[Editor's note: One of the great things about music is that everybody always has a different opinion of it, and they seldom (if ever) meet. Sure – lots of people may like (or, conversely, dislike) a band or artist, but the reasons for that opinion are almost never always all the same. Everyone has an opinion and, at least on occasion, those diverging opinions seem to necessitate a contrast. That contrast is what Other Voices is for; in this column, the writers at Ground Control have the opportunity to weigh in and sound off with a different mind and sensibility to the one which we've already expressed. With that spirit at heart, it only makes sense that we kick off the column with a different opinion of the new record by one of the most controversial figures in pop culture from the last fifty years, Marilyn Manson. Seven days ago, we presented one opinion of Manson's new record, and now we're giving another with a different flavor and sense of discovery. Which voice is valid? Both are, certainly – and that's the whole point.]
I’ve never been a fan of Marilyn Manson. To me, his act always seemed like 90 per cent gimmick and 10 per cent music. It was all about creating a shocking counterculture character who gives the finger to conformity while offering depressed goth teens a symbol to rally behind. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it just wasn’t my thing and the music wasn’t catchy enough to capture my interest. For that reason, I wasn’t all that eager to check his new album, Born Villain.
However, the offer was made for me to check it out and perhaps curiosity got the best of me. Manson has been absent from the public eye (well, my disinterested eye) for a good decade, so I always figured people got tired of his act and moved on. These days, you’ve got Lady Gaga and Sasha Baron Cohen doing much more outlandish stuff, keeping the MTV crowds occupied with “controversy” and leaving little of the spotlight left for ol’ Marilyn. Even so, when the offer came along, I was forced to wonder if my disdain for the artist was really justified, or if I had just been turned off by the persona without ever giving the accompanying music a chance.
Well here’s your chance, Marilyn. Impress me!
With all that being said, I must admit that I didn’t hate this album, and I mean that as a compliment. It did take awhile for me to warm up to Born Villain though because the opening track, “Hey, Cruel World,” immediately reminded me of why I never wanted to give Marilyn Manson a chance. Depressing lyrics that are alternately groaned and screamed over muddy guitars without any real hook or appeal. This was gonna be rough, or so I thought.
I later gave the album another shot, where I placed the playlist on random and headed out for a jog so I’d have no choice but to listen to it. I immediately started to have second thoughts about the album as the album's title track slowly started up. Its slow, industrial sound reminded me of the many Nine Inch Nails slower songs that I’ve grown to love over the years (“The Day the Whole World Went Away,” “All That Could Have Been”), making it perfect for some sort of stylized action movie or video game trailer. Could you imagine Marilyn Manson following in Trent Reznor’s steps to Oscar glory? Academy Award winner Marilyn Manson? What a world that would be… but with songs like this, it wouldn’t surprise (or upset) me.
“Children of Cain” and “Breaking the Same Old Ground” back up this theory as they offer music that I would actually listen to (if I fell into a deep depression). There’s clearly some musical talent hidden behind all that makeup and women’s clothing, it’s just hard to see sometimes when there’s so much else going on to distract the eyes and ears.
I was finding myself truly beginning to find some value in this new Marilyn Manson but, for every song I liked, there was another that I didn’t. Much like the opening track, the other heavier songs got me back into that realm where I was shaking my head and proclaiming that I could never be a fan of this. “Pistol Whipped” (a song about love), “Lay Down Your Goddamn Arms” (a song about peace), and “The Gardener” (a song about botany?) all fall into that realm, failing to offer me anything of value. To be fair, Nine Inch Nails occasionally fell into that territory for me too, so perhaps I should just accept the fact that this style is just not my thing, no matter how hard I try to accept it.
So in the end, perhaps the biggest surprise is that I found something I liked in Born Villain. While several of my biases against Marilyn Manson were reconfirmed, I have to admit that I did find a little respect for the guy and what he can do. I’d like to see him move beyond the makeup-clad sideshow act and focus more on music one day, perhaps in other venues like Reznor has – but I guess he’s been doing this for over two decades and people are still buying it, so clearly he’s got a formula that works.
Further Reading:
Ground Control – Marilyn Manson – Born Villain – [Review]
Artist:
www.marilynmanson.com/
www.myspace.com/marilynmanson
www.facebook.com/MarilynManson
www.twitter.com/#!/marilynmanson
Album:
Born Villain is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
