I did a studio session with them about 20 years ago, when they were still pretty popular and before they were widely considered to be a joke, but I was not a fan. When the studio I was working for called me to do the session, my wife said, “Watch - they will end up being really nice guys and you will end up liking them more because of it.” In reality, they were arrogant dickheads, and I hated them all the more ever since.

I read somewhere once that their agent would book them at any festival that would accept them. That lead to them getting booed a lot where they didn't match the rest of the lineup. People began to anticipate them and became a heel type character to avid concert goers.

Hating them is a meme I guess. I don't mind them.

For me it's "Photograph." Such an aggressively sappy and mediocre song. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of an essay I would have written on the bus on the way to school in 6th grade.

I kind of like "Never Again", it's a bit heavy-handed but it's got crunchy guitar and the message is good, don't put up with abusive shit.

and like, they're not even that bad

Foo Fighters, for some reason, are fucking loved, and yet if you actually listen to their albums, they're just... meh

they got a few good songs and a lot of things I never want to hear again. and that's coming from someone whose favourite band was them for a very long time. not to mention they sound like shit live

Comedy Central destroyed Nickleback. There was a comedy special or show, I don't remember. Anyway, they promoted the show with a clip from a stand-up bit that was at Nickleback's expense. I you watched The Daily Show, or South Park, you would have seen that ad a hundred times. After that, liking Nickleback was an embarrassment.

What follows is my bad recollection of the joke.

People say that music can incite violence and I think that's true because every time I listen to Nickleback I want to hurt.... Nickleback.

I suspect the real reason a lot of people hate them is because they have mastered the earworm. One line from any of their songs will ruin your day.

I don't mind their one song. But that's the thing, they only have one song (they all sound the same).

It's really more the generation that came up thinking Nickleback (and post grunge bands in general) was peak hard rock/grunge/punk or even edgy that's to blame. Nickelback themselves are fine, there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to have a wide audience for your pop rock band but some semblance of hardness in your sound.