For me it's just that nickleback is so very "lowest common denominator" music. It's like the saying that the opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. Nickleback is the pinnacle of apathetic music, and that's why I react strongly against it. I don't like Kanye or Joanna Newsom, but I respect their music for doing different things, both in their genre and within their own repertoire. I can't say that about Nickleback.