Lee,

Keep in mind, I'm open to the possibility that he's an intelligent human being. Unfortunately, neither his vocabulary or his venue have given me any indication that he is. Lots of intelligent people act like idiots. Likewise, many morons may seem intelligent, simply because they keep their mouths shut and don't alert the world to their idiocy.

Unfortunately, I've never suffered from the latter problem.

The point is, I'd like to think that Marshall Mathers doesn't really believe some of the stuff that spews from his mouth, and is in fact a parody of the boneheads who think in a manner consistent with many (not all) of his lyrics(bigots, hate-mongers, spouse abusers, and so on). So far, I haven't seen verbal or behavioral evidence that that he's smarter than his (admittedly clever) lyrics.

While clearly not in the same league, few would argue that Hitler was a fabulous speaker and motivator, and understood well how to communicate his message of hatred and Aryian angst to an audience that was ever ready to hear it. (NOTE: I'm not suggesting that Eminem is Hitler. DUH.) In other words, just because he's a great communicator <insert so-so- Reagan impersonation here> doesn't make him a genius, or even an intelligent human being. They aren't always coincident.

Back to the point of the thread, my approach to HS and Rush is to simply turn them off. Granted, that's hard to do on non-public radio, which is why I listen to CD's almost exclusively. However, I wish more of their listeners would turn their brains on, instead of blindly muttering "ditto's" or gleefully tuning in to the next segment of Howard ogling some woman's boobs in the studio.

Good or bad, stupidity and poor taste have never been illegal in America. I suppose that's why they let me continue to live here.

Tim

P.S. WRT being an old fogie (I'm 42), I can remember thinking back in the 70's that Ozzie was incredibly clever, and knew far more than my parents did about virtually everything. My dad's now 78, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to listen to him and Ozzie and figure out which one has more functional brain cells. I'm sure Ozzie's still a nice guy, but I'm glad I followed more of my dad's example for life, and less of Ozzie's.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TimTheFoolMan
[B]

Keep in mind, I'm open to the possibility that he's an intelligent human being. Unfortunately, neither his vocabulary or his venue have given me any indication that he is. Lots of intelligent people act like idiots. Likewise, many morons may seem intelligent, simply because they keep their mouths shut and don't alert the world to their idiocy.

Unfortunately, I've never suffered from the latter problem.

The point is, I'd like to think that Marshall Mathers doesn't really believe some of the stuff that spews from his mouth, and is in fact a parody of the boneheads who think in a manner consistent with many (not all) of his lyrics(bigots, hate-mongers, spouse abusers, and so on). So far, I haven't seen verbal or behavioral evidence that that he's smarter than his (admittedly clever) lyrics.

 

If you read this whole thread, you would have gotten my point to your statement. Please re-read why I did the comparison.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by soul_fly
[B]tim you lost me on this one.

 

after reading all that i doubt if there is anything that i can say to change what seems like a pretty adamant stance against em, so i won't. But i will say this: i luv both 'kill you' and 'criminal', especially criminal. maybe i have issues, but i think the part in song where he robs that teller is absolutely hiliairious! maybe i see the parody or irony/comedy in his lyrics. maybe his ideology, and angst aren't anything new, but his expression, wit, and verbiage are.

quote:
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How many retards will listen to me And run in the school shootin' when they're pissed at the teach- -er, her, or him, is it you? Is it him? Wasn't me. Slim Shady said to do it again.
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the lyrics you quote are from a song where em is basically saying that you can't hold one genre of entertainment accountable for the actions of individuals, but people do anyhow. and since there is this finger pointing(e.g. the starter of this thread), some culprits of such ridiculous behavior tend to use this scapegoating as their defense. pretty ironic huh? the discontent that you have for a lyric, when contexted in it's song, actually parallels the very sentiments you've expressed earlier in this thread.

 

You don't have to be a fine arts master to realize when someone is writing "in character". That means he is singing from the point of view of the fictional character NOT that these are HIS views. Do you think every one of Bruce Springsteens songs are to be taken as HIS words? They are the words of the CHARACTER he is portraying. See the album "Nebraska" for some good examples.

 

Didn't I say "If he's had any insight at all..." it's in the lyric I quoted? It's the one lyric I've read that seems to make sense! Granted, not an unusual or innovative thought.

I suppose my lack of "hipness" is what keeps me from seeing the comedy in the teller robbery bit. I guess it's like british comedy. Either you get it (and think it's hysterical), or you think it's stupid.

soul_fly, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, simply because I'm assuming that you, being someone pretty sharp must see SOMETHING in his music. However, file me in the folder with all the un-hip, un-cool, don't-get-it adults. I just don't see the irony/comedy.

Oh well...

Tim

 

So...I'm not up on this....how do we know this was a Stern minion? Did they say so?

 

oops! you did say that. i just misread it. sorry.