Robin Marchant/Getty Images
Take this to your grave, haters.
Fall Out Boy's frontman, Patrick Stump, penned an extensive blog post on Sunday blasting society's ever-burgeoning culture of hate both online and off, but he singled out in particular the kind of venomous criticism directed at fellow rockers Nickelback, comedian Dane Cook and Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway as examples.
"Like Creed or Limp Bizkit or the 'Dude! You're getting a Dell!' kid, they've become ubiquitously hate-able," he wrote. "I would not be exaggerating to state I've simply never heard someone admit to liking them. Why is that?"
The singer went on to lament the nastiness of our ultra-wired world and Internet users who hide behind online anonymity to spew ignorant bile at artists and pop culture figures just because they can.
"In this generation of blazing wi-fi and scathing tweets, I think it's very easy to lose sight of anyone else's opinion. We're so busy broadcasting our latest cultural disdain that we scantly notice anything we enjoy," he argued. "I read an entire article examining why we as a society don't like Anne Hathaway's (in my un-necessary opinion, lovely) face. Well, criticizing art and the artists that make it is a lot lazier pass time than creating or appreciating it."
Stump also railed against bloggers, which he differentiates from professional critics who are "good at what they do," noting that "everyone's a critic" these days, including himself ("Hell, I have a blog.").
But he pointed out that as much as he strives to work hard at his art, so does Nickelback, and he defended them from the hate constantly being thrown their way.
"They worked (and potentially still are working) to be the best damned Nickelback they can be," said the musician. ""All of the agreed upon pariahs throughout pop-culture history put their identities into the things we decry. And yet we derive our own identities from the act of hating. We connect on the things we are disappointed in…'Don't you just hate Justin Bieber?' Huzaaaaah!"
Stump also revealed how Fall Out Boy, which just reunited after a three-year hiatus, has suffered from this attitude of meanness well as unconsciously participated in it.
"I can't tell you how many times I (either as part of Fall Out Boy or as a solo artist) have asked another artist to tour together or work together on a song and been shot down on the grounds of 'Oh you guys are lame,'" added the rocker. "I can't tell you how many times I (either as part of Fall Out Boy or as a solo artist) have probably unwittingly done the same exact thing to another artist. That's strange. A simple 'No,' would have sufficed."
He concluded his screed by vowing to stop the hate—at least coming from his own mouth.
"What qualifies me to say I dislike [Nickeback]?" wondered Stump, noting that he doesn't even know any of their songs. "Dane Cook? He was actually pretty rad on that Louis C.K. show."
For the full blog post, click here.