Miracles (Insane Clown Posse song)

"Miracles"
Single by Insane Clown Posse
from the album Bang! Pow! Boom!
Recorded	September 2008 – July 2009[1] Fun House Studio[1]
Genre	Midwest hip hop
Length	5:13
Label	Psychopathic
Writer(s)	Insane Clown Posse Mike E. Clark
Producer	Mike E. Clark
Insane Clown Posse chronology
"In Yo Face" (2009) "Miracles" (2010)

Miracles is a song written by Insane Clown Posse and Mike E. Clark for the duo's 2009 album Bang! Pow! Boom!. A music video was produced for the 2010 reissue of the album, dubbed the "Nuclear Edition". The song's lyrics focus on things experienced in everyday life and displaying an appreciation for them. The song's music video has gone viral and sparked a handful of memes,^[2] and was parodied on Saturday Night Live.

Music and lyrics

Inspiration for the song's lyrics came via the Internet generation and group members Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler raising children.^[3] In response to both modern jadedness and their children experiencing wonders of the world for the first time, the group wanted to write a song about natural phenomena humans experience in life which often go unacknowledged.^[3] The closing lyrics encourage listeners to take time to look at the world and "appreciate the things that life has to offer".^[4][5] According to Bruce, "What's a shame is how people walk around blind to it all. They lost their spirit about everything. If you can’t even see the miracle in animals, then you must have never truly loved a pet."^[6] He believes that scientific explanations can sometimes kill the intriguing mysteries of the world, such has how ancient pyramids were made.^[7] Bruce admits that the song's lyrics discuss "things [... that] may not be actual miracles. They may have scientific facts explaining them [...] But nonetheless, these things are still incredible [...] and they should be appreciated."^[8] He added that the group's use of the word 'miracle' was intended to mean "something fuckin’ amazing and incredible, [... a] special, awesome event, [...] a great, wonderful thing."^[6]

The lyrics focus on introspective themes which critics considered to be uncommon in Insane Clown Posse's music; however, Bruce states that these themes are important in the duo's work, and reveal their depth.^[4] In response to accusations that the group has changed its style and gone soft,^[8] Bruce calls the song "classic ICP," noting that the group has always included one or two deep and meaningful songs on every album, and that this is just the first time that they've created a video for one of those songs.^[8][6] Several reviewers have suggested that the song contains an anti-science message.^[9][10][11] Bruce refutes the claim, explaining that "the [song's] concept is about appreciating everything in this world. It's not about God; [...] religion; [.. or] science."^[12][3] Joseph Laycock of Religion Dispatches suggests that rather than rejecting science, the song disapproves of disenchantment.^[5]

The song's music is built around an ascending synthesizer melody, and climaxes with an electric guitar solo performed by Mike E. Clark, and beatboxing by Joseph Utsler.^[4][13]

Music video

A special effect from the music video, which has become viral.

The music video for the song debuted on April 6, 2010, as part of the "Nuclear Edition" reissue of Bang! Pow! Boom!.^[14] The video's green screen sequences were directed by Paul Andresen, with post-production being completed in Michigan.^[15] The video has received over eight million views on YouTube.^[16]

On April 17, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch which parodied the "Miracles" music video.^[17] In the sketch, fictional personalities DJ Supersoak (played by Jason Sudeikis) and Lil' Blaster (played by Nasim Pedrad) debuted a fictional music video by the Thrilla Killa Klownz called "Magical Mysteries" as part of the Under Underground Records' "Underground Rock Minute".^[18] In the fictional video, Ryan Phillippe and Bobby Moynihan rap about things such as "where the sun hides at night" and how blankets work.^[17][18] Saturday Night Live had previously parodied Psychopathic Records in 2009.^[15]

Insane Clown Posse called the "Miracles" parody "a huge honor".^[18] Bruce called the parody "off the hook hilarious."^[6] Utsler noted that Coolio had reacted unfavorably towards "Amish Paradise", "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of the rapper's song "Gangsta's Paradise", and stated "If Weird Al wanted to do one of our songs, I’d be like, 'Hell yeah.' To me, it's the same thing with Saturday Night Live."^[15]

Reception

The Detroit News music critic Adam Graham disliked the song, writing that "hearing this song makes you wish ICP would stick to serial killing".^[19] Slate writer Jonah Weiner praised the song's music, but panned its lyrics.^[13] The A.V. Club writer Nathan Rabin described the song as "fucking insane".^[20] A Chicago Tribune critic mocked the song's lyrics saying, "I'm glad that when my kids get strep throat, their doctor doesn't say, "(Bleeping) antibiotics, how do they work?"^[9] James Montgomery described the music video as "a psychedelic special effects extravaganza that is sometimes really literal... and sometimes just confusing."^[21] The Orion gave the video a "thumbs up" rating, writing "We also have wondered how magnets work."^[22] Pitchfork Media included "Miracles" on their list of The Top Music Videos of 2010.^[23]

Joseph Bruce has responded to criticism of the song, saying that Insane Clown Posse has always been faced with ridicule, and that he feels that the mainstream media does not understand the meaning of the song.^[6][8] He added that "if you can't appreciate these things, it sucks to be you".^[3] Joseph Utsler feels that the song is ridiculed because it was released by Insane Clown Posse.^[24] He believes that if "Bob Dylan would have came up with that song, people probably would have been, 'Oh, shit, man! That's the bomb!' [...] But because we came up with it, they're, like, 'What assholes.'"^[24] In response to Utsler, LA Weekly writer Gustavo Turner noted that Dylan's acclaimed song "Every Grain of Sand" is similar in subject to "Miracles".^[24]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (2009) Album notes for Bang! Pow! Boom! by Insane Clown Posse [CD booklet]. Detroit, Michigan: Psychopathic Records.
2. ^ Anderson, Kyle (April 27, 2010). "Insane Clown Posse's Violent J Weighs In On The Cult Of 'Miracles'". http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/04/27/insane-clown-posse-violent-j-miracles/. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Adam Carolla. Insane Clown Posse AdamCarolla.com. The Adam Carolla Show. (2011-08-08). Podcast accessed on 2011-08-17.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Bruce, Joseph (September 4, 2009). "Violent J's Personal Review of Bang Pow Boom!". Psychopathic Records. http://www.insaneclownposse.com/music/violent-js-personal-review-of-bang-pow-boom/. Retrieved September 5, 2009. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Laycock, Joseph (May 19, 2010). "‘Miracles’ Rejects Disenchantment, Not Science". Religion Dispatches. http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/2638/%E2%80%98miracles%E2%80%99_rejects_disenchantment,_not_science/. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} "The Buzz on "Miracles"". The Hatchet Herald, Volume 13, Issue 5. Psychopathic Records. April 23, 2010. http://psychopathicrecords.com/hatchetherald/100423/index.html. Retrieved 2010-04-25. 
7. ^ Ronson, Jon. "Insane Clown Posse: And god created controversy". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/oct/09/insane-clown-posse-christians-god. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d} "Interview with Violent J". Lazlo. The Church of Lazlo. 2010-04-19.
9. ^ ^{a b} Keilman, John. "Rappers' ode to 'miracles' taps into anti-science angst". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-30/news/ct-talk-keilman-miracles-1130-20101130_1_pomegranate-juice-science-rappers. Retrieved 9 December 2010. 
10. ^ Mike Daniels (2010-10-12). "Insane Clown Posse comes out . . . as evangelical Christians". Culture Wars. Secular News Daily. http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2010/10/12/insane-clown-posse-comes-out-as-evangelical-christian/. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
11. ^ Louis Pattison (2010-08-18). "Insane Clown Posse: a magnet for ignorance". Music. Guardian News and Media Limited. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/aug/18/insane-clown-posse. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
12. ^ Jason Richards (2010-04-27). "Violent J of Insane Clown Posse Explains the Remarkable Song ‘Miracles’". Entertainment. New York Media LLC. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/04/violent_j_of_insane_clown_poss.html. Retrieved 2011-08-16. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Weiner, Jonah (April 13, 2010). "Do You Believe in Miracles? The wild, weird world of Insane Clown Posse.". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2250217/pagenum/all/. 
14. ^ "Bang! Pow! Boom! Nuclear Edition Out NOW!". Psychopathic Records. http://www.insaneclownposse.com/general-news/bang-pow-boom-nuclear-edition-out-now/. Retrieved 7 April 2010. 
15. ^ ^{a b c} Itzkoff, Dave (April 26, 2010). "Fools’ Gold: An Oral History of the Insane Clown Posse Parodies". The New York Times. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/fools-gold-an-oral-history-of-the-insane-clown-posse-parodies/?src=mv. Retrieved 26 April 2010. 
16. ^ Insane Clown Posse (artists) (2010-04-06). Insane Clown Posse - Miracles (music video). Michigan: Psychopathic Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-agl0pOQfs. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Anderson, Kyle (April 18, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Takes Down Insane Clown Posse With 'Miracles' Parody". MTV News. http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/04/18/saturday-night-live-miracles-parody/. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
18. ^ ^{a b c} "Saturday Night Live Parodies the “Miracles” Music Video!". Psychopathic Records. http://www.insaneclownposse.com/general-news/saturday-night-live-parodies-the-miracles-music-video/. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
19. ^ Graham, Adam (September 1, 2009). "Pow! ICP revisits the Dark Carnival". The Detroit News. 
20. ^ Rabin, Nathan (April 8, 2010). "Great job, Internet! Insane Clown Posse, rainbows, fucking magnets and the miracle of existence". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/great-job-internet-insane-clown-posse-rainbows-fuc,39928/. Retrieved 2010-04-13. 
21. ^ Montgomery, James (2010-04-08). "Insane Clown Posse's 'Miracles' Video Explained". MTV Networks. http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/04/08/insane-clown-posse-miracles/. Retrieved 2010-04-13. 
22. ^ "Thumbs up, Thumbs down". The Orion (Chico, California). April 21, 2010. 
23. ^ "The Top Music Videos of 2010". Pitchfork Media. 1 December 2010. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7898-the-top-music-videos-of-2010/3/. Retrieved 8 December 2010. 
24. ^ ^{a b c} Gustavo Turner (2017-03-17). "Insane Clown Posse: Exclusive Interview". Music. LA Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/2011-03-17/music/insane-clown-posse-exclusive-interview/4/. Retrieved 2011-08-16. 

External links

• "Miracles" on YouTube