Here’s a new one for your Steve Albini hot take bingo card: The famously opinionated Chicago producer has come to the defense of Juggalos, even going so far as suggesting that Insane Clown Posse’s fans are better people than Deadheads.
“Yes, I’m saying the Juggalos are good,” Albini tweeted on February 7th. “A non-judgmental, inclusive community for people on the fringe, built on a beautiful communion they call ‘family.’ They remind me of punk/queer chosen families and I love them. I haven’t heard much of the music, it’s atrocious. Who cares.”
Albini’s take on the fans of the Insane Clown Posse arrived after screenshots of a 2020 Violent J interview with Stereogum went viral. In the interview, the rapper owned up to past instances of homophobia in the duo’s music, calling himself a “fool” for thinking his behavior was acceptable.
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“This is absolutely model owning-your-shit behavior, and if a goddamn fucking Juggalo can manage it, a nine-figure podcaster can step the fuck up without whining,” Albini tweeted in response to the interview, at once throwing his hat in the ever-intensifying anti-Joe Rogan ring and kickstarting a wonderfully earnest thread about the clown makeup wearing devotees of ICP. If that wasn’t enough, he brought the Grateful Dead’s fans into the mix, pitting the two intense fandoms against each other.
“Less annoying than Deadheads by an order of magnitude,” Albini proclaimed. “Very few lawyers and CEOs for a start.” He added, “A lot about the Juggalos is dumb/laughable. So what, your life isn’t? Get over yourself. The part that matters to them, that they are there for each other in material ways other communities fail at, that’s the whole thing.”
So there you have it: Juggalos are cool and punk, and Deadheads are just another example of hippies-turned-yuppies. Albini kind of has a point: In recent years, alleged gang Insane Clown Posse have turned their ire toward racists and pedophiles, selling “Fuck Your Rebel Flag” t-shirts and siccing their fans on Blood on the Dance Floor’s Dahvie Vanity, who’s been accused of sexually assaulting multiple underage girls. The hip-hop duo were also ardent promoters of COVID-19 safety when the pandemic first began, but then again, so were Dead & Company. So maybe they’re both cool?
Albini is no stranger to owning his shit and shading “nine-figure podcasters.” Back in October, the famous edgelord took to Twitter to acknowledge “A lot of things I said and did from an ignorant position of comfort and privilege.” Plus, even before the Spotify Exodus, he referred to Rogan’s podcast as “trash garbage.”
This is absolutely model owning-your-shit behavior, and if a goddamn fucking Juggalo can manage it, a nine-figure podcaster can step the fuck up without whining. https://t.co/8Vttbhqo9a
— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 7, 2022
Yes, I’m saying the Juggalos are good. A non-judgmental, inclusive community for people on the fringe, built on a beautiful communion they call “family.” They remind me of punk/queer chosen families and I love them. I haven’t heard much of the music, it’s atrocious. Who cares.
— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 7, 2022
A lot about the Juggalos is dumb/laughable. So what, your life isn’t? Get over yourself. The part that matters to them, that they are there for each other in material ways other communities fail at, that’s the whole thing.
Advertisement— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 7, 2022
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