Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Stakes Is High
Pitchfork.com weighs in on the new Eminem video.
It really is a surprising piece of work, and I think a lot of its power comes from the fact that this is Eminem spouting off about civic responsibility. Normally, the twist at the end—when you think there's going to be a balls-out riot and it turns out the angry mob just wants to register to vote, y'all—would be seen as didactic and cheesy. But goddamn if it doesn't work. Here's a guy that raps about matricide and locking his baby momma in a trunk; here, he's rocking the vote. It's like if Nader released a song about cutting off Bush's head and shitting down his throat.1
1While actually recorded, "My Toilet, Your Esophagus" by Ralph Nader's band Manufactured Obselence was never actually released (though heavily bootlegged). Therin lies the distinction.
It really is a surprising piece of work, and I think a lot of its power comes from the fact that this is Eminem spouting off about civic responsibility. Normally, the twist at the end—when you think there's going to be a balls-out riot and it turns out the angry mob just wants to register to vote, y'all—would be seen as didactic and cheesy. But goddamn if it doesn't work. Here's a guy that raps about matricide and locking his baby momma in a trunk; here, he's rocking the vote. It's like if Nader released a song about cutting off Bush's head and shitting down his throat.1
1While actually recorded, "My Toilet, Your Esophagus" by Ralph Nader's band Manufactured Obselence was never actually released (though heavily bootlegged). Therin lies the distinction.
