Insane Clown Posse is one of those (bands) that you either love or hate. If you made me sit down and listen to their entire discography, I would be filled with animosity towards ICP, cursing their inanity. However, I think that the Great Milenko is actually an all right cd. In case you did not know, The Great Milenko is the fourth in a series of six joker cards. All of these joker cards have different messages and represent different elements of life. What is amazing about ICP is that they seem so inarticulate and pathetic, but they actually come out with some very intelligent and profound things sometimes. This is evident in the passages that come with each of the joker card albums (there are many other cd's like Forgotten Freshness of Bizaar that have nothing to do with the joker's cards).
Quote:
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From deep within the Netherworld of shadow walkers comes yet another exhibit of the Dark Carnival. He is the master of the art of using magic without magic. He is a Necromaster... the craft of using magic through the dead. Dead meaning both physically and mentally. This spectacle shall be witnessed only by those who are meant to see it. Look deep inside of your soul and ask yourself... Do you hold a ticket to witness the show? The answer lies within yourself. He is the fourth to rise. He feeds upon one's own greed. He is powered by one's own jealousy, lust, and temptation. To envision yourself with something that rightfully does not belong to you... that is the illusion cast by him. To act upon this vision and seek it out at the expense of another... that is the magic cast by him. Continuous dreamers of profit at the cost of another are pledged and haunted by his wizardry. Others are content and satisfied with what they can achieve by themselves and have not the urge to tamper with another's well being for quick gain. They see him only as a hoax and see no illusions or magic by he. It is simple... He is you. His illusions are your evil thoughts. Your evil acts are his magic - yesterday, now and forever. You and he are the fourth to rise... You and he are the master of Necromancy... You the dead and him the magic. Together, you and he are The Great Milenko.
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Wow. There is a message in each of the joker card albums, so obviously the guys have some sort of intelligence. One of the interesting things about The Great Milenko was that it almost wasn't. Originally, it was going to be released under a division of Disney, and their song about killing a cop almost prevented them from getting this album out into the public. Luckily, they managed to release it under Island Records, and their own label, Psychopath Records, which later went on to sign with numerous other members of the Dark Carnival (ICP's stupid gathering of nuts).
Try to get past all the occultic b.s. But don't listen with too critical an ear. Most of the lyrics are incredibly stupid, and bereft of any intellect. However, most of the time, this album is downright funny. Their earlier albums have horrible production, and their latter albums like Hell's Pit were just unforgivably sick. The Great Milenko is in a way a bridge between their old-school style and their more slick but annoying style found in The Wraith and The Amazing Jeckyll Brothers.
Another thing to remember is that you don't have to have any background in hip-hop music to appreciate the Great Milenko. It does indeed consist of rap, but it not like any other rap I have ever heard. Call it unconventional. Call it insane. Just don't call it same old, same old. It is anything but. Don't ask me why they paint their faces. Maybe they're just idiots, or maybe they're only pretending to be idiots (likely, I'm sure). Just listen to the album and try to get some of the humour out of it.
1)
Intro
I'm no Alice Cooper fan, but I was very happy to hear his cameo in the Intro. He doesn't sing, he just introduces you to the mystical Great Milenko. His voice is ominous and a little bit scary. He is a voice coming out of a jukebox at an old black pool house or restaurant. The voice acting is as always very funny. Believe it or not, the main black man is actually Violent Jay. 2.5/5
2)
Great Milenko
Ok, Intro is an intro, so what is Great Milenko? It basically does the same thing as track one: describes the Great Milenko. It is not an interesting or funny song, so don't bother. To put it quite bluntly, it sucks. 1.5/5
3)
Hokus Pokus
This is one of the funnier songs on the album. It basically about ICP touring and going to parties. They make references to Faygo, their soft-drink they invented. One of the most amusing lines in the song is "Call me psycho-schizo freak, and I'll call you by your name: dick anus." This is not a very mentally-stimulating song, but wait, this is ICP we're talking about. This song has an overall carnival sound to it, with a wacky bassline and keyboards. "I met Milenko, he gave me three wishes. That night, I f***ed three fat b****es" is another one of the funny lines from the song. 2.5/5
4)
Piggie Pie
This is the song that almost stopped ICP from releasing this album. They talk about three different pigs, making an allusion to the nursery rhyme. Only these pigs are three different classes of cops. The first one is a redneck trailer cop, the second is a middle class suburban pig, and the last one is, as ICP would say, a rich b****. This song isn't that funny, but has a cool beat to it. One of the lines from the song that has some sort of moral is "People in my city, they're fighting for their meals. He sleeps on a mattress stuffed with hundred-dollar bills." This song is okay, but not that good. And the end, there is a skit in which a man calls a suicide hotline. Violent Jay is on the other end of the line, and he dares him to do it and calls him a chicken. You finally hear a gunshot, but the guy then responds. "I knew you wouldn’t do it you scary bitch!" is at the very end of the song. 3/5
5)
How Many Times?
Ah, at last; a good song. At least in my opinion. The bass is dark and haunting, which is rare for ICP. How Many Times? talks about everyday-life inconveniences. It may sound whiny, but it actually makes you feel sorry for Jay! Isn't that amazing? Towards the end, the lyrics take a turn. "How many times will a judge decide my fate? Who is he? A bitch; nothing great. He takes sh**s, he f***s his old floppy wife, plays with his balls and judges my life." This was the first song that jumped out at me when I first listened to The Great Milenko. After the song, a skit follows. The skit takes a shot at teenage wannabe gangstas. A whiny kid (voiced by Violent Jay of course) talks to a couple of other white kids about being a big gangbanger. His rant is interrupted by his mom screaming, "Bryan! Get your *** in here right now and finish your homework" It is a very funny sketch, and I can relate to it, having dealt with many people like this over the years. 4/5
6)
Southwest Voodoo
This song is terrible. I don't want to waste time going into why, so I'm going to. It is uninspired and annoying. 1/5
7)
Halls Of Illusions
Halls Of Illusions tells the story of people walking through hallways in which they see what their lives could have been. Everybody is happy, and everyone seems successful, but then everything stops. You then see how things really are in reality. Had they not abused their children and actually cared, these illusions could have been true. "Back to reality: your son's on crack, and your daughter's got nut-stains on her back. And they both smell like sh**, and live in the gutter, and sell crack to each other" is true reality of the man's children. This song has a moral message, and tells a story, so I give it a 3.5/5
8)
Under The Moon
When it comes to ICP, I don't get to say that many songs are beautiful. I genuinely think that Under The Moon is a beautiful song. The lyrics tell the story of a man who killed someone who tried to rape his girlfriend when he was a kid. He sits in prison for years, but is never visited by his beloved. She never calls him, she never writes to him, but the only reason he doesn't commit suicide is because he knows that she is out there somewhere, under the moon. Violent Jay, backed by a melancholy beat, conveys true sadness and feelings of abandonment. He finally comes to realization when he says "Look here: f*** you and the moon." The song blissfully spirals out of control, with a depressing piano melody ascending and descending. Under The Moon is a brilliant song, and tells a great story. 4.5/5
9)
What Is A Juggalo?
"A Juggalo. That's what it is, well f*** if I know. I don't know but I'm down with the clown, and I'm down for life, yo" This song describes the characteristic and tendencies of Juggalos, whatever they are. "He'll eat Monopoly and sh** out Connect 4." "What is a Juggalo? He ain't a phony. He'll walk up and bust a nut in your macaroni, and watch you sit there and finish up the last bit, cuz' you're a stupid-a** dumb f***in idiot." This song, while stupid, is always a riot. I laugh every time I listen to it. 3.5/5
10)
House Of Horrors
House Of Horrors, along with Boogie Woogie Wu, is one of the two sickest songs on the album. It tells a story similar to House Of 1000 Corpses: some young people enter, get tormented, and killed. It is very dumb, yet I know all the words. It is very catchy, and an easy way to get onto a Juggalo's good side is to recite the song. Often the song is pretty disgusting, and unappealing. 3/5
11)
Boogie Woogie Wu
This song tells the story of the Boogeyman, who sneaks into children's rooms and kills them in many different ways. These methods include, stabbing them with broken brooms in the forehead, chopping their face up with an axe, or chewing their toes off. It is even more sick than House Of Horrors, and pretty much just pisses me off. I'm not one of those over-sensitive, politically correct, and uptight people. But I just get mad about the lyrical content of this song. 2/5
12)
The Neden Game
This is possibly Insane Clown Posse's most heard song. It was the first song I ever heard. I hate it now, but back then I thought it was hilarious. The truth is, you will probably never hear a song as anti-social as The Neden Game (Neden is a slang-word for vagina). Two contestants, Violent Jay and Shaggy vie for the rights to Sharon's neden, by answering questions on a Dating Game show format. It is incredibly misogynistic and degrading to women, which also gets on my nerves. 2.5/5
13)
Hellalujah
Under The Moon and Hellalujah are the only truly powerful songs on the album. Hellalujah switches between a skit about a con-artist evangelist and the music between verses. "Jonathan has problems, twisted neck, tangled legs, crooked spine, but we can heal this boy, for just (uneasy stuttering) six thousand dollars we can heal this boy! Violent Jay comments on the ties between money and hypocrisy and religion. At the end, the pastor counts the money, and finds that the goal has been reached. He cries "Roomin loomin lama nama noomin! This boy is healed!" Everything falls silent and Jonathan says, "Eh?". "To the naked eye, it would appear that this boy has not been healed, but I can assure you his spirit has been healed. Inside this tangled, mangled frame is a healed little boy! His spirit his healed. Hallelujah!" It is a clever ending, and this song also serves as a social commentary, so I give it 4/5.
14)
Down With The Clown
Down With The Clown starts out with horrible screaming. The song, like Southwest Voodoo, is crap. It is irritating, dull, and predictable. Give it a wide berth. 1/5
15)
Just Like That
This is a more traditional rap song, and is very short. It tells the story of a guy who wakes up in his crappy apartment, and gets a call from his friend. His friend tells him that he knows a couple hot chicks who they can screw on the spot. The main character doesn't can't get there, so he waits outside for someone to come pick him up. He waits and waits and no one comes. There is a surprise-ending where the guy gets out of the car and says "Yo, man, you're out of luck." Violent Jay is then killed. This song is funny and cool the first time, but after a while it becomes quite lame. 2.5/5
16)
Pass Me By
Guns 'n' Roses/ Velvet Revolver fans stop reading here. Slash makes an appearance on Pass Me By, playing guitar of course. Pass Me By is another conventional sounding hip-hop song, about dying and going to Shangri-La, or heaven. They reflect on their friends, their trials, and the significance of their lives. This song sounds more like old-school hip-hop, with a melodic chorus and an electric guitar. Although I would have selected a more powerful end to the album, Pass Me By is one of the best songs on the Great Milenko. 4/5
I wish people would take Insane Clown Posse a little more seriously. They maybe be dumb sometimes, but there is nothing dumb about them wearing clown face paint. The idea of the trickster represented by the joker cards and the clowns is something that is significant to all of us on a anthropological and mythological level. The magician, the Great Milenko, the joker character can be found almost everywhere you look in humanity. Think of Insane Clown Posse as a musical embodiment or manifestation of this theme, like the movie "The Mask" representsts Loki, the Norse god of mischief.
Highlights:
How Many Times?
Under The Moon
Hellalujah
Pass Me By
