EMINEM - “The Real Slim Shady”

EMINEM - “The Real Slim Shady” (MP3)
Rock critics don’t like Eminem because he’s not political enough, but hey! on “The Real Slim Shady” he advocates same-sex marriage (okay, elopement) and direct-action McJob Sabotage with an army of pissed-off Slims spitting in the side orders. And he hates girl groups and boy bands! Mister Rock Critic, he is you! Which is sort of the point of “TRSS”, Slim as everyguy’s freewheeling alter-ego, sociopathic and bugged-out, a living breathing rapping Id Kid.

The other criticism you hear aimed at Em is that he’s just retreading old snot-rap Beastie-ploughed ground. Well, Eminem may end up making worse records than Hello Nasty but they almost certainly won’t be as boring. And Eminem on form is to the Beasties as “Firestarter” was to “Pump Up The Volume” - same genre and everything, but snappier, flashier and above all faster. Eminem has the best comic timing in hip-hop and the gags in “The Real Slim Shady” are plentiful (my favourite’s the Will Smith diss).

Plus Eminem’s like Donald Duck: it doesn’t even matter what he says, it’s going to be funny anyway. That voice of his - crazed, sarcastic, most of all infuriated - is where you can look for the politics (if you must). Like it or not, Eminem does reflect his dumb, fast times perfectly, whether he’s doing his nut over how stupid it all is or cackling from his front-row seat on the rollercoaster. He couldn’t solve our problems any more than the people whose actual job it is can, but his funny, catchy records - of which this is a top-flight example - can help you keep a grip on things. Eminem’s not sure whether to laugh along with his hysterical culture or give it a slap in the face: join the club.

Viva les Blemishes!

Viva les Blemishes!: “If you were to collate a list of the first 50 singles put out by Rough Trade, I would aver that any label would be hard pressed to impress me more. There is such an incredible mix of inventiveness and edginess”

rockcritics.com

rockcritics.com: of all the hem hem thousands of links I’ve received, this gives me the greatest honour. What a fantastic idea for a site: I shall pay tribute by stealing all their links.

This is as good a time as any to mention that the October issue of FT is going to be the Words Issue - pop critics, pop writing and pop lyrics under FT’s microscope.

Rebel without a brain

Rebel without a brain: review of Eminem live, from The Guardian. Apparently it’s bad or silly or something for “upper middle class” people to like Eminem - why this should be so goes, as usual, unexplained, possibly because when you actually start working through the implications of the idea that only “street kids” can legitimately like hip-hop all sorts of interesting consequences emerge. I also don’t see Tom Cox demanding social analyses or programmes for improvement from his beloved retro-seventies powerpop bands.

The Battle For English Soul

The Battle For English Soul: shhh! it’s a secret! This piece won’t ‘officially’ go on the main FT page until tonight (i.e. when I’ve found a picture for it), but readers of nylpm get a look at Robin Carmody’s epic meditation on Englishness early.