Amadeo wrote:I use too many brackets (fuck it).
Lmao. (nice).
Irony is dead, but, I'd kill for a joke. Oh HAHA, hilarious BASE, hope I die. Of body aids.
Amadeo wrote:I use too many brackets (fuck it).
EminemBase wrote:Willy wrote:He's in character but theres no underlying irony or social commentary.. there are a few occurences and certainly instances of aristic flair in the writing :P.. but as a whole I think he could have done a lot more with the concept.
Well, there certainly is underlying irony throughout the record.
"Come on toots, give me the valium, alley-oop"... he's totally melded in to the mindset of a slap-happy, gleeful psychopath and he captures the psyche perfectly and makes it comical and dark; that in itself is ironic because psychopathy in itself isn't necessarily comical or entertaining, he makes it so.
As for social commentary... not every record calls for it, there's flickers of it but it's a very insular concept so why would he be commenting on society when he's going through some spazzy, psychootic drug rampage and murder-spree... the concept doesn't call for it...
Not that I'm saying he could just do it at will at that point but, the concept doesn't call for it...
Depends what the intent and tone of the project is.
Aone10 wrote:Willy wrote:EminemBase wrote:Well, there certainly is underlying irony throughout the record.
"Come on toots, give me the valium, alley-oop"... he's totally melded in to the mindset of a slap-happy, gleeful psychopath and he captures the psyche perfectly and makes it comical and dark; that in itself is ironic because psychopathy in itself isn't necessarily comical or entertaining, he makes it so.
As for social commentary... not every record calls for it, there's flickers of it but it's a very insular concept so why would he be commenting on society when he's going through some spazzy, psychootic drug rampage and murder-spree... the concept doesn't call for it...
Not that I'm saying he could just do it at will at that point but, the concept doesn't call for it...
Depends what the intent and tone of the project is.
There are instances of irony and I agree that not every song calls for social commentary.. those are just ways to increase depth..but let me rephrase what I'm getting at. I think Relapse is a good album and achieves what it set out to do...it allows Em to rhyme his ass off about rape/murder/drugs. That said, bar a few tracks (My Mom, Same Song and Dance, Deja Vu), it's not done in an interesting way. His rhyming/word choice/phrasings are better than most (still quite a ways off from his prime), but that's because he's Eminem. Depth-wise, there's not much beyond the serial killing and rape... he's rapping to rap, and that's fine because that's most likely what he intended, but if that's the case then the album's aim limits its potential.
And to me, that's the most disappointing thing about Relapse. You'd have it stop at Deja Vu... I'd have it reshaped into the monster it should have been. There are flickers of potential with Doctor West, My Darling, Same Song and Dance, My Mom...but at the end of the day there are too many songs dedicated to aimless rape/murder. After a while it gets dull.
Relapse is cinematic, in a horror film type of way. Eminem really puts you into the mind of a serial killer without it being so obvious.
Think about it, serial killers tend to have troubling/traumatic childhoods that form the foundation for their dementia. The album starts off with 3am, an opening scene that paints a picture of a bloody murder spree during the witching hour. This is Eminem's way of introducing the character he plays in this album. He then gives us the background story to his traumatizing childhood of being abused/force fed drugs by his mother and being raped by his step-father (My Mom/Insane).
The following 6 songs (Hello, Same Song & Dance, We Made You, Medicine Ball, Stay Wide Awake) feature twisted fantasies of murder, rape, drugs, and a blood lust for celebrities. Like most horror movies, the middle tends to be the bloodiest and most senseless, yet it is the reason why we watch those movies in the first place. So while some people may view this portion of the album as redundant, I view it as necessary to achieve what he was trying to achieve. Essentially, the cinematic portion of the album is completed with Stay Wide Awake.
The album then takes a different turn and strays away from the main theme without compromising it's cohesiveness and brilliance. With songs like Old Time's Sake and Must Be the Ganja being kick back rap records that celebrate the reunion of Em and Dre, placing you in the studio with them during the recording process of Relapse. Eminem then proceeds to give us the most introspective moments on Relapse with Deja Vu and Beautiful, which provides us with an insight as to what Eminem was going through prior to Relapse.
He closes the album out with Crack A Bottle and Underground. I feel that Crack A Bottle was uneccessary here, but it doesn't ruin the album for me. Sonically, it flows with the rest of the album. Underground is an excellent record that opens up with the classic "a lot of people ask me" dialogue before an onslaught of lyrics by Eminem, much like Still Don't Give a Fuck from the Slim Shady LP and Criminal from the Marshall Mathers LP. A very nostalgic way to close his comeback album and very fitting seeing that Relapse is Em's most shock worthy material since the the MMLP.
Having the album divided in 2 creates a classic Side A/Side B feel to it.
In conclusion, much like a Wes Craven, Eminem took his own experiences as both a child and celebrity and has exaggerated them with perverse and disturbing lyrics to create one of his most brillaint and genius albums. Much like hollywood's greatest actors, you can hear that Eminem was in tune with his character and put plenty of time into creating this album. Definitely was not rushed as this is one of Eminem's most detailed efforts.
But not all credit must go to Eminem, as without Dr. Dre, the album wouldn't be what it is. Dre's production was amongst the best in his career in terms of coheviseness and theme. Dr. Dre produced what sounds like a horror-hip-hop movie score that can be adapted into a Broadway musical. The production varies from chilling/eerie/suspenseful, to signature Dre.
I'm with Embase, there is plenty of depth on Relapse....
But taking it at face value and just dismissing it as serial killer/rapist shit will prevent you from truly appreciating it's genius. Much like those who criticize horror movies for just being pointless gore and senseless, completely ignoring the true artistry that goes into creating a great horror movie.
Relapse is arguably one of Eminem's best produced albums, his most conceptual, and his best display of lyricism since his prime. How some people don't like this album (especially Eminem fans) is beyond me.
Aone10 wrote:Relapse is cinematic, in a horror film type of way. Eminem really puts you into the mind of a serial killer without it being so obvious.
Think about it, serial killers tend to have troubling/traumatic childhoods that form the foundation for their dementia. The album starts off with 3am, an opening scene that paints a picture of a bloody murder spree during the witching hour. This is Eminem's way of introducing the character he plays in this album. He then gives us the background story to his traumatizing childhood of being abused/force fed drugs by his mother and being raped by his step-father (My Mom/Insane).
The following 6 songs (Hello, Same Song & Dance, We Made You, Medicine Ball, Stay Wide Awake) feature twisted fantasies of murder, rape, drugs, and a blood lust for celebrities. Like most horror movies, the middle tends to be the bloodiest and most senseless, yet it is the reason why we watch those movies in the first place. So while some people may view this portion of the album as redundant, I view it as necessary to achieve what he was trying to achieve. Essentially, the cinematic portion of the album is completed with Stay Wide Awake.
The album then takes a different turn and strays away from the main theme without compromising it's cohesiveness and brilliance. With songs like Old Time's Sake and Must Be the Ganja being kick back rap records that celebrate the reunion of Em and Dre, placing you in the studio with them during the recording process of Relapse. Eminem then proceeds to give us the most introspective moments on Relapse with Deja Vu and Beautiful, which provides us with an insight as to what Eminem was going through prior to Relapse.
He closes the album out with Crack A Bottle and Underground. I feel that Crack A Bottle was uneccessary here, but it doesn't ruin the album for me. Sonically, it flows with the rest of the album. Underground is an excellent record that opens up with the classic "a lot of people ask me" dialogue before an onslaught of lyrics by Eminem, much like Still Don't Give a Fuck from the Slim Shady LP and Criminal from the Marshall Mathers LP. A very nostalgic way to close his comeback album and very fitting seeing that Relapse is Em's most shock worthy material since the the MMLP.
Having the album divided in 2 creates a classic Side A/Side B feel to it.
In conclusion, much like a Wes Craven, Eminem took his own experiences as both a child and celebrity and has exaggerated them with perverse and disturbing lyrics to create one of his most brillaint and genius albums. Much like hollywood's greatest actors, you can hear that Eminem was in tune with his character and put plenty of time into creating this album. Definitely was not rushed as this is one of Eminem's most detailed efforts.
But not all credit must go to Eminem, as without Dr. Dre, the album wouldn't be what it is. Dre's production was amongst the best in his career in terms of coheviseness and theme. Dr. Dre produced what sounds like a horror-hip-hop movie score that can be adapted into a Broadway musical. The production varies from chilling/eerie/suspenseful, to signature Dre.
I'm with Embase, there is plenty of depth on Relapse....
But taking it at face value and just dismissing it as serial killer/rapist shit will prevent you from truly appreciating it's genius. Much like those who criticize horror movies for just being pointless gore and senseless, completely ignoring the true artistry that goes into creating a great horror movie.
Relapse is arguably one of Eminem's best produced albums, his most conceptual, and his best display of lyricism since his prime. How some people don't like this album (especially Eminem fans) is beyond me.
Amadeo wrote:On the scale of Eminem priorities when he was writing Relapse (1-10), "getting into the mind of a serial killer" was about a 1.5.
Rhyming as many syllables as possible in each verse was a 9.5.
jinofthewind wrote:And Koolo's sources said... Nothing you idiots Koolo's sources are dead they're locked in my basement
GoinThruChanges wrote:Amadeo wrote:On the scale of Eminem priorities when he was writing Relapse (1-10), "getting into the mind of a serial killer" was about a 1.5.
Rhyming as many syllables as possible in each verse was a 9.5.
Now if we can only get a perfect balance of content (not conceptual serial killing. I mean content, like opinions, stories, emotions, etc) and rhyming as much as possible, we would have a classic album
dead prez wrote:You know when I said I wasn’t trying to turn this into some full fledged debate you should have taken heed to that and bowed out in grace rather than baiting one of the most argumentative pricks in this forum. But hey I haven’t done one of these in ages and it’s always fun to utterly annihilate someone’s shithouse argument for everyone to see.Snake897 wrote: Horrorcore? Yep. The main appeal for me definitely isn't the rhymes.
That’s the main appeal for a lot of goddamn people, and hey there’s nothing wrong with him indulging in one of his most valuable assets. I mean for crying out loud songs like Hellbound, When Hell Freezes Over, Off the Wall and assloads of more songs are just him having fun depicting himself as a psychopath with an air of mischief to him that’s lost in the majority of Relapse. Also his Celebrity namedropping back then were a lot less obnoxious and didn’t seem like he was just namedropping Britney Spears, Fred Durst, (insert irrelevant washed up popstar from that era) for the fuck of it whereas him namedropping celebs in Relapse makes him seem like he only did it to distance himself from said celebrities because he knows deep down he’s just as liable to be targeted by an up and coming mc and really no different from a lot of the celebs he disses.Yes, it's great that he's able to rhyme so many words in a single bar, but it's more the concepts.
Not when the content takes a backseat to the rhyming and he has to form verses around his rhyming many of which are akin to intellectual masturbation; him stringing endless multies just cause he can solidify this. And hey if it tickles your fancy that’s cool, but don’t pretend like this is some deep, dark exploration of the human pshyce worthy of a dissertation.When Tech manages to make a horror storytelling song as creepy, "technical", and at the same time coherent as Same Song and Dance, let me know. You know the difference with Em and Tech? Em makes the effort to stuff the rhymes in....but make them WORK. I doubt Tech has ever made an Insane. The dark imagery and the way each song flows into the next is simply genius. I'd explain the entire fucking album concept AGAIN, but I have a feeling you'd just dismiss it.
It’s been said before but I don’t give one shit about Tech N9ne literally the interest there is zero, I merely brought him up because like Crashband said the appeal of both Relapse and Tech is being horrocore stringed with an assload of multies and crazy flows, the only difference being that even if Tech is as bad as Relapse lyrically he is phonetically more pleasing and has a gift for sounding good; something Eminem had but completely shitted on when he adapted that “funny” accent. Also I like how you completely ignored me bringing up Rhyme Asylum, who also do horrcore albeit much better than Relapse and have an over the top cartoonish vibe to them whilst remaining punchline rappers and not sucking (no easy feat when guys like Chino XL and Bis exist).
Andat him making them work, the majority of Relapse is him stroking his ability to link multies (like I said a million times before) except he just assaults you with a barrage of imagery that don’t go together and some pretty cringy lines to top off his verses. He barely keeps track of single train of thought and Same Song and Dance is the only “serial killer” song where he keeps a coherent narrative for more than just one verse and isn’t just loaded with random imagery and goofy lines.
1. "Dr. West" (skit)
2. "3 A.M."
An intro to the new "serial killer" persona Em has developed.
Bravo, Bravo * clap clap* congratulations on saying what the painfully obvious first track is about. Also you seem to be confusing having a general concept with being a “concept album” lol, every goddammn Hip Hop album has a concept or theme to it. Relapse for the most part doesn’t really go anywhere with it other than “lol serial killer”, there’s no overarching plotline to it for the majority of the album other than arguably the climax like buttloads of rap albums. You naming it a concept rap album shows you have a fundamental lack of understanding as to what constitutes a concept album and shows you’re just throwing “concept album” as some buzzword to embellish your favorite album, which I don’t understand as being a concept album doesn’t indicate quality. You’re forgetting EXECUTION which is my biggest gripe with the entire album something you conveniently sweep under the rug.
For an example of a “concept album” with an overarching narrative where each song plays out episodically and the whole feel of it is reminiscent of a movie than check out A Prince Among Thieves, you don’t even have to listen to it. Simply looking it up would suffice, than again you might argue unfair as I’m comparing Relapse to arguable the most innovative and creative concept album off all time.
Btw I’m not saying it’s the best album off all time either and prefer illmatic which has no oreal “concept” to it other than some guy recounting tales off his life in the hood with each song being a different spin on it. Something akin to *shock* Relapse.3. "My Mom"
4. "Insane"
5. "Bagpipes From Baghdad"
6. "Hello"
These are parts of the origin story of Em's new serial killer persona, which are basically heavily altered versions of Em's own life experiences.
My Mom started off about his mom taking pills (nothing new here) but started getting darker (Em being forced into taking the pills and not being able to eat until "next thanksgiving) while also foreshadowing the inevitable crash landing Em's life would take (reference to Heath Ledger).
Insane was about his hatred of his father, which is once again exaggerated to a massive degree, with Em stating he (his father) raped him.
Bagpipes From Baghdad was an exaggerated twist on his relationship with Mariah Carey, except much more violent than normal.
First off My Mom is the only one of those songs listed where he can keep track of single train of thought throughout the whole song and actually tell a “story”.
Oh lawd insane is horrible and is one of Relapse’s worst songs, starting with the cringy opening line and is consistently shitty throughout with the lines “than he played ping pong with his own ding dog” QQ as well as a bunch of other miscellaneous fart noises which ruin the whole song. It could have been decent if he could have kept track of the “story” he was trying to tell instead of just spewing inane lines trying to be whimsical in a track that should otherwise be serious. And I have no problems with him being whimsical he’s displayed numerous times that he can tell a great story masked with humor but is actually mean to be looked at seriously with multiple relistens. As The World Turns is a humorous recount of his childhood, yet you can tell he was trying to inform us that he had a shitty childhood and wasn’t liked by his peers or teachers.
Bagpipes From Baghdad is a glorified diss track towards Mariah Carey (lol) which coincidentally happen to fall in the Eminem “serial killer, funny accent” era and seems like he just slopped it into this album for no real reason. Again I’m seeing a pattern here where he can barely keep track of his content and at best stays within topic for one verse before drifting off into gibberish. Gee instead of coming up with some distorted and warped fan theory conjecturing that he’s some genius for linking three songs about his hatred for people and that somehow equates to it forming a cohesive concept, why don’t you follow Occam’s Razor and see that maybe he just threw in that Mariah Carey diss for the fuck of it and also used his accent/ serial killer theme since that’s what was most prevalent in that era.
Oh HELLO THERE YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN HELLO, was it not good enough for a meandering explanation as to how it’s genius for continuing his serial killer “theme”?7. "Tonya" (skit)
8. "Same Song & Dance"
Em's serial killer persona's version of his misogynistic tendencies; but instead of killing people in comedic or at least strange (killing them through their mail, throwing a grenade in their driveway) he actually goes into detail with disturbingly realistic stories of his murders.
This is actually one of the decent songs on the album and he actually tells a cohesive narrative in this song rather than assaulting you with a barrage of random imagery, drugs, and cringy phrases. Notice how his multies seem more potent because he isn’t just stringing together random words with no cohesion? Hell the last few lines of his second verse are great and if could have kept up this quality through the whole album I would have understood why some people think this album’s good-great.9. "We Made You"
Serial killer Em's version of the light-hearted singles that he usually comes out with. Even though it's poppy, it has strangely dark lines (wait no, don't massacre the fans!!). Not a great song. Moving on.
I’m gonna repeat this ad nauseum you don’t know the creative process behind what goes into making a “concept album” merely following the same theme throughout (serial killer) doesn’t make a concept album, lol. How about instead of propping up this otherwise lackluster poppy single as some sort of continuation of his serial killer theme, you objectively look it at as the obligatory “single” that most rap records have.
Also loll at that line being strangely dark.10. "Medicine Ball"
Pretty obvious what this is a murderous exaggeration of.
No, not really. But it is pretty obviously one of the worst songs on the album and encapsulated what’s wrong with Relapse imo. If I had to pick one reason why a lot of people don’t like the vibe Relapse gives off, than this is the number one song to choose. And again it’s cool if you like this sort of stuff, whatever, but don’t act like the people who criticize the damn album are grasping at straws or pulling it out of their ass.11. "Paul" (skit)
12. "Stay Wide Awake"
Another series of murders by serial killer Em; however, unlike Same Song and Dance, where he mainly focuses on the girls themselves and his relationship with them, only talking about their murders in the end, Stay Wide Awake is more about the violent murders themselves.
Lol, how many another “series of murders” songs are you gonna write? That’s another problem with Relapse is that a good portion of it can be eradicated and it would actually tone down the repetitiveness plaguing the album. Yeah the song has an astounding quality of multies and the chorus is actually pretty good, I can get behind people liking this song or even liking what Relapse stands for in general. However I’m much more impressed with subtle multies that aren’t astounding but are crafted in a way that seems like they were an indelible part of the song to begin with. For an example of what I mean listen to My Fault or for a non-Eminem example listen to Black Thought on How I got over.13. "Old Time's Sake" (featuring Dr. Dre)
14. "Must Be the Ganja"
Murderous interpretations of some of the stoner songs he did before. Old Time's Sake has lines like "Here he comes, it's attack of the rainman; chainsaw in hand, man, bloodstain on my apron" while Must Be the Ganja had an entire verse dedicated to Em's fascination with serial killers.
“Murderous interpretations”, lol, try filler. And hey I know you don’t want to use that because it would hurt your precious argument that it’s a “concept album” which is the fulcrum that hang your entire argument as to why Relapse is a good album. Filler can be good (the second verse of Must be the Ganja is great) but instead of admitting it, you keep on latching on to some horrible fan theory as how it continues his theme, really English teachers must love you. You’re probably the type to draw conclusions from a story that was never there to begin with.
Anyways yeah it’s more like a continuation of him jerking off himself with his abilities to create multies all while seeming washed up and juvenile. And hey I’m not one to promote brooding , introspective, emo songs either and can see those being as much of a chore to listen too, if not more.
I can dig playful, whimsical, non-serious rap like Edan and Yak Ballz who are obviously just having fun with what they’re doing.15. "Mr. Mathers"
16. "Déjà Vu"
Up until this point, notice how every song has at least some kind of accent, whether it be middle eastern (Bagpipes from Baghdad) or just plain fucking weird (Insane).
The accents and his rapping derive from different parts of his career. For example; the high pitched voice and dark comedy comes from SSLP, the personal shit from MMLP and a parts of Eminem Show, while his accent comes from Encore.
You pulled this out of your rectal orifice a few seconds before typing it; and while it’s cool to address the accent portion. That’s A LOT of people’s griped with the album and it ruins the tone, and yeah I know the origin or why he did. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.Until the Mr. Mathers skit, everything has simply been a drug-induced hallucination Em's been experiencing; a twisted serial killer's representation of his life, hence why the skit cuts off "Must be the Ganja" so abruptly and quickly.
Deja Vu details Em's fall into the state he's been in for the entire album (passed out on the bathroom floor). Notice how there's no accent at all. This is the turning point of the album. From here on out, Em's in the real world......
See this is what many people consider the best song on Relapse (notice how it has no accents, is cohesive/not random gibberish, and he doesn’t go crazy with the multies in an overt and obvious but his rapping’s much more subdued and subtle). A brilliant respite from the rest of the album
17. "Beautiful"
.....And such a revelation leads him to a deep depression, resulting in this song, which is Em facing his fears (his fading popularity and ability to rap, yet still being popular enough to be harassed in public)
This is Em's mindset in rehab.
18. "Crack a Bottle" (featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent)
This takes place after rehab; a sort of laid-back celebratory song. Notice how once again, there's absolutely NO accent. This is Eminem, not the serial killer persona.
.19. "Steve Berman" (skit)
Em poking some fun at how people say he whines too much.
20. "Underground"
This is the song announcing Eminem's true return. Once again, no accent. His flowing and rhyming is on point, and while it's murderous, it's very Slim Shady-esque (very abstract and random, yet dark as hell) rather than the serial killer shit we got for the rest of the album
Sounds like a fucking concept album to me.
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