FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
INSANE CLOWN POSSE
The Great Milenko
Island· Debut album for Detroit's funny/eerie rap duo.
· Guests include Alice Cooper, Slash, and ex-Sex Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones.
"Never ever piss off a clown." Oh sure, there were other poignant words of advice that Grandma gave me as we shared a bottle of Johnny Walker around the fireplace many moons ago. Things like, "use a good-sized cloth for Molotov cocktails," "augers and short broomsticks don't mix," or even "dandelions have more iron than spinach - just don't eat them after they've been sprayed." But dealing with a clown in a bad mood is in a different category altogether. Behind those painted smiles, you never really know what they're thinking ("Have another Big Mac, ya little pig," or whatever).
Taking this to the extreme is Insane Clown Posse. They're rude, mad and offensive. With a mouth that even Satan's mother would wash out with soap, ICP is so over-the-top with their language that they are bound to disturb someone from every segment of the population. From the Alice Cooper intro to the final track, "Pass Me By," The Great Milenko is an assault on morals, the justice system and plain ol' decency. Sure, gangsta rappers have been doing this for a long time now, but Insane Clown Posse bring the rap genre to an entirely new sensory-numbing level. The effect will either leave the listener in shock or in (slight) laughter at the whole demented angle taken by the duo, and it is in this context that The Great Milenko truly succeeds. Songs like "How Many Times?" and "The Neden Game" are full-on creepy and warped, guaranteed to leave the listener's head shaking with laughter/disgust.
Insane Clown Posse are not the type of clowns who will offer cotton candy to children, to be sure. They are baaad clowns with equally bad taste and that's the point. Definitely not for everybody, but I think my grandmother would even appreciate it.
3 out of 5
Frank Litorco
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