THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411230132
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
AS THE FIRST ACT to be signed to Trent Reznor's Nothing label, you'd expect Florida fivesome Marilyn Manson to be a Nine Inch Nails knockoff. Actually, except for their mutual sense of disaffection, the bands are worlds apart.
Where Reznor and his Nails rail at the world at large, the Mansons point fingers.
``I am the `all-American' antichrist bathed in talk show-trash,'' writes Mr. Marilyn Manson, the group's auteur, vocalist and namesake, in a release to journalists. The ugly fallout of TV junk culture, society's fascination with celebrity and the dark side of media-induced conformity provide the fodder for most of Manson's sinister lyrics.
``In 1990 when the name kind of came to me,'' the singer said from Florida, ``it was when talk shows had really started to take off, the `Current Affairs' and the `Hard Copys.' That was all that was being thrown at me on a daily basis, either the dirt on some stars or interviews with madmen.''
Intrigued and appalled by that insatiable demand for spoon-fed sensationalism, Manson crafted the theatrical concept that fuels his band.
``Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson were the two most memorable people of the '60s for me,'' he said. ``Those two names fit perfectly. It was like a Hegel concept, the juxtaposition of diametrically opposed archetypes. Marilyn Manson, to me, transcended all boundaries, it had no sexual boundary, no moral boundary.''
Manson often writes his seething lyrics from a child's perspective, packing his songs with imagery the TV Generation will readily identify. For instance, a brilliantly creepy read of Gene Wilder's boat tour speech from the classic kids' film ``Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'' opens Marilyn Manson's chilling debut LP, ``Portrait of an American Family.''
``It's a bit of nostalgia,'' Manson said, ``but also I think it's interesting that kids are much more fearless and have a much more honest look on things. When you start to get older, you lose all of your individuality because people expect you to fit into these (media-prescribed) molds. I just try to promote that Peter Pan mentality: You don't have to grow up, there's no reason to.''
Musically, the confrontational band - vocalist Manson, guitarist Daisy Berkowitz, bassist Twiggy Ramirez, keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy and drummer Sara Lee Lucas - boasts a metal orientation that has been compared to Alice Cooper. Sound snippets and programming - courtesy, in part, of Reznor - are evident, though not dominant, in the Marilyn Manson sound.
``The way that he comes across as a producer,'' Manson said, ``is that he finds what makes that thing that he's working on unique and he focuses on that and brings it out. He didn't try and put in any of his ideas so much as he brought out our best ideas. He made us sound like we were supposed to sound.''
Reznor is a longtime Marilyn Manson fan who ``always liked what we were doing with our music,'' Manson said. ``When he started his own label he gave me a call. I went out and visited him and we decided to put the record out.''
Marilyn Manson is on tour with Reznor, opening for Nine Inch Nails along with the Jim Rose Circus. Not every city has warmly welcomed the band, its provocative lyrics and controversial stage show.
Manson recalls tangles with the law in Salt Lake City and Jacksonville, but he's hardly been deterred from making his point.
``My only solution really is to promote individuality and for people to realize that everything is a lie. Once you know that, you can just figure out which lie can work for you best.'' by CNB