Eminem's Encore -- Need a Critical Evaluation (1 Viewer)

[rockaction]

My favorite album of his. The only one I actually laugh at. I'm universally wrong, apparently.

I'd appreciate anybody who follows this stuff to give a critical review. My personal opinion is that he got so meta that it became funny. I mean, his attempts at musical humor always fell flat with me until this album. Then his own puncturing of his own perfunctory expectations became hilarious to me.

I think his weird shifts during his songs that actually acknowledge his expected pop culture references became sort of inwardly turned, and brilliant. ### Like That is one of the weirdest, funniest things I heard in 2004. He took on Robert Smigel's role on Conan, for chrissakes. In rap form. Anyway, just would like to hear people's thoughts on this.

 

[cstu]

### Like That is one of the weirdest, funniest things I heard in 2004.

Weird, yes, funny, no.

 

[rockaction]

### Like That is one of the weirdest, funniest things I heard in 2004.

Weird, yes, funny, no.

“I can’t believe that he’s obsessed with me after all this time. I think he’s jealous because I’m black,” Triumph joked. “But seriously, it’s been three years [since the VMA incident]. The guy needs to work on his timing. Like that ‘Mosh’ video, coming out in, what, November? That’s sure going to hurt Bush in 2008. I keed Eminem, I wish him luck with his new anti-Milosevic video.”

 

[cstu]

### Like That is one of the weirdest, funniest things I heard in 2004.

Weird, yes, funny, no.

“I can’t believe that he’s obsessed with me after all this time. I think he’s jealous because I’m black,” Triumph joked. “But seriously, it’s been three years [since the VMA incident]. The guy needs to work on his timing. Like that ‘Mosh’ video, coming out in, what, November? That’s sure going to hurt Bush in 2008. I keed Eminem, I wish him luck with his new anti-Milosevic video.”

See? Now that's funny.

 

[rockaction]

### Like That is one of the weirdest, funniest things I heard in 2004.

Weird, yes, funny, no.

“I can’t believe that he’s obsessed with me after all this time. I think he’s jealous because I’m black,” Triumph joked. “But seriously, it’s been three years [since the VMA incident]. The guy needs to work on his timing. Like that ‘Mosh’ video, coming out in, what, November? That’s sure going to hurt Bush in 2008. I keed Eminem, I wish him luck with his new anti-Milosevic video.”

See? Now that's funny.

Precisely.

 

[jamny]

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this was about Eminence.

Carry on.

 

[Drunken Poster]

My critical evaluation is that Eminem sucks

 

[rockaction]

My critical evaluation is that Eminem sucks

I love the Shark Pool.

 

[Drunken Poster]

My critical evaluation is that Eminem sucks

I love the Shark Pool.

You aren't nearly as clever as you think you are

 

[rockaction]

My critical evaluation is that Eminem sucks

I've been listening to this all night and still love it, unironically.

 

[rockaction]

The way you move it...

 

[shadyridr]

By far his worst album

 

[rockaction]

By far his worst album

Why? Nobody gives anything but a declarative.

Explain, please.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

He apologized for its existence himself. That seems like a pretty strong "con".

 

[rockaction]

He apologized for its existence himself. That seems like a pretty strong "con".

I get that, but can you always trust a commercial artist to stand behind something everybody hates? Nope. From Pitchfork, at a 6.5 rating, but my point still kind of remains intact:

Em also shines when he spins well off his axis, as he does on both the hilarious "Rain Man" and the R. Kelly/Triumph the Insult Comic Dog-baiting "### Like That", songs that both tell a lot of the same sort of celebrity- or redneck-oriented jokes as previous Em tracks, but have new punchlines and almost completely skip the need for structure. The songs sound more like mixtape or freestyle material than album tracks, and they're better off for it.

 

[shadyridr]

By far his worst album

Why? Nobody gives anything but a declarative.

Explain, please.

i dont like burping, farting, and puke noises on my songs. I dont like an entire song with him rhyming in an accent. I dont like dumb political songs. I dont like childish songs with horrible rhyme patterns like rain man and first single on that album was atrocious. Need i go on? Im the biggest fan of em there is. Where do you think the shady comes from in my user name? Theres a few good songs on that album but otherwise its an absolute debacle and he even he admits how horrible it is.

 

[rockaction]

By far his worst album

Why? Nobody gives anything but a declarative.

Explain, please.

i dont like burping, farting, and puke noises on my songs. I dont like an entire song with him rhyming in an accent. I dont like dumb political songs. I dont like childish songs with horrible rhyme patterns like rain man and first single on that album was atrocious. Need i go on? Im the biggest fan of em there is. Where do you think the shady comes from in my user name? Theres a few good songs on that album but otherwise its an absolute debacle and he even he admits how horrible it is.

Nah, good point. I loathe burping, farting, and puke noises in my songs unless they come from somebody so turned in against himself that bodily functions carry the day. Where do you go when your own alter egos fail, and they're expecting you to produce another crappy pop single about pop culture? Well, you unmask a sockpuppet. Literally. You take Robert Smigel and drag him into the ####storm with you, don't you? And by going actually meta- on his record company, he escapes his alter egos for a bit. He ditches both his alter egos on this album in the guise of retirement. He gets his out.

Plus, he said he would "get up in the beat" like Lil' Wayne, and he did it. And I love it. Those singles...they're all Lil' Wayne rips but in Eminem's style, and I dig it.

But thanks, you're the only person that hasn't just offered a declarative.

 

[Rick James]

Really bad

 

[Paulymaggs]

My critical evaluation is that Eminem sucks

I love the Shark Pool.

You aren't nearly as clever as you think you are

Eminence is more interesting than Eminem at this point

 

[Ilov80s]

I like Em a lot in high school. He's pretty much my least favorite musical artist in the world now. I'd rather hear Katy Perry.