A REVIEW, SORT OF // Eminem, "Love The Way You Lie" ft. Rihanna

Warning: Video contains obscenities...

I first heard this song on the radio. And if you listen to even the smallest amount of pop radio, chances are you've also heard it.

Naturally at first the hooky chorus by Rihanna got stuck in my head. You hear it once and you start humming it.

Then you notice the words: Just gonna stand there and watch me burn / But that's alright because I like the way it hurts / Just gonna stand there and hear me cry / But that's alright because I love the way you lie / I love the way you lie.

When I considered the words, I thought, "What in the world is he talking about?" I tuned in to the rest of it and thought, "Oh, got it! This is a bad, bad relationship. He's talking domestic violence." Not real difficult to catch on to that, once you listen to more than the hooky chorus.

And I have to admit as I listened to it, I really liked it. Not the idea of domestic violence, mind you. But I liked the bravery and skill with which he wrote about this issue. I get the feeling that this is a two-way issue; infatuation and regret on both sides keep this couple locked in a relationship stuck in a vicious cycle.

I in no way condone a man or a woman to stay in an abusive relationship and I hope to God that Eminem doesn't either but I think he paints a very passionate scene about what people feel in these types of situations and just how difficult it can be to get out of it when one feels the emotion of love (even if it's a false emotion). Oftentimes, people on the outside who haven't experienced such a mixed-up relationship of crazy emotions probably think it should be easy as 1-2-3 to snap out of such blind love and escape the abuse. But for those on the inside, like Eminem portrays here, it just might not be that easy.

As I thought about writing about this, I looked up the video. If you watch it above, I apologize for the language, etc. The video showed the scene in a harsh, passionate, painful, dark way but in the video both the man and the woman are the abusers, and together they burn the metaphorical house down. It doesn't fingerpoint at one or the other. You see the scenes play out between the two of them: the love and the alcohol-induced fights. Both people are players in the game and it makes me stop and think about how twisted reality becomes to both and how difficult it can be to extricate oneself.

It's not a situation I would ever want to be in, nor would I wish it upon anyone, but I think it gives us a visual of how tough it can be to escape our emotions and see clearly what's going on around us and what is unhealthy and unproductive and destructive. It'll make me think twice should I ever encounter a situation of domestic violence.

I'm not sure what my thoughts were about Eminem prior to this but for these four minutes at least, I'm a fan.