both people probably shouldn't "like" that song or else they don't really understand it and think its cool or believe some bullshit "true love is painful" motto. its not celebrating that type of relationship, just exploring it.

if either of you would provide some reasons for why you dislike it, i'd be glad to hear.

and while it doesn't have his most impressive lyrics, its got one of the 2 or 3 best hooks on the album and the one time i've ever liked Rihanna's voice.

I like it, Pave, I was half joking with that comment. Agreed about Rihanna on this one - I initially didn't like her very much but she's gradually won me over the past few years, starting with Umbrella and then following it up with her singles over the last year.

Yeah sounds totally awesome!

I honestly feel like the lyrics are glorifying that type of relationship. Its just completely the anthem for guys who dropped out of high school and have a shaved head and wear a white wife beater every day and when they were twenty two knocked up a freshman high school chick and beats her every day and thinks ICP's "Miracles" is contemplative and tells people he grew up in the streets and pretends to drink to have a problem or maybe an excuse to beat his freshman girlfriend who coincidentally ran away with him and wears way too much make up and thinks shes got it rough even though her parents gave her everything she was just too much of a slut and a bitch to appreciate that and all her friends hate her boyfriend but she loves him bc theyll always b 2getha 4 lyfe bby.

so its the song's problem that you two read in to it something that isn't really there?

well, from a lyrical standpoint, the song is so fucking cliche, non-clever, and it tries to act all deep and stuff but in the end comes off as cheesy and lame. Eminem's flow also sucks on the song. The production sucks. The hook feels so out of place for an eminem song. in the end, it's a piece of commercial trash for me.

I can see the cliche criticism, but I gotta say, I like Em's flow on it.

everybody knows he's a mother fucking monster

I listened to Recovery when it first came out and I rather enjoyed it. I thought it was a much better effort than Relapse. I know that isn't saying much but there's some really strong tracks on the album. No Love, Going Through Changes, Talkin to Myself and Space Bound for example are some tracks I really took a shining to. Now, Rolling Stone ranked it as their 9th best album of the year which I think is asinine. It was good, but not nearly that good.

i actually think it was that good. i think a lot of the criticism in some critics circles stems from them taking it out of context of his career, bringing in personal expectations of what the album would be or its quality, or simply writing it off without giving it a chance. not that there isn't some legit criticism to be found: the imagination of his earlier work isn't there in terms of storytelling, the humor is only found on a select few tracks, and there are a few cheesy puns. but those first two criticisms are judging the album by what it lacks in comparison to its predecessors, and not what it is. the vulnerability he displays is unlike any other hip hop artist right now by a million miles (in a genre that seems 99% bragging and even the self-aware artists are too cynical and at-times shallow to admit anything but tragic-hero flaws). the intricacy of his lyrics is beyond any mainstream rapper outside of Nas at this point. and while critics were upset at the lack of Dre beats, the truth is he went out and got some of the best producers in hip hop and made an album more diverse than he ever has. other than Big Boi and Kanye, i can't objectively think of a better hip hop album this year.

now Relapse was pretty terrible

favorite lines and verses from The Eminem Show (skipping Relapse and Encore for now)... Till I Collapse is probably the highlight of his career imo

"So many lives I touch, so much anger aimed
in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays
and straight through your radio waves it plays and plays,
till it stays stuck in your head for days and days"
- White America

"Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself,
if they were brown Shady lose, Shady sits on the shelf
but Shady's cute, Shady knew Shady's dimples would help,
make ladies swoon baby, ooh baby! Look at my sales
Lets do the math, If I was black I would've sold half,
I ain't have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that
but I could rap, so fuck school, I'm too cool to go back,
gimme the mic, show me where the fuckin' studio's at"
- White America

"Have you ever been hated or discriminated against?
I have, I've been protested and demonstrated against.
Picket signs for my wicked rhymes. Look at the times.
Sick is the mind of the motha fuckin' kid that's behind
all this commotion. Emotions run deep as ocean's explodin.'
Tempers flaring from parents, just blow 'em off and keep goin.'
Not takin' nothin' from no one, give 'em hell long as I'm breathin.'
Keep kickin' ass in the mornin,' an' takin' names in the evening.
Leavem with a taste as sour as vinegar in they mouth.
See, they can trigger me but they never figure me out.
Look at me now, I bet ya probably sick of me now.
Ain't you mama, I'ma make you look so ridiculous now."
- Cleaning Out My Closet

"Now I would never dis my own mama just to get recognition.
Take a second to listen for you think this record is dissin,'
But put yourself in my position. Just try to envision
witnessin' your Mama poppin' prescription pills in the kitchen,
bitchin' that someone's always goin' throuh her purse and shits missin.'
Going through public housing systems, victim of Munchausen's syndrome.
My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't
'til I grew up, now I blew up. It makes you sick to ya stomach,
doesn't it? Wasn't it the reason you made that CD for me, Ma?
So you could try to justify the way you treated me, Ma?"
- Cleaning Out My Closet

"yah you laugh till your muthafuckin' ass gets drafted,
while you're at band camp thinkin' the crap can't happen
till you fuck around, get an anthrax napkin,
inside a package wrapped in saran wrap wrapping
open the plastic and then you stand back gasping,
fuckin' assassins hijackin' Amtracks crashin'
all this terror America demands action,
next thing you know you've got Uncle Sam's ass askin'
to join the army or what you'll do for their Navy.
You just a baby, gettin' recruited at eighteen
You're on a plane now, eatin' their food and their baked beans.
I'm twenty-eight, they're gonna take you 'fore they take me"
- Square Dance

"I thought I had it all figured out, I did,
I thought I was tough enough to stick it out with Kim
but I wasn't tough enough, to juggle two things at once,
I found myself layin' on my knees in cuffs
which should've been a reason enough, for me to get my stuff
and just leave. How come I couldn't see this shit myself?
it's just me, nobody couldn't see the shit I felt,
knowin' damn well she wasn't gonna be there when I fell
to catch me, the minute shit was heated, she just bailed,
I'm standin' here swingin' like thirty people by myself
I couldn't even see the millimeter when it fell,
turned around saw Gary stashin' the heater in his belt
saw the bouncers rush him and beat him to the ground,
I just sold two million records, I don't need to go to jail
I'm not about to lose my freedom over no female,
I need to slow down, get my feet on solid ground"
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood

"I don't wanna quit, but shit, I feel like this is it,
for me to have this much appeal like this is sick
this is not a game, this fame, in real life this is sick,
publicity stunt my ass, conceal my fuckin' dick
fuck the guns, I'm done, I'll never look at Gats,
if I scrap, I'll scrap like I ain't never whupped some ass
I love my fans, but no one ever puts a grasp
on the fact, I've sacrificed everything I have
I never dreamt I'd get to the level that I'm at,
this is wack, this is more than I ever coulda asked
everywhere I go, a hat, a sweater hood, or mask,
what about math, how come I wasn't ever good at that?
It's like the boy in the bubble, who never could adapt,
I'm trapped, if I could go back, I never woulda rapped
I sold my soul to the devil, I'll never get it back,
I just wanna leave this game with level head intact
Imagine goin' from bein' a no one to seein',
everything blow up and all you did was just grow up mcing
It's fuckin' crazy, cus all I wanted was to give Hailie the life I never had,
but instead I forced us to live alienated"
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood

"Little hellions kids feeling rebellious
embarrassed, their parents still listen to Elvis
they start feeling the prisoners helpless,
'til someone comes along on a mission and yells (bitch)
A visionary, vision is scary,
could start a revolution, pollutin the air waves
a rebel so let me just revel an bask,
in the fact that I got everyone kissing my ass
and it's a disaster such a catastrophe
for you to see so damn much of my ass you ask for me?
Well I'm back (batman sound)
fix your bent antennae tune it in and then I'm gonna
enter in and up under your skin like a splinter
The center of attention back for the winter
I'm interesting, the best thing since wrestling
Infesting in your kids ears and nesting
Testing "Attention Please"
feel the tension soon as someone mentions me
here's my 10 cents my 2 cents is free
A nuisance, who sent, you sent for me?"
- Without Me

"They say music can alter moods and talk to you,
well can it load a gun up for you, and cock it too?
Well if it can, then the next time you assault a dude,
just tell the judge it was my fault and I'll get sued
See what these kids do is hear about us totin' pistols
and they want to get one cuz they think the shit's cool
not knowin' we really just protectin' ourselves,
we entertainers, of course the shit's affectin' our sales,
you ignoramus. But music is reflection of self,
we just explain it, and then we get our checks in the mail.
It's fucked up ain't it? How we can come from practically nothing
to being able to have any fuckin' thing that we wanted
That's why we sing for these kids, who don't have a thing
except for a dream, and a fuckin' rap magazine
who post pin-up pictures on they walls all day long,
idolize they favorite rappers and know all they songs
Or for anyone who's ever been through shit in their lives,
till they sit and they cry at night wishin' they'd die
Till they throw on a rap record and they sit, and they vibe.
We're nothin' to you but we're the fuckin' shit in they eyes
that's why we seize the moment try to freeze it and own it,
squeeze it and hold it, cuz we consider these minutes golden
and maybe they'll admit it when we're gone. Just let our spirits live on,
through our lyrics that you hear in our songs"
- Sing for the Moment

"I was born to brew up storms, stir up shit,
kick up dust, cuss till I slur up spit grew up
too quick, went through too much, knew too much shit, corrupt,
and I'ma pour it on like syrup, bitch
thick 'n rich, sick and twisted, Mr. Buttersworth,
Dre told me to milk this shit for what it's worth
till the cow just tilts and tips and stumbles to earth,
and if I fumble a verse, keep going,
first take I make mistakes just keep it,
no punches pulled, no punches, that's weak shit
fake shit, if I ever take shit I'll eat shit,
wasn't for him, wouldn't be shit"
- Say What You Say

"(Eminem)
Dre ain't havin' it
as long as I'm here to play devil's advocate
(Dre)
If there was some magic shit I could wave
over the industry, that could save it when I'm gone
and buried to make sure the tradition carries on, I would
(Eminem)
If I could only use this power for good, I wouldn't, not even if I could
(Dre)
From the hood, and I'm a hornet, and I'ma only sting when I cornered
(Eminem)
And I'ma only sucker punch and swing without warning
and swing to knock somebody's fuckin' head off,
cus I know if they get up, I won't get a chance to let off
another punch, I'm punk rock, no one's punk,
don't give a fuck, White Pac, so much spunk
when I was little I knew I would blow up and sell a mill,
or grow up to be Atilla, go nuts and be a killer
(Dre)
And I'm, somethin' of a phenom,
one puff of the chron, I'm unstoppable,
I'm alive and on top again
there's no obstacle that I can't conquer
so come along wit us."
- Say What You Say

"I joke when I say I'm the best, in the booth, but a lot of truth is said in jest"
- Say What You Say

"Till I collapse I'm spillin' these raps long as you feel 'em,
till the day that I drop you'll never say that I'm not killin' em
Cuz when I am not, then I'ma stop pinnin'em
and I am not hip-hop and I'm just not Eminem
subliminal thoughts, when Ima stop sendin' em,
women are caught in webs, spin 'em and hock venom,
adrenalin shots of penicillin could not
get the illin' to stop, amoxacillin's just not real enough
The criminal cop killin', hip-hop villain
a minimal swap to cop millions of Pac listeners
your comin' with me, feel it or not
you're gonna fear it like I showed ya the spirit of God lives in us
you hear it a lot, lyrics to shock.
Is it a miracle or am I just product of pop fizzin' up?
Fa shizzel my wizzel, this is the plot listen up,
you bizzels forgot, slizzel does not give a fuck"
- Till I Collapse

"Music is like magic, there's a certain feeling you get
when you're real and you spit an people are feelin' ya shit
This is your moment and every single minute you spend
tryin' to hold on to it, cuz you may never get it again
so while you're in it try to get as much shit as you can
and when your run is over just admit when it's at its end
cuz I'm at the end of my wits with half the shit gets in,
I got a list here's the order of my list that it's in
It goes Reggie, Jay-Z, Tupac and Biggie,
Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me
But in this industry, I'm the cause of a lot of envy
so when I'm not put on this list, the shit does not offend me
That's why you see me walkin' around like nothin's bothering me,
even though half you people gotta fuckin' problem with me
you hate it but you know respect you got to give me.
The press's wet dream like Bobby an Whitney"
- Till I Collapse

"Soon as a verse starts I eat it at MC’s heart
what is he thinking? How not to go against me? Smart.
And its absurd how people hang on every word.
I’ll probably never get the props I feel I ever deserve
But I’ll never be served my spot is forever reserved
If I ever leave earth that would be the death of me first.
Cause in my heart of hearts I know nothing could ever be worse.
That’s why I’m clever when I put together every verse
My thoughts are sporadic, I act like I’m an addict
I rap like I’m addicted to smack like I’m Kim Mathers.
But I don’t want to go forth and back in constant battles
The fact is I would rather sit back and bomb some rappers.
So this is like a full blown attack I’m launching at them
The track is on some battling raps who want some static
Cause I don’t really think that the fact that I’m Slim matters
A plaque of platinum status is whack if I'm not the baddest."
- Till I Collapse

"It's like my mother always told me,
rana rana rana rana rana rana rana rana rana rana and codeine
and goddammit you little muthafucker
if you ain't got nuthin' nice to say then don't say nuthin'..
uh, fuck that shit bitch eat a muthafuckin' dick,
chew on a prick and lick a million muthafuckin' cocks per second,
I'd rather put out a muthafuckin' gospel record"
- My Dad's Gone Crazy

I can definitly agree with this statement, at least on a mainstream level. Drakes album Thank Me Later and BoB's Adventures of Bobby Ray were pretty good, but not as good as Recovery. Lil Wayne's Rebirth/Human Being stands no chance. Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon II was lackluster and Teflon Don was alright.