Marilyn Manson....why? My friend is a big Manson fan, and I made a concerted effort to listen to his stuff. And its pure pish.

Comments?

I think the fuss has luckily died down.

lilgish said:

Yeah, but I'm still hearing about him and is that just because he looks like a drunk clown?

i think it's more about his image/persona/character than it is about the music. if he and his band just looked like a bunch of normal shmoes, they never would have gotten over with that music. and even the persona's losing steam. if he's going to stick around, he needs to let himself evolve - it seems like he's just treading water now. boy george let go of the drag queen image (more or less), alice cooper let go of the face paint, and bowie let go of ziggy stardust...if MM were to do the same, at the very least i think it would get people's attention.

He should try and write a decent tune, that might get peoples attention

Oh fuck. You don't want to see Marilyn Manson let go of his face paint! There is a goddamn reason why he wears it.

Having said that, as a mainstream artist Marilyn Manson is/was pretty inventive and interesting, but that has more to do with his ability to work his image and all the connotations attached to it. He doesn't really write his own music (he only does the lyrics and let's face it - they're not terribly good). But if we look back to the mid-90s a great deal of people were in all honesty quite intimidated by the guy. That is an achievement in itself. He was the closest thing to Satan a public figure has ever managed to reach - the audience might have been total fools, but he had a zenith moment with his character back then.

Personally, I like him. I find him to be quite creative and enjoyable. His persona is fascinating, and I think his tunes are damn catchy. Hell, "I Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me) is damned funky. He's definitely an aquired taste, but if you look past his image you'll find a decent artist who crafts some smart, inventive rock tunes.

JediMaster said:

Do I even need to get into this? Ah fuck it...

Manson is a highly successful artist because he created music that a lot of people like. He's entertaining and very creative, not to mention very intelligent.

So you can say, hey what's the fuss over Usher, Eminem, Ludacris, Prince, or whoever. It's all a matter of personal taste.

Can't stand his annoying voice

Is there still a fuss over him? When there was, it was because he was the epitome of rock n roll - he's loud, controversial, and he scared the hell out of parents.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Yeah, agreed, but for me his main talent seems to be upsetting old people. His music is utterly shite

Dewrede said:

Yep, its annoying. He's a third rate Bowie

sermwanderer said:

Again, that's a matter of personal taste. Millions of people disagree with you.

derivative mall-goth pop music. if you wanna see people in weird costumes offending mainstream sensibilities, go to a GWAR show. it's far more original.

Longevity will paint the picture most accurately

I doubt he'll be remembered 20 years from now.

sermwanderer said:

Really? There's no hype around him now, and you created an entire topic to discuss him.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Do you think Manson will be remembered as a great or someone who excited a few folk by upsetting politicians and the like

RipHer2Shreds said:

I know, I'm keeping him going. When Will I fucking learn?!

sermwanderer said:

That's your opinion. I don't agree at all.

sermwanderer said:

I see Bowie as an influence, but he doesn't sound anything like him.

sermwanderer said:

Depends on who remembers him. His fans of today will remember him as being a great artist. Haters will remember him for other reasons. But he will be remembered.

Anxiety said:

Gwar is hardly original. Alice Cooper did most of the stuff they do back in the 70s.

sermwanderer said:

He will certainly be remembered.

RipHer2Shreds said:

sermwanderer said:

He did... its called Mechanical Animals

JediMaster said:

suuure did

The longer he's been in the spotlight, and the more interviews he's done, he seems like he's a pretty nice guy beneath all the schtick. I think sometimes people take his music and his imagery way too seriously. It's just some fun agressive campy rock music.

sermwanderer said:

He will be remembered for the stir he caused, mostly.This doesn't negate his music at all. Face facts, this can be said of many different artists. WE all knew Prince was a genius back in the day, and so did a few critics, but everyone else dismissed him as a "shock rocker". They couldn't see past his image to grasp his commentary on sexuality and spirituality. Even today,though far more people give him props now that he's an elder-statesmen of rock, you still hear people talk about Prince and his sexual image. "Head", "Sister" and "Darling Nikki" are what they think of him.

Underneath Manson's image, the shock-tactics and the various personas is an artist with interesting social commentary. Many folks miss the point of the guy, because they are too busy getting offended (and really, the whole intent of that is to weed-out the folks who weren't savvy enough to pay attention to what was being said). Read the lyrics to the AntiChrist Superstar album. Its a statement of how the persecution and hatred of an individual leads him to become a facist monster. In other words, society is creating the evils within itself. Mechanical Animals addressed the parrallel between the rock & roll lifestyle and the excesses of American society. Holy Wood clarified his whole point: that their is little difference between how our society glorifies celebrity, while at the same time makes celebrities of our monsters (after all, the public made a star out of Charles Manson, just like it did Marilyn Monroe). His most recent studio album, The Golden Age Of Grotesque, was Manson essentially sending himself up by depicting him as a twisted burlesque master of ceremonies. Hardly "pish", regardless of whether you like his music

Tom said:

Yes, despite all the serious statements that the guy makes, there is also a high camp factor that people miss (that, also, is part of the point). The guy is ripe with irony, and a whole lot of "wink wink, nudge nudge".

As I told a TV crew who interviewed me outside of one of his concerts: its good, old-fashioned, Rock & Roll rebellion.