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.

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

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

Here's a HQ video

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.)

Very wise. 

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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