Music Monday: Eminem & System Of A Down

So today marks the first of a week-long set of artists that produced some of my favorite albums -- they just didn't make it into my top 50 for various reasons.

The first two days I have had to combine artists and then some of my favorites will be featured solo. And today's pairing is two of the weirdest and strangest music I listened to "back in the day." Still, I ate these cds up at the time, so they have to be featured.

Eminem:

I had to put Eminem on here because I grew up with him. I never went as far as dying my hair to look like him, but I fit right into his demographic. Ya know, the white kids that liked rap, but weren't really supposed to? It was kind of different for me also because growing up in the south, the majority of music is either country or rap. I think Eminem fit me because as the years went on (and as the countdown will drastically show) I started favoring more alternative rock and I guess you could describe him as alternative rap.

Whatever you want to say about him, his presence can't be denied. I don't know for certain, but I read somewhere he was one of the top 3 selling artists of the past decade. And I was one of his biggest customers. His first cd came out while I was still at the age that I had to buy "parental advisory" cds, but I later got a copy of the uncensored versions. And man, I felt so cool. I think the only releases I didn't care for were his last two ("Relapse" and "Encore") but his first three were amazing for me.

The Slim Shady LP



The Marshall Mathers LP



The Eminem Show




System Of A Down:

I forgot to mention that I heard of Eminem and got into him from a friend. Well, the same thing happened with System Of A Down, just a different friend. At first, I HATED them. I've never been a huge fan of the crazy/screaming stuff, but over the years I've come to tolerate and, for certain artists, even embrace it. Over time, I began to respect SOAD and the music they were making.

They were the first band that I kind of got into them late and then went back. I began to take notice after I saw the video for "Chop Suey!" and thought it was amazing. My friend began to play them out and I noticed I was getting into their music as a way to connect. However, it's when I was either during my last years of high school or during my early years of college that they released "Mezmerize" followed by "Hypnotize" and I loved the concept that they did with the two albums.

They've gone on an indefinite hiatus, but I hope, creative wise, they get back together at some point.

Self Titled:



Toxicity:



Steal This Album!:



Mezmerize:



Hypnotize:

Updates

Family: My sister called me today and I couldn't be more happy. Maybe this will only compare to the feeling of finally seeing jme after like 5 thousand years. Seriously, I can't remember the last time we just hung out, not a stop by on my way home or anything like that. I think the last time was in daleville/dothan (yeesh). But back to my sister, it was awesome having her call. We both talked of how we felt out of schedule and said it won't be like that again. Sidenote: she has gone 8 days without smoking and I am so stoked about it. 8 days may not be a long time, but compare it to the near decade of smoking and it's a start.

School: Finished what I had to do for one class and I feel somewhat prepared for my test tomorrow. This weekend was supposed to be a break, but I will have to do some work before, study sometime during, and meet up with my group at the end. I know I at least will get a break when the semester is over.

Sports: UNC won the NCAA tournament. I haven't kept up with it since my bracket was shot in the first round. But it was nice to finally see them win as I have sort of been a fan of them for a while. I say sort of cuz i'm not a hardcore fan (I only like them because of my uncle) but I do cheer them on at times. Also, I don't know if you would categorize this as sports, but I sold my wrestling tickets and while money makes me happy, handing those over made me sad

Video Games: My Xbox froze twice today. This is not good news.

Movies: Fast and Furious just sort of came and went, didn't it? Now what do we have to look forward to? I still am I little excited for Wolverine, and kind of Star Trek???? It looks entertaining. Terminator i'm still a little iffy on

Music: I had a good show tonight. Randomly got extended to three hours. Did an artist spotlight on The Academy Is... and had someone call in asking who they were, so that was cool. She also asked who I was and my usual time and all that so there was definitely a smile on my face. (is it weird that I thought she sounded cute on the phone?) Already started planning for next week's show: An all female show. Any ideas? Eminem is back. And when I say back, I mean back to his first couple of cd's. His newest video has him making fun of celebrities. Some of it is funny, but most of it just seems.... stale and unoriginal. The song still needs to grow on me.

TV Shows: Ok, I admit it, I am a sucker for "reality" shows. More specifically, ones that involve elimination. I have yet to watch a season of The Real World and I probably never will. But Duel or Island or Gauntlet? Sign me up. I will catch up on the first episode tomorrow. Oh, and I LOVED the ending to I Love Money this week. I was laughing and cheering and then felt very weird for doing so. I have also been on a Nitro Circus marathon. That show is very addicting. Lastly, this season of Rock of Love has been the worst. It has been really hard to keep watching. But will I watch Daisy of Love? Probably.

I've rambled too long. I think I have some ideas for this blog. Let me think about it.

Random lyric of the day:

I tried to do handstands for you
But everytime I fell for you
I'm permanently black and blue,
permanently blue for you