By Joe Murphy
It's now embarrassing to be a fan
There was a kid at my middle school who could spit any verse from The Slim Shady LP on command. No original Eminem fan I know is even willing to download his newest, Recovery.
He's not funny anymore
Eminem outraged every kind of politically correct censors there with his violent, misogynistic and homophobic lyrics. While that raised legitimate questions about censorship and artistic expression back then, at the time Marshall Mathers was the product of a broken home with an addicted mother and was a single father with a habit of his own. He had reasons to be angry. But now he’s filthy rich and has no one to blame for his problems except himself. But his new album is still littered with misogyny, homophobia and hypothetical violence. much discount the rest of his output since. To hear him as an unsigned artist, look up his early freestyles, or just reacquaint yourself with the tracks he did with Dr. Dre like “Guilty Conscience” and “Forgot About Dre” (Dre only co-produces one track on Recovery).
He was an icon he’s not an outsider anymore
This might explain part of Eminem’s initial He is a part of the culture that he criticizes appeal. Before mp3s, Napster, burned CDs and as a result has lost his credibility and and way before torrents; we used to have authenticity… homey sold out, I guess. His to buy CDs. To get our hands on the first new record was spun over highlights of the two Eminem records—with Tipper Gore’s World Cup on ESPN; and if ESPN is giving “Parental Advisory” bars tattooed in the cor- your album pub, then you’ve been stamped and approved by Disney.
He's outlived his relevance
His first two albums talked about the trials and tribulations of school and bullies, problems with his ex and drugs. Now, he’s still talking trash about irrelevant celebrities, as if anyone cares. The fact that he never ODed in the last 10 years with the access to money he had is impressive. But maybe he would have been better off taking the same route as Cobain, Biggie and Tupac and checked out at the top of his game.
He is still going for the same demographic
Ultimately the issue is that Eminem has not matured as an artist. When he was just a scrawny kid from a trailer park in Detroit it was funny when he talked about Britney Spears — when she was relevant — and joked about sodomizing Jennifer Lopez. But making fun of Brooke Hogan and some scrub from “American Idol” just shows that he is still relying on the same gimmick. Maybe that’s because his main demographic is still adolescents?
He hasn’t ‘Recovered’ yet
You would think that an album titled Recovery would at least take a stab at introspection. Em’s been rich and famous for upwards of 10 years now and though it’s hard to mature in the glare of the spotlight, he’s still angry, confrontational and blames others for all of his problems.
He suffers from reverse Radiohead syndrome
The quality of Eminem’s records has regressed with each new release. Radiohead’s first record was forgettable but their work since has been consistently excellent. This syndrome also afflicts Weezer, yet Eminem and Weezer still get major label releases and the corporate music industry wonders why it is dying. P.S. Marshall, if you somehow end up reading this and it pisses you off, well, I “Just Don’t Give A F**k.”
http://www.yesweekly.com/article-9916-reasons-eminem-should-stop-making-music.html
