Timeline for What is the relation between "dark side" and "mic check" in these lyrics?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Feb 6, 2017 at 19:59 | comment | added | Lightness Races in Orbit | I wouldn't call this "genius" or evidence that Eminem is "the best lyricist of our time", but it's vaguely clever wordplay. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 17:10 | comment | added | JMac | @relaxing I just don't think it's a very remarkable line. It's very similar in quality to the type of wordplay you find in most rap with a lyrical focus. The thing is, fans of artists who are very popular like Eminem will often comment about "how amazing" lines are in pretty much every song. If everything is remarkable, nothing really is. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 17:05 | comment | added | relaxing | @JMac But ambiguity is part of what separates poetry from prose :) I say it's remarkable because the OP said Youtube commenters literally were remarking on it, positively. I would guess because they enjoyed having their expectations challenged. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 16:52 | comment | added | JMac | @relaxing I don't find that particularly remarkable. It just leads to the line creating questions like this one. If it was a homophone and a simile (also pretty common in rap lines) then the OP wouldn't have even realized the "mic check one two" reference; giving the line a double meaning. Instead of a double meaning this line has a single meaning that's actually somewhat poorly presented due to the simile that doesn't even work. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 16:41 | comment | added | relaxing | @JMac It's a remarkable line because employing a homophone where you're expecting a simile is unexpected. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 16:36 | comment | added | Agent_L | @JMac There is no dark side to a mic check. There is a mic check to your dark side. The second level is implication that you having a dark side is as trivial as a mic check. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 16:34 | comment | added | TylerH | Agreed @JMac, it's clever, but not remarkable. Just clever in the way that we expect lyricists to be at a functional level. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 16:04 | comment | added | JMac | @SGR I have no problem with Eminem; but it's not like there's a traditional "dark side" to a "mic check" so the simile only really works on one level; it's not an amazing line IMO. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 13:40 | comment | added | lennyklb | I don't listen to Eminem or any rap for that matter but that is just genius. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 11:55 | comment | added | SGR | Further proof that Eminem is one of if not the best lyricist of our time. | |
| Feb 6, 2017 at 8:19 | vote | accept | Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini | ||
| Feb 6, 2017 at 7:58 | history | edited | Em. | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Feb 6, 2017 at 7:29 | history | edited | Em. | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Feb 6, 2017 at 3:08 | history | answered | Em. | CC BY-SA 3.0 |