What Have We Learned Today?

Yes, I'm going to keep doing this. Deal with it. Here's today's rundown.

Now Hear This: Eminem Returns and "Call of Duty: Ghosts" Lands/11.5.13

"The Empire Strikes Thomas Kinkade" Is the Best Thing You'll See All Day/11.5.13

Exclusive: Rand Paul Responds To Accusations of Plagiarism/11.5.13

Quote of the Day" Kanye West Owns the Confederate Flag/11.5.13

Listening Post

With production by Rick Rubin and an opening that pays direct homage to Paul Revere, the first single from Eminem's follow-up to the landmark Marshall Mathers LP comes out of the gate like a smack across the face.

This is the definition of Beastie Boys-style old school -- and it's one of the balls-out best songs of the year.

Here's Berzerk.

Listening Post

It doesn't take much to cause "controversy" -- as defined by gossip websites and E! -- in the world of pop music these days. But occasionally somebody can slip something into the mix that may count as genuinely subversive and it's entertaining to see the reaction to it.

And so it is with the new single from Skylar Grey. I've been a fan of hers for a while because she seemed to be deftly traversing the waters of pop and hip-hop while displaying quite a bit of honest-to-God songwriting talent and an unusual amount of class. When I talked to her briefly at a party several months ago, she was dressed like a Swiss Air flight attendant, wrapped in a tight, high-necked gray jacket with sharp shoulders and a matching gray knee-length skirt; in other words, she looked like the furthest thing from a recording industry sex-kitten. That's why I wasn't sure what to make of this new song and video when I first saw and heard it -- and apparently neither was anybody else because she's caught a lot of flak for it from those who've never really heard of Skylar Grey but who now see her as the ultimate dumb pop music slut-bomb whose stuff is nothing more than a series of over-the-top sexual innuendos strung together.

Except that that's the point. The entire song is satire. Grey knows this. Eminem, who appears on the track and who's been one of her biggest champions, knows this. The controversy, then, comes from the age old pop culture Mobius loop that leaves people wondering how far one can go in parodying something before he or she actually becomes that thing. In this case: Skylar Grey really is a knockout and she really is showing off her body here and she really is singing about sex, even if she's mocking those who do it without tongue firmly in cheek.

Whatever the answer is, I have to admit that while the song itself is kind of silly -- apparently by design -- it's shockingly catchy. And maybe that's the most subversive thing of all.

Here's C'mon Let Me Ride.

Listening Post

Say what you will, Eminem's one of the most talented rappers and lyricists the world of hip-hop has ever produced.

This song is just spectacular from start to finish.

Here's Lose Yourself.

Listening Post

You can call Eminem a lot of things, but I never thought I'd see the day you'd be able to call him "comforting."

Yet as I watch his new video -- which looks no different than most of his old videos -- there's something wonderfully, well, quaint about it all. It's as if the last eight years never happened. Sure, there are the references to pills (albeit pills of a much different sort this time around) and the slams against current pop culture icons that at one time seemed so daring and controversial. But in the midst of a real world meltdown, Em's mischievous misanthropy suddenly looks tame -- and maybe a little outdated (particularly the obligatory Dre name-dropping).

But the fact remains, he's still one of the best MCs currently walking the earth, and I've really missed him.

So hey, TRL may be long gone, but let's party like it's 2000. Here's the first single from Eminem's new album, Relapse. It's We Made You.

Eminem -- We Made You