Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Old Shock Rocker Plays On New Fear

What do you get when you mix a washed up goth superstar desperate for media attention and a massive media driven fear like the H1N1 virus? The answer: Marilyn Manson claiming he's diseased! Yes folks, the man is in fact insisting (despite PR releases from the label and management that the claims are false) that he has been "officially diagnosed". The question I have to ask is, is this the truth, or is the out dated shock rocker just looking for a new way to scare us?
Clearly his bible burning antics are a little passe... we've seen it all. In a culture of gory horror films and violent television, its hard to really get under the skin of the audience. So when Manson steps onto the stage in androgynous garb or puts a dollar sign swastika in his video backdrop, its all too easy to look past the facade and see him as just another rock n roll artist. We're far beyond the days where Ozzy bit the heads off bats and Alice Cooper filled the stage with demonic imagery and blatant sexuality... we don't fear this stuff anymore. We broke those boundaries back in the 60s and 70s when it was truly new and frightening. Rock emerged as a rebellion, in its early days, rock itself was scary. It threatened the societal rules at the time. But as time passed, society loosened up, became more accepting and open minded (for the most part). Manson is now just a performer for most of us, not an unholy demonic influence. We've learned to separate the stage persona from the face behind it.
But this is what gave him a career. Marilyn Manson is famous and successful because it was cool to be into something that scared your parents. He got media coverage for being outrageous, for causing riots, for being the embodiment of fear. But the times change, and apparently Manson changes with them. In order to keep a career in being that fear, maybe stating you have the swine flu and you're still touring is the best way to keep this fear alive.
So does he or doesn't he? Personally, I think he's taking a regular case of the flu and using it as an way to hype up the fear and generate tour sales. He's being his typical self, intelligent. I mean, look at the attention he's getting! It's WORKING. Thats my personal opinion, what do you think?

In the mean time, lets hope the rest of us stay safe from the feared flu.
Rock On!
- Girl At The Rock Show

"Rock is deader than dead, Shock is all in your head... God is in your TV"

2 comments:

  1. If he's diagnosed won't he be in seclusion and thus miss his tour dates? If not, then he's a jerk because people have died. Either he has it, is mistaken, or is using a cheap publicity stunt. Any way you look at it's not a good thing. Well unless the blogosphere picks up and starts giving him all this free publicity!!

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  2. This is exactly my point (though I know I'm only perpetuating it, please forgive me haha). My personal belief is that he's using this for publicity only, to get his name in the press while he's on tour. I'm pretty sure if a legit doctor tested him and confirmed he had it, he would be forced to cancel his tour and make some kind of public statement. Instead, he's out at his own shows saying he has it, and literally blowing his nose into the crowd. Suddenly, he's all over the news again, which is what he wants. Its sad to see someone try to use this to benefit I think. Thanks for the comment!

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