Normally, I eschew Nickelback parodies. It’s like “Mystery Science Theatre 3000” reviewing a snuff film. Yeah, it might be funny, but I’m still watching something awful. Those crazy kids over at College Humor though — they might be onto something here.
Copying the “distinctive growl” of Chad Kroeger, a guy and girl trade verses as they rip into all things Instagram, usurping the Nickelback song “Photograph” for this loftier purpose. From the overabundance of food art to the copious filtering to cats wearing glasses, nothing escapes the transitionally smooth assimilation of the original lyrics into a sharp commentary on would-be Ansel Adams’.
Look, my normal thought process runs like this: cover songs and parodies are popular because it is a loophole for people to listen to songs they don’t want to admit they like. I remember growing up, there were always punk bands covering Britney Spears songs. Obviously they explained it away as a sort of ironic “fuck you” to Britney and the like, but the reality is, all those “hardcore” punk kids around me were totally singing along to “Hit Me Baby (One More Time).”
Sure, the lyrics are different, but the tune and sound of the band are there. It doesn’t matter that the subject matter is mocking Instagram. At large, we’re all basically rocking out to some Nickelback and totally liking it. Busted!
One question about the video though: Why is the chick wearing “mom jeans”? Oddly distracting.
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