MARILYN MANSON

BACKDROP:
Crashing through the gates in the mid-90s, Manson provided what every teenager wants from their music: an outlet for their angst and a way to piss off their parents. I didn’t get into Manson to anger my mom; she didn’t care much anyway. But I did enjoy the campy theatrics and the shlocky entertainment. And unlike much of shock rock, there was a semblance of intelligence and a kernel of satire. Hell, even the name brilliantly commented on how celebrity and notoriety are given equal value in our society. And I can safely say that he’s never made me want to kill anyone.



PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY:
A solid rocker that’s better than it has any right to be. Manson’s growl is effectively used here, though I don’t know if it’s due to him or the songs being tailored to his limited capabilities. Probably the latter, with the music being powerful but mostly straight ahead, with the weird flourishes being left as exactly that: flourishes. This is due in no small part to the fact that the former Spooky Kids are a real band and not just a ragtag group of hired guns (which Manson’s future backup band lineups would more or less be). There’s genuine chemistry at work here and nowhere does it coalesce better than on the excellent “Dope Hat.” Crank it up, turn my brain off, pump my fist in the air. I feel like I’m in high school again.



SMELLS LIKE CHILDREN:
I think this was meant as a stopgap, but even so, it’s pretty weak. Running 16 tracks and 54 minutes long, this is nonetheless considered an EP, and probably would’ve worked better as a true EP. Pointless remixes and skits that are pretty much scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-stuff that belongs on a box set, not a band’s 2nd release. There are some creepy interludes in desperate need of good songs to interlude in between. The album’s only redeeming value comes from the covers of “Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This” and “I Put A Spell On You.” The cover of Patti Smith’s “Rock N Roll Nigger,” however, is utterly worthless. Manson attempts to add in some of his own lyrics the way Smith did to her cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” The difference? Smith’s additions actually added to the song.



ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR:
This is the album that made Manson a (no pun intended) superstar, the piece of work that cemented his status as cultural scary monster and convenient scapegoat for society’s ills. The apex of his career, commercially speaking anyway, it’s no surprise Manson continually returns to the imagery he developed here. Problem is, clever title and imagery aside, very little of this concept album holds up. Sure, we get the brutal rhythms of “The Beautiful People,” the sick leads of “Tourniquet,” and the genuine creepiness of “Cryptorchild,” but the majority of the songs here are hack jobs. Trent Reznor’s nihilistic production better serves his own talent than Manson’s lack of it. The weaknesses of the flat, monotone vocal delivery are highlighted rather than masked by the layers of effects. The music dredges on for long stretches of time, that by the time we reach the otherwise gratifying closing suite of “Minute of Decay,” “The Reflecting God,” and “Man That You Fear,” it’s hard to care. This used to be a cornerstone of my music collection, now it’s more a slight amusement.



MECHANICAL ANIMALS:
Remember how Terminator was the perfect role for Arnold Schwazennegger? Using an actor that can’t convey emotion to play a creature that can’t convey emotion? The same principle is more or less at work here. Manson enters his David Bowie-lite phase with this concept album about something or other. An alien, I think? While Manson is more restrained and subtle here, he’s still the weakest point of any given track. And the music itself seems to be just a glammed-up version of ANTICHRIST (listen to “The Beautiful People” and “Rock Is Dead” back to back). Reportedly, Billy Corgan secretly wrote a lot of the album, and I’d believe it. His grubby, 70s-worshipping fingers are all over this. Not that that is a bad thing. “Great Big White World” and “Coma White” are perfect bookends, and most of the tracks move along briskly. Not a masterpiece, but agreeable enough. On a side note, “I Don’t Like The Drugs” is pseudo-white boy funk, and white boy funk is pretty much pseudo-funk to begin with. Does that make the song pseudo-pseudo-funk?



FINAL THOUGHTS:
Marilyn Manson took his own hype too seriously and began to believe he truly was a genius voicing the truths society is afraid to hear. In doing so, he’s lost sight of what made his music fun in the first place. Of all the artists he’s aped over the years, he is most akin to Madonna in that they both contrive controversies in attempts to remain culturally relevant. I think Manson’s cultural relevance is best summed up in the classic Onion article, “Marilyn Manson To Embark On Boo Tour.”