From Blabbermouth:
Launch Radio Networks reports: MARILYN MANSON has lashed out at MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, saying that a song called “Mutilation Is The Most Sincere Form of Flattery”, from his new “Eat Me, Drink Me” album, is directed at the band, whom he accused of ripping off his act. Manson told the London Paper, “I’m embarrassed to be me because these people are doing a really sad, pitiful, shallow version of what I’ve done. If they want to identify with me then here’s a razor blade. Call me when you’re done and we’ll talk.”
Here are some sample lyrics from “Mutilation…”: “Hey, there’s no rules today / You steal instead of borrow / You take all the shapes that I make / And you think that you thought / All the thoughts that I thought you / Don’t you?”
Oh, Manson. You publicity machine. You don’t really believe this, do you? You’re just saying this to make a splash so that people don’t forget who you are…
Right?
I mean, there’s just no way you can honestly accuse someone of ripping you off. Not you, who made your name by resurrecting Alice Cooper’s act (and songs- you CANNOT tell me that “Tourniquet†is just a rehash of Cooper’s “Ballad of Dwight Fry. You cannot) and adding a dash of parent-scaring KISS. Not you, who cobbled together everything that made you famous- including your very name- from discarded pieces of former headline-grabbers. Not you, who’s doing, in your own words, a “really sad, pitiful, shallow version†of what other groundbreakers who came before you have done.
Now, I’m not slamming you for it- clearly you’ve done well by your formula. You gave a voice to a generation of disaffected youth in the mid-90’s, and I wouldn’t try to argue otherwise. Multiple platinum records don’t lie. But trying to pass yourself off as original? Well, that’s when someone needs to stage an ego intervention.
Also, about the razorblade thing- really? People can’t understand you unless they self-mutilate? Come on now. Let’s be realistic, huh? Just because someone neglects to cut themselves out of desperation doesn’t mean they’re any less angsty than you- it just means they’re less myopic and self-absorbed when it comes to dealing with their pain. If we’re talking about having comparable levels of poor stress response, then okay. Using self-mutilation as a metric for psychic pain is ridiculous, though, since bloodletting is scarcely the only manner in which such an emotion can manifest itself. Don’t assume someone feels less intensely than you just because they haven’t resorted to sawing on their inner thighs with a butterknife.
You’ve proven to be erudite and thoughtful in the past, so I have to assume this is just a stunt. I hope I’m right.
