or "Just Lose It," the first single from Eminem's forthcoming album, Encore

Eminem is fucking sneaky -- predictable but sneaky. Mathers drops some zany as it gets single as a sort of smokescreen to throw critics into a tizzy, and then knocks them on their asses when the rest of his album is dope as hell. "My Name Is," "The Real Slim Shady," and "Without Me" ("My Band," too, if we're counting D12) have all followed this to the T and the world loves it. Each of the pop culture commentaries that are his singles are more offensive and off the wall than the last, with "Just Lose It" taking the cake by a long shot.

This is Eminem at his most reckless and least thought provoking -- one long string of jaw-droppingly stupid humor. There's a fart, a Michael Jackson joke that goes on longer far too long, and to top it off, the chorus features guffaw not unlike Pee Wee Herman's. The beat is simple and plastic and follows the exact same rhythm as every other "funny" single. Sure, there's something to be said for the hilarity of Em pretending to be singing his boy band chorus to dudes (and the requisite apology that follows), but shit like "dubba dubba dubba dubba, I don't have any lines to go here, so dubba dubba," is just below him. (Remember "Renegade"? Wasn't that track awesome?) Instead of sitting around tickling his own funny bone, Mathers should take a baby step out of the box and release something serious and challenge the audience to get it. Cheap laughs are great once in awhile, but choosing to cater to the lowest common denominator every time says little for an Eminem's confidence in his real material.