How Dido Made Eminem A Critic's Pet

In celebration of Eminem's Greatest Hits CD, I'll reveal the one thing that I've noticed about him: he doesn't smile a whole bunch. His is the eternal scowl. Not that Eminem has never laughed at anything. He's made a fortune laughing at other people. You see his biggest hits all took swipes at easy Celebrity targets. Take a look at these names: Christina Aguilera, Moby, Michael Jackson, Nsync. Oh, and I forgot to mention his homophobia and misogny. But then so have some of the biggest named critics (Christgau, Marcus, Marsh) and all the rest of the Music Press that has patted him on the back for his greatness: Rolling Stone, Spin, etc. These people and magazines have assured Eminem's place in Musical history has been assured. I can't wait to see who will induct him in the Rock Hall. But I think he's as big fraud. His recorded career comes down to easy potshots. Only once on his best song, "Stan" did Eminem finally reveal some talent. But even that song was taken over the top by a Dido sample. 8 Mile was watchable, no doubt. Better than that horrible 50 Cent movie. But I find the mildly entertaining "Lose Yourself" to be an annoyance ever since Greil Marcus praised it as the second coming of a Sun Records single. Eminem says that he's "retiring" from recording. And those of us who find him a pest would be happy if he kept his word. Maybe he realizes that he's run out of easy targets. Or maybe he's waiting for the next best Dido song to sample.