The Wall Street Journal is a storied masthead that absolutely commands respect. For over 125 years, the paper has been looked to as a standard of journalistic integrity, and it has over thirty Pulitzer Prizes to its name.
Today, that legacy might have been called into question, as they used their front page to defend the seemingly indefensible: Nickelback.
An early look at the front page of today’s paper pic.twitter.com/LHJ9zwcby4
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 16, 2016
In a piece entitled Who Likes Nickelback? Nobody, Except for Millions, the paper argues that the ubiquitous Canadian rock juggernaut is wrongly maligned, and that fans of the band are “forced to hide in the shadows” due to the band’s rep for mediocre rock standards.
More than that, the piece also implies the world’s dislike of the group borders on Nickel-shaming:
“Zack Bradley, a 19-year-old sophomore at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., says he has never been to a Nickelback concert because his friends refuse to go with him…
Jemma Rivera, a community-housing coordinator in Alberta, has been to at least four concerts … [she] isn’t embarrassed to be a Nickelback fan. But just in case, she keeps it on the down-low.”
“Nickelback is like the boyfriend you don’t ever want people to know you have,” Ms. Rivera says.”
The piece goes on to mention how the band is used as a universal barometer of “dislike”, and the paper even makes mention of our own constabulary in Queensland having a jab at the band last year.
Police are on the lookout for these men who are believed to be impersonating musicians around Boondall this…
Posted by Queensland Police Service on Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Still, the writers bring up a study that highlights their track Something In Your Mouth as an example of genius wordplay compared to their contemporaries. For the uninitiated, that one’s straight up about suckin’ D.
You do you, WSJ.
Source: Wall Street Journal.
Photo: Chelsea Lauren / Getty / Twitter.
