Eminem

Two weeks after the European MTV awards it’s time for the 37th American Music Awards 2009. After a quick glimpse at the list of nominees, it seems clear the night could turn into (another) Michael Jackson tribute (nominated for best pop-rock AND soul-R&B album, best pop-rock male artist and best soul-R&B male artist). The night will also be a new GaGa – Beyoncé dispute for best female artist (will little miss spoilt GaGa turn up this time?). The rest of nominees are the usual: Black Eyed Peas, the American beloved Taylor Swift and the hip-hop / rap category 2009 trio Jay-Z, T.I. and Eminem for best album and artist.

Eminem has a two distinct modes of operation: goofy, comic raps along the lines of My Name Is and The Real Slim Shady and psycho-killer stuff like Stan and The Way I Am. It's the latter that earned Eminem a reputation as a brilliant lyricist, with his stark images of inner-city violence, sexual aggression and drugs.

In We Made You, Eminem is back and poking fun about the usual rogues galleries of celebrities. But he fails on a whole ton of levels with

a celebrity-takedown video on the same level as “Meet the Spartans.” Ha ha, Kim Kardashian has a big butt! Tee hee, Ellen DeGeneres is a lesbian! Har har (there are only so many laughs you can do), Sarah Palin is attractive…sorta. I’m not mad that he’s going after pop-culture, but don’t you think he can stretch himself a little more? At best, the point of the song is the tired theme of telling people to stop worshipping celebrities, and at worst it’s pointless parody.

Okay just thought I'd give Irish viewers a round up of my opinions on the Top 50 Singles Chart in Ireland as of 30 April 2009. This is basically a rehash of last weeks charts but with any new entries added in afterwards.

50. Kids-MGMT: Basically in a few words, I'll say this. MGMT are the most exciting synthpop/indie kids to come out in 2009 and this song proves that. This cheery crazy indie pop track perfectly captures the youthful, cosmopolitan lifestyle of their New York homeland and spreads it to a universal audience. (4/5)

49. Crack A Bottle-Eminem featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent: Ooooooh Em I am disappointed. This is neither witty like The Real Slim Shady or serious like Stan. It's dirty pop rap, that's all! The tune is reasonably catchy I guess but...nah! (2/5)

Okay just thought I'd give Irish viewers a round up of my opinions on the Top 50 Singles Chart in Ireland as of 23 April 2009. This is basically a rehash of last weeks charts but with any new entries added in afterwards.

50. Day 'N' Nite-Kid Cudi Vs. Crookers: Admittedly, I hated this track when I heard it but that pesky Cudi (or is it Budi?) eventually won me over with his charm. Givin' a sort of garage music remix for the Crookers, could Cudi be the next Kanye West? I'm not "lovin' " this track but Cudi's grabbed my interest. (3/5)

49. The Galway Girl-Mundy and Sharon Shannon: Looks like this is just gonna float in and outta the chart forever. The Irish folk song has been around forever and it definitely has a timeless quality to it but I don't wanna hear this constantly on the radio again-sorry! Seeing the drop in the charts looks like the song will move off for another while longer. (4/5)