Eminem - Love the Way You Lie

Fairly important: the formatting on this post goes to hell in most feeds, and it will be best read at ericonthecharts.blogspot.com

I didn't figure Eminem would have the first Sad Bastard song on the list

Eminem
Love the Way You Lie
Sad Bastard
#33 (HiMid)
Dec 2, 2010
Marshall Mathers
Alexander Grant
Holly Hafferman
Makeba Riddick
Alex da Kid
Makeba Riddick

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While I've never been even a casual fan, I'm not going to deny that Eminem's got talent. As a matter of fact, as the weeks progress and I listen to a wide and random selection of rappers, I'm more impressed with his particular skill than I would have been if someone had played me this track before I heard Wiz Khalifa and Tyga. In the pack of Billboard stars, Emimem's absolutely an A-lister.

Regardless of the rapper's skill, “Love the Way You Lie” isn't a very good song. It comes off fairly one-note, with verses in Eminem's signature throaty yell, separated by a sad and balladic chorus sung by an un-autotuned Rihanna (hey, looks like she can sing). Lyrically, it plays like a celebrity explaining away his own headlines and presence in the national hype machine... an okay narrative, I suppose, but I'm not really drawn in by it.

For the record, I respect Eminem's honesty. No matter what you think of his oft-reported behavior or his records, you have to admit he's not a celebrity handled by PR men-- his lyrics truly represent who he is and what he feels. It may be hateful or misogynist, it may be a bad career move, it may illuminate our image of a childish idiot (an image he's too stubborn to stop perpetuating), but he meant what he said when he said it. Since I spend a lot of time complaining about pre-processed product being passed off as music, this kind of honesty counts for something. If Eminem's reprehensible, at least he's genuinely reprehensible, and he's not going to bullshit anyone about it.

You know I know how
To make em stop and stare as I zone out
The club can't even handle me right now
Watchin you I'm watchin you we go all out
The club can't even handle me right now

This song, then, is the story of the violent relationship told by the violent man: they were desperately in love once, no one wants to have that kind of thing turn sour, emotions run high during the screaming matches and things get out of control. Most anyone who's been in a serious relationship or two has been in the fight this song can evoke... he never physically hurts the girl, but punches the wall and the guy she's out with (general, violent, jealous guy behavior). It feels pretty selfish coming from a guy who made headlines and earned probation time for the first verse.

There will be no next time
I apologize
Even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games
I just want her back
I know I'm a liar
If she ever tries to fucking leave again
I'mma tie her to the bed
And set the house on fire

Again, I believe Eminem-- this song feels like a public apology, sure, and probably a sincere one-- but it also feels like Sad Bastard self pity. There are a lot of promises to never do this sort of thing again, but he's self aware enough to know he's full of shit and honest enough to tell us. The gestalt of the piece is that love can go bad, fights can get intense, he doesn't mean for things to get out of hand... but they do, they always will, and he's going to get violent, so what can you do? At least he's sad about it.

Having a famous domestic abuse victim sing the choruses is kind of an odd choice, too-- if you're going to have an “I'm sorry I've been such a violent guy” song and yet have it end with immolating the person you're apologizing to, why have the sad, soul singer chorus containing “I love the way it hurts” sung by Rihanna of all people?

Even though I'm still impressed with Eminem's rhythm and gift for internal rhyme, the song itself is pretty generic: alternating verses and choruses over (admittedly interesting and well composed) beats laced with mopey acoustics. None of the cleverness displayed in the details from line to line make it into the structure of the song: nothing ever changes, it just keeps sulking sadly along.

Walk

Stay with the song, walk away, or run like hell:

Rihanna - Only Girl (In the World)

Fairly important: the formatting on this post goes to hell in most feeds, and it will be best read at ericonthecharts.blogspot.com

Rihanna
Only Girl (In the World)
Club Anthem
#4 (High)
Oct 21, 2010
YouTube

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I guess it was bound to happen, but I didn't expect it so soon in the project-- Nelly's not letting go of that #3 spot. Makes sense that the upper echelons aren't going to move much, packed in at the front of the line and pushing... so in order to avoid repeats, I slid back one.

And, hey, look, it's Rihanna! I've never listened to her before, but I have at least heard of her: I know one thing about Rihanna (I'll just link you back to Chris Brown). So this is the first of many techno-themed pop songs in my cue this week... I'm calling it a club anthem because this thing doesn't really seem to live by its lyrics. But techno seems to be my overriding theme this week.

A little backstory (looks like this project is going to be rife with backstory, anecdotes, and colloquial asides... sorry, but that's just me)-- I remember when a group of friends, gathered in a living room, had someone break out a tape of new music, called “house.” The rave scene was still underground, and though electronic music had been around for a long time (I had a thing for Art of Noise when I was in high school), none of us had heard of house music. The stuff I had at the time didn't age well, but for a short bout it was exciting simply because is was so different from everything else.

A lot of that music's elements are everywhere now-- current music is awash in boonch, boonch, boonch beats and fixed-interval oscillator detunes. Don't get me wrong: I'm not against any kind of electronica in general, and I'm very much for new sounds entering the musical lexicon: it gives us all a bigger sandbox to play in.

Some of this problem might be my preconceptions, because I usually assume that the R&B stars have a bedrock of funkiness, and I'm heading into week 2 and haven't heard a hint of funk yet. The house movement might have had one thing on it's mind (just like this song): Dance Dance Dance! But with the robotic mechanics of the inhuman beats and sequenced synths, it was profoundly unfunky. It was the anti-funk.

I can't hold this song responsible for my pre-conceived notions, but my other problem is, while I think it's cool that myriad styles can be incorporated into new music, this doesn't borrow from the house movement: it's basically the same bad dance music that hit mTV in the early 90's. It's a 2 Unlimited song. And I'm not about to champion 2 Unlimited, but at least they were working with the new trend in music... this doesn't borrow from dance music from the early 90's, it doesn't incorporate elements of, draw inspiration from, re-interpret ideas of, borrow a cup of sugar from, or sneak down the alley behind 20-year-old techno-pop songs. It is a 20-year-old techno-pop song.  The call is coming from inside the house!

It's just so played out. My problem with that cliche'd autotune effect-- that cliché is newer than this cliché. The prefab backing track of this song actually has dust on it... but I'll bet the club goes crazy when they play it on a saturday night. It just baffles me when I hear this kind of thing spilling out of the radio via the open window of a passing car.

Why would anyone listen to this while sitting down?

RUN!

Stay with the song, walk away, or run like hell: