Happy Monday, gentle reader! Monday is not the
greatest day of the work week, but like a lot of things, it’s a lot better with
music.
Disc 1271 is… The Slim Shady LP
Artist:
Eminem
Year of Release: 1999
What’s up with the
Cover?
The events of the troubling track “‘97 Bonnie & Clyde” are depicted
as Eminem’s alter-ego prepares to toss his girlfriend’s body into the sea. If
you find this image troubling, then take a hint from Tipper Gore’s Parental
Advisory logo in the upper left corner and avoid the album altogether. Maybe
skip the review as well - this stuff is dark. However, if you do you’ll be
missing out on some amazing music. Tipper probably misses out on all kinds of
good music as a result.
How I Came to Know
It: This
was a pretty big album back in the day but I wasn’t into rap when it came out.
I admired the music but didn’t buy it. Instead, I did a deep dive into Eminem a
couple years ago and this was one of the standouts.
How It Stacks Up: I have two Eminem albums, this one and its
follow up “The Marshall Mathers LP”. They are both amazing records and
competition is fierce between them. I’ll rank “The Slim Shady LP” at #2.
Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5
Eminem’s first commercial release has a
mission, and part of that mission is to shock you. If you can handle that
shock, your reward will be one of rap music’s great records.
This record features drug abuse, robbery, violence
(sexual and otherwise) and a general miasma of angry misanthropy. “How in
the world can that be great art?” the Tipper Gore’s of the world may ask.
Well, paintings like Gericault’s “The Raft of the Medusa” or Picasso’s “Guernica”
reminds us, not every great piece of art is going to depict water lilies and
starry nights. Sometimes art disturbs us. While Eminem may not intend as broad
a social commentary as some, his words paint pictures as deftly as any visual
artist.
At the centre of it all, Eminem gets to the
core of the quintessential angry young man, disenfranchised and ready to lash
out at anything. There is a brilliance in how he walks a line between myth and
reality, weaving the rough experiences of Marshall Mathers struggles to emerge
as a successful rapper with the persona of his alter ego, “Slim Shady”, a leering
gargoyle character. Shady pushes
everything that Mr. Mathers can think of three steps too far. Like a Cubist
painting, Eminem distorts and amplifies his horrors, so you can see them from
all angles at once.
Along the way, Eminem reminisces about Kurt
Cobain’s death, tells a story about murdering his girlfriend and then – in case
it wasn’t clear – drops two tracks (dis)respectfully titled “Just Don’t Give
a Fuck” and “Still Don’t Give a Fuck” in case the first iteration
didn’t make the point.
Those who let all of that offense get to them
and turn the record off miss out on a rap genius. Eminem has one of the most impressive,
innovative, unique and instantly recognizable flows in rap music. His internal
rhyme structures are exceptional, and he can rattle off three or four in a row
or delay the punchline unexpectedly into the next beat with equal grace.
All those clever rhymes aren’t randomly thrown
together either, they are weaved into a narrative that reads like a mini-novel.
“My Fault” tells the story of a single nightmarish night trying to deal
with the fact that Eminem’s date has eaten a bag of mushrooms. It reads like
one of those “single night” teen party movies, except with an undercurrent of
possibly lethal overdose. Eminem won’t give you a laugh without also making sure
you feel uncomfortable in the process.
“Rock
Bottom” has Eminem singing the frustrations of poverty and obscurity. You
can feel him seethe through the lyrics showing that he is equally willing to go
dark without the humour.
And lest you take anything he says too seriously,
Eminem includes “Role Model” to remind you not to behave like
him. How much of Eminem is the villainous and disrespectful Slim Shady of the
album title, and how much is just a character? “Role Model” reminds you
that it doesn’t matter. Eminem is blurring those lines deliberately and if that
frustrates you, well then it means you’re paying attention.
Is “the Slim Shady LP” an angry record? Without
question. Does it go too far – most likely yes, and that is definitely a big part
of Eminem’s intention. My biggest beef with the record is all the overly clever
little quips and “whoops!” and other dialogue bits distracting from what are
some otherwise pretty killer beats. Even that is part of Eminem’s pattern;
excess in all things, even production. I almost got mad about it before I
remembered…that’s what he wants.
Best tracks: My Name Is, Brain Damage, Role Model, My Fault,
Just Don’t Give a Fuck, Still Don’t Give a Fuck
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