Post by The Curmudgeon on Apr 23, 2009 1:58:47 GMT 2
Would the Real Slim Shady retire again, please?
There was a time, and it seems so, so long ago, when a new Eminem album was a Big Deal. Big hit songs, lawsuits, tabloid scandals, outrage - but more importantly, razor sharp lyrics, infectious beats - and the sense that we were finally seeing something new in the stagnant world of commercial rap music. Sadly, times change.
So, as per, its the same "funny" single Eminem always introduces his albums with. My Name Is, Without Me, Just Lose It.. and while the first two were whipsmart snapshots of the time (although Just Lose It was both boring and irritating in equal measures), We Made You sounds like Eminem in total auto-pilot mode.
There's always a worry that if you copy yourself too much you're going to sound like some watered down self parody, and everything about this song makes it look and sound like some Slim Shady Saturday Night Live sketch. From about four years ago.
Why exactly is Eminem talking about Jessica Simpson? Why is she dressed up in her Daisy Duke outfit? And who the hell cares about Jessica Simpson anymore, anyway? And why is he telling Britney to dump K-Fed? And an Amy Winehouse "Rehab" gag? When was this garbage even written?
Pop culture jabs are all well and good if a) they're topical or even remotely relevant and b) they're funny in the first place. This song fails on both levels. While the Eminem of old was a perfect critic of the world around him, here he sounds like he's spent the last five years hiding in a box. When he then throws in fart sound effects you actually start to feel embarrassed for the guy.
Lord knows hip-hop still needs a saviour from all the bling-obsessed cretins on MTV, and an Eminem comeback (from "retirement" - someone needs to sit these idiots down and tell them what "retirement" actually means) should have blown the scene to pieces. After his serious side took a swipe at George Bush, it would have been nice to see what today's Eminem thinks about the world we're in today. The economy is screwed. Music and television are dominated by reality show clones. The Israel/Gaza conflict. Guantanamo Bay. Our every move being documented by the Government. Hell, even a stinging blow to the talentless Souljaboys polluting the rap scene right now, or even a joke about Rihanna and Chris Brown. But no. We get to hear that he's "made a mess in his trousers." Amazing.
As a single, it's weak. As the lead single of a comeback from a hiatus of five years of one of the greatest rappers of his generation, it's appalling. "You should hear the rest of my album", he says. Yeah.. I think I'll pass.
