Junos misplaced

The fabulous fellas from Nickelback have taken their lumps over the years from critics who complain about how their cheesy sound, grand melodies and in-the-box approach to rock has watered down an otherwise wonderful genre.
The dudes are talented. And they can rock. But the trouble is that they always seem to apply a musical cookie-cutter to their sound, a tool they stumbled on when lovable Chad Kroeger first put pen to paper, and pick to string. Gooey lyrics about loneliness and oral sex ooze over pop-metal have made them millions and spawned what has become a yawn-inducing genre of Canadian cheese rock. They aren’t doing anything different than what Bad Company did in 1973 or what Foreigner did in 1984, other than contemporize the sound and add a nice thick layer of camembert.
In fact, the state of Canadian rock is at its worst right now, and least inventive. So many bands are trying to follow Nickelback’s fan-friendly, mediocre rock — hello Staind, Creed, Three Days Grace, Seether and Theory of a Deadman. Aside for the odd exception, listening to Regina radio is a frustrating pursuit for anyone who prefers quality over what’s popular. There’s nothing evil, however, about wanting to hear what’s hip.
That being said, we can all appreciate anyone who manages to sell tickets, CDs and other merchandise regardless of how they approach the music. The marketplace dictate matters of commercial success. And there’s nothing wrong with that. If you adore Nickelback, then God bless you. We can also agree that music quality doesn’t exactly guarantee commercial success. Talent often takes a back seat to marketing, which obviously plays a huge role in all of this — hello Girlicious, Jonas Brothers and anyone who’s appeared on an Idol show.
There are lots of bands that aren’t exactly known for uniqueness but take special places in my music collection. But I also don’t expect them to be nominated for a Juno. I’d be stunned if Toronto’s Piledriver was nominated for a Juno, but they’re still my favourite band this week.
Presumably, a Juno award is given to an artist who produces music of exceptional quality. And with today’s announcement that Nickelback is nominated for a bunch of them, it appears whoever decides this Juno award stuff is just as vulnerable to advertising and peer pressure as those who buy tickets to see the Pussycat Dolls or Miley Cyrus.
Nickelback was nominated for Album of the Year, Single of the Year for “Gotta Be Somebody,” and Group of the Year. How they missed out on a Rock Album of the Year, I really don’t get, assuming the judges follow their own rules.
The only Nickelback nomination I can see fly is the one they received for fan choice award.
The reality is that there are so many Canadian artists who produce award-worthy music but didn’t catch the interest of the Juno people. They missed out on an opportunity to shine a light on singers and bands who don’t already sell CDs and concert tickets like Nickelback does.
Maybe the Juno people didn’t read the latest issue of SPIN Magazine, which gave a nod to Library Voices, a band from Regina that’s quickly winning fans and praise from critics. Their album Hunting Ghosts & Other Collected Shorts is a much better album that Nickelback’s Dark Horse, in my view anyway. I wasn’t asked for my opinion, but my vote would have gotten lost among all the Nickelback ballots.
What about Ontario’s Great Lake Swimmers? Other bands whose music is more Juno-worthy include The Dears, Final Fantasy, The Stills, Plants and Animals and Destroyer.
Thankfully, some envelope-pushing Canadian artists caught the eye of the Juno people, including Feist, Kardinal Offishall, Sarah Slean, Cancer Bats, Serena Ryder, Dallas Green, The Trews, Tokyo Police Club, Kathleen Edwards and Lights.
It seems to me that if bands worthy of a Juno are only those who sell the most CDs, then we really don’t need an awards show — or the expense. It makes more sense to give all the money to school music programs and mail the statues to the best-selling acts.
And on the night of the Junos is supposed to air, we can prepare for our own nod to high quality Canadian music and listen to Joel Plaskett, Rush, Gordon Lightfoot, Diana Krall, Jason Plumb and many, many others.