The Black Keys star Patrick Carney has reached out to Nickelback after blaming the Canadian band for the current state of music, insisting he "didn't mean to single them out."

Carney took aim at Chad Kroeger's band in Rolling Stone magazine, declaring, "Rock 'n' roll is dying because people became OK with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world. They became OK with the idea that the biggest rock band in the world is always going to be s**t (and) therefore you should never try to be the biggest rock band in the world. F**k that!"

The How You Remind Me hit-makers brushed off the comments by stating, "Life's too short to sweat what others think" - and Carney has now backtracked on his remarks.

He tells MTV Canada, "I didn't mean to single them out actually, it just came out. There's much worse bands that Nickelback... maybe."

"That was the worst apology."