The internet is home to a lot of questionable content, ranging from uncomfortable to downright disturbing. People create this content for a variety of reasons. Some do it for satirical purposes, some do it to offend people and some do it, simply, because they enjoy watching people squirm. However, someone like George Miller does it for all three reasons.
Aside from producing music under the name “Joji,” Miller has built quite the impressive fan base on YouTube with just over 4 million subscribers on his channel “TVFilthyFrank.” On the channel, he plays many ridiculous characters for the purposes of idiotic and gross-out humor, as well as satirical commentary on various issues.
Miller’s most popular character, however, is Pink Guy. He is essentially just Miller in a pink morphsuit with the face cut out, but the character is extremely socially inept. Despite this, Pink Guy also produces very well-made music, rapping and singing very eloquently. After uploading a few joke videos of Pink Guy performing, Miller’s fans requested more, which eventually led to Miller releasing two full-length albums as Pink Guy. The second record, “Pink Season,” was released on Jan. 4 and was so popular that it reached the #2 top album spot on iTunes. The production on the album is impressive with a mixture of alternative lo-fi rap and hip-hop, as well as ukulele ballads. The record features a few guest producers such as Josh Pan, Misogi and Holder. The lyrics are crude, offensive and often disturbing, but most of the 35 tracks on the record are well-written satirical pieces about controversial topics.
The content of Miller’s lyrics on the record varies in complexity and thought. Most tracks tackle a controversial issue in an even more controversial context, while some are simply intended to get a quick laugh out of the audience. “Please Stop Calling Me Gay,” for example, challenges the idea that many mainstream rappers use homophobic lyrics or slurs in their music even if they aren’t homophobic. The beat is a repetitive, growling bass line with intermittent trap snares and hi-hats. Pink Guy raps over this beat stating and swearing that he isn’t homosexual over and over again in various different wordings. While the song is very simple, it’s an effective way to bring the issue into light, as many rappers employ similar lines in their songs to “prove” their masculinity.
“I Will Get a Vasectomy” begins with a short foreword of Pink Guy dedicating the song to kids and teens between 12 and 17 years of age. He then proceeds to sing about how stupid he believes kids of the millennial generation are getting and how he would prefer if they stayed far away from him over a calming ukulele progression. There are many jokes and satirical articles detailing the various issues of the millennial generation, but Miller takes the opportunity here to plainly express his disdain for them in a less serious context.
The album also contains a few “food raps” such as “Rice Balls” and “Fried Noodles.” The lyrics don’t always relate to the foods but the music videos accompanying these songs feature Pink Guy cooking whatever food the title names in unconventionally gross ways. “Trap Dumplings” is the best out of these “food raps” included on the album and features a creative beat by Holder. It uses the sounds of clanging cookware to form the percussion with some deep bass while Pink Guy performs a rap comparing other rappers to the dumplings he’s cooking.
While throwaway humor tracks are nothing new to Pink Guy’s records, there are just a few too many on this one. Tracks like “Goofy’s Trial,” “I Have a Gun,” and “Meme Machine” all keep up with the humor fans can expect, but don’t really add much to the overall experience. The album’s impressive 35 song track list becomes a little less impressive when 6-7 of them are these short, inconsequential joke tracks.
Regardless of its few shortcomings, “Pink Season” is a well-done album that deserves all of the attention it has been getting from fans and music critics alike. Even if the content on the record is controversial and may or may not be taken too seriously by listeners, it shows that crude, humorous music can be a very effective avenue for delivering satirical arguments. Judging from the album’s success, it’s only a matter of time before Filthy Frank releases an even filthier third record that his fans will most definitely look forward to.
