Tuesday Requst: Revisiting Nickleback's Rockstar

      I have been impressed with the amount of feedback I've received from all of you reading my blog.  Some of you have been very complimentary and supportive while others haven't shown quite as much equanimity.  Either way, I appreciate the feedback.  Last Friday I couldn't write a full blog entry so I posted the song Rockstar by Nickleback and apologized for my absence.  Frankly nobody cared that I was absent but some of you objected to me posting the song without the usual write up.  A couple of  you sent emails that were even a bit snippy (you know who you are!!!).   The fact is all of you were right,  Rockstar is too good of a song to just hang out there.  That is why I've decided to take some of your strongly worded advice and bump it up to the top of the Tuesday Request Day list.  I offer my sincere apologies to the people whose advice I'm not taking but please understand that I can't bend that way without breaking something...

       Formed in 1995, Nickleback has become one of the most accomplished bands of the previous two decades.  Their last five albums have all landed in the top 5, and an amazing eleven singles have reached number #1.  Much of their success can be credited to singer Chad Kroeger with his distinctive raspy tenor as well as his music writing ability.
       During the summer of 2006 they released the song Rockstar which was accompanied by one of the coolest video's to come out in a long time.  The song is a satirical look at how stereotypical rock stars behave.  They mention virtually all of the cliched ideas that every fourteen year old boy fantasizes is the life of the mythical rock star.  Giant houses, V.I.P. lists, beautiful women, the best drugs, limousines, hobnobbing with stars, body guards, and jet-setting are just a few of the hackneyed caricatures trotted out and gently ridiculed.  Part of the reason the song works so well, besides the fact that it's just a great song, is that the band approaches it with a good humored self deprecating wink.  It also doesn't hurt that they have Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top adding spoken lines throughout the song.
       The video features many celebrities and lots of regular folks lip syncing, oftentimes in front of famous land marks.  Some of the more recognizable people are Dale Ernhardt Jr., John Rich, Eliza Dushku, Kid Rock, Gene Simmons, Ted Nugent, Nelly Furtado, Chuck Liddell, Wayne Gretzky, and the guys from American Chopper.  Some of the buildings and places shown include the UK Parliament, The German Reichstag, Times Square, The Flat Iron Building, London Bridge, The Playboy Mansion, Union Square, the Chicago L & the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia.
       The music is played at a normal rock and roll walking pace, but the video flits by at twice the speed.  Just as you recognize someone or something, the film moves on challenging you to keep up.  That is how it must feel to be a busy celebrity like a rock star.  You only see the sights of the places you visit as you pass them on your way to the next gig.  Every night you're accompanied by fans singing your music with you but you can never really get close to them because you don't have time.  You meet other celebrities just long enough to have your picture taken and you realize that's usually more than most people get.  Those on the outside can't understand how life in the fishbowl really feels and the people in the fishbowl can't complain for fear of being cast out.  I think if we had our choice we would choose the life of a rock star over the mundane existence of the nine to five world.  Chad Kroeger and Nickleback are saying that life as rock star may seem like fun (and it is), it has it's pitfalls and they say it all with a wink and a smile.

Rockstar by Nickleback