Eminem’s video survives election

The video for Eminem’s anti-George Bush rap “Mosh” is getting extended life on MTV and other video outlets thanks to a reedited version that downplays the time-specific aspect of the original’s emphasis on getting young people to register to vote on Nov. 2.

The animated video, which includes a scene of a soldier returning home only to find he’s been reassigned to Iraq, was created by director Ian Inaba of the New York-based Guerrilla News Network and quickly went to the top of MTV’s “Total Request Live” chart after premiering Oct. 25. New York magazine called the video “the most important piece of mainstream dissent since the ‘60s.”

The revised version shows Vice President Dick Cheney suffering a heart attack and concludes with Eminem leading a mob in rushing the Capitol during Bush’s State of the Union speech, replacing the original ending in which the rapper simply took his followers to the voting booth.

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Randy Lewis