Eminem Skewers Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Sarah Palin in "We Made You" Video

Eminem's video for "We Made You," the first single from his forthcoming Relapse, hit MTV and its affiliates today, LOLoudly announcing the rapper's return to the music scene. "We Made You" features Em's sophomoric, biting, postmodern Slim Shady persona — as opposed to the mature, "Lose Yourself" Marshall Mathers — and the rapper relentlessly mocks Jessica Simpson, Amy Winehouse, Rock of Love's Bret Michaels, Sarah Palin, Britney Spears and more public figures and celebrities in his new track. The harsh but hilarious video is like a live-action South Park montage.

Eminem packs as many pop cultural references as he can into his 4 minute and 39 second Joseph Kahn-directed clip, rapping while a mock Rock Band game cascades under his feet, poking fun at Simpson's relationship with quarterback Tony Romo and throwing in fake scenes from Star Trek and Rain Man. Other blink-and-you'll-miss-'em moments: A blatant advertisement for Axe deodorant during the Italian restaurant scene, a tribute to the Fargo wood chipper scene and 50 Cent's cameo.

It's nice to see Eminem goofing around again after a few years out of the spotlight during which he grappled with series issues like the death of his friend Proof, and "We Made You" with its damnation of current celebrities will likely prove to be a solid pop cultural time capsule of this weird 2009 moment we're experiencing now.

The video for "We Made You" is slick and nails tabloid culture like Weezer's "Pork & Beans" captured YouTube celebrities, so it probably deserved more than its 6 a.m. premiere on MTV before the network's reality television programming kicked back in. Em's Relapse is out May 15th, and will be followed by a second album later this year. For more on Relapse, check out our Spring Music Preview.

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• Eminem Confirms Two 2009 Albums: "Relapse" Due May 19th
• Eminem, Jimmy Page, Flea Among Presenters At 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony
• First Photo of Eminem With Dr. Dre, 50 Cent on "We Made You" Video Set Emerges

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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