Nickelback

Nickelback is a Canadian Hard Rock/Post-Grunge band formed by Chad Kroeger, his half-brother Mike Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake, and then drummer Brandon Kroeger. The band has enjoyed widespread success worldwide despite a lot of criticism. Your mileage will vary.

Their current lineup is:


 * Chad Kroeger - Vocals, guitar
 * Ryan Peake - Guitar, backing vocals
 * Mike Kroeger - Bass guitar
 * Daniel Adair - Drums, backing vocals

Discography:

 * Curb (1996)
 * The State (2000)
 * Silver Side Up (2001)
 * The Long Road (2003)
 * All the Right Reasons (2005)
 * Dark Horse (2008)
 * Here and Now (2011)

Some tropes embodied by the band and their work are:

 * Bowdlerise
 * Calling the Old Man Out: "Too Bad" and "Never Again" do this
 * The Cameo: Exaggerated in Rockstar with appearances by Gene Simmons, Nelly Furtado, Eliza Dushku, Ted Nugent, Twista, Paul Wall, Chuck Lidell, Taryn Manning, Lupe Fiasco, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquadt, Kendra Wilkinson, the Teutuls, Dale Earnardt Jr., Kid Rock, Jerry Cantrell, Dominique Swain & Wayne Gretzky. Overlaps with Casting Gag since a few of the guests are musicians and some of the lyrics they lip-sync relate to themselves.
 * Deaths Hourglass: The music video for "Savin' Me" begins with a twitchy-looking man saving a well-dressed man from walking in front of a car. Pretty soon, the well-dressed man starts to see what the twitchy man saw--numbers over everyone's heads, rapidly counting down . . . (This has absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics of the song.)
 * Disappeared Dad: Chad didn't know about his real father until his late teens. Mike's father and his adopted father was also this and the subject of "Too Bad"
 * Domestic Abuse: "Never Again".
 * Do Not Do This Cool Thing: "Rockstar". Seriously, it was supposed to be a Stealth Parody of the stereotypical rockstar lifestyle, with its intentionally over-the-top lyrics. Except it completely backfired.
 * Probably because the song does nothing to actually deride the lifestyle. Yeah they say you've got a drug dealer on speed dial or you'll be popping your pills from a Pez dispenser but at the same time, it's describing the big bus you'll be riding around in with your old guitars, getting into the Playboy mansion, or dating a centerfold model and having enough money to let her spend it willy-nilly. No one's going to deny all those things sound awesome. The lyrics are supposed to be over the top but anyone with an ear in modern society knows very well that real-life celebrities will get to enjoy these amenities and a whole lot more too.
 * Drugs Are Bad: "Just To Get High" and "Worthy To Say"
 * Growing Up Sucks: "Photograph"
 * He Also Did: Chad wrote "Hero" for Spider-Man (and the track also features Mike).
 * Ice Cream Koan
 * Insult Backfire: A pretty good one too.
 * Intercourse With You: "Next Go Round" "Flat On The Floor" "S-E-X"
 * ~Isn't It Ironic~
 * Lyrical Shoehorn
 * Marked Bullet: "Side of a Bullet".
 * Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: A fairly solid 5.
 * Motive Rant: "Where do I hide", 'looking for a scapegoat, long past due, walking down the aisle, staring straight at you.' The man who just killed the woman he married so he could kill her is singing about why he framed you. Just listen to how happy he is!
 * Ms. Fanservice: "Something In Your Mouth"
 * Oh Crap: The main characters' reaction in the last verse of "Animals."
 * Other Common Music Video Concepts
 * Ode to Intoxication: "Burn It To The Ground" and "Bottoms Up"
 * Parental Abandonment: A common theme in their lyrics.
 * Performance Video: "Burn It To The Ground"
 * "Never Again" originally had a video, but MTV deemed it too graphic and violent and the band reshot the video with concert footage
 * Prom Baby: "Throw Yourself Away".
 * Rockstar Song: "Rockstar," but it's meant to mock the industry.
 * Rousseau Was Right: "If Everyone Cared".
 * Self Deprecation: "Nickelback? You got me Nickelback?"
 * Stalker With a Crush: "Follow You Home".
 * Sanity Slippage Song: All the Right Reasons has tracks with this under tone.
 * Talking Down the Suicidal: "Lullaby".
 * This Means War: The title of the first track on "Here And Now"
 * This Trope Is Bleep
 * Tomato Surprise: Someday's video has a nice twist at the end.