Chart Review: 7th June 2024

Making sense of a nation’s musical tastes.

Precious little to chew over in the charts this week, unfortunately, with the sum total of two new songs and a re-entry for our delectation. At (35) we’ve got new Fred Again.., whose “Places To Be” features Anderson .Paak and Chika. I like most of what I’ve heard from Fred (aside from that Eno collaboration LP which I found quite dull), and this is no exception. I think he’s got a great sense of timing and knows exactly when to lift the energy and when to pull back. At the risk of sounding pure boomer, I do feel as though I’m onto his tricks - he seems to be doing exactly the same thing with the vocal sample on this as he did on “Leave Me Alone”, which I also liked a lot. The guy’s a talent for sure, the craft in these tunes is undeniable. 

Otherwise, the only thing to report is that Eminem is back at (1) with “Houdini”. According to the knob who hosts the Radio 1 chart show this is his 11th UK Number One. I’ve just done a quick scan of those numbers and only one of those is a proper fudge job (wherein Eminem is the featured artist), though I’d suggest a few of those are anchored by Em’s guests, specifically Rihanna and Ed Sheeran. 

It seems the Detroit rapper is reaching into his past with a new album titled The Death Of Slim Shady. I think he does this every five years or so when things aren’t going so well (there was definitely a sequel record not long ago), but if he is killing off his bleach haired alter ego, it’s not a moment too soon from the sounds of this track. It really isn’t a dignified way for a 51 year old man to be carrying on, this, even if he spits his comedy bars with more than a little in the way of a wink and a nod. 

I’m not really an Eminem fan, though to be fair the songs I do like by him tend to be the more humorous ones. Your “Toy Soldiers” or “Cleaning Out My Closet”s I can really do without; give me a Will Smith diss any day. “Houdini” feels about as uncreative a return to the old Eminem as you could imagine. Built around a (deeply lazy) sample of Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra”, he proceeds to hit all the targets you’d imagine Eminem circa 2024 would, albeit in a slightly timid fashion. 

There are quite a few bars dedicated to participation trophies and some rather cautious attempts at jokes about trans matters. He makes a few references towards cancel culture and how he’s going to keep saying what he wants no matter what. It’s quite rich coming out of his mouth, i.e. a guy who has actually gotten away with saying some pretty unpleasant stuff (and who seemed to have genuinely grown as a person over the years, especially as regards his history of homophobia) but has continued to be one of the most famous, mainstream rappers in the industry. 

He throws out enough jokes that a few of them sick more or less. It’s quite funny when he swears at his kids in the video. He gets a cheeky R Kelly line in through a bar that’s a reach even by his standards, but is so mangled as to be fairly charming. But then in the chorus he rhymes “Abracadabra” with “I’m ‘bout to reach in my bag, bruh,” which is just remarkable stuff. 

The attempt to revisit the glory years is made more stark by the fact “Without Me” is at (38). While this isn’t one of his very best songs, the sense of energy and creativity is so far above what he’s getting up to nowadays. The beat’s a delight and there are bars in this that have stood the test of time (the FCC bit; “I’ve just settled all my lawsuits / fuck you, Debbie!”; “nobody listens to techno!”), which is more than I imagine anyone will say about “Houdini”. He heavily references “Without Me” both on the new track itself and in the video, riding the wave of good will and nostalgia all the way to the top of the charts. 

Pick of the week: Eminem - “Without Me”