The Beatles 'Live At The BBC'

So what’s the deal with hating Nickelback?

I’ve noticed all the Nickelback hatred for what seems like a year now and it doesn’t require hipster glasses or a micro-brew in your hand to be in the club. All it takes is any reason to pontificate on how “crappy” they are. You can diss their guitar sound. You can describe Chad Kroeger’s voice as grating. You can even say their lyrics are rather cliché without even having a grasp on the definition of cliché. You can just hate on them even though you may have seen them live and while possessing one or more MP3’s/CD’s in your musical library.

The Nickelback Haters Club seems to lack any rules. All you need is a reason that’s valid to you.

I just want to know, after years of unexplained love, why the fans have turned on them.

Is it some sort of anger issues?

Did everyone find out how mediocre Nickelback really is after spending millions of dollars to see them live and rocking out to them at parties?

I have one Nickelback CD that ended up in my collection while working for a Top 40ish radio station. We had received a bunch of them for giveaways on the air and at remotes. I had heard “Photograph” on that station and while holding a copy of the ‘All The Right Reasons’ I made a decision… Why not add it to my collection? It was free and I actually like the song “Photograph”.

I didn’t find the album any more unpleasant than Daughtry’s. With the exception of “Rockstar”, I would give the album a decent grade.

The song “Rockstar” started wearing on me from the get-go. It was ALL OVER the Top 40ish station that I was working for. I couldn’t escape it. I would work the remotes and folks would sing along with it as if it were the best thing since “Happy Birthday”. And of course, there were folks that took it upon themselves to recite right along with the deep-voice, cliché riddled guy talking between the lyrics. I just wanted to grab them and shake them until they understood how bad a song it is or until I heard something snap in the neck.

Perhaps that’s the reason… The song “Rockstar” may have swayed public opinion on Nickelback.

Right Said Fred made a great pop album, but unfortunately, no one will give anything else they recorded a shot because of “I’m Too Sexy”.

To be totally honest, I’ve never truly cared for Nickelback. I had some friends over the years talk to me about how great they are, how I should check out the new CD, how I should go see those Canadians live, blah, blah, and blah. I found them fairly derivative and just kind of dismissed them as one of those bands everyone loves but me. You know… Like U2 and Coldplay.

I never gave any of those friends the usual hell I heap upon the ill-informed because I didn’t truly hate Nickelback. I still don’t hate them.

It seems to me that the public got drunk on Nickelback and now they’re feeling the hangover.

Van Halen '5150'

Yeah, I know. I said that I would update this joker a little more frequently. So just go right ahead and lump that unintentional lie onto the house sized heap of non-truths.

I get lazy folks. That’s the honest word.

I suppose writing can be a lot like exercising. If you get out of the habit it gets easier to ignore… Like MTV’s Tom Green.

A computer game also has me under its spell. I can be little obsessive with games that allow me to handle God-like reigns.

I don’t have any other excuses. There’s plenty of time for me to write during the day. And believe it or not, I still enjoy it when I get rolling on the old Word program. But for some reason, it takes the use of a crowbar for me to even crack open my laptop to start writing.

Anyways, I’m writing and I’ve got a beef that needs to be cooked…

I’m getting a little upset with my favorite phone app, Foursquare. Actually, I’m more aggravated with the staff there at Foursquare.

Let me back up a little for the uninitiated…

Foursquare is a smart phone application that uses your GPS to locate what location or venue you’re physically at. You then “check in” to that venue. The 4sq user that checks in to a particular venue the most becomes the “Mayor” there. There are points given out for check ins. There are even badges given out for specific locations, venue categories, or a combination of venues.

Some play along with friends for Mayorships. Some play for meaningless points with their friends. And like me, some are just plain out badge whores.

We want all them stinking badges!

I go to great lengths to secure every badge that is released through the Foursquare application. I want them all. I want the city specific badges. I need all the expertise badges that can be unlocked to the 10th level. I even go after the MLS Soccer badges and I despise any form of soccer.

Now there are a few that fall between the cracks. When I can’t get those badges it’s usually due to shameless self-promotion. After all, it is a social media application. I used it to promote the afternoon radio show that I was a part of and I still use it to promote the weekly pop culture podcast that I’m on, The Less Desirables. Usually, it’s just me cracking wise wherever I check in trying to entertain a few of my 4sq buddies.

Foursquare relies on its user to police venues. If we see a duplicate, we report as such and a “SuperUser” will merge the multiple venues into one. They are also supposed to delete venues that are reported as “doesn’t exist”. Homes and offices are off limits when it comes to deletion.

Multiple venues are made by one of two types of users. The first would be the user that goes to check in and that venue isn’t showing for some reason. So what do they do?

Instead of searching for that particular venue, they just create a new one all willy-nilly as if no one has even bothered to create it since Foursquare started up in 2009. Adding new venues can be a rare activity with established places unless you’re in rural areas. Think of it as if you’re a 50 year old man and you start dating a 45 year old woman. To think that you’re plowing through new sexual lands that have been untouched and unspoiled would be very short-sighted. It’s the same for creating a new venue that has been around for more than 3 years.

Just do a search, people.

The other reason for multiple venues involves 4sq users desperate to be the Mayor of their favorite venues. Instead of going to the trouble of having a friendly Mayoral competition, they just decide to make a duplicate of the same venue. And sometimes, they’ll make that duplicate venue from their couches (map pin usually gives that away) for a place that is located miles away.

I frequently report the same venues day after day as duplicates. Nothing is ever done. It seems that 4sq no longer considers integrity as part of their application.

Example: For months I’ve been reporting “King YMCA” as non-existent and have requested each time that it should be merged with “Stokes Family YMCA”. Nothing has ever been done. Both of them will still show up whenever I’m in that vicinity.

So I’ve gotten to the point where I leave “tips” on those duplicates. I left a little tip on the King YMCA venue… “This place doesn’t exist. Check in at Stokes Family YMCA.”

My line of thinking has the squeaky wheel eventually getting some grease.

Some of my 4sq friends have even quit using the app because of Foursquare’s newly acquired lackadaisical attitude towards merges and outright made up venues for things like “Putting on Make-Up”, “Paying Bills”, or “Dropping A Deuce”.

Not only are these types of venues dumb because it’s an activity usually shouted in the check in… They’re also a pain in the ass when you go to check in to a legitimate venue. Because when you check in, it will show you a list of nearby venues and you check in at the one you’re located at. The hurt to the derriere is when you have to weed through a dozen of those stupid made up venues like “In The Shower” or every single aisle at a family hardware store to find the one you're at.

I understand that 4sq wants to make money. I get that. But if you’ve got an army of non-paid “SuperUsers” out there cleaning up the landscape to keep the app’s integrity, why ignore it?

I personally don’t get it and I shouldn’t really care. But I do. If you’re going to do something, I believe that it should be done right.