This song is about an obsessed fan, named Stan, who centered his life around Eminem to the point that he would create a shrine in his basement, get the same tattoos as the artist, and even dye his hair to be just like Slim Shady's. Eminem caused Stan to go insane because he that believed Eminem was ignoring all of his fan mail. Stan ended up killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend by driving off a bridge. Eminem later replied to the letters, but by then it was too late.
I believe this song is a great example of storytelling because of the emphasis put on narration, theme, language and character. Eminem tells the story through another character, Stan, to tell the story through the character's point of view. The theme in this song would be to respect your fans. Nobody wants their fans to be as crazy as Stan, to the point that they become violent. The language in the song seemed to hold a very angry tone, showing how upset Stan was. The characters were very well developed, as the audience is given enough information about Stan, his girlfriend and Eminem. All of these aspects were portrayed well enough to make this song successful in storytelling.
I then thought, although the storytelling was executed well, was it made for entertainment or was it a true story? It seems like it wasn't for the entertainment nor was it true, but the purpose was more for teaching the audience and the actual theme of the song.
Another song that came to mind about storytelling was "Cold as Ice" by B.o.B.
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This song was about B.o.B. robbing a bank with his girlfriend and her stabbing him in the back, resulting in his arrest. Obviously it is not an authentic story and is made more for entertainment, as there is no theme or purpose to the song. However, it is entertaining because of the upbeat tone in the language, and the humorous plot along with the catchy beat.
I came to the conclusion that storytelling can be done in various ways to reach the audience; those that story tell just for the entertainment, ones that are doing it to send a message to the audience, and those that tell true stories about them or others. All are successful ways to tell stories in different ways.
Eminem seems to be a great story teller and sometimes his lyrics kind of scare me. He really did a good job of telling a descriptive story in his song "Stan". I agree with you that stories can be told in so many ways and I think that's what makes them unique.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post exploring the different version of voices in hip-hop. In the reading, we discussed that the voices exemplified by the author were act as another character, your own personal experience, or creating an entertaining story that never occurred. In Stan by Eminem, he created this fictional character in Stan, who obsesses over Eminem. Both the characters and the story are fictional, but the theme in the song is a realistic as it gets. It is almost acts as a caution or warning to fans of the music to not let the artist consume your life. You did a great job elaborating on Stan, as well as other storytelling songs as well.
ReplyDeleteBeing a big Tupac fan I can relate to storytelling and prefer it to modern day rap. I generally like your post and your choice of artists.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I like your choice of artists to include in this post. "Cold as Ice" by B.o.B. was a great example!
ReplyDeleteI like how you analyzed the songs by what we learned in class and I agree with what you said in the end about how it is used as both entertainment and storytelling, and that both are successful. However, I think artists benefit by using music as a way to tell a story and to be authentic because that way the fans feel like they have personal connection to the artist and their life.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post! I think artists have to first entertain their audiences and then try to send a message if that is their goal. Listeners want to be entertained first and foremost it seems. If the song can send a message as well, then that just adds to the entertainment value of the song.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of how storytelling in music can cater to its audience for entertainment purposes as well as sending an important message. Emininem's "Stan" is a perfect example of the voice of the character according to T.S. Eliot. Very good post!
ReplyDeleteI am uncertain if I can get into a story when I do not believe the storyteller. For example, "Guilty Conscience" from Eminem is clearly not a true story, but it upholds a certain level of realism that makes you believe those types of scenarios are actually unfolding. B.o.B just doesn't sell it to me, I can't see him ever committing a crime much worse than j walking (e.g., song titles: "Lovelier Than You", "Chandelier", "Arena", "Play for Keeps"). I am just commenting that when this suspension of reality is required of me, I lose interest compared to when the storyteller at least appears to be the one involved in experiencing the events discussed first or secondhand.
ReplyDeletethe point that you bring up about how storytelling in hip hip can be for many purposes relates back to the reading about how the aspect of telling a story in hip hop is just like any other writing or oral storytelling. it could be real, for fun, or to teach a lesson. Connor said that the stories need to have an aspect of realism (at least in his opinion) but that brings back the idea that rappers have to gangsta persona to talk about gangsta things. I learned in the reading that Tupac was never a criminal until after he storytold from that voice. Similarly, does JK Rowling have to perform magic tricks? It's just a story, real or fake, for fun or for a lesson. I don't agree with the standard hip hop artists are held to that their stories are or need to be a direct reflection of their lives and their own personality, but I don't think it's going to change.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things about rap is it lends itself, better than any other genre in music, to the art of storytelling. Because of the way rap is just really just another form of talking, storytelling comes very naturally to this style of music. The stories rappers tell can range from comical and inappropriate (like Afroman's "Colt 45" and Too Short's "Blowjob Betty") to serious and somber warnings (like Kendrick Lamar's "Keisha's Song" and "N****s Bleed" by Biggie). This range in content is what makes rap so great
ReplyDeleteMusic seems to be one of the best mediums of storytelling and Hip Hop definitely holds up that reputation. Eminem took such a real and disturbing event and made it into a hit, and he made it work. I don't listen to too much of B.o.B but I imagine that his song was pretty good. Even though his narrative was fictional, there's no requirement of real life events when storytelling.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post and how you broke down each of the 4 parts in the Eminem song. I never heard that song by b.o.b but great example of story telling!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and how you put what we learned in class for analyzing songs to work! When reading and commenting on the blog post earlier this week I couldn't stop thinking about "Stan" by Eminem ft. Dido, so I completely agree that it's a great example of storytelling. The range of songs you show us really demonstrates how hip hop as a genre can tell a captivating story in so many different ways.
ReplyDeleteNice post, "Stan" is a perfect story-telling song/music video by Eminem. I think I'm on Connor's side with the B.o.B example though. He's a talented artist but his song just wasn't doing it for me, it had nothing other than being catchy. I completely agree with Walker that songs could tell all kinds of story from the funny and ridiculous to warning tales and blood baths. I don't necessarily think every song an artist writes has to be true or creditable but credibility does add to the success and/or relatability of a song.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed reading your post, and it is very true on many aspects. I feel like the way audiences really love songs is if they can relate to them or connect with them in some way. whether it is to make them feel something about the song, or to be able to connect to the artist in a deeper way. lets be honest, we all want to know what our favorite singers have gone through in life and how they feel, but you never will know because media and paparazzi has skewed the way that we get information about them. i truly feel like you learn about them by the stories they say in their songs. people use music and songs to get their emotions out on a level they couldn't before. i think that story telling is the best way to relate to an audience.
ReplyDeletei agree with you. people like songs because they can relate to them or empathizwe with them
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only person who heard Cold as Ice! lol I loved your post. Rap basically originated with storytelling and I think it kind of just morphed into stories only about money, drugs etc. because most of the rappers who rap about that type of stuff never did it. Great post though.
ReplyDeletei love that you choose Eminem to write about. His songs definitely exemplify story telling in hip hop. This song is an awesome one, because the story is really creative. I don't know if its true (I doubt that it is) but its really well thought-out and well told. B.o.B. has some other great story telling songs. Even though its VERY mainstream, Airplanes part II featuring Eminem is a great story telling song about what would've happened if either of them had a different childhood and gave up on their dreams. Its really relatable too. They talk about getting bullied in school and how that ultimately motivated them and shaped them into who they are today. Great post!
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