Friday, February 14, 2025

Shock Rocker Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson turns 56

Manson remains one of the most popular Rockers in the music scene and hasn’t abandoned controversy

Shock Rocker Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson turns 56



Marilyn Manson was born Brian Hugh Warner on January 5th, 1969, in Canton, Ohio and he started as a music journalist but turned to a practice musician during the late 1980’s. As Brian Warner, he and guitarist Scott “Daisy Berkowitz” Putesky formed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids following conversations at the Reunion Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1989. Like other members of the band, his stage name was formed by combining and juxtaposing the names of two American pop cultural icons of the 1960’s: actress Marilyn Monroe and criminal Charles Manson. In 1993, the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor. Reznor produced their 1994 debut album, “Portrait of an American Family” that included some of the band’s earliest hit songs “Lunchbox,” “Dope Hat,” “Cake and Sodomy,” and “Get Your Gunn,” and released it on his Nothing Records label. The band began to develop a cult following, which grew larger on the “Downward Spiral Tour” that featured Nine Inch Nails and Jim Rose Circus along with the release of the EP “Smells Like Children” in 1995. That EP yielded the band’s first big MTV hit with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” a cover of the 1983 Eurythmics hit. In 1996 with the release of “AntiChrist Superstar,” the band became one of the most successful Rock acts in the world and Manson the ultimate shock Rocker; the successful album featured some of their most well-known and popular songs such as “The Beautiful People” and “Tourniquet.” During the late 90’s, he earned himself a reputation in mainstream media as a controversial figure and negative influence on young people. He later was interviewed in Michael Moore’s political documentary “Bowling for Columbine,” discussing possible motivations for the 1999 Columbine massacre; he denied allegations that his music was a contributory factor. Marilyn Manson’s androgynist imagery together with the half freak-half man look caused several times controversy, but despite that he became a spokesperson for a new generation of alienated teenagers around the world that followed his look and words. In 1998 the band slightly switches musical direction on the “Mechanical Animals” album, another commercial success and critically acclaimed, featuring the songs “The Dope Show,” “Coma White,” “I Don’t Like the Drugs (but the drugs like me)” and “Rock Is Dead” featured on the “Matrix” movie soundtrack. Over the years the line up of the members have changed, with Manson remaining the only constant. Now turning 56, Marilyn Manson remains a controversial and present figure on Pop Culture but with a less culturally negative connotation or even popularity in comparison to the 1990’s and early 2000’s, he has also participated as an actor in several movies such as “Lost Highway,” “Party Monster” or in more recent years on the Horror TV series “Salem,” featuring the theme song by Marilyn Manson “Cupid Carries A Gun.” Marilyn Manson’s latest albums were “We Are Chaos,” released in 2020 following “Heaven Upside Down” released in October 2017 and “One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 (2024)” in 2024.  During these last few years, Manson has been facing criminal accusations from several women, which has overshadowed his musical career, the ongoing accusations include torture and rape, claims denied by Manson.



Look back at the iconic 1996 Marilyn Manson music video for “The Beautiful People”



Watch Marilyn Manson’s recent music video for the song “We Are Chaos”





Listen to the 2004 compilation “Lest We Forget (The Best Of)” featuring some of the best Marilyn Manson songs on Spotify

Watch more music related videos

 

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