Besides occasionally hearing him emanate from the open windows of a 98' Ford Probe, I haven't listened to nor thought about Eminem since I had to review The Eminem Show for my high school newspaper. It's nothing personal, I just haven't had to channel that river of unbridled rage that made him so persuasive to my pimpled ears.
But Sunday on 60 Minutes, there he was, being interview by Anderson Cooper (!), looking deadly serious while explaining how many words can actually rhyme with “orange.”
There were the requisite questions about his lyrics (“this is my art, this is what I do”), as well as an extreme dependence on a rags-to-riches motif. Cue the shots of his weeping teenage fans rapping the lyrics from his new single “Not Afraid” and VOILA! 60 Minutes is back on top baby!
Mostly I wondered: does this man really take himself this seriously? What happened to the Slim Shady who dressed as Marilyn Manson? Or the guy digging his wife's/mom's/daughter's grave? Is a lobotomy standard in rehab these days?
This “behind the scenes” thingy that 60 Minutes posted is more illuminating and fun to watch. He's clever, self-effacing, and commands the ability to actually open his lips to reveal his teeth. A “smile,” if you will. Plus that single of his has the lyric his gift is a curse, forget the earth / he's got the urge to pull his dick from the dirt, and fuck the whole universe. Think Morley Safer can spit something like that?
