“…five yobbos doing cheezy dance moves.”
Heh.
Don’t forget “No No No” by Destiny’s Child!
After looking at the list of nominations, it is clear what a slow year in the music game it has been.
Album of the year: I’ve only heard songs off of three of these albums. That’s not to say that the other two aren’t good, but I do think that I should have at least heard of a song or two off of them.
New Artist: Shelby Lynne has been around for years. I don’t know what the criteria for new artist is, but she doesn’t cut it. I agree with Nacho4Sara on Jill Scott as best new artist.
And in response to the OP, Eminem is a hack. His writing skills are mediocre and if his lyrics were not so controversial, we wouldn’t hear a thing about him.
Sign me up with the crowd that Just Doesn’t Get It. Actually, I don’t get liking OR hating him.
His music is boring as hell - it’s just backbeats from old Dr. Dre albums with this Mathers guy rapping, and frankly, he’s not much of a rapper. His claim to fame is that he says controversial things. Big deal. I’ve heard worse.
Lyrics aren’t indicative of music quality. You have to ask yourself; if the singer was singing phone numbers, would the music still be noteworthy and original? I don’t think our friend Eminem passes that test.
The Grammies are a joke anyway - of all the major awards they’re the LEAST indicative of quality - but as long as Eminem is the subject, let’s be honest; he’s famous solely because he tries to offend people. If we were basing this solely on music, he’d be Vanilla Ice, The Sequel.
I’d rather listen to an air-raid siren for 8 hours than glorify that asshole. I would nominate him for “most likely to follow in Tupac’s footsteps”, however.
He was talking about the Insane Clown Posse.
Anyway, as far as the OP, I don’t think Eminem’s album should be Album of the Year because of the production/music on the album (produced by Dr. Dre)…there were alot of albums out this past year that had much better production.
However, I think most of the people here that are saying that Eminem is untalented, or that he’d be “Vanilla Ice” if he wasn’t so offensive, are forming their opinions from what they hear second-hand. If you actually did listen to his lyrics, its hard to argue that he isn’t creative/talented. I can understand (but not neccessarily agree with) the argument that he shouldn’t win a grammy because his lyrics are offensive/crude/etc., but I don’t think there is much merit in the argument that he doesn’t deserve to win a grammy because he is untalented.
Was Moby’s album Play eligible this year, or was that last? Cos that album is just brilliant…it’s got actual, like, songcraft and stuff. Imagine!
Ha! This is the only stupid music fight in which I am on Eminem’s side.
He may be talented, but his music isn’t very good. If he wants to write neat stuff for a poetry contest all the best to him, but old, been-there-done-that music does not become great music just because you recite some interesting prose while it’s playing.
I think you need to compare between the options for best album. How does M&M fare against Paul Simon? Steely Dan? Radiohead? I love Paul Simon, but his new album certianly isn’t his best work but compared to M&M…? Same with Steely Dan…is M&M more innovative and artistic than the new Steely Dan record? I think this record kicks ass, but it sounds like most Steely Dan records. So M&M perhaps wins against those two, in comparision. (Perhaps) But, Radiohead is really in a whole other league than M&M. I know that many people don’t feel strongly about Radiohead, but the new album is certainly more innovative than M&M’s record. Even if you don’t feel so, at least it is a unique statement, which is far more than “Mathers”. Many, many, many rap albums have been missed by the Grammy’s (ex. The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy). This new record has nothing new to offer the genre. Radiohead’s Kid A does have something new to offer. M&M is really just another boring rap artist.
True, very true. He needs to move beyond this “I wanna slap my bitch up” thing. I mean, talent is one thing, but it gets killed by repetition.
I don’t disagree with this. As I said before, I don’t think his album deserves the grammy because the production/music behind his lyrics was not that good (or at least, not the best out this year). My point was that most of the people posting in this thread are arguing that Eminem doesn’t have any talent, which isn’t true. He is talented, lyrically.
And I completely agree with you that most of the beats on his album are just remixed from Dre’s songs.
Whatever anyone might think about Eminem’s lyrics and/or music, his " Album of the Year " award should be called the " Most Successful Publicity Stunt of the Year". He’s only nominated for this award because of the massive, rancid gobs of cheap fucking hype surrounding him.
I don’t dislike him nearly as much as some people, but this stupid corporate music award should go to the snivelling, money-grubbing CEO who created him. Nice demographic targeting, Bif!
Rick, I enjoyed your post. Out of curiosity, which awards show do you believe is the most indicitive of quality? I enjoy watching them but always wonder how much is just industry hoo-haw, blowing up their latest big balloon.
I don’t like his message but I think he is talented lyric wise, even if I don’t agree with the message he’s portraying. I found the song Stan to tell a tale in a really interesting way; I thought it well done. I can’t stand to watch the video though - too dark.
The guy obviously has some serious issues. I love the album, I really think that it takes a great talent to craft words and beats in the manner he (and Dre) do.
“The real Slim Shady” is not a good indicator of his talent. That is the obvious radio targeted song on the album.
What really impressed me about the album is “The way I am” and “Marshall Mathers”, where he speaks of the pressures and the expectations put on him by his fame.
He angers people to sell records. It works. Remember the furore a few years over Marylyn Manson?? This too will pass.
Album of the year? nah, I don’t think so. but it is a very good album.
I’d forgotten about Radiohead. They deserve the award more than Eminem. But since when do the deserving win these awards anyway? Anyway, Eminem deserves it as much as Paul Simon or Steely Dan.
Here’s what I’m getting from the responses I see so far:
- Eminem was created by a producer
- He’s basically a publicity stunt
- He didn’t have much to do with the music itself on his album
- Collectively, we disagree with most of what he writes
but…
- The way he puts words together is kinda catchy sometimes.
…so it’s ok to give him a Grammy?
I don’t get it. I just don’t.
Well, since when is winning a Grammy the mark of excellence?!? I looked at a list of past winners
http://looksmart.infoplease.com/ipa/A0150533.html
and it included the likes of Toto, Bobby McFerrin (I noted those in my post above) as well as Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, Michael Bolton, Robert Palmer, and the Pointer Sisters.
To me, that is the most generic list of boring crap ever. It’s all about being mainstream and who sells the most records. Unfortunately, Eminem is where it’s at (whatever “it” is) this year. I think he’s perfect for a Grammy, it just goes to show what a farce this (and all other) award shows are. It’s just about sucking up to famous folk (so they can write songs about the pressures and burdens of being famous, no doubt) and the money-making corporations behind them.
Dude, I kinda like Robert Palmer.
But I get your point. In fact, I think if I was musician and I won a Grammy, I’d be really upset.
The question is moot since both Radiohead’s Kid A and Beck’s Midnite Vultures were nominated. I love both of these albums in such different ways that it would be hard to say which I like better.
I am willing to say, however, that either one should kick Eminem’s ass around the block.
Then again, I must admit that I haven’t heard all of the Marshall Mallow EP, so perhaps I’ll hop on Napster and fix that. (It’s my duty as a music lover.)
Dr. J