Genius Of Eminem
Oh, I wish he would have retired. But you know rappers, always quitting and coming back. So, I've got a confession to make: I can't stand Eminem, who I believe is one of the most overrated artists in music history. He's made a career picking on celebrities, gays and women. Now that's a creative mind. The only 2 songs of his I can listen to are "Stan" and "Lose Yourself." But I've grown less fond of the latter after Greil Marcus raved about it once like it was a long lost Sun single from Elvis. Still, with all his minimal talent, I was surprised that critics I like jumped on his bandwagon, like Christgau, but that's just his opinion. Christgau thinks Eminem's misogyny is okay, but derides a band like the Eagles for writing songs in which the women cheat on them.
Eminem's new album, Relapse, has already gotten a rave in Rolling Stone. Okay, that's no shock. But sad to see Rob Sheffield drink the Eminem Kool-Aid.
I also fear the Christgau review, which I think will be as confused as this from Ann Powers of the LA Times:
"Relapse" is the first album Eminem has made after returning from his own brink, and it's an impressively focused and clever work. But this music is not transcendent. It's still stuck in Marshall Mathers' muck, his fundamental mistrust of pleasure and love. Maybe he just needs a new therapist. Or a new mask."
With all that's gone on in the World in the last 5 years since he, um, retired, you would think Eminem could give us his worldly thoughts. But, alas, its the same old same old. Picking on celebrities no one but Star magazine care about, throwing in some anti-gay and women lines. Wow, what a genius.
At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there were moments of genuine humor in Eminem's introductory speech of Run DMC, but onstage with his "look how tough I am" demeanor, it came across as nothing but annoying.
And that's been the whole point of Eminem's career. Hiding behind the fake name, Marshall Mathers has been able to craft a whole other persona. It's not me saying all these bad things, its my alter ego.
But some of us never bought it. Sadly, some think he's a tortured genius. Picking on Mariah Carey and Lindsey Lohan? This is an artistic statement for 2009?
Eminem's new album, Relapse, has already gotten a rave in Rolling Stone. Okay, that's no shock. But sad to see Rob Sheffield drink the Eminem Kool-Aid.
I also fear the Christgau review, which I think will be as confused as this from Ann Powers of the LA Times:
"Relapse" is the first album Eminem has made after returning from his own brink, and it's an impressively focused and clever work. But this music is not transcendent. It's still stuck in Marshall Mathers' muck, his fundamental mistrust of pleasure and love. Maybe he just needs a new therapist. Or a new mask."
With all that's gone on in the World in the last 5 years since he, um, retired, you would think Eminem could give us his worldly thoughts. But, alas, its the same old same old. Picking on celebrities no one but Star magazine care about, throwing in some anti-gay and women lines. Wow, what a genius.
At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there were moments of genuine humor in Eminem's introductory speech of Run DMC, but onstage with his "look how tough I am" demeanor, it came across as nothing but annoying.
And that's been the whole point of Eminem's career. Hiding behind the fake name, Marshall Mathers has been able to craft a whole other persona. It's not me saying all these bad things, its my alter ego.
But some of us never bought it. Sadly, some think he's a tortured genius. Picking on Mariah Carey and Lindsey Lohan? This is an artistic statement for 2009?
posted by Tom Lane at 7:55 AM
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