The Friday Canon: EMINEMINEMINEM

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Billions of albums sold, 9 Grammys won, 1 Oscar-winning film soundtrack penned, prescription drugs taken by the jarful. I doubt anyone on this community can say they've never heard an Eminem song. But which ones (if any) are the pick of the (bleached) crop? You get SIX ticks to denote your Eminemineminem love. I've included collaborations for completeness.

[Poll #970036]

U2: (link)
1. Where The Streets Have No Name
2. With Or Without You
3. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
=4. New Years Day
=4. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
6. The Fly
=7. Mysterious Ways
=7. One
=9. Desire
=9. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me

Bob Marley: (link)
1. Jamming / Punky Reggae Party
2. Exodus
3. Buffalo Soldier
=4. Could You Be Loved
=4. No Woman No Cry
=6. Iron Lion Zion
=6. Is This Love
8. One Love - People Get Ready
9. Sun Is Shining [vs Funkstar De Luxe]
=10. Three Little Birds
=10. Waiting In Vain

Comments

I ticked seven and I'm proud!

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

(flashes double middle fingers)

Cutting it down any more would kill me. I'd have ticked eight if Mosh had charted.

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

I reserved an imaginary tick for Mosh so had to hold back on some of the other songs. Restraint, young Farrell!

Re: I ticked seven and I'm proud!

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I was really surprised it hadn't. I bawled my eyes out to that song's video post-election but this is because I am a big political softie, probably.

Re: I ticked seven and I'm proud!

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I understand the political usefulness was a bit muted (IE if it had been released earlier than election week it might have got people out to be registered to vote rather than turn up and be turned away), but the effect is flawless, and also it's just a great tune.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

People not ticking Guilty Conscience! ARE YOU MAD? It's amazing!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I know I know it was between that and 'My Name Is' and 'Business' for the last tick so I went for the underdog (which haha I didn't even know was a single until now)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I remember being v disappointed that the album version didn't have the "these voices, these voices, I hear them..." bit over the chorus. Anyway, I would rate GC as one of the best uses of a sample for the riff to an entire song. It's so menacing!

What, she tripped, fell, landed on his dick?

[koganbot]

Would have been my next tick; problem is that there's too much nonmusic in it.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I know! If I had to play by the rules and drop one, that'd probably be the one to go, though.

Also haha I was about to post "People not ticking Stan! etc etc" which is the one I've ticked but you haven't.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Argh sodding Dido. I can't stand her whining on that, it spoils it. Plus I've heard it too many times. I agree it's a brilliant concept for a song though.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i think this (GC) might actually be my favourite.

the way i am not getting enuff luv neither :-(

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

The U2 results seem to suggest that for all the indie "they were great in the early days", it's the most pompous rock-will-save-the-world (the closest they came to humourlessness) that the poptimists lap up.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Or alternatively, it's the one covered by the Pet Shop Boys.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Followed by the two off that album that weren't :)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

And as I said at the time "joke on them" >>>>> "joke on us"

In praise of "My Name Is"

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Apart from being a great single, it really really does what it says on the box - I can't think of any other first single that so clearly (and literally) makes the case for "Three minutes ago you hadn't heard of me. Now, I'm a star". argh blabble words, but you know what I mean, right?

I yam what I yam and that's all I yam

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I am surprised so few are ticking The Way I Am, which may well be my favourite Eminem.

This was very hard to get down to 6 - I'd have liked 9 or 10 ticks.

Re: I yam what I yam and that's all I yam

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

Re: I yam what I yam and that's all I yam

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I will need to reevaluate "Guilty Conscience" and "The Way I Am" when I get home, given that they were my last 2 unticks and I haven't heard either in years.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Really interesting poll... it's the first time I can remember that a canon is producing such an even split across such a large number of tracks. Not enough love for 'Guilty Conscience' and 'The Way I Am' though.

My two favourite Eminem-related tunes don't appear here though... the Jacknife Lee remix of 'Cleaning Out My Closet' was truly fantastic, and 'Bitch Please II' (featuring Snoop, Nate Dogg, Xzibit and Dre) contains some of my favourite rap verses ever:
"Dreamin' at night of screamin' at mom, schemin' to leave
Run away from home and grow to be as evil as me
I just want you all to notice me and people to see
that somewhere deep down, there's a decent human being in me
It just can't be found, so the reason you've been seeing this me
is cause this is me now, the recent dude who's being this mean"

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

The Jacknife Lee COMC is very good, but I really don't like the original. He mashes well; the Boom Selection mass-"Without Me" remix blurt led to some great stuff (including: Marshall's Been Snookered, and that remix with "Get Down").

Poptimist inspiration

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I've mentioned this before on poptimists somewhere, but Eminem was one of the first rappers I respected during my indie snobbery phase. He was just so good at what he did! The dormant poptimist sector of my brain vetoed the remaining indie quadrant that usually filtered out anything vaguely hip hop related, and I realised that the music underneath the brilliant rapping was good too! And from thence the floodgates really opened, i.e. I found out who Dr Dre was and went "OMGZONEONEONE!!!"

Re: Poptimist inspiration

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

sort of ditto. not indie snobbery w me, just plain lack of being impressed

Re: Poptimist inspiration

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Yeah same here. Though the fact that my other favourite rappers were the Beastie Boys gave me a bit of "OMG am I 1x big racist?" for a bit.

Re: Poptimist inspiration

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

definitely ditto.

Re: Poptimist inspiration

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

good old jay-z

what, no purple pills?

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

all of these are better as mash ups, forgot about dre and lose yrself in partic.

also jauntyalan doing lose yrself at karaoke, which is a SIGHT TO BEHOLD

Re: what, no purple pills?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Argh bums, knew I forgot something. Purple Pills was rubbish anyway! D12 are to blame for Eminem doing a truly shonky set at Reading 2001. He could have made a brilliant set of grebtest hits so far but instead he didn't play ANY of the above singles at all! Stupid D12.

Re: what, no purple pills?

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Yes, Purple Pills was rub, but D12 did also release 'Fight Music' which was bloody grebt, and 'My Band' which had moments.

Poll is null and void.

Re: what, no purple pills?

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i did lose yourself quite poorly, but i am very proud of my performance of the way i am.

just for the record

Re: what, no purple pills?

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

sorry, yes. i blame drunk.

anyway KARAOKE ANYONE????

Re: what, no purple pills?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

YS PLS

Re: what, no purple pills?

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

MUST DO SOON!

Re: what, no purple pills?

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Well, yes.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I LOSE at counting. I think I ticked about ten. :( Sorry!

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Ah, it's ok, I worked out how to adjust the vote and now have six as per requirements.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Cool. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, plenty of voters have ignored the tick limits in the past! :-)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I bet they weren't properly potty trained.

NO TICKS post-2005

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

... and only a handful post-2002. Check THAT out for a scientifically-proven drop-off in quality.

Re: NO TICKS post-2005

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think that's the most interesting thing about this poll. Talk about shark-jumping!

Saturation

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Whether you like Eminem or not, you can probably hum at least half of the above tunes and recognise the titles of the remainder. The dude knows how to publicise himself.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

It seems that given only 6 ticks, a fair few people have made identical choices to each other, but no-one has selected the same 6 as me (largely because no-one other than me has so far selected all of 'Forgot About Dre', 'Guilty Conscience' and 'The Way I Am'.

Never in a million years

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

...would I have thought I'd ever tick "Just Lose It," having once written a (terrible) HALF STAR review of it. (After listening to it three times at two in the morning. Probably the worst thing I've ever written, in fact.) But there's something daring and exciting about it, like the most twisted cartoon of himself he's ever thought up, and that's saying a lot. Also kind of sad and pathetic, in a good way.

US Canon

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

The US canon would be very similar to the UK canon. It would add "Superman" and "Encore" (both of which I would expect to receive minimal ticks). It would drop though "The Way I Am", "Stan", and "Ass Like That" (aka worst song ever).

Eminem's biggest US hit, by far, is "Lose Yourself", his only number one. "Without Me" hit number two, and "The Real Slim Shady" only hit up to #4, despite seeming to be the most popular song of the year when it was out.

Re: US Canon

[koganbot]

There was actual radio fear about playing Eminem in 2000; the FCC even threatened to fine a station for playing the clean version of "The Real Slim Shady," then eventually decided not to (since it hadn't violated any of the rules), and in the meantime other stations were withholding the track while waiting on the FCC (this all happened after the song peaked, however; I'm using it to illustrate the atmosphere of the time, which had a lot of hysteria).

Re: US Canon

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I'm still working under the assumption that in the digital download era it would have stomped the competition. Was an actual physical single released?

[pot80.livejournal.com]

Surprised more of you didn't vote for "Without Me" -- clearly that's his best song!

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

By a long distance too. I only ticked five. In order: "Without Me", "Guilty Conscience", "The Way I Am", "Just Lose It", "Lose Yourself". I don't need to hear any of the others again.

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

Every crap town I go to still has just one adolescent boy with a copycat Eminem hairdo. I feel like going "Awww!" and patting them.