Staind is a weird one for me. Wild to think but this was one of the first nu-metal bands I ever got into, not as an impressionable youth, but in 2019 at the ripe old age of 27. In fact, very recently my 100 Greatest Songs list had not one but two Staind songs on it, the highest ranked of which I had the gall to put slightly above fucking “(sic)”! This was already something I was uncomfortable with on purely musical merits before Aaron Lewis outed himself as a factory standard transphobe, which was just the excuse I needed to snatch both songs off the list and replace them with better ones. What really bites about Lewis’ neverending decent into Republican brain worms is how predictable it is. My Ballad of Aaron Lewis piece was written around his “Maybe Putin has some good ideas” bit but I decided just being politically dumb wasn’t enough, I’d instead wait for him to get transphobic to finish it, a rake which he gladly stepped on just a few months later.
Now, I really do not make a habit out of talking down on nu-metal. But if you’re gonna ask for it, as Aaron Lewis does again and again, then I’m happy to bring knives out. I personally know transgender fans of his music that cannot bear to listen to it anymore because of his shit. And for what! For nothing! For some angry Facebook emoji reactions and another day spent wondering if Tucker Carlson’s PR person is going to return his calls. So here’s an honest assessment of those first Staind albums; not hit jobs, there’s some good music here I’m not ashamed to admit, but I’d be lying if I didn’t confirm these records are aging like peaches in the sun either.
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