The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 17, 1997 - 9
Insane Clowns posse up for new 'Milenko'
RECORDS
Continued from Page 8
Insane Clown Posse
The Great M ilenko
island Records
Lately it seems as though rap groups that sing about
topics such as drugs, violence and urban decay fall
into the same mold. This isn't the case with the Insane
Clown Posse's new release, "The Great Milenko."
While it may seem rather strange to picture voodoo
clowns rapping, it offers a refreshing change from the
usual urban sound. Musically this album offers a solid
mix of"offensive" lyrics, hip hop and heavy metal. It
also has appearances by Steve Jones (formerly of the
**1
Sex Pistols), Slash and the original horror rocker Alice
Cooper. This Detroit-based band definitely shakes up
the stereotypes of a rap group.
The CD begins with its title track, "The Great
Milenko," who is apparently "an ancient sorcerer of
Necromancy." The song offers numerous samplings as
well as shouts and background screams. The album
also contains numerous songs of social criticism,
including "Piggy Pie" the Posse's rage about alco-
holism and white collar crime. Another song of social
conscience, "How Many Times," takes aim at police
brutality and the desensitization of America toward
violence.
"Under the Moon," a more somber track, takes a
deep look the problems of revenge when justice isn't
served. This is by far the most powerful track on the
album because it captures the rage that is felt by those
who are close to crime victims. There are also numer-
ous songs on the occult, such as "Southwest Voodoo,"
"House of Horrors" and "Hokus Pocus." The songs
talk of rituals, chants and "a hair from a goose, a wing
from a bat, a tongue from a snake."
The album also takes a humorous turn, with many
short sketches tacked on at the end of songs. They give
a bizarre twist to such topics as teen suicide, middle
class "gangbangin"' and circus accidents. If not taken
lightly, these sections could offer hours of protest to
the easily offended.
While "The Great Milenko" certainly isn't the best
rap album ever made, it is definitely a shift from the
same old sound. It does gives the listener a deep look
at the problems America's inner cities, as well as a few
laughs.
- Curtis Zimmermann
Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are the action figures of Insane Clown Posse. "I Lote
ICP Barbie" sold separately.
Comedy, insult, injury reside in 'South Park'
By Melanie Cohen
Daily Arts Writer
Threatening to cross the boundaries
of good taste in households across
*merica with unprecedented vulgarity,
'South Park" will not remain a relative-
ly unknown cartoon for long. Although
it can be nasty, "South Park" forces
viewers to experience uncontrollable
bouts of laughter.
The cartoon began as a video greet-
ing card, "The Spirit of Christmas",
sent out by a Foxlab executive. The
video enjoyed a large cult following as
it filtered down from Hollywood execs
to young adults and students all over the
untry. All the attention culminated in
"South Park", a weekly cartoon fea-
tured on Comedy Central.
"South Park" takes the animated car-
toon series, typified by "Beavis and
Butthead" and "The Simpsons," to
another level, pushing the boundaries
only cable television would feature.
With its flare for beastiality, racism
and homosexuality, its attacks on every-
thing from the NRA to politics to child
molestation, large
television net-
works could not
air this rude car-
toon. However,
geared for adults,
few people could
take real offense
by the crude
RE
S
Cot
Wed
antics of the cartoon's main characters
- four third-grade boys - making the
show amusing instead of insulting.
The cartoon is set in South Park, a
small town in the Colorado Rockies.
The four boys are confronted with
bizarre and disturbing characters and
situations in their small town each
week. Stan is the group leader who pon-
ders deep issues including the homo-
sexuality of his dog. Kenny, whose face
is hidden behind his hood, does not
speak intelligible English and dies in
every episode. Kyle, the brains of the
bunch, is Jewish
although he is not
VIEW sure what that
means. Cartman, the
;outh Park fat, disgusting, bel-
rnedy Central ligerent mama's boy,
is a know it all who
nesdays at 10 p.m.. knows nothing. At
constant odds with
Kyle, Cartman tells him to, "go back to
San Francisco with all the Jews."
It is not surprising that "South
Park's" notoriety is quickly spreading,
as it remains the only town where "big
gay animal sanctuaries" exist, Jesus has
his own talk show, volcanoes erupt,
strange creatures dwell, UFOs are con-
stantly spotted and celebrities including
Elton John and Brian Boitano frequent-
ly visit. In fact, the Chef (voice by Isaac
Hayes) moved to South Park for all of
its UFO sightings. A friend and confi-
dant to the four boys, Chef works in the
school cafeteria. The chubby, lovable
man often breaks into Barry White
songs and becomes overly sensual with
footballs. When Kyle and Cartman
want to cross-breed an elephant with a
pig, they go to the Chef for help. With
alcohol and R&B rhythms, the Chef
helps the pig and elephant realize they
want to have sex after all.
The unusual and perhaps grotesque
characters and situations in South Park
ensure viewers will crack up each week.
The absurd cartoon is rapidly entering
more homes in Ann Arbor as the word
gets passed along.
Chef (voice by Isaac Hayes) teaches four third-graders about living life and making
love In Comedy Central's hilariously vulgar "South Park."
Fraterni Life
AT THE UNIVERSITYO MICHIGAN
FOR FALL RECRUITMENT
SEPTEMBER 16TH
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