Issue #33: Insane Clown Posse – The Great Milenko

Released:  August 12th, 1997

Recorded:  1996 – 1997

Genre:  Hip-Hop, Horrorcore, Rap Rock

Record Label:  Hollywood / Psychopathic / Island

Duration:  67:37

Producers:  Mike E. Clark, Insane Clown Posse (ICP)

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why The Great Milenko is One of My Favorites

Is it ridiculous that an Insane Clown Posse (ICP) album made my list?  I don’t think so, obviously, or I wouldn’t have included it, but much of the world completely despises ICP.  And I get it, I really do.  I think what really aggravates “regular” people is the behavior of the group’s more overt fans, a.k.a. the “Juggalos.”  Being a Juggalo is pretty fucking stupid.  On the one hand I can appreciate ICP’s attempt at creating some sort of community around their music and their weird ass convoluted philosophy that ultimately boils down to “Praise God!” (seriously, look it up if you don’t believe me), but Juggalos are some of the most socially malformed miscreants to walk the earth, and they give those of us who aren’t Juggalos but do like ICP a terrible, terrible reputation.

It seems like every critic ever has cited The Great Milenko as a rock record because a few songs have guitars in them, though I find this as absurd as Springsteen’s Nebraska being labeled country.  However, it does have a bit of a rock feel behind it, and more or less acted as ICP’s breakout album among the suburban, hard-rock oriented crowd.  I enjoyed their next proper album (The Amazing Jeckel Brothers) as well, but after that the guys had a tough time breaking new ground.  The Great Milenko is not only my favorite record from ICP, I also think it showcases the group at their best.  Their vulgarity is expertly metered and delivered with both conviction and humor.  They craft relatively catchy hooks while Mike E. Clark’s production style keeps their sound unique.  Most interesting of all, much of the album actually has a point, even if it is somewhat obfuscated by ICP’s unconventional approach.

Is The Great Milenko crude, juvenile, and utterly irreverent?  Absolutely.  But they’re also highly original, refusing to cave in to the conventions of any single genre (or decency for that matter!) and it all comes together quite brilliantly in a perverse sort of way.

ICP’s lyrics have no business being repeated, anywhere, ever…and I can’t help but find them hilarious.  Granted, a lot of them do revolve around nuts and the surrounding area – “I put my nuts in ya soup / ‘bloop!’,” “I’d order you a drink / and stir it with my dick,” “I’ll bend you over and tie you to a pole / And stretch ya nuts back and fling ’em up ya butthole!” and on it goes.  Not only is the vulgarity presented in the most funny ways possible, the 2 of them also manage to crack various jokes throughout the course of some songs.  Then there’s the absolutely random stuff like Shaggy’s “brrrrrrrippp!” sound from “House of Horrors.”  It’s all wacky and meaningless, but that’s kind of the point.  Some of the most taboo lyrics get the biggest laughs from me; one of my favorite is Violent J’s perfectly timed, “I’m starin’ at you sister, I’ll tell you this / you know for only 13 she got some big tits,” in “The Neden Game” (probably the most hilarious track on the record).

Despite all the craziness, ICP does (at least attempt to) get a message across.  They’ve built up this whole weird mythos concerning the “Dark Carnival,” “The Joker’s Cards,” and “Shangri-La,” and The Great Milenko exists as the fourth Joker’s Card. It is apparently an entity within us all that drives us towards greed; if we succumb to it, we’re destined to “the Pit” (hell), but if we overcome it, we’re on our way to “Shangri-La” (heaven).  Many of the album’s songs embody some aspect of this concept, sometimes with ICP playing the part of the antagonist (“Piggy Pie,” “Halls of Illusions,” “House of Horrors,” “How Many Times?”, “Under the Moon,” “Hellalujah”).  I can appreciate the idea, though I’m not sure if it’s necessarily one of the album’s strong suits.  The individual tracks are great; the ones telling these stories of greed and evil are ultimately the strongest, I just don’t know that there’s any obvious thread running through all of them.  It’s only after knowing ICP’s intention and then looking at the album again that any of it makes sense, and even then, it’s a bit thin.

“Pass Me By” closes the album with a vision of just what ICP’s heaven looks like, replete with marijuana and big titties, but also concepts such as the group getting along with hillbillies and truck drivers, who they’re normally at odds with.  Other tracks like “What is a Juggalo?” and “Down with the Clowns” address the growing Juggalo phenomenon at the time.  Apparently, Juggalos do things like stick two-liters between their butt cheeks, tell bitches that their butt stinks, and put weaves in their nut hair. Even Violent J says, “well fuck if I know” when it comes to just what these cretins are.  But hey, where else are you going to hear about tying ropes to dicks and jumping from high places?  Oh, right, Eminem has a lyric to that effect in “Just Like Me” as well.  Don’t care.  Still funny.

I’ve always enjoyed ICP’s “music,” generally the result of the group’s collaboration with Mike E. Clark..  The beats and accompaniment have always done a decent job of representing the carnival atmosphere, often times making use of sounds or simple tunes reminiscent of what would be heard in such an environment.  The swirling organ behind “Great Milenko” is a good example, and “Hokus Pokus” makes regular use of whatever that familiar carny tune is.  Clark also adds other clever touches such as the perfectly suited game show music in “The Neden Game.”  The beats are well-tailored to J and Shaggy’s rapping abilities and the hooks are basic enough to accommodate their limited singing talents (though the effect occasionally comes off as cheesy, mostly when the guys are trying to be “serious” or “soft” such as the hook of “Pass Me By”).

The aspect of production that is most exclusive to The Great Milenko is the use of guitars.  Is it a rock record, of any kind?  I don’t think so, but it would seem that these guitars really grabbed people’s attention.  Psychopathic Records’ own in house guitarist, Legz Diamond, is featured in roughly half the tracks, though I tend to question how prominent the guitar is in most of these songs.  Maybe a squeal or a strum here and there, but the guitar isn’t the first thing I notice about “House of Horrors,” “Hellajulah,” or “How Many Times?” among others.  Alice Cooper provides the vocals for the “Intro” track, though there’s nothing inherently “rock” about his appearance.  The real “rock” moments of The Great Milenko are “Piggy Pie” and “Halls of Illusions.”

Steve Jones, of the Sex Pistols, contributes some killer riffing on “Piggy Pie.”  This is the closest that The Great Milenko comes to producing a rock song, and ultimately it’s one of the album’s most successful tracks.  Lyrically it’s one of the record’s most angry and violent cuts; unfortunately what ended up on the final pressing was edited with the “uncut” version later released on Forgotten Freshness Vol. 2.  Slash, of Guns ‘N Roses fame, lays down some guitar for “Halls of Illusions,” best heard churning away in the chorus.  It does pop in and out of the mix during the verses, and also adds a few high squeals during the pre-chorus, though I actually didn’t recognize it as a guitar at first.  The guitar is there, but it isn’t the focus of the song.  Nothing but “Piggy Pie” is guitar driven on the entire album; I don’t have a problem with that, but it does irk me that The Great Milenko is misrepresented in the media, with expectations consequently affected by inaccurate descriptions.

I suppose none of that really matters anymore.  The Great Milenko has been around long enough to speak for itself by now, and I still see the album as the group’s most accomplished and most consistent effort.  It’s an excellent convergence of ICP’s bizarre approach to storytelling and humor and Clark’s consistency and creativity.  And even if The Great Milenko never got within 39 miles of becoming a rock record, the list of guest appearances makes it clear that they were open to expanding their fanbase, and it worked.  Sometimes it’s fun to blank out and get lost in something as inane as The Great Milenko.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Insane Clown Posse in this series:

• 1998 – Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 & 2 – Issue #85
• 1999 – The Amazing Jeckel Brothers – Issue #86

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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