TS: "Ass Like That" vs. "Just Lose It"

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The thread about "Curtain Call" got me thinking about the way in which Eminem has sort of quietly dropped out of the biz, or at least so it seems to me. The fact that this disappearance corresponds to a fairly pronounced drop in the quality of his singles makes me wonder if he's had a severe breakdown, or they're busy retuning the robot clone double, or what. In the meantime, let's take a look (you can go watch the videos at Launch for extra special rap insight) at two of the last chart-busting oddities from this crash-and-burn hero: "Ass Like That," a profoundly odd and off-the-rails rant from the perspective of a puppet dog, and "Just Lose It," the customary "wacky" first single that announced even better than "Just Don't Give A Fuck" that Eminem just didn't give a fuck, or couldn't, or had been involved in a motorcycle crash and was no longer really Eminem.

Or, to put it more simply...

TS: "Da doing doing doing" VS "HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH!"

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 18 November 2005 03:38 (twenty years ago)

"Just Lose It" by a mile

― 'Twan (miccio), Friday, 18 November 2005 03:43 (twenty years ago)

"Just Lose It" was rather fascinating in its horror. "Ass Like That" is "Ass Like That".

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 18 November 2005 03:47 (twenty years ago)

"Just Lose It" is riotous. Not funny riotous, but enjoyable in a stupid way, or stupid in an enjoyable way.

As Dr Bill points out, "Ass Like That" is "Ass Like That", and is one of the absolute nadirs of pop music of the last 12 months.

― MC Stylised Vadge (edwardo), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:02 (twenty years ago)

but enjoyable in a stupid way, or stupid in an enjoyable way.
-------------------

okay

― idleidleidle, Friday, 18 November 2005 04:21 (twenty years ago)

I kinda like "Ass Like That", it's high concept in a completely idiotic way, but he works pretty hard at making the concept work.

― Al (sitcom), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:22 (twenty years ago)

he could've worked harder

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

I'd be tempted to make the argument that "Just Lose It" is actually the best first single from an Eminem album. A hell of a lot of musical hooks, cultural references that have already stood the test of time, less "hey I'm a white rapper and that's a mindblower" meta. But I've already gathered people here think the song is too silly (which makes me wonder what they were really enjoying about the previous first singles). Plus all of them are pretty good.

"Ass Like That" is the astoundingly awful, sub-professional chore of a track everybody pretended "Just Lose It" was. His attempt at Schwarzenegger is probably his most embarassing vocal moment since "Radio won't even play my jams!"

― 'Twan (miccio), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:26 (twenty years ago)

The chorus is fun in a "Best Week Ever" kinda way, but I'm always embarassed when I'm watching one of those shows.

― 'Twan (miccio), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

cultural references that have already stood the test of time

how can cultural references "stand the test of time" when they sounded dated the minute they dropped?

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:34 (twenty years ago)

people still remember Hammer and Pee Wee Herman. Nobody needs to remember Chris Fitzpatrick and Tom Green.

― 'Twan (miccio), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:36 (twenty years ago)

for those who miss more topical references, he gives you "Ass Like That" with Triumph The Insult Comic Dog and New York City Minute.

― 'Twan (miccio), Friday, 18 November 2005 04:39 (twenty years ago)

The attempt at Schwarzenegger is somehow redeemed, in a backwards way, by Eminem's apparent conviction that Schwarzenegger sounds a lot like his weird imitation of Triumph. This is such a complete and total reach that it acquires the gloss of arbitrary ridiculousness - he might as well have had Triumph pretend to be George W. or Gloria Estefan.

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 18 November 2005 06:31 (twenty years ago)

There's a whole swirl of political nuances in the vocals of "Ass Like That" that "Just Lose it" doesn't have. I mean the war on terra sits behind the former peeking out.

― thousands of tiny luminous spheres (plebian), Friday, 18 November 2005 22:45 (twenty years ago)

yeah, ALT is for the close listeners, JLI is for the radio. both are good.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 18 November 2005 22:50 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, wait: no, no they're not.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 November 2005 23:04 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Revived because I have been listening to "Ass Like That" at least once daily for the past week, for no apparent reason at all. It's really good! Somehow I think it might be the single of his that's aged the best - although granted that's partly because a lot of really good ones ("Without Me" in particular) got just run into the ground through overplay, while "Ass Like That" barely made a blip on the radar. But it's a weirdly intoxicating track for being as flat-out stupid as it is. I mean,

What do you mean, freeze?
Jeez!

― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 25 February 2007 02:06 (nineteen years ago)

T/S: Vomit vs Dung

― The Reverend, Sunday, 25 February 2007 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

I remember the hook from ass like that and not the one from just lose it. Given that I haven't heard either song since about the same time, that says something about the former. I remember the video for ass like that sort of looked like it was made by the guys who made Date Movie. I also recall that someone at ilx said that they thought that Ass Like That was actually a joke single that eminem purposely made to test what his audiences would take. I remember thinking that this was brilliant and actually waiting for eminem to make the announcement on TRL, declaring that we were all idiots for believing him. I still wish someone in his position would do something like that.

― filthy dylan, Sunday, 25 February 2007 05:11 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

da doing doing doinnnng

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 12 September 2008 13:10 (seventeen years ago)

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