How social media made Nickelback cool

The youth yearn for rap-rock, beer-fuelled anthems and DJ-scratching solos.

I'm amongst the oldest of the internet generation, meaning I've seen the early days of meme culture and strange social media trends.

(I really felt my age seep in when my younger coworker told me he'd never seen "tag your friends" pics from early Facebook like these).

As an internet elder, I remember when it was the "thing" to hate on nu-metal bands and other mainstream rock bands from the 2000s.

You might know the usual culprits: Limp Bizkit. Korn. Linkin Park. Creed. Nickelback.

But in the last decade or so, the tides have turned. I don't exactly know why, but those bands 10-year-old me was taught to make fun of...are cool now?

Limp Bizkit's shows are selling out and full of under-30s. Nickelback's talked about online with rarely a peep of criticism. People make memes about and ADORE Creed's "Higher," and Linkin Park's new album is selling like hotcakes.

Even if most of these bands aren't close to competing with today's pop, R&B and hip hop artists on mainstream charts, the numbers they're getting from my generation - mostly for music made 20+years ago - are absolutely bananas.

So, what's the dealio?

This is mostly conjecture, but as a representative of my generation, I've got a few ideas as to why some of the world's most shat-on bands are safe to listen to without being crapped on yourself.

One trend I noticed was the death of memes specifically used to hate on bands. Instead, I'm seeing the rise of ironic uses of their music like this, this and this (yes, these are Reels I've saved).

It's as if young people looked at these tongue-in-cheek uses of "cringe" music and thought, "Hey, this is actually alright!" Then it all just snowballed from there.

Without sounding too "you kids get off my lawn," it's also possible many young people just think older popular music is better.

Music taste is totally subjective so I'm not gonna tell people what "good" or "bad" music is. But, as someone raised on my parents' music from the 80s and 90s...I get it, man.

With how far-reaching the internet is these days and how much easier it is to find new music, maybe people just feel more educated and confident in what they like to listen to.

There's no shame in listening to Jonathan Davis from Korn scat anymore. Because now you can find millions online who like it, too, either musically, or as a meme.

I also have another personal theory - it's not a very happy one, so just work with me here! It's no secret that young people don't have a sunny outlook on the future, largely caused by the climate crisis, extreme greed and stagnated wages.

When everything else looks dire, we often turn towards the little things and find joy there - including musical elements. Sure, Limp Bizkit doesn't have the smartest lyrics and Fred Durst's rapping ability divides people. But those explosive guitars? And those DJ scratching solos? They're pretty cool.

But why should you care?

Nostalgia hype isn't a new thing for young people (just look at the last decade of 80s love).

But if you're cut from an older cloth and trying to reach young people through your marketing, this nu-metal/00s rock resurgence should be a lesson in open-mindedness.

There's a chance you hated things from 20 years ago just for the sake of it, because it was "cool" to do it. Or maybe you LOVED something back then, but assume it's run its course and can't be relatable now.

But in the age of social media, everything works in the 4th dimension - time is meaningless!

The biggest trends can be inspired by a Kendrick Lamar lyric from 2 weeks ago, or based off of a book written 124 years ago.

When Facebook went public in 2006, nu metal was dead and Nickelback were a laughingstock - that was 18 years ago. It's a new world today and there's no telling what'll be popular tomorrow, so throw those preconceived notions out the window!

As marketers, it's imperitive we keep an open mind. Nothing makes sense with the internet generation.

But as long as you know that, you can kinda make sense of it!

-Devin, Copywriter