Eminem "The Monster" ft Rihanna (they have a hit here)

Eminem and Rihanna have a hit here. Great new song, deep meaning. Rihanna has monsters, one of them being the fact she had another relationship with Chris Brown after being physically abused by him. Eminem has monsters... for example pain from not getting to live "as a regular civilian" or because of his OCD "conking me in the head." In fact he's willing to admit "I am nuts for real."

Being friends with the monster is being able to cope with our weaknesses. We all have at least one... somewhere. Do you manage to navigate life by being friends with the monster? Maybe you let the monster get the best of you. As we mature we learn to live with these flaws better.

I can only speak for my 36 years of experience, but I think I'm friends with the monster, it wasn't always that way.

 

LYRICS

EMINEM LYRICS
"The Monster"
(feat. Rihanna)

[Hook - Rihanna:]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy

[Verse 1 - Eminem:]
I wanted the fame, but not the cover of Newsweek
Oh, well, guess beggars can't be choosey
Wanted to receive attention for my music
Wanted to be left alone in public. Excuse me
For wanting my cake and eat it too, and wanting it both ways
Fame made me a balloon 'cause my ego inflated
When I blew; see, but it was confusing
'Cause all I wanted to do is be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf
Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam (wooh!)
Hit the lottery, oh wee
But with what I gave up to get was bittersweet
It was like winning a used me
Ironic 'cause I think I'm getting so huge I need a shrink
I'm beginning to lose sleep: one sheep, two sheep
Going cuckoo and cooky as Kool Keith
But I'm actually weirder than you think
'Cause I'm

[Hook - Rihanna:]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy

Well, that's nothing
Well, that's nothing

[Verse 2 - Eminem:]
No, I ain't much of a poet but I know somebody once told me
To seize the moment and don't squander it
'Cause you never know when it all could be over tomorrow
So I keep conjuring, sometimes I wonder where these thoughts spawn from
(Yeah, ponder it, do you want this?
It's no wonder you're losing your mind, the way it wanders)
Yo-lo-lo-lo-yee-whoo
I think you've been wandering off down yonder
And stumbled onto Jeff VanVonderen
'Cause I need an interventionist
To intervene between me and this monster
And save me from myself and all this conflict
'Cause the very thing that I love's killing me and I can't conquer it
My OCD is conking me in the head
Keep knocking, nobody's home, I'm sleepwalking
I'm just relaying what the voice in my head's saying
Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just friends with the

[Hook - Rihanna:]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy

Well, that's nothing
Well, that's nothing

[Verse 3: Eminem]
Call me crazy, but I had this vision
One day that I'd walk amongst you a regular civilian
But until then drums get killed and I'm coming straight at
MCs, blood get spilled and I
Take it back to the days that I get on a Dre track
Give every kid who got played that
Pumped up feeling and shit to say back
To the kids who played 'em
I ain't here to save the fucking children
But if one kid out of a hundred million
Who are going through a struggle feels and then relates that's great
It's payback, Russell Wilson falling way back
In the draft, turn nothing into something, still can make that
Straw into gold chump, I will spin Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack
Maybe I need a straight jacket, face facts
I am nuts for real, but I'm okay with that
It's nothing, I'm still friends with the

[Hook - Rihanna:]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy
[x2]

Well, that's nothing
Well, that's nothing
 

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Brian37's picture

I have no flaws, just

I have no flaws, just windows and ceilings (Did I think this, or type it?) . I honestly know I piss people off, not just on line but in my daily life. I guess the way I deal with my "monster", is to remind people that my jokes suck and I am an ABBA fan.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog

People say I have anger

People say I have anger problems, but they can fuck right off

 

 

ProzacDeathWish's picture

 

 

                                         My only flaw is that I care too much about other people.

 

 

Here's a HQ video    

Here's a HQ video

 

 

Wonderist's picture

Hehe, it's funny. He thinks

Hehe, it's funny. He thinks he's not a poet, but he's like the Jackie Chan of poetry. How the fuck he manages to rhyme like that is insanely amazing. Good call, Sapient. Whether it's a hit or not, who knows, but it's definitely a good song, especially message-wise.

I like thinking of it as 'monsters' rather than 'demons'. That's an improvement I think. It's more relatable. Everybody's had experience of that feeling of monsters as a kid, but you get over it, you get used to it, and then you can even start to have fun with it. That's way better than thinking of it as some purely evil entity that's out to get you forever. I'm glad Eminem is putting out songs like these. It helps break the stigmas surrounding mental health.

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digitalbeachbum's picture

I disagree. Making "friends"

I disagree. Making "friends" with your monsters/demons/whatever is like saying it is ok to have disorders. Acknowledging that you have a problem and seeking a solution to getting rid of them is another.

Maybe I misunderstood his choice of words, but I was never a friend of my monsters. It took me decades to find them, acknowledge them, then find a cure to get rid of them.

I find the later a much better path to follow.

(edit)

and I believe we create our own monsters.

Brian37's picture

digitalbeachbum wrote:I

digitalbeachbum wrote:

I disagree. Making "friends" with your monsters/demons/whatever is like saying it is ok to have disorders. Acknowledging that you have a problem and seeking a solution to getting rid of them is another.

Maybe I misunderstood his choice of words, but I was never a friend of my monsters. It took me decades to find them, acknowledge them, then find a cure to get rid of them.

I find the later a much better path to follow.

(edit)

and I believe we create our own monsters.

Sorry, no one here is claiming when you have problems in life you don't address them. This is only saying that there should not be a stigma attached to having problems. Most of the time there is no cure to make it go away so you simply recognize it and learn to manage it.

 

Bullshit we do not create our own monsters. Nothing is black and white in life or either/or. It is true we can inflict things on ourselves, but we are a product of genetics, upbringing, what we do ourselves and what others do around us. Those things overlap, they are not mutually exclusive.

 

This mentality is "its your own fault" is exactly why poverty is treated like a crime. It is exactly why non violent people end up in prison who get mixed up with violent people then get dumped on society worse than when they went in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog

A great aspect of a great

A great aspect of a great piece of art (or in this case music) will have various interpretations.  It seems like we have a few of those here.  Nice. 

 

Funny, the bible is like this too, except it's supposed to be the word of god and therefore not up for interpretation. Ha

 

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Beyond Saving's picture

Not really my typical music

Not really my typical music but it is definitely a great song.

harleysportster's picture

digitalbeachbum wrote:I

digitalbeachbum wrote:

I disagree. Making "friends" with your monsters/demons/whatever is like saying it is ok to have disorders. Acknowledging that you have a problem and seeking a solution to getting rid of them is another.

Maybe I misunderstood his choice of words, but I was never a friend of my monsters. It took me decades to find them, acknowledge them, then find a cure to get rid of them.

I find the later a much better path to follow.

(edit)

and I believe we create our own monsters.

I partially agree with your notion of "friending" a monster not being a good thing. I certainly do not friend any of mine.

I think this is what I was getting at, when I made a post about the psychology of religious absolutism and how it affected me for years even after I had left religion.

Now, once I was able to identify the true reasons behind a whole lot of the things that were motivating me in life to make really bad decisions, I was able to jettison them. First by being aware that my feelings were affected by the run of my thoughts and that my thoughts were formed as a result of a lot of nonsense that I was telling myself was true.

For example, long after I first became an Atheist, I still secretly felt guilty for being one. When bad things would happen, I could not quite shake off the delusion that I was being punished.

I believe I am free from it today.

Do we create our own monsters ? I would have to partially agree and partially disagree.

I spent a great deal of my life suffering from a lot of things in which I truly did not know that there was a name for, a very valid reason for, and that such problems were formulated from a variety of many causes.

Until I became aware that something seemed to be causing me a great deal of pain, fear and misery that I was never able to figure out (and not with a lot of so-called "professionals" although there was one that pointed me in the right direction). I had no clue as to what to do with it or how to handle it. A lot of those things were factors that were completely beyond my control, but they did formulate thoughts within, that I kept carrying with me.

Then there are other things that are a complete mystery to me and some that are not.

The ones that are not, I have to decide if I actually want to do something about them. This is where it can get tricky.

I have said repeatedly that I would like to stop smoking these little cigars. My girlfriend hates the scent, I do notice how it aggravates my sinuses, and I am not as long winded as I used to be (nothing major, but I would be a liar and a fool to say that smoking does not affect you). NOW, while I could  actually say that I have tried various methods, I would be dishonest, if I said I really tried them or wanted them. Truth of the matter is, I like smoking. Even though I say that I hate paying money, say that they are bad for my health, say that I need to quit, etc. I still like doing it. Thus, that would be a monster that I have created and chose to perpetuate.

That's just my take on it. Doesn't mean I am right or wrong necessarily, unless I am misunderstanding something.

BTW. Sorry, but I find Eminem hard to take. I can't stand the sight of him nor Rihanna, so while I might say that there were some good lyrics in the song, my own personal bias against Eminem would make it next to impossible to tolerate him.

I feel the same way about Kid Rock for some reason (even though he is not the same as Em) but the mere sight of him just crawls my skin and makes me highly annoyed.

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno

Beyond Saving's picture

harleysportster wrote:I

harleysportster wrote:

I can't stand the sight of him nor Rihanna,

I was going to be a smart ass and find a pic of Rihanna that no red blooded heterosexual male could help but stare at- google was incapable of finding one.

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X

harleysportster's picture

Beyond Saving wrote:I was

Beyond Saving wrote:

I was going to be a smart ass and find a pic of Rihanna that no red blooded heterosexual male could help but stare at- google was incapable of finding one.

Well that might be a different subject Smiling

Hell, there have been quite a few stars that I could not stand, except for that reason of course.

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno

Brian37's picture

I am going to resign myself

I am going to resign myself to the fact that this thread has no room or love for ABBA. TO ALL OF YOU!

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog

Brian37's picture

Guys, look up ABBA'S song

Guys, look up ABBA'S song "Me AND I", pretty much the same message of knowing you are not always there but if you don't accept it you'll go crazy.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog

Beyond Saving

Beyond Saving wrote:

harleysportster wrote:

I can't stand the sight of him nor Rihanna,

I was going to be a smart ass and find a pic of Rihanna that no red blooded heterosexual male could help but stare at- google was incapable of finding one.

To each his own.  I happy to think she's sexy.  This was a good pic of her, although she didn't have that look long.

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iwbiek's picture

i confess, i liked rihanna

i confess, i liked rihanna right when she first came out, when she was still known only by her music, before she started opening her mouth and practically reveling in stupidity.  and i've always been veeeery partial to female soul singers, so for me to develop an intense dislike for her is unusual, to say the least. 

i mean, just to illustrate, i don't care that she's nearly a quarter decade older than me, i would wreck sade.  and roberta flack?  granny, take your teeth out.  yup.  that's who i am.

(sorry for the dp, but i just realized that last comment will probably be deleted, and mine along with it.)

"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson

iwbiek wrote:sorry for the

iwbiek wrote:

sorry for the dp, but i just realized that last comment will probably be deleted, and mine along with it.)

Very wise. 

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iwbiek wrote:and i've always

iwbiek wrote:
and i've always been veeeery partial to female soul singers, so for me to develop an intense dislike for her is unusual, to say the least.

 

Umm, that would make sense if she was a soul singer, bro.  Gladys Knight is a soul singer.  Chaka Khan is a soul singer.  Rihanna is a one trick pony bitch whose forehead is so massive you'd mistake her for an Ovoid from Marvel or fry an egg on it on a hot summer day.

iwbiek's picture

Sage_Override wrote: Umm,

Sage_Override wrote:

 

Umm, that would make sense if she was a soul singer, bro.  Gladys Knight is a soul singer.  Chaka Khan is a soul singer.  Rihanna is a one trick pony bitch whose forehead is so massive you'd mistake her for an Ovoid from Marvel or fry an egg on it on a hot summer day.

well, say what you like, but imo her voice is a soul singer's voice.  if we want to be very strict about genres, then soul music just isn't made anymore, except on tribute albums.

"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson

iwbiek's picture

also if we want to be very

also if we want to be very strict, i think chaka khan is usually classified as funk.

iwbiek wrote:well, say what

iwbiek wrote:
well, say what you like, but imo her voice is a soul singer's voice.

 

Some Rihanna lyrics:  "Umbrella" (Ella ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)

 

"Rude Boy" Come here
Rude boy, boy
Can you get it up
Come here
Rude boy, boy
Is you big enough
Take it, take it
Baby, baby
Take it, take it

 

Soul, my ass.  While I agree soul is pretty much dead, half of Rihanna's songs sound like they're on a mediocre repeat.  To say she's anything but a stupid sell-out whore is a huge insult.

 

 

 

iwbiek wrote:
also if we want to be very strict, i think chaka khan is usually classified as funk.

 

She hung out with the Blues Brothers so, technically, she's neither

 

 

iwbiek's picture

Sage_Override wrote: Soul,

Sage_Override wrote:

 

Soul, my ass.  While I agree soul is pretty much dead, half of Rihanna's songs sound like they're on a mediocre repeat.  To say she's anything but a stupid sell-out whore is a huge insult.

rough transcript of al green belting out the last line of the third or fourth chorus of "how can you mend a broken heart?" (overdubbed vocals in brackets):

i think i

(i believe i)

i know i

(i know i)

i got a feelin'

i feel like i got to, i feel like i wanna liiive again

 

soul has always had a lot of repetition.  it's part of the idiom.  now, that isn't to say rihanna could ever so much as tread in the shadow of al green, or that "umbrella" is anywhere near as profound a song as "how can you mend a broken heart?", but my point is repetition actually makes the case for it being a soul song, rather than working against it.

and no, i actually wouldn't call "umbrella" a soul song, but it has nothing to do with the repetition.

as for being a sell-out, what, soul-singers can't be sell-outs?  ray charles was one of the architects of the genre and he sold out to pepsi for years on end.  aretha franklin sold out to popeye's chicken.  lou rawls sang for a whole garfield movie.  as for james brown himself, god knows how many times he sold out.

soul singers are not usually indie geniuses with impeccable integrity like tom waits.  their artistry comes from their showmanship and vocals, not from their deep artistic purity.  maybe sam cooke brought that element to the genre but i can't think of anyone else.  ok, maybe solomon burke, but i think he didn't sell out because he didn't get the chance: he was mostly overlooked. 

soul singers are blue-collar artists: they do whatever it takes to get paid so they can finance their often lavish and irresponsible lifestyles.  sort of like rihanna.  i guess the reason rihanna doesn't get carte-blanche from me is that she just isn't good enough.  now sade, she could be photographed giving a fucking nazi salute and i'd argue fiercely for her right to do so.

"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson

iwbiek wrote:soul has always

iwbiek wrote:
soul has always had a lot of repetition.  it's part of the idiom.  now, that isn't to say rihanna could ever so much as tread in the shadow of al green, or that "umbrella" is anywhere near as profound a song as "how can you mend a broken heart?", but my point is repetition actually makes the case for it being a soul song, rather than working against it.

 

Repetition and being a broken record are two different things.  Every soul singer has their niche, but explain to me how Rihanna sounds in ANY WAY like ANY great soul singer.  It doesn't exist because she's not a soul singer; she's a fraud.  She represents everything horrifying with the music industry along with Eminem, Beyonce and countless others.  How anyone can support these stains is astounding. 

iwbiek wrote:
as for being a sell-out, what, soul-singers can't be sell-outs?  ray charles was one of the architects of the genre and he sold out to pepsi for years on end.  aretha franklin sold out to popeye's chicken.  lou rawls sang for a whole garfield movie.  as for james brown himself, god knows how many times he sold out.

 

Every artist has had a measure of selling out, but their are degrees.  Willy Nelson had to pay the IRS millions so, he did the only sensible thing; hocking Taco Bell.  Sometimes being a sell out can be forgiven because, shit, we live in a retarded world that's unfair to the umpteenth power, but when you shamelessly paste your face on every magazine, promotional, beauty product, perfume, cologne, cereal, etc., etc. then you have a huge problem and your name needs to be removed from the artistic scrolls now and forever because it's not about your music anymore; it's about selling your name and that's the mark of a true melodic despot.  Rihanna pumped out album after album after album for a time and every last one of them sounded worse than the last because she was just whipping up bullshit to keep her name in the spotlight.  Fuck that, fuck that and FUCK THAT.  A true artist works on their material and makes sure it's something that leaves a positive impact, not add to the garbage pile of mediocrity with a bag of watered-down nonsense. 

 

As for soul singers being brought down to bare bones descriptions of doing anything to pay for their lifestyles and blue collar-types, I'm not sure I agree with that.  Every genre, from metal to clog dancing, has a desire to make it big and keep themselves big.  The thing is music, as a far as creation, varies from artist to artist and I believe that even if most soul singers and wretched, heaving anal warts like Justin Bieber ride that gravy train right into Pretentiousnesstown and beyond, that doesn't mean the true nature of each genre is mired around becoming a billboard rather than a statement.  It's a fucked up world and people like the ones mentioned are the ringleaders.

iwbiek's picture

Sage_Override wrote:explain

Sage_Override wrote:

explain to me how Rihanna sounds in ANY WAY like ANY great soul singer.

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoooaaa.  who said anything about "great"?  ain't nobody say no shit about "great"...

"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson