Album review: Eminem - Relapse (1/5)

I know Eminem is an important musical force, and the critics seem to be praising Relapse as a return to form, following his drug- and depression-fueled 5-year "break." But I'm not just not buying it, for how many times do I have to listen to lines like "I'll pee on Rihanna" (from "Medicine Ball") for me to believe it's cleverly funny rather than inane? And that's one of the tamest lines from this work, which intentionally pushes every button imaginable, exploring truly depraved subjects.

No matter how well crafted the beats and lyrical turns, the content is truly disturbing whether exploring the hatred for a mentally abusive mother ("My Mom"), sexually abusive stepfather ("Insane"), or other celebrities ("Same Song and Dance"), all of which also reveals a kind of self hatred, as Eminem admits he's turned into his mother, and of course, he can't escape criticism of celebrity, being one himself. "Same Song and Dance" is particular twisted, where Eminem fancies himself as a stalker-killer going after a young actress.

There's also a deep misogyny at work here, and that's a real turn off. Rap frequently objectifies women, but on Relapse Eminem's turned the effort into an exercise in sheer degradation, violently dispatching women (often by name) like a bad Friday the 13th. One positive thing I can say about this is that there are few references to his daughter Hailie, which is a good thing, considering how loaded this album is with references to drug abuse, murder and sexual degradation (she shows up on "Deja Vu," but that was about it I think).

With all the smut and anger on display here, there's little, if anything that's joyous. Em's always tried to get a rise out of us, but he also served up some good times like "The Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me." "We Made You" comes closest, since, while trashing a parade of famous women from Jessica Simpson to Kim Kardashian to Sarah Palin, is at least not about murdering them. Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman this is not.

Much of Relapse serves to reinforce how insular Eminem's world is, but at least he's still aware of what he's doing. Eminem's skit "Paul," where an acquaintance calls Eminem up and tells him that this album is too offensive to get behind shows at least that he's aware that this album's mockery of Christopher Reeve and endless references to rape are offensive. So what's the point then? Isn't it easy to be offensive? Isn't it harder to be original and revealing? If Eminem does have something to say here, its too buried by horror-porn to be evident.