Taking Sides: Eminem vs The Bloodhound Gang

(and not the good kind of ass which eminem is, the one which makes you do pesky things like question yr assumptions about pop music and nod yr head at the same time.)

Of course Eminem has a better flow. He's a fucking rapper, he came second in the Rap Olympics. Peter Baynham once said the only qualification for being a genius is enough people saying you are. That's what I'm saying here: why is Eminem's social commentary with a scatalogical bent so much better than x other act's?

what else? because his obvious "wit" somehow elevates his own brand of horribleness above, say, juvenile? because if that's the case then it strikes me as exactly zero steps removed from saying them black folks sho is musical people and can't helped for what they think, now can they? why do we expect eminem to rise above his own particular bullshit just because he's charismatic and white? he's perfectly entitled to be conflicted, and perfectly entitled to make his living off of those contradictions. and perfectly entitled to play his audience on those very same contradictions, as contradictions, to know they're cop-outs, to verge on self-parody while being completely within the bounds of his "true feelings."

maybe thats the main difference between em and the bloodhound gang: charisma.

Eminem as an underachiver... I don't know if I agree, but the media seems to. i think what it boils down to, at least in the (spit) "mainstream alternative" press, is the need for the "New Kurt/New Richey/New Ian Curtis" whatever, someone who's going to come along, sum up the feeling of a generation, be a bit controversial, and then go away and die when he stops being interesting. For instance, the NME called him the most intelligent lyricist since Kurt Cobain (which is wrong on so many levels). So... where's the proof? If I'm being told he's the zeitgeist, where's the evidence? It's not even his fault, it's the way he's portrayed, but more and more nowadays the way a band are portrayed in the music press is more important than who they are (a la The Strokes).

I think I'll give it to you on charisma, actually. Just because I find Eminem interesting, doesn't mean I have to like him.

D'you think Eminem quite grasped all the possible meanings there?

Remember, all this Village Voice style Eminem mini-thesis didn't really start until the court cases started flying around and whatnot.

So, in conclusion: Eminem is the hip-hop Julian Casablancas.

he seems like the type of guy who would blow up over the stupidest shit.

Well, you saw that piracy comment and all -- what the fuck did he expect, that it wouldn't be circulating or that there would be demand? Not so much the sign of a great artist as the sign of a ill- informed businessman (and actually, why *does* blowing up etc. make anybody the sign of anything?).

because radical subjectivism is a crap idea for pop stars?

Nonsense. That way, we're all stars. :-)

And thus ends today's lecture.

ObEminem the "nobody listens to techno" line made me laff quite heartily, actually.

I'd love to continue this convo someplace else, I get the feeling a thread on Mr Mathers might be the wrong area though.

if the poetry convo continues i will inevitably post hannah-aged-6's spider acrostic

Dave Q, I love you! I doubt none of this could be happening without your glorious example and detailed ability to compare things that 'shouldn't' be compared down the line. :-)

Eminem=new Boy George?

Heh -- shoulda guessed you'd pick up on that one! Maybe he's really the new David Lindley or Jeff Porcaro.

Eminem=new Boy George?

Only if he prefers a cup of E to sex.

It was an image, it came to mind. :-) But no, really -- Adam Ant gets huge in the UK via at-the-time state of the art videos and state of the art mega-pop and nearly all the songs are about himself or his various characters. Where's the difference between him and Eminem on that level?

I think he's the new Simon LeBon

My wife's name is Kim/and I'm dancing on her head...

Ned, have you been watching VH1's "The Studio Files" and ESPN's "World Strongest Man" at the same time... AGAIN?

All I know is this thread made me listen to The Bad Touch, BASTARDS.

Isn't that what Mark McGwire used to hit all those homers?

I'm not a fan of either Em or the BHG, but at least the BHG make me laugh, and not at them.

Thats just my opinion

How you oh so cleverly dodged condemnation for your views!

This sentence could SO be taken out of context.

YOU AND ME BABY AIN'T NOTHING BUT SLIM SHADYYYYYYYY

which is funny, because Shakespeare was an appalling poet This is exactly what people are talking about when they swing in here and say that people on this board say things because they like the way it sounds when they say it rather than for the demonstrable truth-value of the thing said. Shakespeare didn't get canonized through some sinister plot to elevate an "appalling poet." He got canonized because he's good.

― John Darnielle, Saturday, June 1, 2002 2:00 AM (6 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^ what happened to this dude?