of Nickelback are just getting duped into buying old crusty records that have been recycled over and over. The moral is that if you are not intelligent enough to differentiate between the likes of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, etc. and a band like Nickelback, then you should rethink your musical preferences.
Also, the IQ of Mr. Chad Kroeger is below forty.
Thank you.

[scorchy21]

Moreover, you should listen to killswitch engage, august burns red, Mastodon, etc etc etc i could go on forever.
The point im making is that THAT is real melodies and real rhythm. Fresh and new every time.
Go ahead. Flame me. I DARE you.

[dann_blood]

scorchy21 wrote:

Nickelback is just a group of desensitized guys that play what the mainstream music companies tell them to. They are not smart enough to be original and write DIFFERENT songs without reusing old material.
Fans of Nickelback are just getting duped into buying old crusty records that have been recycled over and over. The moral is that if you are not intelligent enough to differentiate between the likes of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, etc. and a band like Nickelback, then you should rethink your musical preferences.
Also, the IQ of Mr. Chad Kroeger is below forty.
Thank you.

Your saying that Nickelback arent original, despite creating their own style of rock?
Telling us to differentiate between ACDC and Nickelback? Theyve got one thing in common, the majority of each bands songs sound similar to previous songs each band has written.
Go learn some theory and come back, tell me that rock bands dont have similar sounding songs.
Last, tell me to rethink my musical preferences? I recommend you fill your head with something other than air. My musical preferences consist of much more than Nickelback, plus a much wider variety of music genres, but that seems to be a tad more than your brain can handle.

[Pertenozzo]

Rofl at the idiots fighting in the news section ^^^ .

It is NOT a surprise that Nickelback is one of the worst bands ever to come out of Canada.

[Misfit-FTB]

It's not so surprising coming from this crappy band.

[wolfden]

This is retarded. Who cares? are they good songs? personally yes. You guys, rap songs do this ALL THE TIME. ****in sampled beats and the time signitures are 90
% the same.

[nathan900]

Nickelback has their own sound....?

[MaxerJ]

Hah what's funny is that bands like Firewind, Slayer, and Dream Theater can do the same thing and STILL SOUND FREAKING AWESOME.

And so nickleback have lost all cred and are trying to get out of it by comparing themselves to ACDC...

it's just too funny...

[kinghate69]

did nickelback just seriously compare themselves to AC/DC???

[fretsonfire74]

kinghate69 wrote:

did nickelback just seriously compare themselves to AC/DC???

i was just about to say that, and yes they did, retards.

[Captain Planet]

his girlfriend is a tool. if you love a band, you wouldn't start to hate them just because you discover two of their songs are similar.

[irishman]

stumaster18 wrote:

Nickelback is anything but shitty. They are not a joke. AC/DC is a joke. Probably the biggest joke band of all time. Talented, but a joke band. Nickelback is a fantastic live band, and if TWO of their hundreds of songs sound the same, I think it's safe to say we can cut them a break. Like c'mon.

NO!

[slash4lyf]

you cant despise a band for working around THEIR old material. it's good they can progess to make a new song like that. everyone that says nickelback sucks have no idea of creative music. you can dislike them but you cant say they suck, they're f$Kn brilliant musicians. if you dont like nickelback, listen to other songs than what you hear of them on the radio and if you still dont like tehm thats your opinion.

[curzor]

SO WHAT!?!? does it mather? god! they're a good band with beautiful songs, thats all that counts! jesus...

[molloy]

[stumaster18 wrote:

Nickelback is anything but shitty. They are not a joke. AC/DC is a joke. Probably the biggest joke band of all time. Talented, but a joke band. Nickelback is a fantastic live band, and if TWO of their hundreds of songs sound the same, I think it's safe to say we can cut them a break. Like c'mon.]

i guess wolfmother are musical prodigys aswell then

[Got-ReVerb?]

thats ballsy? well then i must have bowling balls for what im about to say. there is NOTHING good about led zeppelin. all of their songs drag on and on and go nowhere and they are terribly overrated. but i guess theyre the COOL band to like and jimmie page is the dude to have a hard over. at least nickelback songs dont make me want to fall asleep. led zep is DATED. i will listen to nickelback and like what i hear. and that, my friends, makes me feel a lot better than going on a thread getting on the anti-creed/nickelback bandwagon.

Nothing good about Led Zeppelin? Dated? You're a complete ****ing joke kid.
You're probably one of those trashy guitarists who thinks playing a few power chords makes you a virtuoso.
Led Zeppelin have done a hell of a lot for the evolution of Rock N' Roll, and have accomplished way more than you EVER will in your entire pathetic life. Do us, and yourself a favour, quit playing guitar and go dance around in traffic, the world has enough retards in it already.

[civilunrest]

Who really cares? Do they rip anyone else off? I think they are a pretty good band, and you shouldn't 'despise' a band because two songs sound alike, otherwise there would be very few people listening to punk.

[XXm3t@lXX]

who cares.
civilunrest is right
alot of punk songs are that way.
especially 80's hardcore...
the meatmen are an example

[ecfirefam]

Seriously.....If you can name a band, ANY band, they will have at least two songs that sound the same - if not more. There is still some true creativity but how many times can you write songs without SOMETHING sounding the same?@!?!

[Panny180]

"When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."

What?

[Ewalker21]

Since we are on the topic of bands plagarizing themselves then why don't you bring up the songs of 'Bad Religion' and 'The Enemy' by Godsmack. It sounds like they just reused the chords from that with the same melodic breakdown and added another guitar to it. Personally, I think Nickelback has sold out just to sell some albums. I'm so sick of their new CD I just want to punch Chad Krogger right in the face. I mean seriously, how many f*!cking ballads or fufu songs can you put on an CD??? Isn't one enough? Dude really needs to grow a pair, use them, and start singing about shit more relevant. If you are going to bag on Nickelback's music, bag on that, and I'm pretty sure that you don't need a forensic musicologist to figure that out.

[southern_stylin]

People, they'll never go away if you keep paying attention to them. Why do all the famous Canadian bands have to suck? Makes us all look bad. No wonder we have no scenes to speak of in this God forsaken country, every good band gets compared to the Great Nickleback. Jog on.

[GeetarsAreRock]

Haha I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought AC/DC when reading this. It's a silly article. How many bands have songs that are extremely similar? Really!! (ex. Tool's Vicarious & Lateralus).

[southern_stylin]

Having two songs sound the same is one thing. Having 4 albums that sound exactly the same is another.

[alquinna]

Okay, people who are metal heads. Alright.....just becasue you like it heavy and fast doesn't mean you have to go around criticizing other genres of music. Nickleback is FAMOUS becasue of their SONG WRITING. IT ACTUALLY CAPTURES EMOTIONS. Diffrent types of emotions too. I would not criticize. I enjoy a wide variety from country to rap to death metal. But there are crappy versions of creativity. Especially if you think metal or death metal is the best, think of their vocalist. They may sure have a great great drummer but a shitty vocalist who can only scream. Dude, a good band can bring creative songwriting in a nice finished product. Nickleback is one of them. Any band that is musically disciplined and stays controll...props to them. Any other band or artist who has their own kind of sound that is uncomparable too Props to them too. Too many death metal bands sounding the same. And realize this, I haven't heard any other band that sounds like Nickleback yet. I only know one band that has kinda the same vocal style in this case is the guy from the clash. I don't get why some good mainstream gets always criticized. I mean as soon as a band enters the world of mainstream, they get booed by other talented musicians. To be a good musician, you have to be diverse. Steve vai and Satriani is like that. That makes them skillfull. Steve Vai also said that creativity powers over skill. WHY complain when songs sound the same. It may be just accidental. They may have the same feeling swriting the songs so they use diffrent chords. Diffrent chords has diffrent expressions to it. Good music doesn have to be just pure skill, fast or whatever. It just has to be creative.

[southern_stylin]

That's exactly the point. Nickleback is not original, they've taken what has been done before and done it again. All their songs were written 20 years ago. To quote Fat Mike:

"You might fool the kids, but you don't fool me."

[Kegan]

alquinna wrote:

Okay, people who are metal heads. Alright.....just becasue you like it heavy and fast doesn't mean you have to go around criticizing other genres of music. Nickleback is FAMOUS becasue of their SONG WRITING. IT ACTUALLY CAPTURES EMOTIONS. Diffrent types of emotions too. I would not criticize. I enjoy a wide variety from country to rap to death metal. But there are crappy versions of creativity. Especially if you think metal or death metal is the best, think of their vocalist. They may sure have a great great drummer but a shitty vocalist who can only scream. Dude, a good band can bring creative songwriting in a nice finished product. Nickleback is one of them. Any band that is musically disciplined and stays controll...props to them. Any other band or artist who has their own kind of sound that is uncomparable too Props to them too. Too many death metal bands sounding the same. And realize this, I haven't heard any other band that sounds like Nickleback yet. I only know one band that has kinda the same vocal style in this case is the guy from the clash. I don't get why some good mainstream gets always criticized. I mean as soon as a band enters the world of mainstream, they get booed by other talented musicians. To be a good musician, you have to be diverse. Steve vai and Satriani is like that. That makes them skillfull. Steve Vai also said that creativity powers over skill. WHY complain when songs sound the same. It may be just accidental. They may have the same feeling swriting the songs so they use diffrent chords. Diffrent chords has diffrent expressions to it. Good music doesn have to be just pure skill, fast or whatever. It just has to be creative.

When I got the the point in your incoherent rambling that you compared Chad Kroeger to Joe Strummer vocally, I began to laugh.

There are many other musicians more comparable to his voice than "the guy from the clash." (and a good 70% of them suck, as well)

Joe Strummer made a name for himself as the british punk-rock genius that he was. Nickelback just recycle the same old formula for every underwhelming power-ballad they pump out; The Clash brought forth a rock and roll revolution, and changed the way people saw music in culture.

[crawlingfaster]

When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar.

what the ****?

[Jeffray85]

yeah, thats like saying we're to afraid to venture toward something original, what this guy is doing is trying to show people that need things spelled out for them how boring and safe nickelback are.

[bakerjeffery]

OK, I set down and read these, all of them. For the most part these are written by people for people who have never seen nor been close to a concert. I mean people, it is friggin music, their music f**king rocks, if it didn't then there would not be one sold out concert after the other! These reviews arwe written by a bunch of pussy ass Nickelback wanta Bee's. hey, if you don't like their music dont buy it, go and buy a Celine Dion album or a Britney Spears poster. If I had a dime for every piece of crap that thought they was going to change someones mind about a group by saying shit like this I would be rich. Saying things like this is not going to make someone such as myself, that likes Nickleback say, "Oh no, two songs sound alike, oh no I have been ripped off!" Who gives a flying stack of rat shit, it sounds good, I am buying my albums not you. When you start working for me then you can start telling me what I can and cant spend my money on. Get a life, get a job and grow up.

[bakerjeffery]

OK, I set down and read these, all of them. For the most part these are written by people for people who have never seen nor been close to a concert. I mean people, it is friggin music, their music f**king rocks, if it didn't then there would not be one sold out concert after the other! These reviews arwe written by a bunch of pussy ass Nickelback wanta Bee's. hey, if you don't like their music dont buy it, go and buy a Celine Dion album or a Britney Spears poster. If I had a dime for every piece of crap that thought they was going to change someones mind about a group by saying shit like this I would be rich. Saying things like this is not going to make someone such as myself, that likes Nickleback say, "Oh no, two songs sound alike, oh no I have been ripped off!" Who gives a flying stack of rat shit, it sounds good, I am buying my albums not you. When you start working for me then you can start telling me what I can and cant spend my money on. Get a life, get a job and grow up.

[bakerjeffery]

oh, and by the way. Dont tell me to go an listen to Led Zep, Bad Company, Black Sabbath or the sort. I have all those albums, they all rock, just like Nickelback rocks. I am nearing 40 and I have heard ALL types of music and I love all types of music. If you think someone on a stage screming like they just got a hot poker ran in their ass "metal death and some forms of punk" is real musich then YOU are the ones that needs to go and study music. Oh, and for the record, I dont need some 20 year old who can play with a computer tell me what I need to know about Nickelback. I have been listening to music long enough to form my own opinions on it. Nickelback will be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while most of the Wanna Bee's some of you guys and gals talk about on here will are setting around their table with bug fat asses telling their 80 year old groupies how they did it 60 years ago, while living off our hard earned taxed money

[FunkasPuck]

ok, so shabbily copied a shabby copy of pearl jam.

my god i hate nickelback.

[mrjimborinsane]

my view is that there are only a limited number of chord-progressions that actually work, so its up to musicians to find a way to differentiate from other songs with similar/identical progressions, and put other melodies ontop of that by different vocal timings/rhythms etc. there are like a million songs that use the basic tonica-subdominant-dominant structure eg. "knockin on heavens door" (G D C), "all i can do is write it in a song" (lyn skyn) (G D C) (btw heavens door is the most overplayed song ever, the only rule we have in my band is that noone is allowed to play it).

i kind of like nickelback for songs like photograph which i listen to every few months cos i like some of the lyrics.

btw not sayin that someday/how you remind me follow the tonica-subdom-dom structure, havent really listened to them. but i do think that
a). who gives a flying **** if the songs are the same, thats nickelbacks problem showing their lack of creativity
b). its def not worth writing an article about

well, thats my two cents

/benjy
www.meettheescape.com

[mrjimborinsane]

oops, sorry, quick correction,

G D C is of course tonica-dominant-subdominant, but the effect is the same, can add brimful of asher by cornershop on there with A E D.

sorry!

/benjy
www.meettheescape.com

[lastknownsurviv]

I don't really know why people are comparing nickelback to AC/DC.

[Jeffray85]

bakerjeffery wrote:

oh, and by the way. Dont tell me to go an listen to Led Zep, Bad Company, Black Sabbath or the sort. I have all those albums, they all rock, just like Nickelback rocks. I am nearing 40 and I have heard ALL types of music and I love all types of music. If you think someone on a stage screming like they just got a hot poker ran in their ass "metal death and some forms of punk" is real musich then YOU are the ones that needs to go and study music. Oh, and for the record, I dont need some 20 year old who can play with a computer tell me what I need to know about Nickelback. I have been listening to music long enough to form my own opinions on it. Nickelback will be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while most of the Wanna Bee's some of you guys and gals talk about on here will are setting around their table with bug fat asses telling their 80 year old groupies how they did it 60 years ago, while living off our hard earned taxed money

for not giving a "stack of rat shit" you sure went off about how offended you are someone trashed your beloved nickelback.

[clawsofsteel]

-xCaMRocKx- wrote:

yer.. kinda obvious just by listening to them.. most people would just stop there, but some take it too far by putting them over the top with each other. i think we should tell this guy about blink 182, and see how many more "news" stories we can get outta this subject.

Whoah blink 182 was original. everyone knew them. they made millions of dollars more than what most of us will ever make. besides they were funny. listen to blowjob. or **** a dog in the ass.

[clawsofsteel]

[quote] Dude, a good band can bring creative songwriting in a nice finished product. Nickleback is one of them. Any band that is musically disciplined and stays controll...props to them. Any other band or artist who has their own kind of sound that is uncomparable too Props to them too. Too many death metal bands sounding the same. And realize this, I haven't heard any other band that sounds like Nickleback yet. I only know one band that has kinda the same vocal style in this case is the guy from the clash.[quote] you dont hear anyone like them because they sound like absolute shit. **** they suck

[lzrdsixsix6]

nickelback sucks now anyway

[joetjuhh]

Nickelback sucks? You guys sucks -_-
Besides, you can't compare bands with each-other! Everyone has his own style, that's also the reason why you like a band or not. ( Dôh.. )

Problem solved ( ? ).

Oh and ye, the "This is how you remind me of Someday"-thingy. Well, if you are a band, and you have a style that's succesfull, why should you change it? Dude, if uhm.. like ACDC ( I see alot ACDC people out here, so 'ere you go ). If ACDC made 2 songs that's sounds a little bit the same, and I changed it so bad, that it looks exactly the same, you would flame me also, instead of saying ACDC is shitty. ( This is an example, I like ACDC, so don't gonna flame me about this example )

So plz, stfu

Nickelback, keep rocking.

[joetjuhh]

bakerjeffery wrote:

OK, I set down and read these, all of them. For the most part these are written by people for people who have never seen nor been close to a concert. I mean people, it is friggin music, their music f**king rocks, if it didn't then there would not be one sold out concert after the other! These reviews arwe written by a bunch of pussy ass Nickelback wanta Bee's. hey, if you don't like their music dont buy it, go and buy a Celine Dion album or a Britney Spears poster. If I had a dime for every piece of crap that thought they was going to change someones mind about a group by saying shit like this I would be rich. Saying things like this is not going to make someone such as myself, that likes Nickleback say, "Oh no, two songs sound alike, oh no I have been ripped off!" Who gives a flying stack of rat shit, it sounds good, I am buying my albums not you. When you start working for me then you can start telling me what I can and cant spend my money on. Get a life, get a job and grow up.

Hurray! At least someone has got some acquaintance.

+10

[Brad_Bassist]

dcoyle4040 wrote:

I heard Laars was going to sew them over this because its the same bass notes used in "Enter Sandman"

If that's true then Lars could sew Dave Mustaine at any sencond for Megadeths song "Mechanix"

[Snoopz]

Ohhhh Yaaaaa, I feel their's a high similarity between the 2 songs in their style,,, but whaaat ??? I love both of them, By the way Their's a big difference between Chords used in someday & how you remind me , But NICKELBACK ROCKS ANYWAYS