Think Outside the Box Set

Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain.   Wait a minute, when did T-Pain become ICP? He rounds up his three-ring circus for this, his most Dark Carnival album yet! Unfortunately, he also manages to pick up some of ICP’s bad habits… Listen along to Thr33 Ringz here.   Learnin' Links: Chris Brown beat Rihanna Bouncing cats beatboxing Ciara Madmen lawnmower Teardrop tattoo “1234” song—which is Feist “Change...

Epiphany by T-Pain.   It's T-Pain's biggest album, or at least it has his biggest single "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')". It's a good album! Probably more consistent than Rappa Ternt Sanga , but T-Pain himself maybe doesn't seem as nice as he did on his first album.   Listen along to Epiphany on Spotify here! Learnin' Links: Botulism, Honey—for Babies "Space Force" Pizza Brain Little B...

Rappa Ternt Sanga by T-Pain. Time for season 4, mothertruckers! We're back like scoliosis, with a discussion of T-Pain's first album Rappa Ternt Sanga . Yes, Cameron won the vote, with almost 60% of the vote for T-Pain. It's a fun album with great music… but it's sooooooo long. It's ICP-length. Listen along to Rappa Ternt Sanga on Spotify here! Learnin' Links: Megalodon The Taíno people Warra...

Roots by Curtis Mayfield.   It’s our last interlude episode for now! This week, Cameron tries to convince us all that Curtis Mayfield’s 1971 album Roots is really cool and interesting. It only has 7 songs, so Cameron has plenty of time to drone on and on—uh, I mean, we have plenty of time to go in-depth! Learnin' Links: Uber Got the D New Yorkers and Merry Mary Marry Cam’s transcription of “K...

Paris 1919 by John Cale.   Are you ready? It's time for Nathan's English-Class Bullshit Time, the part of the show where Nathan tries to turn his podcast into an English class—because those are renowned for being soooooo entertaining! As part of their "playing" with their "format," Nathan and Cameron are taking a short break from exploring artists' back catalogs to talk about albums they alre...

Havoc and Bright Lights by Alanis Morrisette.   It’s Alanis’ last album! 2012’s Havoc and Bright Lights sure is another Alanis album, continuing her collaboration with Guy Sigsworth. It’s kinda fun, and features some pretty good songs. But we manage stay off-topic, as always with Ally Cookies and #momparty. Learnin' Links: Who watches the watchmen? Carnival geeks and the geek show Shape note...

Flavors of Entanglement by Alanis Morrisette.   Hit the pause baton, because it's about to get deliciously spaghetti-tangled all up in here! Nathan and Cameron try to make sense of Alanis 2008 album Flavors of Entanglement with the help of Imaging Heap, the punk band Deaf Sieve, and Bryan Breynolds of the movie Breadpool and Breadpool 2 .   Listen along to Flavors of Entanglement on Spot...

So-Called Chaos by Alanis Morrisette.   Alanis has some pretty damn good songs on this album. It's not quite as arresting as Jagged Little Pill , but some of the songwriting is very nuanced and mature. Plus, we get to talk about Sonic Adventures and Ryan Reynolds! What's not to love? And, post-music, we have a meta-discussion about how positive we want to be on the show! Our friends at Beyond...

Under Rug Swept by Alanis Morrisette. Alanis' fifth album is a huge step up from Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie . There are some very good, very moving songs on this one—and thank god she decided to make it shorter than 27 songs.   There are still things to quibble over here, and still some missteps, but this album definitely has some of the best songs Alanis has written to date. Listen a...

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette.   It's the Phantom Menace of Alanis albums! 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie was Alanis' followup to her massively successful Jagged Little Pill , and it's… not so good. I guess Alanis forgot how to write songs with meter?   But at least Cameron gets feisty drunk in his cider-hole! And we become the first podcast ever...

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. It's finally here! Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill is not only the opening salvo of the New Alanis™ after her first few pop albums, it's also her most successful album to date. As if that weren't enough, it's also the #11 top-selling album of all time, ever, worldwide ( according to this Wikipedia list ). That said, it's a really good albu...

Now Is the Time by Alanis Morissette. Alanis’ (Alanis’s?) second album Now Is the Time , from 1992, is a solid improvement on her first album. But it’s still the generic CanadaPop that Alanis would leave behind soon for her real career, with Jagged Little Pill . It was pretty fun, but ultimately mostly forgettable. Other topics covered include grass, a tight five on plain rice cakes, blue ears, an...

Alanis by Alanis Morissette. Well here it is, our coverage of Alanis Morissette! We cover her first, and e-pony-mouth, album Alanis . It’s kinda generic pop, sort of Madonna-lite. We had fun, though, especially because we were joined by very special guest J. Rourke!   J. brought the heat with the knowledge of video game music that we were sorely missing. Also, this episode features a whole sl...

The Marvelous Missing Link: Found by Insane Clown Posse. We've reached the end of history! Er, the end of ICP—and of season 2 of Think Outside the Box Set. Praise the Dark Carnival, we're done! The Marvelous Missing Link: Found from 2015 is the latest disappointment from ICP. It leans hard in the direction of Contemporary Christian Music, and it's worse than its companion Lost (at least, Nathan th...

The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost by Insane Clown Posse. ICP’s The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost has Nathan raving: “it’s aggressively on the negative end of mediocre”! It’s not super bad, per se, but it’s just so boring… in fact, it’d be better if it were bad. Then there’d be anything to talk about.   Listen along to The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost here .   You can support us in sev...

The Mighty Death Pop by Insane Clown Posse. In 2012, ICP released their album The Mighty Death Poop , the second card in the second hand of Jokers Cards. It's not bad. There are a few good songs on The Mighty Beth Pop , but lots of them are kinda mediocre, and a couple are just straight up bad. Like that one that reminds us of the shitty movie Taken .   The best song by far is the titular "Th...

Bang! Pow! Boom! by Insane Clown Posse. Nathan's getting punchy this week, because he didn't really enjoy ICP's many versions of their 2009 album Bang! Pow! Boom! . It's not that it's bad, it's just… the shine is wearing off a little bit. ICP's been releasing these albums over almost 20 years, but we've been mainlining them for three months. Is Nathan finally starting to crack? Cameron didn't...

The Tempest by Insane Clown Posse. ICP continues a string of more-or-less enjoyable albums with their 10th studio release The Tempest . Nathan had a great time listening to it and maintains that it's ICP's best album yet, while Cameron is unconvinced (and bored). Freed from their first hand of Jokers Cards, ICP cuts loose and has fun with this one.   Mikey "E" Clark is back, too! It's a verit...

The Wraith: Hell’s Pit by Insane Clown Posse. ICP released the second part of their The Wraith Joker's Card, which has… no Wraith in it? That's OK, though, because Cameron and Nathan still have plenty to talk about, including non-funky crows, Dr. Oz®'s patented Drano Cleanse™, and Cameron's highly erotic thigh-unveiling. We were warned about this album, but it's actually pretty good—especiall...

The Wraith: Shangri-La by Insane Clown Posse. Here it is: Insane Clown Posse’s holy testimony 🙏✝️🙏 . ICP reveals that they’re secret Christians, the Dark Carnival is God, and that they’re not sorry if they tricked you. Just like that weird kid at school who tried to make friends with you only to ask you to something called “youth group”, ICP has apparently had an ulterior motive all long. But, a...

Bizzar by Insane Clown Posse. ICP's 2000 album Bizzar is a return to form, but better! This is their best one so far, which makes it really fun to talk about. But for some reason, Cameron and Nathan still stall and digress into such topics as Amy Grant's slay rides, Digimon (digital monsters), and Archie's full-throated complaint that "JUGHEAD ATE ALL MY PIZZA." It's a real wild—wicked wild—romp t...

Bizaar by Insane Clown Posse. ICP strikes back! …into our hearts, with their 2000 album Bizaar . Yes, you read that right: not bazaar, and not bizarre, but Biza'ar ! It's one part of their album duo Bizaar/Bizzar , which Cameron helpfully points out are neither "correct" spellings of any of those words.   Cameron and Nathan tackle the difficult questions on this one, like: Is it a good thing...

The Amazing Jeckel Brothers by Insane Clown Posse. The Amazing Jeckel Brothers dropped in 1999, and dropped our hearts with it. After the success of The Great Milenko , Insane Clown Posse faced a lot more attention in the mainstream media—which brought more scrutiny and much more criticism. ICP struck back with The Amazing Jeckel Brothers , which features a lot more sincere anger and less goofy cl...

The Great Milenko by Insane Clown Posse. Cameron and Nathan continue to investigate the music—nay, the phenomenon—of the Insane Clown Posse, with their 1997 album The Great Milenko . Along the way, they digress a lot, ending up talking about mom’s spaghetti and other fine foodstuffs. It's not so much that they don't like the album or anything, it's more that they find it very hard to remain on-top...

Riddle Box by Insane Clown Posse. Bonobo societies, Monster Mashes for the 90s, the Jokester of Dark Knight fame, and little juggalinos—it’s all a part of this balanced breakfast Cameron and Nathan’s discussion of Riddle Box , Insane Clown Posse’s third album!   Join us as we wind the crank and see what kinds of songs play, and as we answer the big questions—like, is ICP the spiritual heir to...