Mar 22, 2018

posted it on another thread but I think it ought to be a thread in itself :

Eminem is probably working on some other music, like he always does.

But the fact that he is re-mixing and re-writing songs from Revival proves how unfinished Revival was doomed to be. It's no wonder some people liked it, while very large numbers had a feeling of disappointment about that album. Revival has that unfinished taste in its DNA. Because the disc itself is about "should I consider myself done with rap ? Yes or no ? And if yes, how I am going to put it on a record ?

Over the last years, Eminem has been facing a dilemna : he clearly runs out of inspiration (and I won't blame it for that after all these years), no matter how brilliant he is. Why do you think he made MMLP 2 ? It was a genuine "Revival" first try, trying to revive a younger, fresher inspiration, this time without doing drugs. MMLP2 was bound to prove to himself that he effectively had recovered from drugs addiction, not only as a human being but as an artist.

And as he's now struggling to make consistent music, he's facing a motivation issue. Why bother trying so hard to raise the bar and make another classic when you feel like you've got nothing to prove anymore ? Because for an MC, it's equivalent to having nothing to say, nothing to create anymore. That's musical death. And the man came so close to real death in december 2007 he just can't figure it out, every cell of him just can't accept that. Like he said on that fourth, epitaph-like, verse on "Bad Guy", he is now in denial about it. This totally brilliant verse was nothing but contemporary Eminem's prophecy : which sane humain being would accept to be buried alive when you know your time is not over ?

So Revival is about the dilemna of quitting / not quitting. And he uses that addiction/relapse theme to express it with 2 alternative endings :

1. Castle => methadone overdose, goodbye song, but still... "s--- I don't know". Mimicked half-suicidal behaviour.
2. Arose => first re-written verse of Revival (... ^^' ) : "all that old pathetic loathing, clothing credits can roll, I'm proud to be back" [...] "now a new day is dawning".

The order of the tracks may lead us to think that he made his decision throughout the album. He will not quit with Revival.
As a member from S80 brilliantly figured out, the album starts with "Why are expectations so high ? ".... (first song) and ends with "now I know" (last, song).
The album starts with a question. And ends with an answer.
Revival is ironically named after Eminem's doubts between struggling for life (and great success, still) as an artist or calling it quits and dying a different death, a second time. Which must be violent beyond imaginable.
The reason why Eminem is angry and hurt about all that negative feedback is because he doubts his core fans understand what is the inner meaning of that Revival disc. That is why I don't hate that album.

So Revival is all about these doubts he's dealing with as an artist, and of course the album reflects it : what direction can he take with such a huge fan base, from hip-hop listeners to pop listeners ?
That explains why the songs are so different and why they just don't fit together.

Relapse can be hated for some reason, Recovery too. But they had concepts.
MMLP1, MML2, SSLP, TES, 8 Mile soundtrack.... all these albums were concept-albums. It's not wonder his best works are in that list.
Encore and Revival have no concept, they are just end-of-a-cycle albums. Encore was a weak follow-up to TES (same theme : Eminem stripping naked his intimate self on a theater scene), the whole making of the record was probably spoilt by the drugs addiction, all the energy spent of the different mixtapes (Em was too busy ruining Benzino's career and that was the first time he let his fans down), all the piracy thing but "Love You More" and "We As Americans" were really good songs and they made it on the bonus disc).

Eminem is a genius, but he must carry his glory years like a burden.
Instead of pathetically fixing "Revival" with some remixes to make more money (thank you for that Paul Rosenberg and the label guys), I hope he would actually revive himself with something different.
Not "old Eminem" or "2018 Eminem", just something he feels proud of and not just doubtful and cringe-making, because he must keep in mind that some of us will necessarily not like it.
And what Eminem does best, what he became famous for is : proving anybody who's doubting him wrong, and making those who believed in him so proud. Carry on, Em.

 

Mar 22, 2018

I just want to be proud of be an Eminem fan again

 

Mar 22, 2018

The meaning of Revival =

"...I don't know wtf to write about. Okay, the biggest recent event, still, is my overdose... Since I've been offline for a while too... Let me make this about me coming back (again, again, again, again, again)... 'my Revival'... And since it's about an overdose - let me make it medical hence the pre-made website which cost time and marketing dollars. Yeah, that's the angle"

"Oh s---. I didn't expect such a viral worldwide reaction to my Trump cypher... Let me rush record Like Home & Nowhere Fast to try and justify this a little more and pretend the album is a political album through the imagery that I create a week before release as a cheap exploit of the times. Boom... Yeahhhh, then I'm finna say it's about the 'revival' of America too. Even though that s--- makes up about 10% of the album. Cheyyyah. Let me dress in army gear and plaster the flag on every booklet page!! Cheeyyaaah! That'll sell!"

Sums it up tbh.

 

Mar 22, 2018

hes too old to rap just let the man get his paychecks.

 

Mar 22, 2018

Cruning

 

Mar 22, 2018

go tell him, looking boy. When you hit 45, if somebody tells you "you're too old to do what you do", how will you take it, looking boy ?
Are AC/DC and the Rolling Stones "too old to rock" when they embody their art to that much no matter what, looking boy ?

 

Mar 22, 2018

cash-making machine, I get your point. Sad but true.
I hope he feels challenged this time and come back with fire and gasoline. ^^

 

Mar 22, 2018

He’s a washed up piece of s--- with no talent that got a bunch of kids addicted to drugs in the early 2000s. A felon with multiple gun charges that he now pretends he’s some innocent, anti guns savior just for attention that backfired. He’s embarrassing himself more and more after each album he releases. He already destroyed any legacy he had left as a top 10 rapper.

 

Mar 22, 2018

Kids took all kind of drugs before Eminem. I listen to him since 99 and I did not take drug just because I liked his music. I did drugs because I wanted to try them. If people take drugs and risks, it's their choice. I think it's how you see things in America, right ? Everyone is responsible for their actions, in exchange for freedom, right ? So now it's Eminem's fault if kids take drugs ? Brilliant.

Speaking of guns, I think everybody has a right to change their mind, especially when you grow older, it happens to everyone and I'm not sure it's hypocrisy. Now that his daughter is 20-something year old, maybe he thinks differently about kids of her age getting shot at school. I don't know, I think he's changed his mind, which is his right and I can't judge that, I don't care. I hated whisky when I was 20, now 31 I like it. I must be a hypocrite too.

It's your right to hate his music and hopefully we can't agree on everything.

 

Mar 22, 2018

It’s fine that he changed his views on guns but no one wants to hear it from some washed up felon that has gun charges himself. And I’m sure he only thinks that way because of proof being shot. Not because of school shootings. Did he not mock the Colombine school schooting in 99? Why was he not concerned for his kid then. That’s so manipulative to where I lost any respect that I’ve had left for him.

 

Mar 22, 2018

The meaning is to sound like a---

 

Mar 22, 2018

I understand your point of views. There are around 400 millions of guns in your country. I'm not judging, it's a fact. Do you think Eminem is the only American citizen charged in court for gun use (or gun threat, or whatever related to guns), that changed his mind because somebody he cared much about got killed by a weapon ?
It must have happened to hundreds of people at least in your country. Is every person in that situation a hypocrite ? Hard to tell.
Your point is interesting : maybe he feels guilty now about everything he rapped about guns because Proof got shot. Now one can know.
I 1999, his daughter was 4 or 5 years old and he was immature as f---, his rap was way more provocative because he wanted to sell his records. Let's agree there has always been hypocrisy in his music, but in that case you could have hated him from day one. Howerver I understand why you want him to quit. I would too if he released another Revival CD.

 

Mar 22, 2018

thank you for your effort

 

Mar 22, 2018

Cheahcheahcheah!!

 

Mar 22, 2018

this analysis grows on me too ^^'

 

Mar 22, 2018

when Mr Porter said "there's something for everybody on Revival", it said pretty much with very few words...

Probably one of the best punch lines Mr Porter ever spat !

 

Mar 22, 2018

I completely agree. I started taking x and smoking weed because of Eminem in 2001. Then in 06 I had to up my game so I got addicted to Ambien ,Vicodin etc. I even used to hide em in my vcr tapes so no one could find them cause I got so hooked. Then when he almost died I gave it my best but I was only able to reach a comatose state for 3 days after a binge watch of his DVD tours starting with the first one and the last one when Proof was still alive. So I get it for sure.

 

Mar 22, 2018

I never did a drug in my life or bought a gun until I heard encore. Thanks eminem you piece of s---

 

Mar 22, 2018

you are a troll.

 

Mar 22, 2018

The f--- xD? Check your sources dude, he only got 1 gun charge, not multiple, and he even didn't use it, he just hit a guy with it unloaded.