Released 2010 Length 5:13 | Genre Midwest hip hop Label Psychopathic | |
Recorded September 2008 – July 2009
Fun House Studio Writer(s) Joseph Bruce, Mike E. Clark | ||
"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. It has become perhaps the duo's most well-known song. The song's music video has gone viral and sparked a handful of memes, and was parodied on Saturday Night Live.
Contents
Music and lyrics
Inspiration for the song's lyrics came via the Internet generation and group members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope raising children. 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. The closing lyrics encourage listeners to take time to look at the world and "appreciate the things that life has to offer". According to Violent J, "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." He believes that scientific explanations can sometimes kill the intriguing mysteries of the world, such as how ancient pyramids were made. Violent J 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." 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."
The lyrics focus on introspective themes which critics considered to be uncommon in Insane Clown Posse's music; however, Violent J states that these themes are important in the duo's work, and reveal their depth. In response to accusations that the group has changed its style and gone soft, Violent J 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. Several reviewers have suggested that the song contains an anti-science message. Violent J disputes the claim, asserting that "the [song's] concept is about appreciating everything in this world. It's not about God; [...] religion; [.. or] science." Joseph Laycock of Religion Dispatches suggests that rather than rejecting science, the song disapproves of disenchantment.
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 Shaggy 2 Dope.
Music video
The music video for the song debuted on April 6, 2010, as part of the "Nuclear Edition" reissue of Bang! Pow! Boom!. The video's green screen sequences were directed by Paul Andresen, with post-production being completed in Michigan. The video has received over seventeen million views on YouTube.
On April 17, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch which parodied the "Miracles" music video. 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". In the fictional video, Ryan Phillippe and Bobby Moynihan rap about things such as "where the sun hides at night" and how blankets work. Saturday Night Live had previously parodied Psychopathic Records in 2009.
Insane Clown Posse called the "Miracles" parody "a huge honor". Violent J called the parody "off the hook hilarious." Shaggy 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."
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". Slate writer Jonah Weiner praised the song's music, but panned its lyrics. The A.V. Club writer Nathan Rabin described the song as "fucking insane". 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?" James Montgomery described the music video as "a psychedelic special effects extravaganza that is sometimes really literal... and sometimes just confusing." The Orion gave the video a "thumbs up" rating, writing "We also have wondered how magnets work." Pitchfork Media included "Miracles" on their list of The Top Music Videos of 2010.
Magnets Meme
The song's line "Fucking magnets, how do they work?" became an internet meme. Another line "and I don’t want to talk to a scientist, y’all mother fuckers lyin, and gettin me pissed” also riled scientifically minded people on the internet. Scientists created blog entries to teach Juggalos and even did so in person.