Eminem "Space Bound" Song

"Space Bound" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his seventh studio album, Recovery (2010). In February 2011, "Space Bound" was announced to be released as the fourth single from Recovery. The song is produced by American hip-hop producer Jim Jonsin. "Space Bound" features interpolations of "Drive" by R.E.M. and "Song for Bob" by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The music video was shot in February 2011 by director Joseph Kahn. It features model and former pornographic actress Sasha Grey. The video was released to the iTunes Store on June 24, 2011. It is about a couple in which the girlfriend, played by Sasha Grey, is secretly cheating on her boyfriend, Eminem. This turns into a violent conflict. The video shows two sides of Eminem, one who is calm and loves his girlfriend and one who is aggressive and doesn't. The music video received attention for a scene in which Eminem shoots himself in the head in frustration, with blood spurting from the wound.

"Space Bound" was written by Eminem, British songwriter Steve McEwan, and Jim Jonsin, the latter having produced the track with keyboards from Danny Morris. The chorus is sung by McEwan, who also provided guitars. The song was recorded by Robert Marks in Parkland Playhouse and Mike Strange and Joe Strange in Effigy Studios. It was mixed by Eminem, Mike Strange and Marks. In July of 2011, producer Jim Jonsin spoke about the making of the song and how its production came to be. He submitted a beat to Eminem for release on Recovery, not knowing if it was planned for official release as a single.The song was complete with verses, b-section, and a chorus by McEwan. Most of the original version was recorded in New York on guitar, with a guitar vocal on an iPhone. The concept was taken to Miami about three months later and was produced. The song was composed by Steve McEwan and Jonsin. The chorus was used as a guide for writing the rapped verses. Eminem liked the song and its concept and wanted the sung verses removed and replaced with his own lyrics.

Eminem "Space Bound" Song

"Space Bound" is an alternative hip hop song with influences of rock music. It features an interpolation of "Drive" by R.E.M. and "Song for Bob" by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The guitars were provided by Steve McEwan and additional keyboards were by Danny Morris. The song begins with a very short acoustic guitar introduction, with Eminem beginning his verse right away. "We touch, I feel a rush/We clutch it isn't much/but it's enough to make me wonder what's in store for us." A few lines into the verse, the drums start playing, when he says "Nobody knows me, I'm cold/Walked down this road all alone." The keyboards gain and eventually the chorus plays, which is performed by Steve McEwan.The chorus plays once more to end the song. Some lyrics are replaced this time; "And I'm aiming right at you, right at you" is replaced with "And I'm so lost without you, without you." The song ends here after the chorus. The full song is four and a half minutes long.Slant Magazine gave a negative review on Recovery as a whole and disliked "Space Bound". "Eminem can't talk to women and he never could, so when he threatens to strangle anyone who leaves him, the peril feels forced and wholly off-putting." AbsolutePunk writer Thomas Nassiff, in his review for Recovery, stated that "Space Bound", along with five other songs, were "pure filler" and "don't require more than one listen."

A music video for "Space Bound" was filmed over three days in February 2011, in Los Angeles, California, with ex-pornstar and Hollywood actress Sasha Grey, and produced over approximately five months. The video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who previously directed "Without Me", "We Made You" and "Love the Way You Lie". Photos of the video shooting were released and two low quality snippets of the then-unfinished video leaked. A large portion of the music video was shot at a roadside diner. On June 18, 2011, Kahn tweeted that the "Space Bound" video was finally complete and was to be released soon. The same day, Kahn tweeted,"When you see Space Bound, look for the uncensored version. You'll ruin it for yourself if you don't," confirming an uncensored version. Sasha Grey spoke about her acting and role in the video. "Before each take, Joseph [Kahn] and I would talk a lot about [my character's] motives and attitude. Her ultimate moment doesn't come until the end, so I had plenty of time to build the fear!" The music video stars Grey as the girlfriend of Eminem. The full "Space Bound" video was released on June 24, 2011 at 5 PM EST for purchase on the iTunes Store, uncut. This same version later premiered on the music video website VEVO and YouTube on Monday, June 27 at 12 AM PST. A heavily censored version of the music video premiered on television in the UK on MTV Rocks, on July 1, 2011, at 07:12 AM. As of four days after "Space Bound"'s VEVO premiere, the music video has more than 4 million views.

The music video for "Space Bound" starts with Eminem walking on a quiet road at night, near a forest. Shortly after, he gets picked up by his girlfriend (played by Sasha Grey). At this point, when Eminem gets into the car, there are two of him; there is one alone in the back seat, who is frustrated, paranoid and "hurling insults at Grey", and one sitting in the car next to Grey who is quiet, calm and in love. Grey takes out a lighter and cigarette to have a smoke. Shortly, the alternate Eminem disappears and the couple stop at a motel/diner. Eminem 'splits' into two once again as he enters the diner. This is done with the screen splitting midway. The original Eminem goes to sit with Sasha in a table, while the other goes to sit on a bar stool. While the original Eminem and Sasha Grey are seated, Grey takes out her cell phone from her purse and sends a text message to an unknown person. She puts back the phone as she leaves to go to the restroom. While Grey is gone, Eminem curiously takes out Grey's phone to see what she did on it, leaving him in confusion. He quickly puts the phone back as Sasha comes back. Meanwhile, the alternate Eminem raps sitting on a bar stool. The couple later go to a motel room and receive a knock on the motel door. Eminem goes to answer but no one is seen. Suddenly, he has a flashback and starts to make sense of the cell phone, which showed 'Unknown caller', and a gun found in Sasha Grey's car along with the lighter and cigarette. He instantly goes to strangle his girlfriend, who suddenly disappears, leaving Eminem alone. He picks up Sasha's pistol and shoots himself in the jaw, with blood spurting from the back of his head.

This also affects the alternate Eminem, who is still in the roadside diner, similar to a voodoo doll effect. Eminem presumably dies at this point. This graphic scene is completely cut out in the UK MTV airing, pro-longing several previous frames through slow motion instead. The video then rewinds fast, from when Eminem shoots himself, to when the couple go to the diner. The beginning scene repeats itself and Eminem is picked up. They drive off to end the video. There is confusion surrounding the exact meaning and concept of the music video for "Space Bound". Actress Sasha Grey explained her interpretation of the video to MTV, saying that Eminem was trying to depict the reality of relationships, that even the strongest of relationships can result in domestic violence. "Em[inem] simply becomes company for [his girlfriend], and she mistakenly takes advantage of that." She said that the video could be interpreted "in many ways". Grey believed that the alternate Eminem who appears in the car is his subconscious. Jim Jonsin, who also produced the song, tried to explain what goes on in the "Space Bound" video. He suggested that viewers watch it multiple times to figure out the concept and draw their own conclusion. He called the video 'tricky', saying that the meaning is not obvious or completely clear in the video and one must watch it a few times to find it.

The video was harshly criticized by anti-violence campaigners in the United Kingdom. Anti-violence group, Mothers Against Violence, told the British Daily Mirror, "It's all about the money with these videos. Eminem isn't thinking about the families affected." The music video was both praised by fans and was noted for being rather graphic in nature. Before the music video's television premiere in July, editor Kathleen Perricone from the New York Daily News expressed her opinion on the censorship of the video, saying, "Despite the gruesome and violent nature, music networks like MTV and BET have yet to ban the video—or even air it." Despite her doubt, the video aired in the UK, censored. MTV Adria even aired the uncensored version of the video. This was confirmed five days before the video's release, by a tweet from Joseph Kahn. MTV Czech aired the uncensored version of the video as well, on July 19 at 22:50 CET. Josh Grossberg from E! News reacted to the graphic suicide saying it "sounds like an Eminem video, all right." According to British newspaper The Sun, the song and its music video are similar to the controversial Eminem song, "Kim" from The Marshall Mathers LP. The video was noted as "another dark fantasy and uncomfortable offering from the rapper."