Eminem Takes "Relapse" Viral With Rehab Clinic Website

Eminem has launched a new viral Website that Celebrity Rehab's Dr. Drew Pinsky might endorse to accompany his upcoming Relapse. Embracing the Web like never before, Em first used his Twitter to post a picture of himself outside of some place called "Popsomp Hills." A visit to the refurbished Eminem.com revealed another site, The-Relapse.com, which in turn redirected to PopsompHills.com, a page for a fictional rehab center that if you say it quickly is "Pop Some Pills." Pills are an ongoing theme for Eminem on his comeback album, especially given Relapse's cover art.

Boasting the slogan "We Remade You" — a riff on Relapse's first single "We Made You" — Popsomp Hills is advertised as a real Bloomfield Hills, Michigan rehab center (the address on the site actually plugs into Google Maps) with a Swiss founder named "Dr. Balzac" in charge. The site also features some oft-repeated contact information: "Help is moments away. Call our 24-hour confidential information line at 313-486-5975 or send us a private email to info@PopsompHills.com." Anyone presuming they might get to hear a new song by calling that number will be disappointed: it's just a text-messaging list.

This whole thing has us reminiscing about that viral game that accompanied the release of Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero. But there's much more weird stuff on the Popsomp Website: By clicking "Learn More," you're redirected to the Wikipedia page for "Hell," the "Terms & Conditions" seem to be enablers ("Life is too short, party harder than ever.  We can help") and links to a multitude of actual rehab options. As Rock Daily reported yesterday, Eminem told fans that he'd appear on his Sirius XM radio station Shade45 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. this morning, and that they should "Listen carefully." Check back later to see if the Slim Shady aired any new Relapse material. (Update: Read about Eminem's revealing radio appearance here.)

Related Stories:

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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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