Seeing that one of my last Marilyn Manson posts remains to be one of the most popular on the site, I figured I’d write a follow up.  So, the album is here and has been with us for just over a month. Reviews have been mixed, but generally favorable, and now that I’ve had enough time with the album that the intoxicating effects have worn off, I’m now ready to give my (hopefully) unbiased review.

This stands as what is likely Manson’s most melodic and varied albums. It ranges from acoustic guitar and piano duets to ultra distorted hard rock. There’s a bit here from every Marilyn Manson era, and that’s great for those looking for a diverse album with each song offering something unique and different. That being said, it definitely doesn’t offer the focus of past albums, specifically Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Holy Wood. Much of what makes Marlyn Manson such a powerful artist is his ability to tell a story which creates parallels between his world and our own. I’m hesitant to say that this album is missing that attribute entirely, but it definitely takes a back seat to what has become more of an autobiographical piece than social commentary.

The album revolves around Manson’s breakup with actress Evan Rachel wood. It covers a progression of thoughts and emotion chronicling the process of despair to acceptance. It definitely hits home for those who have gone through similar situations and casts Manson in a more human and relatable light. I think we’d all agree that Manson has done a great deal to alienate himself over the years, and this very well may be him showing us that he’s not all that different. We find that he’s pretty much a normal guy with normal feelings and needs, something that’s not been shown to this degree in previous works.

This album also heralds the return of Twiggy, a long lost friend who we last saw on Holy Wood. Manson is great, but Manson with Twiggy is greater. Twiggy has again taken his previous role as album guitarist and bassist, and for the first time, will play guitar in the band’s upcoming live tour. Very interesting change, and most definitely something that will be great to see. I had the fortune of seeing these two together on the last bit of the Rape of the World tour, and have to say, they have chemistry, something that is very evident on the album.

I’m definitely being critical, but in the end, I love this album. It’s fun. It’s cynical. It’s addictive. Definitely buy it. Buy it twice even. There may be what I consider to be problems with the album, but in the end, they were by design, not accident.

Marilyn Manson again? Absolutely. I’d feel like I were doing myself, my readers, and Marilyn a disservice if I neglected to mention this. The release of The High End of Low is imminent, so much in fact, that pre-orders are now being taken for your convenience at the official Marilyn Manson store found at http://marilynmanson.shop.bravadousa.com/. Here, you’re able to pre-order yourself a copy of either the standard release, or deluxe edition, and either edition with or without a t-shirt. Do yourself a favor, splurge, and get yourself the deluxe version including a bonus disc holding six additional tracks including the very cool remix of “Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin’-Geddon” by the group Teddybears. Although we don’t know what the other five tracks are going to be, I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to be worth it. Speaking of tracks, we now have a complete track list for the new album:

1. Devour
2. Pretty as a Swastika
3. Leave a Scar
4. Four Rusted Horses
5. Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon
6. Blank and White
7. Running to the Edge of the World.
8. I Want to Kill You Like They Do In the Movies
9. WOW
10. Wight Spider
11. Unkillable Monster
12. We’re from America
13. I Have to Look Up Just to See Hell
14. Into the Fire
15. 15

It’s interesting to see what appears to be the return of the number 15. Fans might remember this from Mechanical Animals. I’m very curious to see if this is explained. All in all, very exciting stuff. If you’ve not already done so, please be sure to check out the track “We’re From America”, free to download at http://marilynmanson.com/. As mentioned in the previous post, those of you who are more resourceful can find a fair number of tracks on the internets, specifically “Devour”, “Four Rusted Horses”, “Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon”, “WOW, and “Into the Fire”. See what you can find, but remember to buy the album. Support the artists you listen to most.

I love Marilyn Manson, and upon hearing the great news that Twiggy Ramirez was making a comeback as the band’s bassist, was even more excited at the thought of a new album. Although the album isn’t here it its entirety, a new track named We’re From America can be downloaded at the band’s site: http://marilynmanson.com/

If you’re one of the more resourceful users out there, you can also find a few other tracks on the net named “The Wow”, “Arma-God Damn-Mother Fuckin’-Geddon”, and “Four Rusted Horses”.

I’ll be the first to admit that my word is going to be a bit single sided, but I love what I hear. These songs, particularly “Four Rusted Horses” and “We’re From America” definitely have an Antichrist Superstar / Mechanical Animals / Holy Wood vibe to them.

Just over a week ago, I was having the experience of a lifetime; seeing none other than Marilyn Manson live in Tampa, the place, as fans all know is where his career really began. Prior to his performance, I and my accomplice to the show had to endure sets from both Bleeding Through and Slayer. I am completely aware that these bands both have prominent followings (especially Slayer), but I have to tell you, these bands did just not work for me. Both seemed to have little melody, poor vocals, and repetitive riffs. Although I have a general dislike for these two bands, there are some things that I did enjoy about each. Bleeding Through’s lead vocalist actually had a good voice when he chose to sing as opposed to yell. It would have been nice to have heard that a bit more, as to me, his repetitive tone in his yell did little to make the experience interesting. Slayer’s guitarist is very talented, in fact it was his guitar work which indicated when one song stopped and another began. Each intro was nicely done and different than other songs before it, however as soon as the intro ended and the heart of the song began, I could not tell the difference of one song from another.

So to the heart of the article and of the show, Marilyn Manson. I was extremely pleased. The performance was better than I had hoped, and my hopes were high. A common problem with bands releasing new albums is that when touring, they can often stick solely to their new content, and not reward long time fans with their classic songs. This was not the case. The concert, although Eat Me, Drink Me themed, was a perfect marriage of all generations of Manson. The show began with a piano and violin duet which soon twisted into the title track of Eat Me, Drink Me, If I was your vampire. One thing that I found unusual, and very refreshing, was the focus on theatrics. Nearly every song brought a set and wardrobe change. Are you the rabbit? brought a giant wooden chair straight out of Alice in Wonderland, while classic songs such as The Fight Song used sets seen in past tours such as the podium with lightning bolt symbol.

All in all he catered approximately 20 songs to the eager crowd spanning all of his major hits. It was an amazing experience to say the least. The vocals and intrumentals were among the strongest I have ever heard live, and to those willing to deal with the implications of attending a Marilyn Manson show, those ones where people assume you are some sick, sadistic sociopathic devil worshiper, I would strongly advise you to try to see him on the remainder of this US tour.

I personally work with code all the time. Whether it be html, php, or any of their related file types, anyone who finds themselves working with things of this nature has a best friend named notepad. The problem with notepad is that it really hasn’t had anything added, well, ever. I would recommend anyone wanting to check out a great replacement for notepad check out notepad++ found at http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net. This introduces easy to use tabs, which for someone working with more than one document is truly the best addition a notepad like program ever saw. Couple this with a feature which automatically detects the file type, and then provides sections of interest you can click from the function list to immediately jump to different sections of your document, and you have the best notepad program I have ever used, ever.

Excerpt from http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net:

Notepad++ is a free source code editor (and Notepad replacement), which supports several programming languages, running under the MS Windows environment.

This project, based on the Scintilla edit component (a very powerful editor component), written in C++ with pure win32 api and STL (that ensures the higher execution speed and smaller size of the program), is under the GPL Licence.

This project is mature. However, as you can see it’s a one-man-project, there are still some bugs and missing features. If you have any question or suggestion about this project, please post them on the forums. As well, if you have any feature requests, you can always make the demand, but there’s no guarantee that I’ll implement it.

You’re encouraged to translate Notepad++ (if it is not present in the Download Section) and/or to translate the Notepad++ official site into your native language.

I hope you enjoy Notepad++ as much as I enjoy coding it.

A few facts about me.

• I have never been on an airplane.
• I have never seen a palm tree.
• I have never been east of Wyoming.
• I have never taken a vacation from my job.
• I have never taken a vacation; period.

So what am I going to do about this? I have planned my dream vacation to take with a close friend of mine. We plan on visiting Orlando, Florida from July 23rd to July 30th. We are going to Universal Studios, Disney World, Sea World, and the real reason for the selected dates, a Marilyn Manson show on the 27th! This vacation will effectively knock out all of the lame things I’ve never done. Maybe if I’m lucky, the plane will crash on the way home!

There are a hand full of preparations I must make prior to our departure.

1. I need to purchase a few pairs of board shorts. Preferably I’d like to get some khakis which fall below my knees. I have long legs, so I’ve always had a hard time finding shorts that wear ‘just right’.
2. A hat. Due to my hair, or whatever (I can’t figure this out!), I can’t get baseball caps to work with me. We just don’t work together! So what is the solution? A fedora! Most people don’t know what this is. My friends don’t know anything about a fedora other than that is a name for a common build of Linux. If you are one of these persons, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(hat)
3. Sunglasses to compliment the fedora. Something that would give the 50′s cop look. Large dark lenses. Aviator style. Perfect.

Well not a big list by any means, but still a list. I’ll grab these things, and in a month’s time, be on my first vacation! This will be thoroughly documented so stay tuned for images… maybe even video!

Just wanted to share a little essay I wrote for my college literature class. This is an analysis of Marilyn Manson’s Great Big White World song from the Mechanical Animals album.

Poetry is used to convey emotions and thoughts which, in most cases, cannot be described adequately without providing similes and metaphors to better describe what the author feels, and what the author wants us to feel. From what I have found while reading and enjoying poetry, these are not typically written just to tell a story, but to give us a glimpse into the writer’s soul. It gives us just a moment to experience the world through another’s eyes, to perceive what they perceive, and to understand a little better how they feel and why they contain those feelings. Poetry is about feelings; about emotions; about the world; and about the soul. Perhaps this is why I have enjoyed music my entire life. One of the most rewarding and fulfilling hobbies I enjoy is listening to music. This gives me a chance to listen to poetic lyrics written by others who I feel I can connect with on an emotional or theoretical level. One of the artists I feel I am able to relate to is Brian Warner, known in the music industry as Marilyn Manson.

Growing up in an oppressive and, what most would consider being a fanatical religious community, Brian, having interests which this community considered to be inappropriate, such as rock and roll music, was ostracized as a person, and to an extent was damned to spend his time without the comfort of social acceptance. Educated in a Christian environment which he wanted to be a part of, Brian often did his best to fit in. On one occasion described in his autobiography entitled The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell, Brian brought to class a picture of a cloud formation which he though resembled a group of angels. Upon presenting this picture to the class during a show and tell activity, the teacher of this class denounced his image as false, and proceeded to name Brian as a heretic. After this Brian was suspended from school for bringing this picture to school. These trends of behavior continued throughout his adolescence, and even until this day. Marilyn Manson is often portrayed as evil; even as a symbol for violent and anti-religious views. Some have even gone as far as to give him the title of the self proclaimed Anti-Christ due to the 1996 album which he titled Antichrist Superstar. Before learning about Manson’s life I thought a lot of his lyrics to be obscure, difficult to understand, and perplexing. They seemed to contain such an anti religious and hopeless views of our world and those who lived within this world. After learning of the treatment Manson had received his entire life by those around him, I think I have been able to gain a better appreciation for how he felt and his reasoning for his views.

As a poem I have decided to read and research Great Big White World from his Mechanical Animals album. I feel this work has great imagery, and most of all, complex metaphors which although may be been extremely short with words, speak volumes of the author’s social and emotional position on the world. The first line reads, “In space the stars are no nearer, they just glitter like a morgue.” One thing I would like to mention is that many songs contained within this album seem to reference space. This can be interpreted as a lack of anything real and a lack of anything alive. In space there is no air and the temperatures are entirely too cold for anyone to survive. This lack of air means that there is no sound, and this lack of sound means there is a lack of communication between those caught out in space without the assistance of electronics. We can also take note that space has little color, another subject which is later addressed within this work, with the only light sources being stars so far away from us. Space has no gravity. There is no up, and there is no down. Space is chaos in nearly every sense in reality, and also creates this feeling when used metaphorically. This first line mentions the distance of the stars from the character’s location. “The stars are no nearer.” This makes me believe that although this person is caught in a chaotic environment which is in no way suited for human life, he is still striving to get to the stars. In a sense he is seeking the star’s light, but no matter what he does “the stars are no nearer.” Light is traditionally used as a symbol for things pure in nature. We get the idea that this character is seeking the goodness in the world, but no matter what he does, he is trapped in a place which has no reason; a place that cannot be survived; a place where he is alone. The second half of this line mentions that the stars “glitter like a morgue.” We all know that a morgue is a place cadavers are brought to, to be prepared for burial. A morgue in our society is a reference to death. Although the character wants to be brought to this star, or to be a part of the light which these stars provide, he recognizes that this star would bring death, and here lies the unsolvable problem within this poem. Manson is basically stating that he would like to leave this state of unbalance and loneliness, and be a part of that which is good, but at the same time he realizes that if he were to somehow become a part of this light, it would ultimately lead to his demise.

The second line reads, “And I dreamed I was a spaceman; burned like a moth in a flame, and the world was so ****ing gone.” The portion of this speaking how he dreamed of being a spaceman compliments the first lines idea of wanting to visit a faraway place: the stars, but that he had been burned like a moth in a flame. We can picture this event of a moth burning in a flame. We have all been camping where we have seen moths being attracted to the light emitted from our lantern. This light gives the moth warmth and a sense of protection, the same emotional warmth and protection our author seems to be seeking in this song. Often the moth gets too close to the very flame providing this warmth and protection, and when it does it catches fire. As the moth’s wings are ever more consumed by this flame the insect spirals downward to the ground where it flops and soon dies. This line makes me believe that this persistent dream of visiting the star has been attempted, where our author was burned. Fire is often used to show torment. The fires of hell, for example, are the punishment to those leading lives outside of the commandments of God. In addition to this, we often say that someone was burned when they have been offended in a social situation. The author desires this light, but has tried before and was punished and likely offended, an obvious reference to the social problems experienced as an adolescent. The last line stating that the world was so ****ing gone lends itself to the shock value which seems so much to be a part of Manson’s material. In addition to this, we see the world is now gone. At this point our spaceman has no place to go back to as he drifts through space. There is only him and then the stars which have burned him. He has no place to go, he has no one to talk with, and no one to relate to. He is emotionally dead.

Next in this work we read, “But I’m not attached to your world. Nothing heals. Nothing Grows.” Your world seems to be referring to these ever looming stars as the earth is gone, and the fact that he mentions that he is not a part of that world gives off the idea that because of the harm their world has caused to him, he realizes that he does not have to be a part of it, and almost seems to take pride in this detail. “Nothing heals” tells us that what this world has done to him has never gotten better. Perhaps he has never forgiven them, and perhaps there are too many wounds caused too often to heal properly. “Nothing grows.” The thing most often talked about growing in our society is love. We grow into love, our love grows, and love blooms. Where he is all love has died, there is no love, and there is no forgiveness.

The chorus begins with, “Because it’s a great big white world. And we are drained of our colors.” In this we see white used in an unusual way. Generally we see this used in the same way that light has been used within this work. It tends to represent purity. In this line white represents the lack of color. Color is what makes our world interesting. Color is also often used as a description of our emotions: a colorful person, a colorful world; these all sound exciting. In this world being described in this work everything is static. Nothing has character here.

“We used to love ourselves. We used to love one another.” This is a reminiscent line possibly referring to Manson’s childhood. A time more simple which contained some of the only good memories his life ever presented to him. The fact that love is used with a past tense also tells us that we no longer love ourselves and that we no longer love one another. The world has changed, and works well with the line that we have been drained of our colors. This tells us that his world was not only this way.

“All my stitches itch; my prescriptions low. I wish you were queen just for a day. In a world so white, what else could I say?” I think this first part is all about conveying a sense of discomfort. At a point in his life where he was able to numb the pain, the means by which he was numbing these emotions, his prescriptions, are nearly gone. He will begin to feel his pain again. Perhaps the most difficult line and reference to decipher is that addresses to the person he wishes was a queen. To me this is someone who cared about him like no one else had; a girlfriend most likely. If she were in charge of the world, and being someone who understood him, maybe the world would stop being cruel. Maybe the world could understand him as she does.

“And hell was so cold; all the vases are so broken, and the roses tear our hands all open.” With constant references with heaven and hell, hell in this line seems to be the state of him being all alone. At this point our character is so numb to everything around him, that even the pain and misery of hell could not make him feel the fires of hell, but instead it is cold, just as the space he is floating in. Roses are often portrayed as a symbol of beauty in life. The fact that these roses are now tearing our hands open can be a statement that everything which once appeared to encompass beauty in life has come back to damage him. Vases are another symbol of beauty which has now been destroyed.

“Mother Mary miscarry, but we pray just like insects. The world is so ugly now.” Mother Mary miscarry; possibly the most profound yet most offensive line within this entire song says more to me than any other line. Mother Mary is the mother of Jesus, who most people consider to be the savior of the world, the only person who can save us from our sins. The fact that Mary miscarried says that his savior never came to his world. To him life is hopeless. No one can save him from his sins, and perhaps no one would want to. Even though he does not believe he has a savior, he still prays like an insect. Insects are known for their preprogrammed behaviors. They do things for the sake of doing them. They have a job and they do it. They do it for the benefit of the other bugs. In a sense he says that praying in his case is mindless, even as an insect; a lesser life form. The world is so ugly now. Because of the automation being described as we are described as insects, the world is ugly. No one thinks for themselves, but just accepts their pre-programmed duties and behaviors.

To me this is the most telling and most personal of his songs, but unless we take a step back and examine his life, it can be easy to be critical of his views, rather than perhaps examine our own lives, and how we treat others. To me society breeds hate and unacceptance. Upon reviewing what this poet has gone through, it is so easy to see why he feels this way. We are all guilty of the very things which bred these feelings within Brian Warner. To me it really makes me want to adjust and observe how I treat people. I never want to feel responsible for someone going through these feelings of distrust and hate. Isn’t this the message? Isn’t this what poetry is about? To learn about others and to take these things we learn to improve our own lives is invaluable, and for me, poetry in the form of music provides this.

System of a Down, where have you gone? Old news to most, but after releasing 5 studio albums, System of a Down is officially on hiatus. This normally wouldn’t really bother me, except that while listening to music, I threw in a little of the old System of a Down, and immediately began crying. Why? *sob* Why have you left us to live on our own without the moral support that you have so generously offered? Obviously the goal in a band is to not go on forever. No one likes seeing old men in leather pants with outrageously long hair and sloppy makeup try to release albums decades after their prime years, but System of a Down was on a roll. They released 2 albums within a year that both debuted at number one on the charts. Few bands have ever done this including The Beatles and DMX. It just seems like a inopportune time. Although they may be on leave, they have insisted that they have not broken up, so there may be some more System of a Down to come. Here’s to them.

At the very least, give a listen to their two latest albums: Mesmerize and Hypnotize.