Insane Clown Posse's "Miracles": serious or satire?

Diogenes_the_Cynic · February 8, 2011, 6:58pm

“Water, fire, air and dirt
Fucking magnets, how do they work?
And I don’t wanna talk to a scientist
Y’all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed”

Full lyrics

Is this a pitch perfect imitation of anti-intellectual, science-hostile, superstitious imbeciles, or is this song actually intended to be a sincere representation of their feelings. From what I’ve seen in interviews, these guys are not bright, but am I not giving them enough credit? Have they themselves said if the song is supposed to be joke or not? This is Poe’s law in action here.

Todderbob · February 8, 2011, 6:59pm

They haven’t released a serious song yet, listen to some of their others.

Gagundathar · February 8, 2011, 7:03pm

I heard a few of their songs and dismissed them as pop-trash.
But, then I read this article: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/ff_icp/ and now, although still am not a fan, think they are more than meets the ear (so to speak).

beartato · February 8, 2011, 7:19pm

I always thought these dudes were complete morons, but this AV Club interviewwith one gives some insight into just how completely moronic they are. It actually sort of made me feel bad for them, that overwhelming mix of pity and disgust you get from being in a Walmart in middle America or sitting in a Greyhound bus station for an hour. Anyway, relevant part:

AV Club: It seems like the “Miracles” video played a big role in that and exposed ICP to a new audience.

Violent J: That’s a perfect example of what we are. I know a lot of our stuff is “Chop ’em up, kill ’em,” but “Miracles” is another side of ICP that’s always been there. We’ve always had deeper songs and more emotional stuff on our music. The whole idea of what “Miracles” is to me sums up the band. It’s like, of course these things we’re talking about aren’t real miracles, according to what a miracle is in Webster’s Dictionary or whatever. But anybody that can stand there, looking at a rainforest or something and not think that’s a miracle—I mean, that’s their loss. Anybody that can sit there and look at shooting stars or a fucking full moon when it’s red and hanging over the city and not sit there and think, “That looks awesome, and that’s a miracle that we get to see that and have that on this earth and all this shit,” you know, that’s their loss. Instead, everybody just makes fun of us because we said it. It’s like, that’s fucked up. We will say it, and we’ll continue to say it, and think that.

Asimovian · February 8, 2011, 7:23pm

In all seriousness, what about that statement makes you think they are morons? Because it has a spiritual element to it?

beartato · February 8, 2011, 7:25pm

I was referring to the interview as a whole.

Diogenes_the_Cynic · February 8, 2011, 7:27pm

From that quote, it looks like they intended the song seriously, but not literally. That still doesn’t explain the “scientists” line, though.

beartato · February 8, 2011, 7:34pm

Does this help? From the same interview (bolding mine):

ICP: We have Juggalos in mind when we create an album. Some of these songs when we’re talking to this fan base that we’re in love with, that loves us, we’re hitting them with the entertainment and the fucking anger and the excitement. But other times we’re saying, “Hey man, I know everybody can get caught up in the mundane routine of life, but every once in a while, stop and look around and look at some of these amazing things that we’ve been given on this earth. Look at the stars at night and look at the mountains, look at the ocean. It’s some pretty cool shit here.” And having kids, and seeing through their eyes everything for the first time—even a bug, a fucking ladybug, my kids gather around a ladybug and I realize how much there is in this world that’s cool for people. If there is no God and it’s all science, we could’ve been born living inside a rock, or as a worm, and all you do is travel underground. But we weren’t, we were given this playground, this awesome planet to explore. If you want to fucking climb a mountain, you can do that. If you want to scuba dive, travel the rainforest, or chop a rainforest down, you can do whatever the fuck you want to do on this earth.

Ludovic · February 8, 2011, 7:36pm

So they’re morons, that doesn’t mean they’re taking everything they say in the song completely seriously. It could just be a fun, not-too-serious song without being deliberate satire or purposeful philosophical statement.

Time_Stranger · February 8, 2011, 7:37pm

I have heard that they are actually evangelical Christians, so I can see the anti-science fitting their image. I have had zero exposure to them other than the internet memes of this song, so I can’t really say. Here’s a cite I just googled, but I can’t really find a “real” news source, so take that for what it’s worth.

Diogenes_the_Cynic · February 8, 2011, 7:39pm

Thanks. Question answered. Definitely morons.

Todderbob · February 8, 2011, 7:45pm

That editorial is all conjecture.

I googled the quote, and the first link was an explanation of the mythos behind the ICP world.

beartato · February 8, 2011, 8:00pm

It seems to me that the anti-science angle of it has more to do with being anti-intellectual than being religious. In that interview, the interviewer brings up a statement made by the singer that he wouldn’t have a problem with his children slapping their teacher.

Frylock · February 8, 2011, 8:10pm

In this interview–in which I believe they are being unintentionally hilarious–ICP confirms that they are dedicated evangelical Christians.

A quote from the interview:

“So all those unpleasant characters in the songs,” I (the interviewer) ask, “like the narrator in I Stuck Her With My Wang, they’re examples of people you shouldn’t be?”

“Huh?” Violent J says.

“Well, it’s very unpleasant,” I say. “‘I stuck her with my wang. She hit me in the balls. I grabbed her by her neck. And I bounced her off the walls. She said it was an accident and then apologised. But I still took my elbow and blackened both her eyes.’ That’s clearly a song about domestic violence. So your Christian message is… don’t be like that man?”

“Huh?” Violent J repeats, mystified.

There’s a silence.

“I Stuck Her With My Wang is funny,” Violent J says. “Jokes. Jokes, man. Jokes. Jokes. Jokes. It’s just a ridiculous scenario. Silly stories, man. Silly stories. What’s she doing kicking him in the balls? We find it funny. But we’re saying, while we’re close, while we’re hanging, hey, man, do you ever ask yourself what’s in your riddle box? If you had to turn the crank today?”

beartato · February 8, 2011, 8:16pm

Oh geez, Frylock. That was beautiful. I kept getting to a part I wanted to quote for this thread, but then I would read the next paragraph, and I would want to quote that… just perfect.