NumberNineDream

I have had an idea about what to write in this entry for a long time now, but I was a bit wondering what I'd be writing exactly. So I thought I'll just give it a go and see where mind gets me.

I- My beginnings in music 4.0

So we move on to the year 2000, the new millennium.So that's what this year was about:


That was the first copied album I got, that I found by accident at home. It seemed very weird, with this cheaply printed front cover, but I think it all added to my curiosity to find out what this album was about.
It was a big change from my previous year's music, as I had never heard of anything called "rap" before this album. At first, it was just a first experience. I never heard this kind of talking on music, and I had never heard this much roughness in lyrics. I wasn't able to understand much English then, so I don't think the lyrics got this strong impact it was supposed to have on ten year olds, but I was able to understand what the story was about, and what this man was singing about in his music, and the stories alone were able to send shivers down my spine. As my love for this album grew, I printed the lyrics and memorised the whole songs. I do remember, I was able to rap Stan entirely. This song was my door to the album. Maybe because it starts with the soft voice of Dido singing the beginning of her own Thank You , the continuous sound of the rain that just weakens you to be cold, or maybe it was this rough music video depicting what the song was about. I have to say, the music video itself was very interesting. The depiction of this fan that would rather throw his own life and pregnant wife just for a simple word from his idol, and the tragic ending as Eminem looks at the tombstone with " his name was.. it was you, damn".

Some very powerful lyrics that hit me to the core, first time listening to this song,
The first verse that really touched at the beginning, a very seemingly banal sentence, that for me just summarized this whole idolisation,

If I have a daughter, guess what I'ma call her?
I'ma name her Bonnie

And with the anger starting to rage, some powerful words started to flow out as the song continues,

We waited in the blistering cold for you,
four hours and you just said, "No."
That's pretty shitty man - you're like his fuckin idol
He wants to be just like you man, he likes you more than I do

about that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning
but didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a a show he found him?
That's kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from drowning
Now it's too late - I'm on a 1000 downers now, I'm drowsy
and all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call

and the best, as it this whole song just climaxes to this point, when Stan is driving under the rain

I love you Slim, we coulda been together, think about it
You ruined it now, I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it
And when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you scream about it
I hope your conscience eats at you and you can't breathe without me

And now for you to enjoy, or just give you this nostalgic feeling I get myself when listening to the song, enjoy.



Another powerful song from that album, would surely be Kim. Maybe because it was extracted in its entirely from his personal life, or maybe this whole raw scene of hate and beating that was played in this record. All I know, that it really succeeded in transmitting this hate to us. From his violent wounded words, to "Kim's" loud screams, interrupted by the brief bursts of a baby crying, it just hits you. You feel like a witness to a very ugly side of this world, and it hits because you know how genuine it all is. And I do think, that is the first song that really got me speechless facing this abundance of curse words. It was the first time I hear the usual fuck and bitch used to hurt so violently:

Bullshit you bitch don't fucking lie to me
What the fuck's this guy's problem on the side of me?
Fuck you asshole, yeah bite me
Kim, KIM!
Why don't you like me?

I guess this whole song was mostly for therapeutic purposes. It's obvious how cathartic a song like this can be, specially with Eminem playing both his and Kim's part, like one of those shrink's switching role exercises. One of the rawest most brutal songs on this album. Enjoy.



After this album I moved to a whole year filled with rap and hip-hop, from Eminem to Dr.Dre and D12 then Snoop Dog. I even had a brief crush on Lil' Bow Wow. All I can remember, this whole year consisted of a heavy exposure to strong words and African American nudity.




As I'm talking about 2000, that year was pretty creepy in Lebanon, specially with this whole Eminem phenomena. This year, the minister of interior affairs has declared a war against Satanism and devil worshippers. In other words, it was about arresting every metalhead teenager with a goatee, or just anyone listening publicly to Eminem and Metallica, as rumours has it: listening to an Eminem record in reverse makes you hear the devil speaking to you.
In this year, Eminem, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Nirvana records were banned from all the music stores. I don't know why, but in Lebanon, Nirvana is considered "metal". The ban was off in 2005 I guess, but we all already had these artists' discography on mp3 by then, so it didn't really matter.




I was born on the last week of the civil war, in a very small public clinic. The umbilical cord was rolled around my neck suffocating me, which made me turn blue. There was no doctor around, so it was a nurse that assisted my birth. Throughout my mum's 9 months of pregnancy I was thought to be a boy, so I guess it was a very happy surprise when I turned out to be the opposite, as I already had 2 brothers. My parents were sure that having 3 boys can turn out to be a nightmare.


About the 4th section of the entry, I'm thinking of postponing it a bit, as I want to make a full review this time... We'll see you then.

__________________