Stan (The Marshall Mathers LP)

Stan...a song people will remember for years to come. Probably the only song (along with Lose Yourself) that the general public will still remember in about 30 years' time, and that Eminem can perform in 30 years' time (assuming he hasn't died from a drug overdose by then...but that's being pessimistic).

Stan...a song that created a new term in the English language: "Stan." The term "Stan" seems to have many meanings: the most popular meaning is obsessed fan. A Lil Wayne Stan is an obsessive Lil Wayne fan...a Kanye Stan, an obsessive Kanye fan. And so on. The narrower definition is an obsessive Eminem fan. I am a gigantic fucking Stan, and there's no escaping it.

Stans drive themselves and their pregnant girlfriends off a bridge if Eminem doesn't answer their fan mail. Stans write blogs where they give in-depth reviews of Eminem songs. Stans have homosexual fantasies of being with Eminem ("we should be together too"). Female Stans (or Stanettes) have heterosexual fantasies of being with Eminem. Taylor Swift, the talentless hack who performed a cover song of Lose Yourself and verbally tongue-bathes Eminem whenever she gets the chance, is a classic Stanette.

Hell, even Eminem himself started using the term, in the clean version of Without Me: And Moby? You can get stomped by Obie, you thirty six year old bald-headed Stan, blow me. Another famous earlier use of the word "Stan" (probably what popularized the term the MOST) was Nas in Ether, when he dissed Jay-Z: You a fan, a phony, a fake, a pussy, a Stan. But I digress. The point is the song spawned a new word and that speaks volumes about its cultural influence.

First off, get this out of the way: wow. A concept song where each verse is a letter...this is the first of its kind. Ever heard of a concept song where someone raps in letter form? If so, you heard it after Stan, and it's probably influenced by Stan. This concept was so out of left-field and genius.

The song Stan is significant to me as being the first Eminem song I ever heard. I was in the car listening to the radio and this song came on...I liked Dido's chorus and thought it was haunting (this song pretty much resuscitated her career BTW). Even as 10-year-old I knew there was something different/unique to Stan. From the sound of Eminem's voice, I thought he was black. I also thought there were TWO people rapping: one guy who did Stan's voice and Eminem...but it was just Eminem changing his voice a bit and putting a bit of reverb on Stan's verses. I remember hearing the last two lines, when Eminem drops the bombshell: "And in the car they found a tape, but didn't say who it was to...come to think about it, his name was...it was you" and I remember being blown away by how brilliantly executed it was.

Background to Stan

Eminem is on tour in 1999. He is cycling through a bunch of beats given to him from producer The 45 King when suddenly he hears a heavy bassline with Dido's voice sampled from "Thank You" over it. Eminem has said that as soon as he heard her say the words "your picture on my wall" he thought "this is about an obsessed fan." So it was Dido's voice that inspired this famous story.

At the time, there was a lot of controversy surrounding Eminem's lyrics. Eminem was being blamed for all sorts of atrocities, like fans committing suicide and murder. Eminem figured he'd use the story of a crazed fan to make the point that fans/critics should not take his lyrics at face value. The song serves as a cautionary tale to warn against literal interpretation. Stan actually believes Eminem slits his wrists because he rapped about it on The Slim Shady LP: And what's this shit about you like to cut your wrists too? I say that shit just clowning. He thinks Eminem encourages his listeners to drink-drive on the album ("I just drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?" - My Name Is), so Stan drink-drives. Stan also thinks Eminem is being serious when he talks about slitting his girlfriend's throat and dumping her in the trunk in '97 Bonnie & Clyde: Hey Slim, that's my girlfriend screaming in the trunk but I didn't slit her throat, see...I ain't like you. I just tied her up.

In a broader sense, the song comments on the phenomenon of para-social relationships: the celebrity doesn't even know the fan exists, but the fan acts like they're best buds: I loved you Slim...we could've been together, think about it. And even if a celebrity does NOTHING in response to the fan's action, the fan perceives it as a reaction. Stan thinks Eminem "just said no" directly to Stan and his brother while he was waiting out "in the blistering cold." Stan is so blinded by his love for Eminem he can't even fathom that Eminem is a busy star and can't respond to every letter straight away.

One great thing about Stan are the effects added to the song: the thunder claps build tension (they grow louder and louder as Stan gets angrier and angrier), and the sounds of the pen scratching the pad are a nice touch. Everything about this song builds: Stan's voice is calm and casual in the first verse. In the second verse...there's a hint of anger/impatience. His anger finally explodes in the third verse.

Stan is a very well-linked and detailed song. Everything Stan says either foreshadows something that is said later, or it is linked later. For example, Stan doesn't say he's going to name his daughter Bonnie for no reason...because Eminem later links back to it: I'm really flattered you'd call your daughter that. He doesn't say his girlfriend is pregnant for no reason, it is linked: You said your girlfriend's pregnant now/He has his girlfriend in the back, and she was pregnant with his kid. He doesn't say "We should be together too" for no reason, as that is later linked: and what's this shit about us meant to be together? That type of shit will make us not wanna meet each other.

Stan mentions his girlfriend's irritability with Stan's obsessive behavior, misinterpreting it as jealousy: My girlfriend's jealous because I talk about you 24/7. But she don't know you like I know you. Eminem later addresses Stan neglecting his girlfriend: I really think you and your girlfriend need each other, or maybe you just need to treat her better. Stan's self-mutilating confession ("sometimes I even cut myself") is also linked to Eminem's response: And what's this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too? ... I hope [this letter] reaches you in time before you hurt yourself. Stan's brother wanting a signed autograph from Eminem in verse 2 ("you didn't sign an autograph for Matthew") is also linked: And here's an autograph for your brother, I wrote it on the starter cap., along with linking the concert anecdote Stan mentions.

And then of course, the genius link: Stan's third verse where he drives off a bridge is linked with Eminem's anecdote about watching the news: I saw this one shit on the news a couple of weeks ago and it made me sick.

Rhyming

Okay, so a lot of the rhyming in this song seems to sail over people's heads. Let's not forget that Eminem has poetic license to NOT rhyme in this song, since it's in a letter form. He can afford to sacrifice some rhymes so it's more realistic. I mean...in a song where he raps the words of a letter, you shouldn't even be worrying about multi-syllabic rhymes, you should be worrying about whether it sounds like a letter, and what you're saying follows a story and what you're saying sounds like something an obsessed fan would say. But he managed fine:

at the bottom/back in Autumn

probably a problem/sloppy when I jot 'em

Biggest fan/did with Skam/get this, man/this is Stan

Reaches you in time/be doin' just fine

inspire you but Stan/why are you so mad/try to understand

father neither/mom and beat her

sayin' in your songs/'way and put 'em on

much it bleeds/rush for me

Have a chance/answer fans

no one does/growin' up

daughter that/Autograph/starter cap

musta missed you/just to diss you/cut your wrists too/fucked up is you

treat her better/read this letter

crazy shit/made me sick

ever lose/'gether too