a writer for City Pages recently put together a list of the Five Essential Insane Clown Posse “Hallowicked” Halloween Songs. Among his list are classic like Every Halloween and Mr Johnson’s Head.
Once your done reading Chaz’s Top 5, tell us what are your top 5 Hallowicked songs? Comment below.
It’s the Halloween season once again. The streets are lit with carved pumpkins, department stores are stockpiled with candy, and the Insane Clown Posse are coming to town. Performing Saturday, October 25, with Da Mafia 6ix at Myth, ICP mark the 20th anniversary of their first Hallowicked celebration. For the unaware, Hallowicked is the annual Halloween show that the duo perform in Detroit, which is always accompanied by a special exclusive Halloween song. The Posse are marking this milestone by releasing a two-disc set containing all 20 years of their tracks.
For those looking to sample the tricks and/or treats, or just looking to add a few more selections of spooky sounds to their Halloween playlist, we’ve assembled the five essential Hallowicked songs.
Dead Pumpkins (1994)
Before the informercials, cameos, and “Magnets,” there was a time when ICP were genuinely unsettling and creepy. At a holiday often reserved for a degree of campy frights, the Posse’s first Hallowicked cassette contained “Dead Pumpkins.” Violent J has his Bela Lugosi twang coming and going stronger than usual. The heavy guitar mixing also leans closer to the heavier rock sound that would continue to permeate more of their output as the ’90s rolled on. J considers “Dead Pumpkins” and the earlier Hallowicked tracks his favorites, recently telling Horrorcore magazine “You can’t capture that again. Those early days when we barely made it through those concerts alive. This was before we knew you had to have a wall of security.”
Mr Johnson’s Head (1997)
If there’s one thing you can say for sure about the Insane Clown Posse, it’s that their lyrics push the envelope. So much so that sometimes their themes can be a little too insane for distributors. When “Mr. Johnson’s Head” was first recorded for 1994’s Ringmaster, the clowns were flying indie under their own big top. By the time they were on Disney’s Hollywood Records in 1997 and wanted to re-record and remix their song about killing a teacher, the House of Mouse said no. This new version, whose production sounds very Dr. Octagon-esqe, appeared on that year’s Hallowicked cassette.
Every Halloween (2001)
It must have been incredibly challenging being a radio DJ in the months following the attacks of 9/11. As our nation recovered from the terrorist attacks, it never really felt right to play Bad Ronald or Little T and One Track Mike. One interesting note from this time is ICP scoring a minor radio hit with “Every Halloween.” Sent out a few weeks early to radio stations hungry for content to help give people a release from that post-9/11 feeling, “Every Halloween” features Violent J sounding like he was listening to a lot of E-40 for a track of creepy seasonal fun.
Thug Pit (Featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Kottonmouth Kings, Tech N9ne, and Esham) (2003)
Your eyes do not deceive you. Yes Virginia, in 2003 there was a posse cut assembled that featured Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Tech N9me on the same track as Esham, Kottonmouth Kings, and the Insane Clown Posse. While it may seem like an improbability to some, around this time all these guys were touring with each other. It’s interesting considering how different they all are sonically, and yet they meet at this surprisingly conventional midpoint.
Red Moon Howl (2014)
This year’s Hallowicked track is probably the most Halloween-ish their singles have sounded in quite a while. The Kuma produced “Red Moon Howl” features the duo’s haunting storytelling, only notably more creepy sound effects mixed into the beat, giving the track a very Hallmark Spooky Sounds cassette vibe. Twenty years is quite the commitment, and it’s comforting to know that as long as there’s a Halloween, there will be an Insane Clown Posse.
Faygoluvers Comments
twiztidkillaxxx2
Comment posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 07:04 pm GMT -5 at 7:04 pm
I can’t wait. I’ll be at this show Saturday
Carnivalkilla44
Comment posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 08:46 pm GMT -5 at 8:46 pm
I agree with the first two tracks they mention, but there are far more “essential” Hallowicked tracks than the last three mentioned. IMO…
purplekushy
Comment posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2014 01:37 am GMT -5 at 1:37 am
Mr.Rotton Treats should have been #1 and didn’t even make the list. Halloween on Military? Pumpkin Carvers? That”essential” list is… pfffft WHAAAACK
Jake Jeckel
Comment posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2014 10:02 pm GMT -5 at 10:02 pm
I’m with you purple kushy. Halloween on Military Street is one that shuld definitly be on there. But then again this is this person’s opinion on this.
Juggalo Josh B
Comment posted on Friday, October 24th, 2014 06:33 am GMT -5 at 6:33 am
Halloween on Military Street and Halloween Head is fo sho in the top 5! Come on now lol
ganjadude
Comment posted on Friday, October 24th, 2014 08:14 am GMT -5 at 8:14 am
for me, its, in order
mr rotten treats
mr johnsons head
dead pumpkins
pumpkin carver
sleep walker
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