Spring Break
Marilyn Manson cools down in recent years
Shock artist sets stage for upcoming tour, discusses recent changes in lifestyle
Jim Abbot
MCT Campus
Issue date: 1/17/08 Section: The Mix
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Yet, in a mannered, articulate phone conversation, the man whose "Antichrist Superstar" act has been frequently - and perhaps unfairly - invoked in reaction to pretty much every instance of senseless violence since Columbine still relishes his capacity to stun.
When he talks about his current tour, the descriptions are loaded with boasts about how the show will "completely blow things up. Like it used to be, but worse for everyone. I wouldn't even go to the show. Stay at home. It's gonna be a nightmare."
In a good way, presumably.
At the same time, Manson, 38, projects a more sensitive side. His new album, "Eat Me, Drink Me," was inspired both by his divorce from burlesque queen Dita Von Teese and his subsequent relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood, who is about half his age. Combine that relationship with his recent reunion with band mate Twiggy Ramirez and Marilyn Manson is, dare one say it, happy.
"Do you mean Disneyland?" he responds to a question about being in a happy place. "You can't have any art without suffering, but it doesn't mean you have to be a miserable person. As much as my relationship now is positive, that doesn't cure the things I can never fix about myself.
"It's always surprising when someone can love me at all, so having Evan in my life is a salvation. As for Twiggy, it's not even about the music. Just to be friends with him is the most important thing."
The renewal of that friendship and creative relationship severed Manson's ties with collaborator Tim Skold, who was responsible for the more melodic approach to the "Eat Me" songs.
"There's too much tension there," Manson says. "Those two couldn't be on stage with each other, so out of respect for both of them I decided to split with Tim for this tour. It doesn't mean that it's forever, but Twiggy's back forever. Of course, forever is a very loose term when you talk about Marilyn Manson."
For example, as recently as 2004, Manson intimated that he would retire from the music business to concentrate on art, film and other projects.
What happened?
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