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.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

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.

[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"

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!!!"

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

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

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

NO TICKS post-2005

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

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

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.

[pot80.livejournal.com]

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

[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.