Carnival Of Carnage
*DISCLAIMER: If you just want to read the "then vs. now" retrospectives, skip to Ringmaster. I always hated Carnival of Carnage, and this will just be me describing and hating on it. Carnival of Carnage is an awful album with little redeeming value, and if I weren't a completionist, I'd skip it myself.*
The journey begins, unfortunately, with the first Joker's Card: Carnival Of Carnage. For the uninitiated, a quick explanation: Insane Clown Posse has a mythos behind their albums. The idea is that, when you die, you visit a sort of purgatory called "The Dark Carnival". Each Joker's Card represents one of the things you may confront in the Carnival that ultimately determines your fate, and whether you go to Shangri-La or Hell's Pit. A sound concept that actually holds little bearing on the content of each Card, save for the intro and occasional references throughout. It also contradicts itself in confusing ways, which I'll get to as they happen. But hey, the idea is interesting.
I said "unfortunately" at the top, and for good reason. Carnival of Carnage (heretofore referred to as "CoC") is a terrible album. I even thought so in my Juggalo days. I considered skipping this album and covering it later, because I honestly never really listened to it more than once or twice back then. But I wanted to do this chronologically, so let's get this thing out of the way. I'll write on Ringmaster, the second and much improved Card, right after this for a more fleshed out entry that better represents what this blog will be.
Carnival of Carnage (1992)
Track 1: Intro
"It was a soft, gentle night, in the little town of... of... well, your town..."
A brief narration by Violent J describing the arrival of the Dark Carnival (first mythos contradiction: Sometimes the Carnival goes around killing people, as opposed to appearing post-death. Which leads you to the question of what happens when you die at the Carnival... do you just get back up to be judged?). As good a start to the ICP empire as any, I guess. Something Wicked Shit This Way Comes.
Track 2: Carnival Of Carnage
"Carnival of Carnage... eehahaha..."
A repetitive old-school beat and J saying "Carnival of Carnage" approximately 30,000 times with a laugh sample. Studio time well spent. Err, the opposite of that. At the merciful end, we get Shaggy 2 Dope saying "And now, for your enjoyment, please welcome the I C mothafuckin' P!". Yeah, we'll see about that, Shaggy.
Track 3: The Juggla
"If you're a little kid I'ma take ya/And if you're a neck I'ma break ya..."
This is actually a pretty important song in the history of ICP. Besides being the first actual song of the album (and by extension, the first actual song since Inner City Posse became Insane Clown Posse), a live performance of The Juggla in 1994 marks the coining of the term "Juggalo". It's also the first appearance of other phrases and tropes that will later appear countless times. "Schitzofrantic", anti-redneck lyrics, various neck injuries, references to local landmarks, and so on.
A fun, simple track that gives way to Entry Of The Gladiators (you know, that iconic circus music) after every chorus and features spoken parts by the high pitched carnival barker character that appears throughout ICP canon. It's not a good song by any means, but it's probably one of the best on the album. For what that's worth.
Track 4: First Day Out
"First day out and I caught my nut..."
Another first of many, this is an introduction to ICP at its worst: the sex song. Just about every album has at least one, and they're always awful. At least on later albums, they become more silly and cartoonish, but on CoC, they just feel grotesquely misogynistic and disgusting. Let's just move on and not give this any more attention, yeah?
Track 5: Red Neck Hoe
(no quote for this one, I refuse)
OH LOOK ANOTHER ONE. You know what? No. I have nothing to say about Red Neck Hoe. It's bad and ICP should feel bad.
Track 6: Wizard Of The Hood
"Hoods and hoodlums and thieves, oh my..."
Not to be confused with Violent J's later solo album of the same name and concept, here we get J retelling The Wizard of Oz with a rap twist. It's really not that interesting, although it's a nice respite after two abhorrent tracks in a row.
I should also mention at this point in the breakdown that nearly every one of the 15 songs on CoC averages at about five minutes long or more, with about two minutes worth of material on each song. I really, really want this album to end by now, and we're not even halfway through.
Track 7: Guts On The Ceiling
"Oh, you'll never guess what's up/My muckin' head blew up..."
Here we get another type of ICP yarn: The surreal, single-event story. In this case, J's head and back mysteriously explode and he goes to gather the pieces. I like these for how strange and creative they are. I'll go as far as to say that this is an early hint of the ICP I came to love, and still appreciate. The chorus is still annoying, however, with chanting by the high-pitched carnival barker. We also get an honest laugh in this song, with a line in which J goes to hit on a woman, but the chat awkwardly dies out when she notices his lack of head and his ribs scattered on the street. I can't lie, that's funny.
Track 8: Is That You? (ft. Kid Rock)
"Violent J is gonna tell ya something..."
Oh. Right. I forgot that this was another sex track. I just remembered it as the one where Kid Rock calls himself a n***a. Again, I'm not even going to discuss this one, except to say that it's funny in hindsight to see Kid Rock feature in a song by a group known for despising people like Kid Rock.
Track 9: Night of the Axe
"Just don't look in the trunk..."
What will become another staple, the killing-spree song. With added misogyny, because fuck this album. I couldn't even finish this, honestly. J's rapping in this one is so very, very annoying. Can you tell that I really just want to get through this album and move on to Ringmaster?
Track 10: Psychopathic
"I cut class, said I was a faker/You was in school, I was home watching Green Acres..."
MORE RANDOM MISOGYNY! Another killing spree song, except this one uses horror strings in the beat and eventually just straight up samples the Halloween theme. To make this even more of a slog, it references lines from previous songs, including the just-finished Night of the Axe. Fine, J. I won't look in the damn trunk.
Track 11: Blacken Your Eyes
(Hell no, I'm not quoting this.)
I was dreading this one. Here it is, folks: the worst thing ICP has ever written. Four minutes and forty seconds of vile abuse of women. No comedy, no over-the-top cartoonishness. The only reason I can even sort of look past this is that J and Shaggy were kids when they wrote CoC, and were obviously just trying to be as shocking as possible without any regard for what they were putting out there. There's going too far, and then there's this.
Track 12: Never Had It Made
"Can't forget my first day at school/Got stabbed in the head with a pencil, but it's cool..."
A story about J's history (J the supernatural clown character, to clarify). One of the better tracks, it describes a series of absurd, violent things that happen to J throughout his life. Another hint at what ICP eventually becomes, stylistically speaking.
Track 13: Your Rebel Flag
"Fuck your rebel flag!"
This is an iconic track for ICP, and one that's more relevant today than ever. Now, obviously, this is ICP we're talking about, so the lyrics are largely just "killing rednecks in various ways". But this represents a side to them that is refreshing: A strong disgust with racism in society. Say what you will about Juggalos, but they hate racism, and I certainly can't criticize that. As a song, this is nigh unlistenable, but props where they're due.
Track 14: Ghetto Freak Show
"Here's your chance to catch a glimpse of a ghetto freak show..."
Laid back cartoonish murder song, entirely unremarkable in every way. Except... wait, run that one line back to me again? Oh, fun! We've got our first instance of homophobia and J dropping the other F-bomb! (I think... look, it all runs together after a while when listening to CoC)
Track 15: Taste (ft. Esham, Capital E, Jumpsteady)
"Guess who's rolling with the ICP?/The Black Devil coming straight from the D..."
Last song! Thank god! I am so, so done with this album. Featuring Esham, the horrorcore rapper that ICP were inspired by, this track is... fine, I guess. Unsurprisingly, Esham steals the show compared to ICP's extremely basic rap style.
-----
With that out of the way, I can now live the rest of my days never listening to Carnival of Carnage again. Fuck this album.
Oh, but wait! There's more! It doesn't end with the Joker's Cards, friends. No, that would be too easy. You see, between each Card, ICP also releases EPs called "sideshows". So, CoC-era ICP has six more things to say, in the form of:
Beverly Kills 50187 (1993)
Track 1: Beverly Kills 50187
"Sorry, Dylan, didn't mean to knock ya/Then I stuffed his dead body in my locker..."
Oh boy, right away with some 90210 themed homophobia and misogyny. The song as a whole is better than most anything on CoC, but we're still way at the bottom of the barrel here. Ugh.
Track 2: 17 Dead
"I got shot with a buck shot, shot me down/But you know you can't paint a frown on a clown..."
Okay, I don't remember this song at all, and it's pretty okay for the era. Goes off the rails here and there, but it's basic, middle-of-the-road ICP. Compared to what we've been dealing with, that's as good as gold.
Track 3: The Stalker
"Oh, hi, hey, that peanut butter sucks/You wouldn't like Jiffy, it ain't got no nuts..."
In this, J plays a character simply called The Stalker, who... stalks a woman. She then shoots him in the head, at which point he still debates with himself whether or not she likes him. Bad song, funny concept. At least the misogynist is the villain in this one. Progress! The song ends with a bunch of stalkery voice mails that go on way, way too long.
Track 4: In The Haughhhh!
"I can walk on my hands on a tight rope/But then I always fall, and bust my ass..."
Slow, plodding, unbelievably dull, a bunch of the bad sort of f-bombs... whatever, man. I'm numb to it at this point.
Track 5: Chop! Chop! (ft. Esham)
"I'm nothing but a radiation freak show/My arm fell off and it bounced on the floor..."
With a refrain that'll be re-used years later ("Swing swing swing, chop chop chop"), this is another highlight of the EP. As usual, not good, but at least Esham's here, and it's mildly catchy.
Track 6: Joke Ya Mind
"I can breathe the magic mist/And exhale your every wish..."
Now we're talking! Creative, interesting lyrics (to an extent), a beat that doesn't feel like nails in my ears... here's the ICP I know and used to love! Slightly tainted by way too many repetitions of the chorus (a common thing with ICP), but this is just mellow and enjoyable. I might actually listen to this on my own time.
-----
NOW we're done with the CoC era. I have no real final word for this undertaking. Let's just put this painful waste of time behind us and get to the meat of this blog, starting with... Ringmaster!
*DISCLAIMER: If you just want to read the "then vs. now" retrospectives, skip to Ringmaster. I always hated Carnival of Carnage, and this will just be me describing and hating on it. Carnival of Carnage is an awful album with little redeeming value, and if I weren't a completionist, I'd skip it myself.*
The journey begins, unfortunately, with the first Joker's Card: Carnival Of Carnage. For the uninitiated, a quick explanation: Insane Clown Posse has a mythos behind their albums. The idea is that, when you die, you visit a sort of purgatory called "The Dark Carnival". Each Joker's Card represents one of the things you may confront in the Carnival that ultimately determines your fate, and whether you go to Shangri-La or Hell's Pit. A sound concept that actually holds little bearing on the content of each Card, save for the intro and occasional references throughout. It also contradicts itself in confusing ways, which I'll get to as they happen. But hey, the idea is interesting.
I said "unfortunately" at the top, and for good reason. Carnival of Carnage (heretofore referred to as "CoC") is a terrible album. I even thought so in my Juggalo days. I considered skipping this album and covering it later, because I honestly never really listened to it more than once or twice back then. But I wanted to do this chronologically, so let's get this thing out of the way. I'll write on Ringmaster, the second and much improved Card, right after this for a more fleshed out entry that better represents what this blog will be.
Carnival of Carnage (1992)
Track 1: Intro
"It was a soft, gentle night, in the little town of... of... well, your town..."
A brief narration by Violent J describing the arrival of the Dark Carnival (first mythos contradiction: Sometimes the Carnival goes around killing people, as opposed to appearing post-death. Which leads you to the question of what happens when you die at the Carnival... do you just get back up to be judged?). As good a start to the ICP empire as any, I guess. Something Wicked Shit This Way Comes.
Track 2: Carnival Of Carnage
"Carnival of Carnage... eehahaha..."
A repetitive old-school beat and J saying "Carnival of Carnage" approximately 30,000 times with a laugh sample. Studio time well spent. Err, the opposite of that. At the merciful end, we get Shaggy 2 Dope saying "And now, for your enjoyment, please welcome the I C mothafuckin' P!". Yeah, we'll see about that, Shaggy.
Track 3: The Juggla
"If you're a little kid I'ma take ya/And if you're a neck I'ma break ya..."
This is actually a pretty important song in the history of ICP. Besides being the first actual song of the album (and by extension, the first actual song since Inner City Posse became Insane Clown Posse), a live performance of The Juggla in 1994 marks the coining of the term "Juggalo". It's also the first appearance of other phrases and tropes that will later appear countless times. "Schitzofrantic", anti-redneck lyrics, various neck injuries, references to local landmarks, and so on.
A fun, simple track that gives way to Entry Of The Gladiators (you know, that iconic circus music) after every chorus and features spoken parts by the high pitched carnival barker character that appears throughout ICP canon. It's not a good song by any means, but it's probably one of the best on the album. For what that's worth.
Track 4: First Day Out
"First day out and I caught my nut..."
Another first of many, this is an introduction to ICP at its worst: the sex song. Just about every album has at least one, and they're always awful. At least on later albums, they become more silly and cartoonish, but on CoC, they just feel grotesquely misogynistic and disgusting. Let's just move on and not give this any more attention, yeah?
Track 5: Red Neck Hoe
(no quote for this one, I refuse)
OH LOOK ANOTHER ONE. You know what? No. I have nothing to say about Red Neck Hoe. It's bad and ICP should feel bad.
Track 6: Wizard Of The Hood
"Hoods and hoodlums and thieves, oh my..."
Not to be confused with Violent J's later solo album of the same name and concept, here we get J retelling The Wizard of Oz with a rap twist. It's really not that interesting, although it's a nice respite after two abhorrent tracks in a row.
I should also mention at this point in the breakdown that nearly every one of the 15 songs on CoC averages at about five minutes long or more, with about two minutes worth of material on each song. I really, really want this album to end by now, and we're not even halfway through.
Track 7: Guts On The Ceiling
"Oh, you'll never guess what's up/My muckin' head blew up..."
Here we get another type of ICP yarn: The surreal, single-event story. In this case, J's head and back mysteriously explode and he goes to gather the pieces. I like these for how strange and creative they are. I'll go as far as to say that this is an early hint of the ICP I came to love, and still appreciate. The chorus is still annoying, however, with chanting by the high-pitched carnival barker. We also get an honest laugh in this song, with a line in which J goes to hit on a woman, but the chat awkwardly dies out when she notices his lack of head and his ribs scattered on the street. I can't lie, that's funny.
Track 8: Is That You? (ft. Kid Rock)
"Violent J is gonna tell ya something..."
Oh. Right. I forgot that this was another sex track. I just remembered it as the one where Kid Rock calls himself a n***a. Again, I'm not even going to discuss this one, except to say that it's funny in hindsight to see Kid Rock feature in a song by a group known for despising people like Kid Rock.
Track 9: Night of the Axe
"Just don't look in the trunk..."
What will become another staple, the killing-spree song. With added misogyny, because fuck this album. I couldn't even finish this, honestly. J's rapping in this one is so very, very annoying. Can you tell that I really just want to get through this album and move on to Ringmaster?
Track 10: Psychopathic
"I cut class, said I was a faker/You was in school, I was home watching Green Acres..."
MORE RANDOM MISOGYNY! Another killing spree song, except this one uses horror strings in the beat and eventually just straight up samples the Halloween theme. To make this even more of a slog, it references lines from previous songs, including the just-finished Night of the Axe. Fine, J. I won't look in the damn trunk.
Track 11: Blacken Your Eyes
(Hell no, I'm not quoting this.)
I was dreading this one. Here it is, folks: the worst thing ICP has ever written. Four minutes and forty seconds of vile abuse of women. No comedy, no over-the-top cartoonishness. The only reason I can even sort of look past this is that J and Shaggy were kids when they wrote CoC, and were obviously just trying to be as shocking as possible without any regard for what they were putting out there. There's going too far, and then there's this.
Track 12: Never Had It Made
"Can't forget my first day at school/Got stabbed in the head with a pencil, but it's cool..."
A story about J's history (J the supernatural clown character, to clarify). One of the better tracks, it describes a series of absurd, violent things that happen to J throughout his life. Another hint at what ICP eventually becomes, stylistically speaking.
Track 13: Your Rebel Flag
"Fuck your rebel flag!"
This is an iconic track for ICP, and one that's more relevant today than ever. Now, obviously, this is ICP we're talking about, so the lyrics are largely just "killing rednecks in various ways". But this represents a side to them that is refreshing: A strong disgust with racism in society. Say what you will about Juggalos, but they hate racism, and I certainly can't criticize that. As a song, this is nigh unlistenable, but props where they're due.
Track 14: Ghetto Freak Show
"Here's your chance to catch a glimpse of a ghetto freak show..."
Laid back cartoonish murder song, entirely unremarkable in every way. Except... wait, run that one line back to me again? Oh, fun! We've got our first instance of homophobia and J dropping the other F-bomb! (I think... look, it all runs together after a while when listening to CoC)
Track 15: Taste (ft. Esham, Capital E, Jumpsteady)
"Guess who's rolling with the ICP?/The Black Devil coming straight from the D..."
Last song! Thank god! I am so, so done with this album. Featuring Esham, the horrorcore rapper that ICP were inspired by, this track is... fine, I guess. Unsurprisingly, Esham steals the show compared to ICP's extremely basic rap style.
-----
With that out of the way, I can now live the rest of my days never listening to Carnival of Carnage again. Fuck this album.
Oh, but wait! There's more! It doesn't end with the Joker's Cards, friends. No, that would be too easy. You see, between each Card, ICP also releases EPs called "sideshows". So, CoC-era ICP has six more things to say, in the form of:
Beverly Kills 50187 (1993)
Track 1: Beverly Kills 50187
"Sorry, Dylan, didn't mean to knock ya/Then I stuffed his dead body in my locker..."
Oh boy, right away with some 90210 themed homophobia and misogyny. The song as a whole is better than most anything on CoC, but we're still way at the bottom of the barrel here. Ugh.
Track 2: 17 Dead
"I got shot with a buck shot, shot me down/But you know you can't paint a frown on a clown..."
Okay, I don't remember this song at all, and it's pretty okay for the era. Goes off the rails here and there, but it's basic, middle-of-the-road ICP. Compared to what we've been dealing with, that's as good as gold.
Track 3: The Stalker
"Oh, hi, hey, that peanut butter sucks/You wouldn't like Jiffy, it ain't got no nuts..."
In this, J plays a character simply called The Stalker, who... stalks a woman. She then shoots him in the head, at which point he still debates with himself whether or not she likes him. Bad song, funny concept. At least the misogynist is the villain in this one. Progress! The song ends with a bunch of stalkery voice mails that go on way, way too long.
Track 4: In The Haughhhh!
"I can walk on my hands on a tight rope/But then I always fall, and bust my ass..."
Slow, plodding, unbelievably dull, a bunch of the bad sort of f-bombs... whatever, man. I'm numb to it at this point.
Track 5: Chop! Chop! (ft. Esham)
"I'm nothing but a radiation freak show/My arm fell off and it bounced on the floor..."
With a refrain that'll be re-used years later ("Swing swing swing, chop chop chop"), this is another highlight of the EP. As usual, not good, but at least Esham's here, and it's mildly catchy.
Track 6: Joke Ya Mind
"I can breathe the magic mist/And exhale your every wish..."
Now we're talking! Creative, interesting lyrics (to an extent), a beat that doesn't feel like nails in my ears... here's the ICP I know and used to love! Slightly tainted by way too many repetitions of the chorus (a common thing with ICP), but this is just mellow and enjoyable. I might actually listen to this on my own time.
-----
NOW we're done with the CoC era. I have no real final word for this undertaking. Let's just put this painful waste of time behind us and get to the meat of this blog, starting with... Ringmaster!
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