It's hard to believe it's been that long, but Marilyn Manson has released 5 full length albums, enough material that he feels a "greatest hits" collection is needed and necessary. It seems like only yesterday he was doing that goofy stop/start strut on the stilts, or when he had the fake boobs and no genitals. Remember that one? Either way, to commerate the release of this new Manson collection, let us take a trip through the Manson album collection and consider where we've been, where we are, and where we came from.
The first official Marilyn Manson album was 1994's Portrait of an American Family. It contained a lot of "scary sounds" and the band looked like wino street people in the liner notes. Songs like "Lunchbox" and "Cake and Sodomy" were real rebellion songs, taking on bullies and the South, I guess. Manson is originally from Florida, but I doubt he goes back that often. The sun, Disney world, Manson. Pick which doesn't belong. Portrait was produced by Trent Reznor, and while it isn't his finest work, he does what he can. Overall, it's pretty filler heavy, though "Dope Hat" will always be a fave. Manson's singing style is also very unrefined here, and he does a lot of screeching. A lot.
1995 brought the Smells Like Children EP. It would have been swept under the rug if not for the cover of the Eurthmyic's "Sweet Dreams". Manson does a good job of making it all scary, and on its own, an effective reinterpretation. But what really made "Sweet Dreams" a hit was the video. The cuts. The weird camera angles. The tutu. The giant pig. The clocks in Manson's hair(hard to do in real life). That was an icon being made. Or at least crafting a clever video persona.
Riding high on the success of that, word was spread about the next Manson full length, to be called Anti-Christ Superstar. How about being the publicity shill for that one. Reznor produced again, and Manson created the template off which his career would be based on. "The Beautiful People" stands as his biggest achievement, in that he's never been able to escape its spectre, and has liberally borrowed from it on just about every subsequent release. Manson really set out to shock on this one. "The apple is in the pussy mouth, and I'm the dinner whore." All very highbrow stuff here. The album runs a bit long, but rocks sufficiently. I dunno if that's praise, but it doesn't suck. The accompanying videos were all notable affairs, especially "The Man That You Fear", which seemed to be trying to evoke a solemn tone, that Manson was just put upon by a society that doesn't understand him, and thus must destroy him. Sure. All the same, the album was a hit, and the kids couldn't get enough. Oh, almost forgot. The overlaying theme of Manson's schtick thus far is the devil and religion and scaring your parents.
So, what is a guy to do for a follow up? Why not ditch your schtick and make a glam rock album? Done and done. 1998's Mechanical Animals was a departure, as it was not produced by Trent Reznor. Instead, Manson got the very awesome Michael Beinhorn, he of Soundgarden fame. The sound was much cleaner, and less heavy. The synth work was more pronounced and Manson actually sang, not screeched, on most of the songs. As well, his themes of God and religion had been replaced with drugs. And more drugs. And fame(damn you, you infernal fame, how you dog me!). This worked much better for Manson as far as the critics were concerned. The fans? Um, not so much. The album debuted at #1, but didn't quite life up to the standards of Anti-Christ Superstar. It wasn't quite a backlash, but I guess Manson's transgender music video persona wasn't connecting with the kid in his basement. All the same, the music was great, the videos were strange and lively, and there was the song "User Friendly". It wasn't single, nor could it have been, but it was one of the albums many shining moments. Blunt, hedonistic. Yeah, I guess if I was a dejected youth and my former idol was singing "I'm not in love but I'm gonna fuck you til someone better comes along" would be tough to handle, as they probably have no one to fuck to begin with. Moving on. The videos for this album were good, as I mentioned, but the "Coma White" video is worth mentioning for two reasons. First, it was delayed because of Columbine, second it features Manson as JFK getting shot, and third, it has Rose McGowan as Jackie O. There is something very funny about how serious this video thinks it is. At least the song is good.
To follow, Manson did a big tour with Hole that ended prematurely, as only a Marilyn Manson/Hole tour could end. Manson continued on without Hole, and recorded a great live album, The Last Tour on Earth. The sound is impeccable, the performances rockin', the between song banter hilarious, and it even had an exclusive studio track at the end. Way to win me over.
2000 delivered Holy Wood(in the shadow of the valley of death). Produced by Dave Sardy, this was supposed to be Manson's return to form. Done with the glam, back to the goth. As it were, the first single, "Disposable Teens" was an obvious "Beautiful People" rip off. The album debuted at #13, and kinda withered. My guess on why people weren't paying much attention? This white rapper guy, named Eminem, you might have heard of him. He seemed a little scarier than the tall guy in the face paint. "How was the album?" you ask? Bloated, for one thing. Entirely too long, and much too heavy on the slow songs. The rockers, like "Fight Song" and "Love Song", they were great. But few and far between. Also, the message seemed to be that the world at large was ignoring the youth and viewed them only as a bank to take money from. But what do you do when the youth are ignoring you?
Flip ahead to 2003. Manson delivers The Golden Age of the Grotesque. It has themes of burlesque shows and other 20's themes. Manson was talking about how he drinks absinthe all the time. As well, he's sporting suits most of the time, and his hair is pretty short. Also, long time bassist and co-songwriter Twiggy has left the band. So Manson gets Tim Skold of KMFDM to take his place. And the rocking continues. Golden Age is a pretty good album. It rocks beginning to end, has some killer lines("I got an F and a C and I got a K too and the only thing I'm missing is a bitch like U"), and manages to have more cursing than ever before. Kudos. Manson co-produced along with Skold and Ben Grosse. Yes, the same Ben Grosse who did the last two Filter records and Ben Folds solo album. The album debuted at #1, but(there's always a but)number crunchers noticed that it sold less copies than 2000's Holy Wood did in its first week. Yowch.
Which brings us to the new Manson album, entitled Lest We Forget The Best Of. This title seems to be a bit too self aware for Manson, as if he knows that he has to fight for relevance nowadays, as musically he doesn't really have much to give, really. Think about it. He started off as a scarier Nine Inch Nails. Then he did a Bowie album. Now he's putting out pseudo industrial rock and doing guest spots on Letterman. Who is this man's audience now? Sure, I like him for the pure rockin', but what about all those dejected teens in 1996? Do they care anymore? Lest We Forget debuted at #9, a fairly respectable showing for a greatest hits record, so obviously Manson doesn't need to pack it in yet. But does this album live up to the title "Best Of"?
First off, Manson decided against the chronicological route. Instead, he tries to craft an album out of the tracks. Lofty, but really not necessary. He starts off with "The Love Song" from Holy Wood. Not a best, but pretty good. This leads into the cover of "Personal Jesus". This is a pretty weak cover. First, David Gahan is an amazing vocalist, and Manson can't even come close. Secondly, there is obviously too much affection for this song, and Manson plays it much too safe. Manson makes a standard cover? What is the world coming to. "mOBSCENE" follows, the first single from Grotesque. It's another obvious rehash of "The Beautiful People", but better then you'd think. "The Fight Song" another from Holy Wood, is always welcome, as it's a solid rocker. This leads into another cover, "Tainted Love". This is Manson in fine form, as he makes it his own, making it sleazy and nasty. "The Dope Show", "This Is the New Shit" and "Disposable Teens" follow, pretty much in descending order of quality. "Sweet Dreams" sounds pretty dated in comparison when it shows up, but it retains its' creepy charm. "Lunchbox" sounds like a demo now, but there is no denying the rocking. "Tourniquet" seems like a parody now, but it was a hit. "Rock Is Dead" and "Get Your Gunn" are worthy, though the omission of "I Don't Like The Drugs(But The Drugs Like Me)" is unforgivable. The inclusion of "The Nobodies" proves that Manson has an obvious soft spot for Holy Wood, even if no one else does. For some inexplicable reason "Long Hard Road Out of Hell", from the Spawn soundtrack, makes it on. A fairly standard track that rose from an attempted collaboration with the Sneaker Pimps, it is a defining misstep. The album closes out with "The Beautiful People" and "The Reflecting God", both from Anti-Christ Superstar. "People" makes sense, but why the latter? It's good, it's rocking, but never a hit. Where is "Dope Hat"? And "(S)aint"? I'd say these were minor quibbles, but they aren't. Manson does something of an interpretive history with this release, apparently to play up his covers and soundtrack work. The good is great, but weaknesses are obvious.
In closing, this release puts Manson in an interesting position. Where does he go from here? Most people put out Best Of albums when there's nothing else to do? One thing is for sure, for all his drug use and absinthe drinking, this story will end interestingly. If anything, I should be glad it's not all shit. Right?
The Supergroup is a funny thing. The name itself implies that it transcends a mere "group", capable of things unimagined before. If this description were correct, a Supergroup would be the musical equivilant of Voltron.
In reality, the Supergroup is something that is mentioned often, but, as far as my research could tell, has yielded nothing approaching super. Decent to crappy mostly.
For a supergroup to really be super, the member's output has to exceed, or at least equal, that of their previous bands. Now, I should note right away that the closet any supergroup has come with this would be The Damning Well. Never heard of 'em? Yeah, that happens. They only had one song, on the Underworld soundtrack. The band was made up of Richard Patrick (Filter), Wes Borland(Limp Bizkit, Bigdumbface), Page Hamilton (Helmet), and Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails). The track they produced was a solid rocker, and sounded closest in sound to Filter, thanks to its industrial leanings and Patricks dependable yowl. And after this collaboration? As far as I know, they called it a day, and went their seperate ways. They didn't reinvent the wheel, they just did some solid rocking and then got the hell outta dodge.
Now, let us talk about Audioslave. Audioslave was the first Supergroup of the 00's. Made up of Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden and everybody from Rage Against The Machine except Zach. Now, let's get some things straight. Soundgarden made one of the greatest albums of the 90's, Superunknown. This one had all the hits: "Black Hole Sun", "Fell On Black Days", "My Wave", while also having the benefit of all the other songs being excellent too. Rage Against The Machine produced three amazing albums in the 90's before imploding in 2000. So, their greatness is established. Now, if someone has this much gasoline in one room, lighting a match should create quite an explosion, right? Eh, not so much. Audioslave's debut suffered from just being good, and then having a second half that dragged a bit. Chris Cornell wrote some amazingly wry and cynical lyrics with Soundgarden. In Audioslave, he comes across as some new bohemian philosopher, equating himself to stones and highways. This is the guy who wrote "4th of July", with its lyric "Light a roman candle/and hold it in your hand", and imagery of the world going up in a great big fireball. Well, at least he has the incendiary power of Rage behind him, right? Well, sometimes, yes. Tom Morello's guitar blisters us in a couple tracks, but it never draws blood. Apparently, when Cornell signed with the band he said that he wouldn't do anything political. This, from the man that wrote "Blow Up The Outside World". Instead, we get oblique philosophy and "Set off now children, set that fucker off." I dunno, I'm a bit underwhelmed by that statement. RATM and Soundgarden had teeth, while Audioslave lacks bite. As well, the name blows.
The second offender in the arena of the Supergroup is Velvet Revolver. VR is made up of most of the guys from Guns N Roses and Scott Weiland, formerly of Stone Temple Pilots. Now, GNR is revered by many, but not by me, apparently because I love Nirvana, and Nirvana was anti everything that GNR stood for. Anyway, that shouldn't have mattered with Scott Weiland doing the vocals. The man is one of my faves, and his work with STP will always be horribly underrated, because for some reason critics seem to think that STP rip off Pearl Jam, which is ridiculous, because STP have no weak albums, while Pearl Jam haven't had a good one since Yield, and a great one since VS.
Either way, Weiland produced 5 albums of great vocals and really good lyrics as well. Horrible as his addictions were and are, they made for some great song inspirations. His work in Velvet Revolver however, is quite weak. The lyrics don't seem to mean much at all. In the song "Set Me Free" he alternates between pleas of freedom and also to "hold me down". As well, the song is pretty generic. The first single, "Slither" failed to move me. The chorus of water coming down to wash away" our sins was pretty vague, and not a good prompt of things to come. On a whole, the lyrics are fairly laughable, and the songs actually play better if you don't try to think about what he's saying. The music is servicable, but doesn't approach either STP or GNR levels of quality. Also, does a band that has Slash in it really need a second guitar player? I've posed this question before, but really, you've got fucking Slash in your group. As well, the way the songs are structured, it's such mileu of sounds that picking out all the instruments is a task I wouldn't want to embark on. If anything, Velvet Revolver succeeds in stilling being convincingly rocking, and they also play their old bands stuff in concert, and I know we all enjoy that.
Obviously, none of these bands compare well with the Voltron example. If there is any group that does, it would probably be Wu Tang Clan, but they don't count(officially) because they started as a group and then went solo, only to reconvene sporadically to remind us why we like them. As well, RZA once referred to the Wu as Voltron, so there ya go. Wu Tang Forever!
A bunch of years ago, there was this question: Who is better, Oasis or Blur? For the longest time everyone said Oasis without a second thought. "Hell, besides 'Song 2', what has Blur done?" Well, it turns out they make great records.
Oasis had a big hit with their What's The Story Morning Glory album. But then they went to overindulgence hell on Be Here Now. There's a picture of Noel in front of a giant wall of speakers, and it worked well to belie the excess that went on to produce that behemoth. Meanwhile, you have Blur. Around the same time they released a self titled album that contained "Song 2". While that is fine song, that album is chock full of great songs. "Beetlebum" is a weird sexual ode that sounds romantic at the same time. The video has the camera take flight at the end of the song, and that is rather apt.
This was a pretty heady time for Blur. They were finally a hit in America, so what to do now? Why make an album based entirely on a break up of course! 1999's 13 was lead singer Damon Albarn's musical catharsis to deal with his break up with the lead singer of Elastica, Justine somethingorother. The first single "Tender" was the antithesis of "Song 2". It was long, sprawling, it had a gospel choir, and it had line "C'mon c'mon, get through it/ love's the greatest thing/ I'm waiting for the feeling/ I'm waiting for the feeling". Albarn wasn't just wearing his heart on his sleeve, he was passing out shirts with the image ironed on the chest.
William Orbit produced this endeavor, and while some thought that Blur had gone all wimpy, they obviously didn't listen to the rest of the album. Surely, heartbreak isn't going to be quiet. "Swamp Song" and "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." rock rightously, but the feeling of loss perpetuates the whole album. It is really rather beautiful.
Oasis, on the other hand, followed up their debacle with Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. It was a decent record. "Fucking In The Bushes" was so good they put it in the movie Snatch. "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" seemed to indicate there was a lot of potential. But the album just kinda sat there. It works as a rock album, but there isn't much overlying theme, and beyond the previously mentioned tracks, nothing to get really excited about. Their most recent album was 2002's Heathen Chemistry, which was universally panned. It was the sound of a band running in place pretty much. A couple songs were good, some sucked, but there wasn't anything that approached the greatness of Definitely Maybe's "Supersonic" or Morning Glory's "Wonderwall". Hell, Chemistry's "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" could have been called "Kinda Like Wonderwall". So, Oasis, not doing so well. There was early word that Death In Vegas were producing their new album, but that fell through, probably because the Gallagher brother's egos are so huge.
Blur, on the other hand, were in dire straits as well. Damon Albarn took off for awhile to India, soak in the ambience and the music of the land. And he also helped with Gorillaz, the wonderful animated project from Jamie Howlett and Dan the Automater. Gorillaz was, and is, fucking great. In some ways, it set the stage for Blur's greatest moment.
When Blur finally reconvened to work on a new album, a few new things were presented by Albarn. For one, they were going to go to India to record. Secondly, Fatboy Slim was going to produce some songs. And last, they were going to leave guitarist Graham Coxon behind. I'm not entirely sure if Coxon quit or was kicked out, but either way, he only ended up on one track on 2003's magnificent Think Tank.
Listener's were surprised and unprepared for Think Tank. Maxim magazine gave it one star, citing a lack of "songs". They also said the Auf Der Maur record was amazing. All that record proved was that just because Josh Homme is your friend doesn't mean you should try to sound like him. Anyway.
Rolling Stone awarded Think Tank a four star rating, citing it as a recording of a band "gloriously coming apart". Pitchforkmedia.com, a very pretentious and elitest indie website gave it a rating of 9.1 and compared it to all kinds of classic albums that I can't remember at the moment. Yet all these reviews couldn't capture what makes this album so amazing. The instruments are sparse, and the guitar isn't entirely noticable for most of the album. The theme this time is almost entirely political, with references to Big Brother snooping tactics, pollution, and underground conspiracies. At the same time, Albarn is a romantic and drops dollops of lovey goodness in between his political diatribes. "Out of Time" contains a double meaning of both a relationship that's run its course, while also touching on the technology that's slowly overtaking our lives. Perhaps a bit idealistic, but since when is it bad to have ideals? "We've Got a File On You" is a song in the vein of "Song 2", a rocking beat with the title yelled over and over for a minute, and then it's over. On album of great songs, the standouts are "On The Way to the Club", "Good Song", and "Gene By Gene". "..Club" starts like a brooding mystery, with a slowly building bassline, yet it has the most romantic chorus, almost chill inducing really. "And I, I just want to be, darling with you". "Good Song" might seem to be a bit sure of itself in the title, but assuredly, it's quite good. Albarn melds his political and romantic leanings together to give us the verse "Waiting, I got no town to hide in/The country's got a hold of my soul/TV's dead and there ain't no war/in my head/And you seem so beautiful to me". And "Gene by Gene", well, it starts with a cowbell and morphs into a funky time.
Blur beat Oasis in the simple fact that they aren't afraid to do something new, something different. While Oasis spends its time trying to capture past glory, Blur is moving forward, looking back only to wink and to make sure you're keeping up.
“You still think it's beautiful to die for your country. The first bombardment taught us better. When it comes to dying for your country, it's better not to die at all.”
All Quiet on the Western Front is dated. The acting is terrible and the sound can be atrocious. When actors turn away from wherever they had the microphone placed in the scene, you can’t hear what the hell they’re saying and THEY KEEP TALKING. The entire movie is composed of scenes that could have resounded more if it weren’t for the acting. Paul Baumer spending a night in a shell hole with the enemy soldier he’s killed, Paul going back home only to find he doesn’t understand that world anymore and it doesn’t understand him, the hospital where the mortally wounded are taken to the Dying Room all of them could have been as great as they were in the book had the actors been more natural. Nevertheless, the film’s message still resounds after all these years.
Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque and directed by Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front was released in 1930 and won the Oscar for best film. It tells the story of Paul Baumer and his friends who enlist in the German army at the outbreak of WWI. They’re idealistic and eager for battle, but soon they learn that war is not all those in the rear think it is. When he gets to the front they’re taken under the wing of veteran Stanislaus Katczinsky, who helps some of them survive for a while, but not many.
Where the hammy acting could have made the film a bore, snappy direction makes it interesting. In the beginning we see an army marching to war in the streets of an unnamed German city. It’s a parade with civilians cheering and waving them on and spreading confetti and flowers. The camera cranes through a window to enter a classroom where a professor drones on and on while his students pay attention to the excitement outside. It’s a key visual stroke that makes the audience understand just why a young lad would sign up for the army.
Milestone also likes brief montages of faces in close up. When the professor stirs up his students to enlist, they stand up and cheer and there’s rapid cutting between faces in ecstasy. The acting in the montage is not good, but the cutting arouses the same feeling of excitement in the viewer as the students feel. Montage is used even more effectively in the first battle scene when cutting between an advancing army and the machine gun slaughtering them. The camera tracks across French soldiers being mown down and becomes a visual metaphor for death: when the camera sees you, you die. Later on the camera tracks in the opposite direction when the Germans counterattack and it’s their turn to be cut down.
Also well done is the story of a pair of boots. One soldier has an expensive and comfortable pair. When he’s killed, someone else takes them. When he’s wounded, they’re passed on until the new owner dies. It’s told purely and impressively through visuals.
And then there’s the last shot, where we see the soldiers who have died throughout the movie marching away from us as they did in 1914. They turn back to look at us, their faces shown over the background of a mass graveyard. In one shot, the film says just about everything that can or needs to be said about war.
Tor’s a saaaaad panda. Ryan made us go see Spider-Man 2 while Tor was at work and couldn’t come. Sorry, Tor. Sucks to be you.
Spider-Man 2 IS a comic book movie. It’s not a film put together for the sake of CGI action, it’s not a film put together for the sake of marketing, and it’s not a film put together to make a bundle of cash (although all three of those things are included in the Spider-Man package). No, Spider-Man 2 was put together first and foremost to tell a story about a young man with extraordinary powers. It tells the story with just the right amount of humor and action, drama and laughs, believability and nudge-nudge-wink-wink.
Peter Parker (remember him?) is now in college. He’s in piss-poor condition: he hardly sees his one true love, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) wants him to give up Spider-Man’s true identity, Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is losing her house, he’s failing his classes, behind in his rent, and shit-canned from his pizza delivery job. Oh, and he’s Spider-Man, which occupies a great deal of his time. He's under so much stress it affects him physically and he starts to lose some of his powers. His life is stretching in multiple directions as he’s trying to be two people at once. He decides it just may be time to retire Spider-Man.
Ah, but trouble’s afoot in the form of Doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). He attempts to create a cold fusion device, which turns out to work much better as a super-villain creator. Four robotic tentacles are attached to his body and they become a life of their own, poisoning his brain with their artificial intelligence.
Peter must come to terms with his destiny of heroism and his love for Mary Jane and stop Doc Ock before he destroys the city. The true strength in this movie, the one that makes it work like gangbusters, is the writing. The screenplay is by Alvin Sargent but the novelist Michael Chabon contributed to the story and I think his influence helped the film out a great deal. A non-comic book fan watching this movie will get an idea of why people love comic books. The characters are fully fleshed and we see their struggles and hope they come through all right.
Not to say writing is everything. The acting is also very strong, particularly the hilarious J.K. Simmons as Peter’s boss Jonah Jameson and Molina as Doc Ock. And the directing is amongst Sam Raimi's best, flashy when need be but subtle for the quieter moments that make the loud ones all the louder. The scene where Octavius is on the operating table and his tentacles come to life and attack the doctors working on him is classic Raimi. It's scary, it's wild, it's violent, and it's fun. And hey, Raimi also fits in all his hallmarks, from the always dynamic Bruce Campbell to the car that's in all his movies to chainsaws. AND a Butch and Sundance reference. Kudos to you, Mr. Raimi.
Spider-Man 2 will probably be the movie of the summer. And for once the film that gets that title will actually deserve it. It’s a rollicking ride that keeps you riveted the whole way through by taking the time to tell a story about people you care about. And the story just happens to involve some hella cool action sequences.
