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Famous Like Me > Composer > M > Marilyn Manson

Profile of Marilyn Manson on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Marilyn Manson  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 5th January 1969
   
Place of Birth: Canton, Ohio, USA
   
Profession: Composer
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Marilyn Manson in 2004

Marilyn Manson is a band based in Hollywood, California that has been described as shock rock, neo-glam rock, and arguably "industrial metal". The lead singer of the band, Brian Warner, also performs under the name Marilyn Manson.

History of the band

As a band, Marilyn Manson got their start in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1989 as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids. Marilyn Manson's early presentation had a more demented cartoonish style than the dark, brooding style of their later image. The band received little attention outside Florida until they were noticed by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. Marilyn Manson's first CD, Portrait of an American Family was released on Reznor's Nothing Records label. The only remaining founding members of the band are Marilyn Manson himself (vocals) and Madonna Wayne Gacy (keyboards). Until 1996, the name of each band member was created by combining the first name of a female pop culture icon and the last name of a mass murderer or a serial killer, with Manson's own name being a combination of the names of Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson. The members of the band dress in often bizarre costumes, and have developed a devoted fan base both for their music and their sometimes shocking behavior (see also KISS and Alice Cooper).

The band's music and perfomances have frequently been called offensive and obscene, and protests and petitions have successfully had the group banned from performing a few shows. Manson often cuts himself with broken glass before his audiences, and has nearly 500 scars covering his body as a result of ritualistically cutting himself. In 1997, the owner of Calgary's Max Bell Centre had Manson's July 25 show cancelled, citing "immorality" and the band's "use of animals on stage." Another concert in Portland was cancelled a few days later due to Manson's reputation, and the venue's inability to get insurance for the gig. That November 6, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management and Restructuring held a public hearing on the effect of violent rock and rap lyrics on kids. Manson supporters claim it was merely another salvo in Joseph Lieberman's declaration of war on the band. The hearing featured the testimony of Raymond Kuntz, of Burlington, North Dakota, who blamed his son's suicide on Antichrist Superstar, which Lieberman denounced as "vile, hateful, nihilistic and damaging."

Manson is often described as a follower and ordained minister of the Church of Satan. This, however, is not strictly true; he was appointed as honorary Reverend by late founder Anton LaVey. Unlike being an ordained minister, a Reverend of the Church of Satan is one who is revered by the Church for some reason — regardless of their connections to it — while a priest or minister is one who dedicates their life to preaching the religion to others. Nevertheless, some fans still refer to him as the Rev. Marilyn Manson, a title that appears in the credits of Antichrist Superstar.

On May 16, 2001, it was announced on the ReligionToday website that Manson planned to quote the Bible at his next concert, to "balance out" his violent lyrics, "so we can examine the virtues of wonderful Christian stories of disease, murder, adultery, suicide and child sacrifice. Now that seems like entertainment to me." On June 21, 2001, Manson did indeed read from the Bible onstage in Denver, Colorado, presenting such passages as Leviticus 20:9 ("For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death") and Psalm 137:9 ("Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones") as "evidence" the band's lyrics were, at least, no more violent than the Bible itself.

Manson has released Lest We Forget, a greatest hits album including a cover of "Personal Jesus", a Depeche Mode hit. It also contains a bonus DVD with most of the band's music videos, excluding "Tainted Love". Manson has called this album his "farewell" album, but it is not his last album.

Media portrayal and confusion regarding Manson

Following the Columbine High School massacre, there were accusations that killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were influenced by Manson's music, despite evidence that both Harris and Klebold were not fans of Manson, leading many to criticize the media as using Manson as a scapegoat instead of analyzing the underlying societal problems surrounding the incident. Nevertheless, out of respect for the victims, Manson canceled appearances in Denver until the 2001 Ozzfest. In the controversial documentary Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore interviewed Manson about the tragedy. When asked what he would say to the two if he had a chance to talk to them before the killings, Manson replied "I wouldn't say a single word to them; I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did."

It was following the Columbine incident that the media began routinely tagging Marilyn Manson as "goth rock" despite the fact that Manson's music had little relation to gothic music or sub-culture. In 2005, the media once again cited Manson and the unrelated goth-rock in articles relating to a school shooting that occurred in Red Lake, Minnesota. While there is no evidence to refute that Jeff Weise, the gunman in the shooting, listened to Marilyn Manson, information known about him through his blog and Internet writings suggest that his liking for Manson was hardly more relevant than his apparent love for '60s stoner rock. Yet, several media accounts, including that of nationally circulated columnist Ryan Bakken, stressed the relationship between Marilyn Manson and the gothic subculture.

Manson on the Internet

Manson frequently broadcasted messages and interacted with his listeners on his official website from the release of Mechanical Animals until some time after Holy Wood was released. Fans could expect a short film to be available for download every few weeks. Often these films were monologues by Manson responding to fan questions or media announcements, and other films were obscure recordings from his studio. His participation gradually dropped off and since The Golden Age of Grotesque, almost no new content has appeared there.

Manson also released companion websites spawned from his concept albums. Mechanical Animals was companioned by Comawhite.com (mirror), an interactive online maze which led users to various drug and rose themed graphics, and links to hidden sections of his main website.

Holy Wood was companioned with the website Celebritarian.com (mirror), which featured a provoking questionnaire and a diagram showing that a human does not have a soul until age 10. An additional website, ThisAsValentinesDay.com (mirror), featured a headline announcing JFK's death.

The Manson BBS was opened up after Mechanical Animals and was a very active forum in subjects other than the band. Discussion of art, politics, news and current events raged on in classic message board style. There was much debate on the meanings and interpretations of various lyrics, diagrams, or pictures featured in his album cover art--especially that of Holy Wood. Manson would occasionally interject on discussions along these lines. For reasons unknown, the BBS was removed, then reintroduced a few months later, and removed again. The user base sharply declined and its uniqueness vanished as many classic members never returned.

On October 1, 2005, Celebritarian.com became active again; initially, the page featured only a stylized depiction of the Cross of Lorraine and a link to marilynmanson.com. Although the HTML link for the image does infact point to Marilyn Manson's offical website, the administrative contact for the domain is registered to "Ann Hill" with a Yahoo! email address. It is unclear if this new activity is legitimate.

Current members

  • Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner) - vocals
  • Madonna Wayne (M.W.) Gacy a.k.a Pogo (Stephen Bier, Jr.) - keyboards & electronic drums
  • Tim Skold - bass guitar
  • Chris Vrenna - live drums
  • Mark Chaussee - live guitar

Chris Vrenna of Tweaker, (formerly of the band Nine Inch Nails), has played drums on the Against All Gods world tour dates filling in for Ginger Fish. The substitution came as a result of Ginger sustaining several injuries while performing at the VIVA Comet Awards in Germany including a fractured arm and a broken nose. It has not yet been announced whether Ginger Fish will rejoin Marilyn Manson; since his recovery from this accident he has been recording and performing with a new band, Martyr Plot.

Mark Chaussee has taken over from John 5 and played lead guitar for the tour. To date, there has been no official statement regarding the position of guitar player and Chaussee is regarded as temporary. Current speculation points to bass player Tim Skold taking over lead guitar duties for recording and having a hired guitarist play live.

Past members

  • Zsa Zsa Speck (Perry Pandrea) - keyboard 1990-1991
  • Olivia Newton Bundy (Brian Tutunick) - bass 1991
  • Gidget Gein (Brad Stewart) - bass 1990-1993
  • Sara Lee Lucas (Freddy Streithorst) - drums 1990-1995
  • Daisy Berkowitz (Scott Putesky) - guitar, bass, programming 1990-1996
  • Zim Zum (Michael Linton) - guitar 1996-1998
  • Twiggy Ramirez (Jeordie White) - bass/guitar 1993-2002
  • John 5 (John Lowery) - guitar 1998-2004
  • Ginger Fish (Kenny Wilson) - drums 1995-2005 (current status unknown; may rejoin the band — see above)

Discography

Studio albums

  • Portrait of an American Family (released July 12, 1994)
  • Antichrist Superstar (September 8, 1996) #3 US
  • Mechanical Animals (September 15, 1998) #1 US
  • Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (November 14, 2000) #13 US
  • The Golden Age of Grotesque (May 13, 2003) #1 US

Compilations

  • Lest We Forget (The Best Of) (September 28, 2004) #9 US

Demos, remixes, and EPs

  • The Raw Boned Psalms (January 1990)
  • The Beaver Meat Cleaver Beat (March 1990)
  • Big Black Bus (summer 1990)
  • Grist-O-Line (fall/winter 1990)
  • Lunchbox (summer 1991)
  • After School Special (December 1991)
  • The Family Jams (mid 1992)
  • Untitled ("Refrigerator") (early 1993)
  • Smells Like Children EP (October 24, 1995) #31 US
  • Remix and Repent EP (November 18, 1997) #102

Concerts and live releases

  • Live As Hell - Radio Show '92 (1993)
  • The Last Tour On Earth (November 16, 1999) #82 US
  • Genesis Of The Devil (2001)

Singles and music videos

From Portrait of an American Family

  • "Get Your Gunn" (June 9, 1994)
  • "Lunchbox" (February 6, 1994)
  • "Dope Hat" (1995)

From Smells Like Children EP

  • "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" (1995)

From Antichrist Superstar

  • "The Beautiful People" (1996) #18 UK
  • "Tourniquet" (1997) #28 UK
  • "Antichrist Superstar" (1997, never released)
  • "Cryptorchid" (1997, unreleased until 1999)
  • "Man That You Fear" (1997)

From Spawn Soundtrack

  • "Long Hard Road Out Of Hell" (1997)

From Mechanical Animals

  • "The Dope Show" (1998) #12 UK
  • "Rock Is Dead" (1999) #23 UK
  • "I Don't Like the Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)" (1999)
  • "Coma White" (1999)

From Celebrity Deathmatch Soundtrack

  • "Astonishing Panorama Of The Endtimes" (1999)

From Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)

  • "Disposable Teens" (2000) #12 UK
  • "The Fight Song" (2001) #24 UK
  • "The Nobodies" (2001) #34 UK

From Not Another Teen Movie Soundtrack

  • "Tainted Love" (2002) #5 UK

From The Golden Age of Grotesque

  • "mOBSCENE" (2003) #13 UK
  • "This Is the New Shit" (2003) #29 UK
  • "(s)AINT" (2004, rejected by Interscope Records)

From Lest We Forget

  • "Personal Jesus" (2004) #13 UK

Tour history

  • Against All Gods (2004-2005)
  • Grotesk Burlesk (2003-2004)
  • Ozzfest (2003)
  • Ozzfest (2001)
  • Guns, God and Government (2000-2001)
  • Rock Is Dead (1999)
  • Mechanical Animals Promo Tour (1998)
  • Ozzfest (1997)
  • Dead to the World (1996-1997)
  • The Hands of Small Children (1995-1996)
  • Portrait of an American Family (1994-1995)

Biographies

  • The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson with Neil Strauss, 1998 Regan Paperback ISBN 0060987464
  • Marilyn Manson by Kurt B. Reighley with Scott Putesky, 1998 St. Martin's Griffin Paperback ISBN 0312181337
  • Marilyn Manson: In His Own Words by Chuck Weiner, 2000 Omnibus Press Paperback ISBN 0711979162
  • Dissecting Marilyn Manson by Gavin Baddeley, 2002 Plexus Paperback ISBN 0859653293

Video releases

  • Lest We Forget (2004) (The deluxe edition comes with a bonus DVD featuring all Marilyn Manson's music videos excluding Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes and Tainted Love, as well as (s)AINT and Personal Jesus, on some versions).
  • Doppelherz (2003) (DVD, comes only with the limited edition of The Golden Age of Grotesque).
  • Autopsy (1999) (DVD, comes with limited edition of Holy Wood, as well as the Lest We Forget DVD).
  • Guns, God and Government (DVD & VHS) (2002) - a documentary of the Guns, God and Government tour.
  • God Is in the T.V. (VHS) (1999) - a collection of all band's music videos (from Get Your Gunn to Coma White) plus an hour of live footage of the Rock Is Dead tour.
  • Dead to the World (VHS) (1998) - a documentary of the Dead to the World tour.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Marilyn Manson