Eminem - The Eminem Show (2002)

Reason for Listening:
#97 on the Billboard 200 (Week of 20200201). Sorted by Weeks on Chart.
Last Week: 119 | Peak: 1 | Weeks on Chart: 365

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With the release of Music to Be Murdered By, Eminem's other albums have shot up in rank for the week of 20200201. The Eminem Show went up 22 ranks from 119 to 97.

With respect to scrobbles from 2009 to 20190929 (prior to the start of my album blog), The Eminem Show holds the third most scrobbles (79 scrobbles + 4 from Curtain Call), essentially tied with The Slim Shady LP (80 scrobbles + 3 from Curtain Call), and 12 scrobbles behind Encore (91 scrobbles + 4 from Curtain Call).

Released 20020526.
20 songs. 77:19. The Eminem Show (2002)
Wikipedia

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Notes:
--20200201--
First listen.
I love the beginning with "Where's my snare? | I have no snare in my headphones | There you go, yeah, yo, yo." [Eminem annotated on genius.com saying this really happened: "This was true. I was recording and couldn't hear the snare, the engineer had it muted for some reason. I left it."]
I like the chorus in this song. ("Square Dance")
After listening to the album, I upgrade one of the four songs rated a "3" to a "4." I chose "'Till I Collapse."

4: "'Till I Collapse" (ft. Nate Dogg);
3: "Cleanin' Out My Closet"; "Without Me"; "Sing for the Moment";
2: "This Kiss - Skit"; "Paul Rosenberg - Skit"; "Superman"; "Steve Berman - Skit"; "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (ft. Hailie Jade); "Curtains Close";
1: "Curtains Up - Skit" / "White America"; "Square Dance"; "Hailie's Song"; "Say What You Say" (ft. Dr. Dre);
0: "Business"; "Soldier"; "Say Goodbye Hollywood"; "Drips" (ft. Obie Trice); "When the Music Stops" (ft. D12);

Summary:
I like the mix of tracks on this album. The skits are specifically comical. I think some spoken material on some albums can be distracting but the skits on this album complement the other material.

Overall Rating: 4.6/5
Favorite Song: "'Till I Collapse" (ft. Nate Dogg)

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--20251222--
Second listen.

As a parent, I heard these lines on this listen:

'Cause he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye
No, I don't, on second thought, I just fuckin' wished he would die
I look at Hailie, and I couldn't picture leavin' her side
Even if I hated Kim, I'd grit my teeth and I'd try

Listening to "Square Dance", and knowing how he behaves in some interviews, I can sense the humor which Eminem infuses into his music, but it's comedy sprinkled throughout traditional hip-hop material. I distinguish this with Lil Dicky's first album which is the reverse.
The bass on this track feels nice ("Till I Collapse")

5: "Without Me";
4: "Cleanin' Out My Closet"; "Till I Collapse" (ft. Nate Dogg);
3: "Sing For The Moment"; "Superman" (ft. Dina Rae); "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (ft. Hailie Jade);
2: "Business"; "Square Dance"; "This Kiss - Skit"; "Paul Rosenberg - Skit"; "Hailie's Song"; "Steve Berman - Skit"; "When The Music Stops" (ft. D12); "Curtains Close";
1: "Curtains Up - Skit" / "White America"; "Say What You Say" (ft. Dr. Dre);;
0: "Soldier"; "Say Goodebye Hollywood"; "Drips" (ft. Obie Trice);