Quick Spins

-- Patrick Foster

D12 WORLD

D12

Eminem has always been at his best when he's cracking jokes instead of cracking skulls. Tapping into his funny-angry side, the all-world rapper can be a lethally inventive singles artist, unleashing such danceable Don Rickles routines as "My Name Is," "The Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me." It's only when his bouncy braggadocio turns to murderous musings that his uneven albums suffer.

So the best thing about rap ensemble D12, aka the Dirty Dozen, six longtime Detroit pals with two personas apiece, is Eminem's primary role as party-boy comic relief. When he (or alter ego Slim Shady) lightens the mood on the hard-core "D12 World" -- he produces and stars on a handful of tracks, plus contributes the chorus on a few others -- the album is a wonder.

That said, there are 21 cuts on the group's sophomore full-length release, and although the rest of the crew -- Swift, Bizarre, Kon Artis, Kuniva and Proof -- flow just fine, their ultra-gory verbal attacks and women-hating ways get tiresome when the bleached boy wonder isn't around to get goofy.

There's a reason why Eminem is the most famous guy here. The top MC now that Jay-Z is "retired," the surly punk born Marshall Mathers has also become masterful at working all parts of the studio. The first single "My Band," about the jealous shenanigans that occur when a superstar fronts a bunch of unknowns, is one of Eminem's most deliriously catchy cuts yet, from the loopy carnival hook to the silly 'N Sync spoofing to Bizarre's super-freaky gripes.

Swaggering chest-puffery "Loyalty" and "6 in the Morning" (with the slick nod to oft-shot pal 50 Cent: "Your words stick to you like Krazy Glue when you dis me / Cause they just bounce off me like bullets through 50") grind away with a heavy-metallicized thump reminiscent of fist-pumping "8 Mile" anthem "Lose Yourself." And on the album opener "Git Up," Eminem hams it up with a flurry of rubber-lipped rhymes, even warp-speeding the old "banana-banna-fofanna" routine. There may not be enough Eminem on "D12 World," but at least he's at the top of his game, rhyming to thrill instead of kill.

-- Sean Daly

i

The Magnetic Fields

For much of the '90s, not a year went by without some new release from Stephin Merritt, a prolific musical mastermind whose dry wit enlivened the Gothic Archies, Future Bible Heroes, the 6ths and, of course, his main band, the Magnetic Fields. It was with the Magnetic Fields that Merritt released 1999's breakthrough (and apparently backlog-busting) "69 Love Songs," an audacious triple-CD set that just as often found Merritt's talents stretched thin as it exemplified the brilliance that made him a hero of the indie-pop set. Since then, the glum maestro has remained relatively mum.

The first thing one notices about "i," the first Magnetic Fields release in five years, is that it runs a thankfully concise 14 songs, a welcome step back.

The second thing is that Merritt once again has a concept: Each of the song titles on the disc begins with the letter I, a cute if pointless gimmick. Merritt's decision to record with his live band could have been a gimmick as well, but the trio of multi-instrumentalists Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol and John Woo do a great job approximating the percolating rhythms and squelching sounds of drum machines and synthesizers.

Most vital of all, Merritt's tunes here shy away from the distracting formalism of "69 Love Songs," favoring instead the kind of bouncy, bittersweet, wry pop that marked his best albums: part Cole Porter, part Abba. "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" is epic disco with a dark edge, while "I Don't Believe You" (released a few years back as a single) features one of Merritt's strongest sets of lyrics, boasting several clever couplets and much inventive wordplay.

Those predisposed to Merritt's gloomy side will no doubt love "I Die" and "I Was Born," but the overwhelming mood of "i" is one of unabashed romanticism and sunny melodies, delivered just in time for spring.

-- Joshua Klein