![]() ![]() This says more than you think: despite their best instincts, Hoobastank were beholden to the leaden, overly serious traditions of rock, which treats loss as the ultimate artistic statement. Hoobastank can only replay disaster over and over again, while Usher just manages to avoid it. More curiously, the visuals of each video also share some resemblances as both share a questionable trope of a woman almost or actually being hit by a car as an emotional climax. Irrevocably these forces finally met and clashed, climaxing into a brief but significant battle for the ages. Everybody wanted to be Usher but everyone looked like Hoobastank. He was sex personified, a dancing machine with washboard abs bred of pure discipline-unlike that Nike hat wearing couch bum swag with bad skin who's so prevalent today-who possessed a voice that could soothe the souls of the soulless. But a large slice of that pie was taken up by Usher, who after several successful projects had finally reached his commercial apex. Singles like "If I Ain't Got You" and "Me, Myself, and I" by Alicia Keys and Beyoncé respectively and a one-time musical blip from American Idol named Ruben Studdard dominated the top of the charts. The genre was having its big moment, but so was R&B-tempered pop. All the while, they were boosted by an audience that was hungry enough for rock to still propel it into the Billboard charts. If you're not one of the 300 million plus who recount the philosophical significance of "The Reason" on YouTube, Hoobastank during this time was an all-powerful band with an infinity sign in their logo, which is actually the most concise summary of early 00s alt-rock bro-hippiedom you can get. ![]()
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