Eminem, "Curtain Call"--ABSOLUTE-BIDEN TEMPO ANALYSIS OF EACH OF 24 songs, including "Stan," live at the 2001 Grammy Awards with Sir Elton John
charts, calibrations, measurements, illustrations, graphics by RIVER NEWMAN of the MEANSPEED MUSIC COMPANY
© 2008. Use Freely.
These are the 24 meanspeeds and mean-emotions from the "Deluxe" version of Eminem's album Curtain Call. An informative article regarding this album can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtain_Call:_The_Hits.
On this Newman Standard tempo scale, based on the meanspeed music conjecture, developed in 1992:
We see that Eminem is versatile, honest and almost brutally frank in speed and emotional selection. What is most striking are the 5 songs at the speed of loneliness and 5 songs at the speed of renewal. "Lose Yourself," the song I think has been this generation's equivalent of "Like A Rolling Stone" in terms of political impact, is at the speed of renewal—a reason, you think, the song is on almost everyone's playlist?
Here is the full song list, exact speeds, and corresponding emotional expressions:
1. "Intro"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=62.5 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=ceremony
2. "Fack"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=124.1 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=victory
3. "The Way I Am"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=87.3 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=renewal
4. "My Name Is"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=85.5 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=renewal
5. "Stan"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=80.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=loneliness
“Stan" was the third and final single (after "The Real Slim Shady" and "The Way I Am") released from The Marshall Mathers LP, the second LP from rapper Eminem. The song is perhaps Eminem's most critically-acclaimed song and has been called a 'cultural milestone'. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits, performed with Elton John.
The speed charts above were created by Meanspeed music using the following method. The version above, as noted on the charts, are the Elton John/Curtain call LP:
1) Listen for a songs underlying pulse, almost always found as quarter or eighth notes;
2) Begin the recording again, and using a lap stop-watch. Start watch on the first discernible beat;
3) Upon the next beat, start to count. I use a simple mathematical calculator set to "0 + 1=", thereupon making the first time I hit the = key beat one, and so on. *Every* underlying beat is to be counted;
4) To perform actions 1-3 above, use one hand to hold the watch, the other to keep every beat counted;
5) Each time the counter hits a factor of ten, press the "lap" button on the stopwatch, thereby measuring the 10 beats that have immediately been heard while keeping the total time unaffected. This is a common way to time swimming laps and track laps;
6) At song's final discernible beat, hit the "Stop" button rather than the "Lap" button on the stopwatch. The final stop will also measure the final beats in isolation.
7) Record all data;
8) Repeat same process eight times;
9) Average the entire song. Using simple cross multiplication, you can determine the song's "average tempo" or "MEANSPEED"
10) Average each group of ten beats. Using simple cross multiplication, you can determine the speed albeit at an error of closer to 1 %, of each grouping of beats. One need not use 10 to create the speed graphs I have so created. So said, in my experiments groups of ten usually make for the most easily seen speed trend of any song;
11) To create a speed graph yourself, simply use the obtained numbers on a spreadsheet software program (I have been using Microsoft's Excel since 1995 with most excellent results);
12) If it is simply a general number within 3-5% error rather than the scientific error described above, simply use the "tap link" on this site, or any of the other such "tempo" programs available.
6. "Lose Yourself"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=85.7 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=renewal
7. "Shake That"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=107.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=lust
8. "Sing for the Moment"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=82.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=stoicism
9. "Without Me"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=112.2 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=brazenness
10. "Like Toy Soldiers"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=81.8 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=solitude
11. "The Real Slim Shady"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=104.5 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=natural
12. "Mockingbird"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=84.6 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=renewal
13. "Guilty Conscience"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=91.2 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=enthusiasm
14. "Cleanin' Out My Closet"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=74.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=grace
15. "Just Lose It"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=121.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=victory
16. "When I'm Gone"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=75.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=grace
17. "Stan" (live with Sir Elton John at the 2001 Grammy's)
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=80.1 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=lonliness
18. "Dead Wrong (Remix)" (The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Eminem)
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=82.8 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=loneness
19. "Role Model"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=92.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=enthisiasm
20. "Kill You"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=107.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=lust
21. "Shit on You" (with D12)
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=109.6 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=lust
22. "Criminal"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=102.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=natural
23. "Renegade" (Jay-Z featuring Eminem)
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=85.0 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=renewal
24. "Just Don't Give a Fuck"
mean speed/average tempo/median velocity=85.5 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture=renewal
Ian Schneider
Meanspeed Music
November 7, 2008
tempo and emotion correlates are found below on the Newman Standard Tempo Scale, for use by ANYONE AND EVERYONE. [Borrow it], SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT TEMPO AWARENESS AND TAKING YOUR MENTAL POWER BACK!
Labels: Cleanin Out My Closet, Curtain Call, dido, Dr. Dre, elton john, Eminem, Jay-Z, Jodie Foster, Lose Yourself, Sing For The Moment, stan, Without Me
posted by River Newman at
11/07/2008 10:04:00 AM -
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