If English singer-songwriter Frank Turner’s heart is a tape deck, it’s a severely used one; it warps the tape in your favorite cassette, and everything sounds scratchy and worn, cloaked in a layer of tell-tale hiss. It doesn’t matter, though, because it’s got one of your favorite songs lurking deep within its recesses, and if Guided By Voices have taught us anything, it’s that a great song is a great song, period. Frank Turner’s new album, on the other hand, […]
Posts tagged "Recovery"
The Viewfinder: Eminem’s “Space Bound”
You thought the Bad Meets Evil album ‘s release signaled the end of Eminem’s Recovery campaign?!? (in Charlie Murphy voice): WRONG. “Space Bound” is the 4th video from the rapper’s latest solo effort , which debuted at the top of the charts a year ago this week and has since gone on to sell close to four million copies. It’s one of the better tracks on the album, and is accompanied by a pretty solid video, directed by Em’s long-time partner in crime, Joseph Kahn. Co-starring former adult […]
Popblerd!’s 2011 Grammy Preview: Rap
Another year, another time to kvetch over the Grammy Award nominations, right? It may be music’s biggest night, but it’s hard to find a Grammy Awards that’s not fraught with controversy and/or boring as hell. The nomination process always results in head scratching decisions, and this year’s are no different. Katy Perry nominated for Album of the Year? Weird. Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” scratched off of the Record of the Year nominees? Uber-weird. No Lil Wayne nominations? Big Boi passed […]
Chart Stalker! 8/18/10: Change Soon Come
I’ll stand by for a sec and let you try to guess who has this week’s #1 album. Give up? It’s Eminem!! “Recovery” scans another 133,000 units this week and spends it’s 6th non-consecutive week at the top of Billboard’s album chart. “Recovery” also spends it’s 8th consecutive week at the top of Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart. It’s the longest consecutive stay at the top for a rap album in 20 years. Last album to hang around that long? MC […]
Eminem’s Saving the Music Industry, But is “Recovery” His Best Work?
I have a love/hate relationship with Marshall Mathers. As a hip-hop head, I have to give the man respect for his talent. At a time when most now-school rappers can’t even freestyle properly, Eminem is almost a throwback emcee. The dude has skills that name-your-favorite-current-rapper can’t touch with a ten-foot pole. That said, there are also plenty of things that trouble me about Eminem. Like most people who were bullied as kids, he himself takes pleasure in bullying others less […]
“Love the Way You Lie”: Eminem and Rihanna Burn Down the House
The amazing success of Eminem’s “Recovery” (chasing Lady Antebellum for the title of biggest-selling album of 2010 after only six weeks out) proves that when all is said and done, it all comes down to quality. Well, mostly. Eminem stepped up his rhyme game, matured topically (slightly), and tempered that with his most commercial sounding production to date. The result has been two #1 singles (so far) and the leaving of little doubt as to who’s worthy of the “Best […]
Chart Stalker 7/28/10: Ross Comes Close, But No Cigar
Not even Rick Ross’s big ass chain with his head on it was enough to dislodge Slim Shady from the top of Billboard’s album chart this week. The Miami rapper’s fourth album, “Teflon Don”, scans 176,000 copies, coming just under 10,000 units short of the top spot. Em’s “Recovery” is in week 5 at the top spot, with 187,000 copies sold. In just five weeks, it’s sold 1.7 million copies, thanks to Eminem’s loyal fan base and two huge hit […]
Chart Chat 6/30/10: Eminem’s Comeback Mission Accomplished
Eminem’s “Recovery” scores the biggest first week sales of 2010. So says this week’s Billboard chart. Slim Shady bows with over 741,000 units sold, incredibly marking an increase of over 100,000 units on the first weeks sales of his last album, 2009’s “Relapse”. If you were to compile the year’s top selling albums, “Relapse” would be at #8 after just 6 days in stores. This is interesting on any number of levels. First of all, it’s incredibly rare for an […]
Eminem’s “Recovery” Ad: If The Album is As Good As the Commercial…
I can’t even remember the last time I saw an ad for a new album that wasn’t the typical generic commercial that showed a clip of the video, etc. So leave it to Eminem to go against the grain and parody the Sham-Wow commercials to promote his upcoming album “Recovery” (which now arrives on Monday, 6/21. The release date was moved up a day to combat rampant leaks). I gotta give it to Em, this ad is a stroke of […]
Eminem *Literally* Soars in "Not Afraid" Video
I think Eminem might just be serious about this new, more mature image. “Not Afraid”, the first single from his upcoming “Recovery” album, does a good job deleting some of the bad taste left in a lot of fans’ collective mouth after years of increasing mediocrity. Couple it with his guest verses on songs by Drake and B.O.B, and an unforgettable freestyle on the BET Hip Hop Award show and..we might be talking comeback for a guy who can rap […]
Blerd Premiere: Eminem's "Not Afraid"
I remember writing somewhere (might have been a Facebook status update) that Eminem is like an “A” student who continually turns in “C” papers. As an emcee, Em is flawless. The guy’s got a great vocabulary, a fantastic sense of rhythm (A.K.A. flow) and a unique voice. However, for the past five or six years, he’s been squandering his gifts and pandering to his pop fanbase by a) using that obnoxious Triumph the Insult Comic Dog accent, b) reveling in […]