Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

Many people will tell you that the Oscar-endorsed "Lose Yourself" - or lately, the brand-new "Mosh" - is Eminem's crowning, definitive moment. They'd be wrong. "Lose" is Em in, whaddaya know, battle-rap mode, firing off serious, to-the-bone rhymes. It's sincere, joke-free, and sensational, don't misunderstand me. But it's only one side of Slim Shady's coin. "Kim" and "Stan" are the other, non-cartoon side ("The Real Slim Shady" and "My Name Is..." might as well be novelty records, though "Without Me" is more like it), his darker personage (not persona, yes there's a difference) - and his most vital. "Kim" especially. "Kim" is a tough listen, rally, vulgar and truly obscene, violent and horrific. It's also surprisingly funny at times. Not to mention very primal scream, John and Yoko-esque primal scream, hardcore Jung primal scream. Acting out revenge fantasies (on your wife, no less) is not so often the stuff of pop landmarks, but Eminem was, it would seem, born to bust every mold - the Elvis comparisons make more sense with each passing year, recording, benchmark. [And as is the case with the rightfully much-maligned "Just Lose It," it's wise to remember that Presley released some utter crap, too.] What kills the most, though, is an almost tossed-off line in "Kim"'s midsection, where Em says "Kim! Kim! Why don't you like me?" He sounds laughable and pathetic, as in pathetically sad, at that moment, which leads the way to his screamed "I loved you!"s later on; those are nothing but raw pain, the bride truly stripped bare.

Which is alarming, and which is also tremendous pop.