Lines on 'Medicine Ball' are pretty desperate

[MikeNUFC]

I fucking love this song - his rhyme scheme in the first verse is immense - but was listening to it today and realised how desperate some moments are.

Take the chorus:

"I guess its time for you to hate me again" - Almost like he wants people to hate him. No-one really did hate him when Relapse came out. No-one does anymore. It was almost like he wanted it to be 2000 again.

Also "never meant this/line to be so offensive/If you weren't so defensive/It wouldn't be/You're so sensitive" - the line before isn't offensive at all - it's like he wants people to be offended by it.

Again:
"Now everybody's pissed at me, like it's my fault
His name rhymes with so many different words, geez" - no-one was that offended by the lines on Encore about Christoper Reeve, let alone his newer work.

Whereas in 2000 people WERE offended by his work and on MMLP he COULD come out and be like "why the fuck you offended, it's just music" etc. And it worked becuase he was being honest and it was believable. These days people are so offended by things in music plus no-one was that bothered by Eminem's offensive work.

I'm a huge defender of Relapse but there were a couple of moments like that on the album that were pretty desperate.

[MakaveliTheDon]

Yeah I agree.

But, Eminem DID say that in 2000 he did shit to piss people off and push their buttons on PURPOSE. But, back then he did it effectively.

Personally, I would love to be hated in that industry though.

[theJFKshow]

There were lots of people offended by his Chris Reeves lyrics.

[DarkSideOfEm]

There were lots of people offended by his Chris Reeves lyrics.

dude, the guy is like a vegetable as shit and can't even use his dick to fuck his wife.

[Evan C.]

I always loved the last lines you mention.

Now everybody's pissed at me, like it's my fault
His name rhymes with so many different words, geez
So one last time Mr. Christ-o-pher-Reeves



That and the epic impression at the end had me rolling the first time I heard it. Hearing Relapse for the first time and listening to him actually rhyme again without the shitty Pill Zombie voice and flow is one of my best memories as an Eminem fan.

[Berry]

E-M-I-N-E-M I'M COMIN TO KILL YOU!

[MakaveliTheDon]

I always loved the last lines you mention.

Now everybody's pissed at me, like it's my fault
His name rhymes with so many different words, geez
So one last time Mr. Christ-o-pher-Reeves



That and the epic impression at the end had me rolling the first time I heard it. Hearing Relapse for the first time and listening to him actually rhyme again without the shitty Pill Zombie voice and flow is one of my best memories as an Eminem fan.

Holy shit!

The first time I literally LMAO'd at a song.

[Cam_24]

E-M-I-N-E-M I'M COMIN TO KILL YOU!

ALWAYS HATED YOU AND I STILL DO!

[Weather Man]

Agree with everything you said MikeNUFC !

[Alaine]

yep, one of reasons why Relapse was kinda lame, one thing exciting about Eminem's music is that it's always relevant at the time, but Relapse simply not, listening to Relapse always make me feel like he's desperately reharsing the past but really didn't know where he was/how things changing outside his house when he made it O He was away for years, hasn't done anything close to "controversial" for years, he was not even relevant that time, why would anyone give a fuck about his "offensive" lines (which in most cases turn out to be corny since they're not relevant)

[katha]

I think Relapse was necessary and there are some great songs on it (Deja Vu, Medicine Ball, Stay Wide Awake, My Mum, Same Song and Dance are my favourites...), but IMO there is an air of someone just waking up after a long coma and trying to find his footing again about it. And some of it just sounds like exercises in rhyming, experementing with voices etc. He said in interviews that he had to relearn a lot about rapping after getting clean and I think you can hear it on the album.

I said that somewhere else already, but the situation from say, 1999/2000 till 2002 is just not repeatable. That was a one time cultural phenomenon: Right artist with outstanding talent tapping into the Zeitgeist. I remember the endless repetition of Britney, N'Sync and Backstreet Boys that was going on at the time. And then came Eminem with this really hard content and sold just as well. And became just as big a star. You could write books about why he scared so many people so much. IMO Em himself has given the best explanations about it in his songs.

In 2009 he just wasn't culturally relevant anymore. So some of the lyrics seem like he's trying too hard or wants to recapture the feeling of 2000 again, I agree. The Christopher Reeve stuff is cool, though, and I cracked up when I first listened to Recovery and he started with Michael J. Fox. That and the random mentions of D-List celebrities are great because people get so annoyed by them.

Ironically, he managed a controversy with LTWYL without even trying. But he has public attention again and mainstream still insists on taking everything literally, so it was bound to happen. He didn't dumb it down (like in NA to some degree), didn't make it into a nice feel-good PSA, didn't tell people what to think, and pronto came the handwringing. He's just too smart and they can't take it.

[MikeNUFC]

I always loved the last lines you mention.

Now everybody's pissed at me, like it's my fault
His name rhymes with so many different words, geez
So one last time Mr. Christ-o-pher-Reeves

Haha yeah dont get me wrong, I love that line. I think it's hilarious. But I still feel it's pretty desperate - to be fair the other lines are much more so.

@Katha - totally agree - when he mentions D list celebrities he's doing it on purpose to wind people up. It's not really that I find desperate, it was just those lines in Medicine Ball really.

He's a master at getting to people, incredibly smart the way he goes about it too. Pity people are too stupid to realise it.

[Bistnal]

Funny thing is I just listened to Relapse again for the first time in a year. I actually like Medicine Ball now, love the way he rhymes in that song. But all the lines you mentioned I kinda just shook my head at. You could tell w/ Relapse he almost seemed to want the hatred/controversy he got when he released SS &MMLP.

[MikeNUFC]

Relapse actaully has more replay value than Recovery.

[Alaine]

Ironically, he managed a controversy with LTWYL without even trying. But he has public attention again and mainstream still insists on taking everything literally, so it was bound to happen. He didn't dumb it down (like in NA to some degree), didn't make it into a nice feel-good PSA, didn't tell people what to think, and pronto came the handwringing. He's just too smart and they can't take it.

Am I the only one annoyed that he never talked about this song? like he never made it clear what his real intention of making the song, the inspiration..