recap of Stan by Eminem

I chose the blog post about analyzing your favorite song and its lyrics for the All-Star Blog Spotlight.

This post stands out to me because I really enjoyed getting the chance to analyze and get an ever better understanding of one of my favorites songs for a class. School work is much more enjoyable when you have many options and can choose to satisfy the requirements of a class by depicting a piece of work by your artist of choice.

I liked how I got an even deeper meaning of the lyrics and was able to write out what I think they mean towards the real world. You can learn a lot from music especially when it is so poetic like this piece so I had a great time learning.

The work I did here related a lot to the themes of this class. In the class we read a lot of great articles about the individual as a whole and peoples’ interactions whether it be good or bad. To summarize, this song also depicts the struggles individuals have with society and the sorts of interactions they have to deal with.

Lastly, this song really depicts how deadly the inner conflict in yourself can be. It shows how we all suffer on the outside but what is most important is how we take care of ourselves on the inside because that can either lead to happiness or doom. In conclusion, it is not discussed in the real world enough how important mental health is and the amount of people who suffer from it is severely underestimated.

^^ I think, for me at least, the uncensored version of this gives the listener a better understanding of what Eminem is not only saying, but thinking.

 

Just to get things straight… Stan is a fictional character who Eminem created. Stan is a portrayal of an obsessed fan  who will do literally anything to meet their idol. Stan has a mix of the crazy thoughts and experiences Eminem had about his idols growing up. These thoughts and motives generated from Eminem growing up with a lot of hate from peers around him, not to mention his dad leaving him when he was only six months old and his mom being an alcoholic who never showed him any attention. Eminem is very humble here and knows what it is like to come from nothing and then have everyone want to be your friend. Eminem’s story is very deep and can teach you many things. He gets away with a lot of the things he says due to his reputation and the fact this story was told 20 years ago. Eminem is scarred and emotionally messed up in many ways but this is what makes him one of the best rappers and lyricists of all time.

 

0:30 – Stan is dying his hair blonde in the bathroom on a rainy night as his pregnant girlfriend walks in. She does not approve of him going to such depths just to look like his favorite rapper. Her backlash causes Stan to get angry and rush out of the bathroom.

1:50 – Stan heads down to his basement where he has posters and different records of Eminem all over his wall. He starts writing a letter to Eminem. This isn’t the first letter Stan is writing though; Stan thinks his other letters either got lost in the mail or Eminem was too lazy to read them. Stan starts talking about how he is giving his daughter the same name that Eminem’s daughter has.  He continues to prove in detail how he is Eminem’s biggest fan.

2:10 – There is a consecutive chorus throughout the song of Eminem’s girlfriend, Kim, which contributes well to the melody.

2:45- Stan continues to aggressively write about how Eminem ignored Stan at the concert and made him wait outside in the cold to get an autograph for his brother, but Eminem ignored them.

3:10 – Stan even goes as far to say that he cares more about Eminem than his actual girlfriend. To justify this Stan cuts out a portrait of Eminem and puts it over a picture of Kim. Stan says she doesn’t understand how they are different from everyone else.

3:50 – Stan catches his girlfriend looking through his letters that he is going to send Eminem from his basement. Stan gets furious about this and decides that he does not need her and only wants to meet Eminem. Stan, then, takes his pregnant girlfriend and shoves her in the trunk of his car as he drives away and tries to send a message to Eminem over the radio about what he has become.

4: 10 – Stan, in deep agony, tells Eminem that everyone of Stan’s decisions up to this point in his life was due to him. Stan tries making Eminem feel bad by telling him he is going to crash his car into a bridge and end his mental pain.

4:40- Stan and his wife are dead from the crash into the water off of the bridge.

4:55- Eminem finally receives Stan’s mail and tells him how he meant to write him sooner. He is glad he is having a daughter and tells Stan he is sending his brother an autograph. Eminem says he is deeply sorry and never saw Stan at the concert. Eminem can tell Stan is going through severe mental challenges inside his head and recommends he gets some help but that he would love to meet him one day. Eminem says for Stan to calm down and appreciate what he has in life.

5:50 – Eminem hears about the car crash on the news and finally realizes it was Stan and that he is dead. It’s too late…

 

This song isn’t the typical song Eminem would make but rather shows his abilities as a lyricist. The song is not a rap really but is made by a rapper and more importantly just tells a very deep message. There is no specific genre.

The audience meant for this song is pretty much any person with an idol who they love. It is meant to teach them about what obsession can lead to.

This song doesn’t have any real historical context but it shows the audience the sort of social relationship they can have, or rather should not have with their idol.

Eminem is trying to teach us the importance of loving what you already have as well as understanding that deep down everyone is the same human being who needs to be able to live their life. Eminem can’t individually talk to everyone of his fans but is trying to show them how, in spirit, he is there to help them with the story telling in his songs.