If we are to heal as a country, the first thing we must come to terms with is this: the nu metal craze happened, and millions of otherwise level-headed Americans are to blame.
But hey, it’s over now. Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” is but a painful, distant memory, and in the year 2013 Puddle of Mudd has only one “d,” and it’s something that lingers in your backyard after a rainstorm.
Still, the legacy of this dark chapter in American history remains, namely in the form of various “Where Are They Now?” retrospectives and Nickelback. Also, the fact that Deryck Whibley, the lead singer of Canadian pop-punk-rap outfit Sum 41 who became famous for about seven months in the early 2000s, is still able to get a hot girlfriend who would probably not be with him unless he was a celebrity with money.
Yes, Deryck Whibley. Remember? He was married to Avril Lavigne and also dated Paris Hilton, both after he sang the immortal lines “I don’t want to waste my time/Become another casualty of society/I’ll never fall in line/Become another victim of your conformity.” Well, gee, Deryck.
Fast forward to 2013, and Deryck Whibley is rapidly (and I do mean rapidly) transforming into a garden gnome, and I do feel bad about pointing that out. But seriously, put a hat and a beard on him and it’s not hard to see where I’m coming from. Before and after pictures below. (Photos via)
Dereck Whibley in 2012 (left) and in 2013 (right)
Dereck Whibley in 2013 with his hot girlfriend Ari Cooper, who is probably a model:
Twitter: @HitFixChris