Wednesday, October 27, 2004
No encore for Bush?
Music video of the year? Already all over the hip hop blog world (and I'm sure, by extension, the rest of the internet) Eminem's "Mosh" video is a powerful piece of art. As my man put it in an email sent to a group of friends:
Just watched the world premiere of Em's new video, Mosh. It is one of the most incredible videos I've ever seen, hands down. The mixture of animation and live action is incredible. The subject matter (anti-Bush, anti-war, pro-lawful revolution) is controversial and powerful. And, the song is bananas. I think it could have a real effect on voters 18-24.Seriously, this video - more so than the swift boat ads or the recent Sinclair brouhaha - could be one of the deciding factors in swinging the election Kerry's way if it's as effective in turning out the youth vote as it potentially looks to be.
Once again, Eminem has confounded expectations and demonstrated he is a master of exploiting the video music artform. Besides likely becoming a major factor in the election, he has also now probably ensured his new Encore album will be another huge 1st week seller despite the lukewarm response to the first single "Just Lose it" which was only saved by its "controversial" video. (BallerStatus.net)
Related: The story behind "Mosh" | View the video | Kid Oakland's take (Guerilla News Network | The Daily Kos)
On the flip, while Slim Shady is delivering Kerry the youth vote, is Bush losing the retiree vote after they finally realized the true implications behind his deeply-flawed Medicare Prescription Drug Bill? (Newsweek)
And sign of the times? The inside word is that, as of 6pm last night, the Tower Records downtown store in Manhattan (on 4th Street in the Village) had sold only 6 copies of the R. Kelly/Jay-Z Unfinished Business album. Granted it was not sale priced there and was retailing for $18.99 but 6 copies?! Between that anecdote and Kels supposedly going nuts at one of the Chicago stops on the "Best of Both Worlds" tour then putting in some time working at a McDonald's Drive-Thru immediately after (you are not misreading that), it seems that this artistic collaboration is once again falling short despite all the superstar power involved. I checked out the album for the first time last night - on a first listen-through it's definitely less than the sum of it's parts and the first three tracks leaked a few weeks back seem to be the main highlights although repeat listens might turn up some other jewels I missed. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Finally, R.I.P. John Peel. Those outside of the UK probably don't know who this dude is unless they are import indie music fans who have bought any of his well-regarded Peel Session albums, but growing up in the UK, this legendary radio DJ was the epitome of music cool introducing generations of music listeners to cutting edge new music spanning genres from punk to techno and hip hop. He was also a model of how to age gracefully maintaining impeccable taste in music right up to his death at age 65. His favorite single of all time was The Undertones' "Teengae Kicks" - I mean, how f-ckin' cool is that? If I know anything, the music in heaven just got a whole lot better I'm sure. (BBC News)
