Ellington

His new video.

Watch it.

Previous Comments

ID

137247

Comment

"Mosh" is No. 1 on MTV charts today. It came out yesterday, I think. Here's what The Nation has to say about it: Those who are accustomed to Eminem's gay-bashing, gun-toting antics will hardly believe their eyes, as they watch his new video in which the top-selling rapper and his posse file into the voting booths, the words "Vote Tuesday, November 2" fading into the screen. Mosh could well be one of the most overtly political pop music videos ever produced, and is easily the most direct anti-Bush cultural statement since Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Although the video debuted just a week before the election, it could have an unprecedented cultural and political impact, coming from the top-grossing rap star in America, and one of the seminal pop icons of the last decade. [...] Critics--especially from the right--will dismiss Mosh as a shrewd attempt to boost record sales by capitalizing on the tide of anti-Bush populism. Yet, Eminem has truly made a leap with Mosh. In his first four albums--despite pointing out the absurdities of American politics and culture--his mantra, ultimately, was "I just don't give a fuck." Never before has he advocated for political change. Even if the song's late arrival gives it a limited impact on the vote, Eminem's pronounced political shift should send shivers through the largely unchecked right-wing establishment.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-10-27T16:46:44-06:00

ID

137248

Comment

and here's what Salon said yesterday, so I actually watched an Eminem video.. and it is fantastic. ok, it's darn good. Like Fahrenheit 9/11 in 5 minutes. glad to hear MTV is playing it. http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/wmd/2004/10/27/waits/index.html It also helps that "Mosh" is so articulate, persuasive and powerful in its criticisms of Bush -- although I wouldn't expect any less from one of the greatest storytellers in popular music. "Mosh" moves at a slower tempo than most of Eminem's songs, which was not necessarily a great decision musically -- he's more thrilling in quicksilver mode, spitting out rhymes faster than most of us can think -- but it ensures that every damning word is heard, and heard clearly. This is not a particularly pleasant song to listen to: There's nothing catchy about it, and the beat is a clanging, leaden monstrosity made for marching, not dancing. But Eminem is clearly not out to entertain here, and this song, with its ominous monotony, allows him to do what he does best: pure, seething anger. The barbs just keep coming: "Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us/ Mosh pits outside the oval office/ Someone's trying to tell us something, maybe this is God just saying/ We're responsible for this monster, this coward, that we have empowered ... Let the President answer on high anarchy/ Strap him with AK-47, let him go/ Fight his own war, let him impress daddy that way ... Look in his eyes, it's all lies, the stars and stripes/ They've been swiped, washed out and wiped ... If they should argue, let us beg to differ, as we set aside our differences, and assemble our own army, to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president."

Author

sunshine

Date

2004-10-28T10:43:58-06:00

ID

137249

Comment

I keep saying it over and over to deaf ears: Look out for the hip-hip generation Tuesday. I believe they may well swing the election. After all, Richard Barrett called me the "hip-hop editor" on his Web site, so I have a bit of authority on this. ;-) Yes, that video kicks a*s*s.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-10-28T11:25:48-06:00

ID

137250

Comment

holy moly. just stole 5 minutes off the clock to watch the video, since i don't have MTV at home. i don't always agree with some of his lyrics (the bitches'n'hos stuff) but when em's ON, he's ON. he's got a gift with words, and he's got a huge, rabid audience. we can do this...

Author

Jay

Date

2004-10-28T13:31:59-06:00

ID

137251

Comment

we can do this... Yes, we can, Jay. Dial the phone, e-mail, talk, drive people to the polls. We can take our country (and our state) back from the radical, greedy right. Just do it, y'all.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-10-28T13:55:14-06:00

ID

137252

Comment

I think it's an excellent concept and song. I commend him for speaking his mind and taking the risk. It definitely reflects the angst of many young people I have interacted with... It also brings the idea of music, politics and (r)evolution into reality in a once popular way rather than newspaper blurbs and soundbytes of the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M. and Bono (though I appreciate their actions). I think he also hints at another reality that could happen in a 50/50 America -- violence and outrageous acts of dissent if either party becomes too agitated by their loss or too headstrong by their win. These "leaders" need to stop throwing wedges out and help fix this country's mess rather than barking back and forth at each other! What happened to the United in United States? On a side note, you think GLAAD will award him for his efforts? ;-)

Author

kaust

Date

2004-10-28T14:43:13-06:00

ID

137253

Comment

On a side note, you think GLAAD will award him for his efforts? ;-) I wondered that, too. ;-) Has he ever retracted his homophobic comments? I must admit I missed a few cycles of the Eminem revolution -- although I've longo thought he was a very talented rapper.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-10-28T14:59:17-06:00

ID

137254

Comment

I don't know that he's apologized... I know he's quasi-apologized for his racist songs.

Author

kaust

Date

2004-10-28T15:25:44-06:00

ID

137255

Comment

we can do this... I don't know about y'all, but my senses are on fire over this election. I'm terrified, but I feel like I'm exploding with optimism. Reading the piece about Springsteen's 80,000 people and his "Future is for the Passionate" and watching Eminem's video just make it all seem that much more real. It is such evidence that Americans are everything we believe we are: strong, resilient, stubborn about our freedoms. This is going to sound crazy, but I just caught myself humming the Star Wars theme, and thinking "Let's blow this thing and go home," or whatever that rebel line was. It feels like that: people of all shapes, sizes, races, backgrounds coming together across the country to say, "No, Empire, you are not going to take away everything we've worked so damned hard to build." Those greedy zealots cannot have our country to hand over to corporations. No, no, no. And I think we're going to prove it Tuesday. Really. Maybe even here in the heart of Dixie. Our strength is our diversity, and I truly to God believe we're about to prove it. NOW, I need a cocktail. ;-D

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-10-28T17:22:16-06:00