title: Matilda the Musical

text: At the Wormwoods' house, Mr. Wormwood is frustrated about losing a sale of worn-out cars to a group of rich Russians. He takes his frustration out on Matilda and destroys one of her library books, prompting her to put superglue around the rim of his hat and fix it to his head ("Naughty" reprise). At school, Matilda is told of Miss Trunchbull's cruel punishments, including the Chokey: a tiny cupboard lined with sharp objects in which she locks disobedient children for hours ("The Chokey Chant"). Matilda sees Miss Trunchbull spin a small girl, Amanda Thripp, around by her pigtails and throw her across the playing field. Meanwhile, Miss Honey decides to visit the Wormwoods to express her recommendation that Matilda be put in an advanced class. She meets Mrs. Wormwood and her dance partner Rudolpho. It soon becomes apparent that Mrs. Wormwood doesn't care about her daughter's intelligence, and she mocks Miss Honey and Matilda's interest in books and intellect ("Loud"). Alone outside the Wormwood's house, Miss Honey is desperate to help Matilda but feels powerless to do so ("This Little Girl").


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Matilda tells Mrs. Phelps more about the acrobat and the escapologist. The acrobat's sister, a former world champion hammer-thrower who loves to scare small children, has arranged their performance. The escapologist announces that the performance has been cancelled because the acrobat is pregnant. The crowd is thrilled but the acrobat's sister is furious at the prospect of refunding the crowd's money and produces a contract binding them to perform the act or go to jail ("The Great Day Arrived"). At school, Bruce Bogtrotter, a boy in Matilda's class, has stolen a slice of Miss Trunchbull's personal chocolate cake. Miss Trunchbull punishes Bruce by forcing him to eat the entire cake in front of the class, who bravely support him ("Bruce"). After Bruce has finished the cake, the class celebrates his success but Miss Trunchbull drags Bruce away to the Chokey.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Mr. Wormwood advises the audience against reading in favor of watching television ("Telly"). Lavender, a girl in Matilda's class, tells the audience that she is going to put a newt in Miss Trunchbull's jug of water later on. The children gather and sing about their hopes for when they grow up ("When I Grow Up"). Matilda resolves to end Miss Trunchbull's cruelty. She tells Mrs. Phelps more of the story of the acrobat and the escapologist. Bound by their contract, they perform their feat, which goes well until the last moment when the acrobat is fatally injured, living just long enough to give birth to a girl. The escapologist invites the acrobat's sister to move in with him to help look after his daughter. Unknown to the escapologist, the girl's aunt is secretly cruel to her, forcing her to perform menial tasks and abusing her verbally and physically ("The Trick Started Well").


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Mr. Wormwood returns home from work pleased because he has sold his worn-out cars to the wealthy Russians ("I'm So Clever"), having used an automatic drill to wind back their odometers. Matilda is annoyed at her father's deceit and scolds him, which angers him and he locks her in her bedroom. That night, Matilda continues the story of the acrobat and the escapologist. After years of cruelty, the aunt's rage has grown; one day she beats the child, locks her in the cellar and goes out. That evening, the escapologist returns home early and discovers the extent of the aunt's cruelty. As he comforts his daughter, he promises her he will always be there for her. Filled with rage, he runs out to find the aunt but is never seen again ("I'm Here").


title: Matilda the Musical

text: The next day, Miss Trunchbull forces Miss Honey's class to undergo a gruelling physical education lesson ("The Smell of Rebellion"). Miss Trunchbull discovers the newt in her jug; she accuses one of the boys, Eric, who has already riled her during the lesson. She starts to punish him. Matilda scolds Miss Trunchbull for being a bully. Miss Trunchbull verbally abuses Matilda, but Matilda discovers she can move objects with her mind ("Quiet"). She tips over the water jug and the newt lands on Miss Trunchbull, and climbs up her leg. After Miss Trunchbull leaves Matilda demonstrates her powers to Miss Honey, who is surprised and invites Matilda to her house for tea. On the way Matilda admits that her father is not proud of her and calls her names.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Miss Honey tells Matilda of her cruel and abusive aunt, who looked after her as a child after her parents died. When Miss Honey first became a teacher, her aunt produced a bill detailing everything Miss Honey consumed as a child, along with other expenses, and forced her to sign a contract binding her to pay it all back. Desperate to escape, Miss Honey found refuge in an old farm shed which she moved into and lives in abject poverty. Despite this, Miss Honey finds beauty in her meagre living conditions ("My House"). As Miss Honey tells her story, she produces a scarf which Matilda recognizes from her story of the acrobat and the escapologist—which she realizes is the true story of Miss Honey's childhood, and that her wicked aunt is Miss Trunchbull.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Back at school, Miss Trunchbull forces the children to take a spelling test; anyone who misspells a word will be sent to the Chokey. The children fail to misspell a single word, so Miss Trunchbull invents a word in order to be able to punish Lavender. As Lavender is about to be taken to the Chokey, her classmates deliberately misspell simple words, telling her she cannot send them all to the Chokey. However, Miss Trunchbull has built many more Chokeys. Matilda uses her powers to write on the blackboard and convinces Miss Trunchbull that it is the ghost of Miss Honey's father, demanding that she give his daughter back her house or he will get her ("Chalk Writing"). Miss Trunchbull runs from the school screaming and the children celebrate their freedom ("Revolting Children").


title: Matilda the Musical

text: At the library, Miss Honey and Mrs. Phelps relay the aftermath of the events. A few days after Miss Trunchbull ran away, Miss Honey's parents' will has been found; they left all their money and their house to her. Miss Trunchbull is never seen again and Miss Honey becomes the new headmistress of the school. Matilda cannot use her powers again and Miss Honey is sad that a child who has helped others this way is stuck in an unloving home. The Wormwoods arrive at the library in a panic, telling Matilda that she must leave with them because they are fleeing to Spain. Mrs. Wormwood states that the wealthy Russians that her husband was dealing with are the Russian mafia, who are unhappy about being sold broken cars. Miss Honey asks if Matilda can stay with her, but the Russian mafia arrive before a decision can be made. As the Wormwoods hide, Sergei is impressed and moved by Matilda's intellect and respect and he agrees not to harm the Wormwoods providing he never has to deal with Mr. Wormwood again ("This Little Girl" reprise). Mr. Wormwood agrees to let Matilda live with Miss Honey as the Wormwoods leave for Spain ("When I Grow Up" reprise / "Naughty" reprise II).


title: Matilda the Musical

text: The instrumentation uses a ten-to-thirteen-piece orchestra, including keyboards, reeds, brass, strings and percussion. The performances run 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one interval. The "Overture" is included in the Broadway production only while the "Entr'acte" was only used in the London production where it has now been cut apart from the final bars which lead into "When I Grow Up".


title: Matilda the Musical

text: The cast album recorded by the original Stratford company was released on CD in September 2011 and a month later as a Digital Download. It features a hidden spoken track which follows "When I Grow Up" (Reprise). This is the full version speech that is heard in part, before, during and after "Quiet" in the show.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: A new Original Broadway cast album was released on 22 September 2013 as a CD. This contains more tracks than the UK recording and includes "The Chokey Chant". The deluxe version features Matilda's stories of the Acrobat and the Escapologist, the song "Perhaps a Child" sung by Sergei, which was cut from the show early on in the Stratford previews due to time constraints, but the final lines were included in the Broadway show as "This Little Girl Reprise". The album also included "Naughty" with all four Broadway Matildas singing.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: In June 2013, Minchin said a future film adaptation was being planned. He said during an interview, "We just got [the show] up in New York, there's a touring version that is meant to be going on in America, concurrently the English version is up, there's a film that will probably be made in the next 4 or 5 years and all this sort of stuff." Mara Wilson, who played Matilda in the original 1996 film adaptation of Dahl's novel, said, "Maybe if they made it into a movie, I could have a cameo, but that’s for them to decide." Kelly, who wrote the book of the musical, is set to write the film's screenplay, with Minchin writing additional songs and music, and Warchus directing the film.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: In April 2020, Ralph Fiennes was rumoured as cast in the role of Miss Trunchbull. The film was originally expected to shoot from August to December 2020 at Shepperton Studios, however, the shooting schedule for the film was interrupted due to lockdown procedures in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: In January 2021, Lashana Lynch, Emma Thompson and Alisha Weir were confirmed as cast in the roles of Miss Honey, Miss Trunchbull and the titular role respectively, with over 200 children cast as the rest of the student body of Crunchem Hall. Ellen Kane, who worked with choreographer Peter Darling on the stage production, is set to choreograph. The film was expected to begin principal photography on May 3, 2021 in Ireland. The film is intended to be produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner through Working Title Films and distributed by Netflix worldwide and Sony Pictures Releasing through its TriStar Pictures banner in the United Kingdom.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: In April 2021, it was announced that Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough and Sindhu Vee would be joining the cast as Mr. Wormwood, Mrs. Wormwood and Mrs. Phelps respectively. On June 9, 2021, it was announced that the film is set to be released in the UK and Ireland on December 2, 2022 while it is expected to be set to stream onto Netflix in other countries.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Michael Billington, writing for "The Guardian", gave the musical four stars out of five. He praised the adaptation of the book, the "ebullient music and lyrics", the direction, the stage design and the performancesespecially Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull. "The Independent" also gave the show four out of five stars and said, "The Royal Shakespeare Company has struck gold with this wildly entertaining musical … Kelly's clever adaptation and the witty, intricate songs by ... Minchin create a new, improved version of Dahl's story ... Warchus's wondrously well-drilled production finds just the right balance between gleeful grotesque humour and heart-warming poignancy."


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Charles Spencer, writing for "The Daily Telegraph" awarded the show all five stars and praised the "splendidly witty, instantly hummable songs, dazzling choreography, a cast of impossibly cute and delightful children and a fantastic star turn from Bertie Carvel ... [Kelly's] script has both deepened the emotion of Dahl's story while adding loads of splendid jokes of his own", and concluded, "It is funny, heart-warming, and bang-on target". Matt Wolf of The Arts Desk said: "I was struck by the sight of many a child grinning as openly as their adult companions were wiping away tears". Henry Hitchings of the "London Evening Standard" also praised the performances, direction and design and commented on Minchin's "witty songs [in which] he switches between styles with remarkable dexterity". He continued, "There's a playfulness throughout [the book] that proves intoxicating ... In this lovingly created show, "Matilda"'s magic positively sparkles. There's a cleverness in the writing which ensures that, while it appeals to children, there is plenty for adults to savour ... it's blissfully funny."


title: Matilda the Musical

text: In September 2019, "The Guardian" writers listed the RSC performance of "Matilda" as the seventh best theatre show since 2000.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: The reviews of the London performances were also extremely positive. Julie Carpenter of the "Daily Express" awarded the show all five stars and called the musical "[g]loriously over the top", and said, "it's an irresistible and ingenious mix of fun, fizz, cruelty, incredible choreography and above all warmth which means we root for the kids from the start. Fantastic." Henry Hitchings' review in the "Evening Standard" ranked the piece five stars, praising the music and lyrics, book, set design, choreography, direction and performances. The review in "The Guardian" said, "You'd be a nitwit to miss this hit show." "The Stage" also gave "Matilda" five stars, as did Spencer, writing again for "The Telegraph". Confirming his impression of the 2010 production, he wrote about the West End transfer:


title: Matilda the Musical

text: The "Financial Times", "The Times" and "The Sunday Times" each awarded the show four stars out of five, but found little to criticise.


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Ben Brantley, writing for "The New York Times", called the adaptation "a sweet and sharp-witted work of translation, which ... turns dark and sodden anxieties into bright and buoyant fantasies [that address] a raging thirst these days for [such] tonics". A year after the show opened, "Time Out" gave the production four stars out of five, noting the departure of Carvel and calling the show "a little too long and, dramatically, a tad wayward", but nevertheless "wise, wicked, glorious fun."


title: Matilda the Musical

text: Most of the New York critics gave the Broadway transfer their highest marks. Brantley wrote: ""Matilda" works with astonishing slyness and grace to inculcate us with its radical point of view. [It] is about words and language, books and stories, and their incalculable worth as weapons of defense, attack and survival ... Above all it’s an exhilarating tale of empowerment". He also said the child actors "strengthen their diction" so that the "tasty lyrics" could be clearly heard. Richard Zoglin, in "Time" magazine said that the show is "a fresh start for the Broadway musical" with "a score that seems all but woven into the scenerysimple but distinctive tunes ... intricate lyrics ... Every element of the show seems hand-crafted and right". He said that director Warchus "lets the characters go gloriously over the top (the way children see them), but also brings a hushed intensity". He also said that the second act "runs a bit too long" and that "the combination of shrill child voices, British accents and heavy miking causes many of the lyrics to get muddled". Elisabeth Vincentelli's review in the "New York Post" said, "Once in a blue moon, a show comes out blazing and restores your faith in Broadway. "Matilda The Musical" is that show." David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" said the stage show captured "the unique flavor of Roald Dahl’s classic 1988 children’s novel", and added, "this funhouse fairy tale is by turns riotous and poignant, grotesque and menacing, its campy comic exaggeration equaled only by its transporting emotional power".


title: Matilda the Musical

text: David Cote, in "Time Out New York", wondered whether the show was too English for Broadway tastes; he wrote, ""Matilda" is a kids' musical, not a musical that happens to be about a kid. As such, its attractions may be limited to younger spectators and die-hard Dahl fans. That would be a pity, since "Matilda" is wickedly smart and wildly fun". A review in "USA Today" said the show tries too hard to be clever, but it is affecting and enchanting. Of the British papers reviewing the transfer, "The Telegraph" gave the show four stars out of five, and said, "There's a harder-edged quality to the New York staging: the general tenor is louder and more exaggerated, and the Gilbertian finesse of [the] astonishing lyrics didn't translate for my companion ... But the tremendous heart and intelligence of the piece remains undimmed." A review by Brendan Lemon in the "Financial Times" also gave the piece four stars out of five.


title: French New Wave

text: French New Wave () is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconoclasm. New Wave filmmakers explored new approaches to editing, visual style, and narrative, as well as engagement with the social and political upheavals of the era, often making use of irony or exploring existential themes. The New Wave is often considered one of the most influential movements in the history of cinema.


title: French New Wave

text: The term was first used by a group of French film critics and cinephiles associated with the magazine "Cahiers du cinéma" in the late 1950s and 1960s. These critics rejected the "Tradition de qualité" ("Tradition of Quality") of mainstream French cinema, which emphasized craft over innovation and old works over experimentation. This was apparent in a manifesto-like 1954 essay by François Truffaut, "Une certaine tendance du cinéma français", where he denounced the adaptation of safe literary works into unimaginative films. Along with Truffaut, a number of writers for "Cahiers du cinéma" became leading New Wave filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, and Claude Chabrol. The associated Left Bank film community included directors such as Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy and Chris Marker.


title: French New Wave

text: Using portable equipment and requiring little or no set up time, the New Wave way of filmmaking often presented a documentary style. The films exhibited direct sounds on film stock that required less light. Filming techniques included fragmented, discontinuous editing, and long takes. The combination of realism, subjectivity, and authorial commentary created a narrative ambiguity in the sense that questions that arise in a film are not answered in the end.


title: French New Wave

text: Alexandre Astruc's manifesto "The Birth of a New Avant-Garde: The Camera-Stylo", published in "L'Écran" on 30 March 1948, outlined some of the ideas that were later expanded upon by François Truffaut and the "Cahiers du cinéma". It argues that "cinema was in the process of becoming a new means of expression on the same level as painting and the novel ... a form in which and by which an artist can express his thoughts, however abstract they may be, or translate his obsessions exactly as he does in the contemporary essay or novel. This is why I would like to call this new age of cinema the age of the "caméra-stylo.""


title: French New Wave

text: Some of the most prominent pioneers among the group, including François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Rivette, began as critics for the famous film magazine "Cahiers du cinéma". "Cahiers" co-founder and theorist André Bazin was a prominent source of influence for the movement. By means of criticism and editorialization, they laid the groundwork for a set of concepts, revolutionary at the time, which the American film critic Andrew Sarris called "auteur theory". (The original French "La politique des auteurs", translated literally as "The policy of authors".) Bazin and Henri Langlois, founder and curator of the Cinémathèque Française, were the dual father figures of the movement. These men of cinema valued the expression of the director's personal vision in both the film's style and script.


title: French New Wave

text: Truffaut also credits the American film "Little Fugitive" (1953) by Ruth Orkin, Ray Ashley and Morris Engel with helping to start the French New Wave, when he said "Our French New Wave would never have come into being, if it hadn't been for the young American Morris Engel [sic] who showed us the way to independent production with (this) fine movie."


title: French New Wave

text: The auteur theory holds that the director is the "author" of their movies, with a personal signature visible from film to film. They praised movies by Jean Renoir and Jean Vigo, and made then-radical cases for the artistic distinction and greatness of Hollywood studio directors such as Orson Welles, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Nicholas Ray. The beginning of the New Wave was to some extent an exercise by the "Cahiers" writers in applying this philosophy to the world by directing movies themselves.


title: French New Wave

text: Apart from the role that films by Jean Rouch have played in the movement, Chabrol's "Le Beau Serge" (1958) is traditionally (but debatably) credited as the first New Wave feature. Agnès Varda's "La Pointe Courte" (1955) was chronologically the first, but did not have a commercial release until 2008. Truffaut, with "The 400 Blows" (1959) and Godard, with "Breathless" (1960) had unexpected international successes, both critical and financial, that turned the world's attention to the activities of the New Wave and enabled the movement to flourish. Part of their technique was to portray characters not readily labeled as protagonists in the classic sense of audience identification.


title: French New Wave

text: The auteurs of this era owe their popularity to the support they received with their youthful audience. Most of these directors were born in the 1930s and grew up in Paris, relating to how their viewers might be experiencing life. With high concentration in fashion, urban professional life, and all-night parties, the life of France's youth was being exquisitely captured.


title: French New Wave

text: The French New Wave was popular roughly between 1958 and 1962. The socio-economic forces at play shortly after World War II strongly influenced the movement. Politically and financially drained, France tended to fall back on the old popular pre-war traditions. One such tradition was straight narrative cinema, specifically classical French film. The movement has its roots in rebellion against the reliance on past forms (often adapted from traditional novelistic structures), criticizing in particular the way these forms could force the audience to submit to a dictatorial plot-line. They were especially against the French "cinema of quality", the type of high-minded, literary period films held in esteem at French film festivals, often regarded as "untouchable" by criticism.


title: French New Wave

text: New Wave critics and directors studied the work of western classics and applied new avant garde stylistic direction. The low-budget approach helped filmmakers get at the essential art form and find what was, to them, a much more comfortable and contemporary form of production. Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, John Ford, Sam Fuller and Don Siegel were held up in admiration. French New Wave is influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema.


title: French New Wave

text: In a 1961 interview, Truffaut said that "the 'New Wave' is neither a movement, nor a school, nor a group, it's a "quality"" and in December 1962 published a list of 162 film directors who had made their feature film debut since 1959. Many of these directors, such as Edmond Agabra and Henri Zaphiratos, were not as successful or enduring as the well-known members of the New Wave and today would not be considered part of it. Shortly after Truffaut's published list appeared, Godard publicly declared that the New Wave was more exclusive and included only Truffaut, Chabrol, Rivette, Rohmer and himself, stating that ""Cahiers" was the nucleus" of the movement. Godard also acknowledged filmmakers such as Resnais, Astruc, Varda and Demy as esteemed contemporaries, but said that they represented "their own fund of culture" and were separate from the New Wave.


title: French New Wave

text: The movies featured unprecedented methods of expression, such as long tracking shots (like the famous traffic jam sequence in Godard's 1967 film "Weekend"). Also, these movies featured existential themes, often stressing the individual and the acceptance of the absurdity of human existence. Filled with irony and sarcasm, the films also tend to reference other films.


title: French New Wave

text: Many of the French New Wave films were produced on tight budgets; often shot in a friend's apartment or yard, using the director's friends as the cast and crew. Directors were also forced to improvise with equipment (for example, using a shopping cart for tracking shots.) The cost of film was also a major concern; thus, efforts to save film turned into stylistic innovations. For example, in Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless" ("À bout de souffle"), after being told the film was too long and he must cut it down to one hour and a half he decided (on the suggestion of Jean-Pierre Melville) to remove several scenes from the feature using jump cuts, as they were filmed in one long take. Parts that did not work were simply cut from the middle of the take, a practical decision, and also a purposeful stylistic one.


title: French New Wave

text: The cinematic stylings of the French New Wave brought a fresh look to the cinema with improvised dialogue, rapid changes of scene, and shots that broke the common 180° axis of camera movement. In many films of the French New Wave, the camera was used not to mesmerize the audience with elaborate narrative and illusory images, but rather to play with audience expectations. Godard was arguably the movement's most influential figure; his method of film-making, often used to shock and awe audiences out of passivity, was abnormally bold and direct.


title: French New Wave

text: Godard's stylistic approach can be seen as a desperate struggle against the mainstream cinema of the time, or a degrading attack on the viewer's supposed naivety. Either way, the challenging awareness represented by this movement remains in cinema today. Effects that now seem either trite or commonplace, such as a character stepping out of their role in order to address the audience directly, were radically innovative at the time.


title: French New Wave

text: Classic French cinema adhered to the principles of strong narrative, creating what Godard described as an oppressive and deterministic aesthetic of plot. In contrast, New Wave filmmakers made no attempts to suspend the viewer's disbelief; in fact, they took steps to constantly remind the viewer that a film is just a sequence of moving images, no matter how clever the use of light and shadow. The result is a set of oddly disjointed scenes without attempt at unity; or an actor whose character changes from one scene to the next; or sets in which onlookers accidentally make their way onto camera along with extras, who in fact were hired to do just the same.


title: French New Wave

text: At the heart of New Wave technique is the issue of money and production value. In the context of social and economic troubles of a post-World War II France, filmmakers sought low-budget alternatives to the usual production methods, and were inspired by the generation of Italian Neorealists before them. Half necessity and half vision, New Wave directors used all that they had available to channel their artistic visions directly to the theatre.


title: French New Wave

text: Finally, the French New Wave, as the European modern Cinema, is focused on the technique as style itself. A French New Wave film-maker is first of all an author who shows in its film their own eye on the world. On the other hand, the film as the object of knowledge challenges the usual transitivity on which all the other cinema was based, "undoing its cornerstones: space and time continuity, narrative and grammatical logics, the self-evidence of the represented worlds." In this way the film-maker passes "the essay attitude, thinking – in a novelist way – on his own way to do essays."


title: French New Wave

text: The corresponding "right bank" group is constituted of the more famous and financially successful New Wave directors associated with "Cahiers du cinéma" (Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard). Unlike the "Cahiers" group, Left Bank directors were older and less movie-crazed. They tended to see cinema akin to other arts, such as literature. However, they were similar to the New Wave directors in that they practiced cinematic modernism. Their emergence also came in the 1950s and they also benefited from the youthful audience. The two groups, however, were not in opposition; "Cahiers du cinéma" advocated for Left Bank cinema.


title: French New Wave

text: Left Bank directors include Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, and Agnès Varda (Varda's husband, Jacques Demy, is sometimes grouped with the Left Bank filmmakers). Roud described a distinctive "fondness for a kind of Bohemian life and an impatience with the conformity of the Right Bank, a high degree of involvement in literature and the plastic arts, and a consequent interest in experimental filmmaking", as well as an identification with the political left. The filmmakers tended to collaborate with one another. Jean-Pierre Melville, Alain Robbe-Grillet, and Marguerite Duras are also associated with the group. The nouveau roman movement in literature was also a strong element of the Left Bank style, with authors contributing to many of the films.


title: French New Wave

text: Left Bank films include "La Pointe Courte", "Hiroshima mon amour", "La jetée", "Last Year at Marienbad", and "Trans-Europ-Express".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Marilyn Manson is an American rock band formed by namesake lead singer Marilyn Manson and guitarist Daisy Berkowitz in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1989. Originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, they gained a local cult following in South Florida in the early 1990s with their theatrical live performances. In 1993, they were the first act signed to Trent Reznor's Nothing Records label. Until 1996, the name of each member was created by combining the first name of a female sex symbol and the last name of a serial killer, for example Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. Their lineup has changed between many of their album releases; the eponymous lead singer is the only remaining original member.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In the past, band members dressed in outlandish makeup and costumes, and engaged in intentionally shocking behavior both onstage and off. Their lyrics often received criticism for their anti-religious sentiment and references to sex, violence and drugs, while their live performances were frequently called offensive and obscene. On several occasions, protests and petitions led to the group being blocked from performing, with at least three US states passing legislation banning the group from performing at state-owned venues. They released a number of platinum-selling albums, including "Antichrist Superstar" (1996) and "Mechanical Animals" (1998). These albums, along with their highly stylized music videos and worldwide touring, brought public recognition to Marilyn Manson. In 1999, news media, infamously, falsely blamed the band for influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: As this controversy began to wane throughout the 2000s, so did the band's mainstream popularity. Despite this, Jon Wiederhorn of MTV, in June 2003, referred to Marilyn Manson as "the only true artist today". Marilyn Manson is widely regarded as being one of the most iconic and controversial figures in rock music, with the band and its lead singer influencing numerous other groups and musicians, both in metal-associated acts and also in wider popular culture. VH1 ranked Marilyn Manson as the seventy-eighth best rock band on their "100 Great Artists of Hard Rock". They were inducted into the "Kerrang!" Hall of Fame in 2000, and have been nominated for four Grammy Awards. In the U.S., the band has seen ten of its releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Marilyn Manson have sold in excess of 50 million records worldwide.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In 1989, Brian Warner was a college student working towards a degree in journalism at Broward College, gaining experience by writing music articles for the South Florida lifestyle magazine "25th Parallel". It was in this capacity that he met several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. That December, he met Scott Putesky, who proposed the two form a band, after reading some lyrics and poems written by Warner. Warner, guitarist Putesky and bassist Brian Tutunick recorded their first demo tape as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in 1990, taking on the stage names of Marilyn Manson, Daisy Berkowitz and Olivia Newton Bundy, respectively. Bundy left the band soon after, and was replaced by Gidget Gein, born Brad Stewart. They were later joined on keyboard by Stephen Bier, who called himself Madonna Wayne Gacy. In 1991, drummer Fred Streithorst joined the band under the name Sara Lee Lucas.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The stage names adopted by each member were representative of a concept the band considered central: the dichotomy of good and evil, and the existence of both, together, in every whole. "Marilyn Monroe had a dark side", explained Manson in his autobiography, "just as Charles Manson has a good, intelligent side." Over the next six years, all of the band's members would adopt names that combined the first name of a female sex symbol and the surname of a serial killer. Images of both Monroe and Manson, as well as of other famous and infamous figures, were common in the band's early promotional materials.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The Spooky Kids' popularity in the area grew quickly and because of the band's highly visual concerts, which drew from performance art and used many shock techniques such as "naked women nailed to a cross, a child in a cage, or bloody animal body parts." Band members variously performed in women's clothing or bizarre costumes; and, for lack of a professional pyrotechnician, would set their own stage props on fire. The band would contrast these theatrics with elements drawn from their youth: characters from 1970s and '80s children's television made regular, often grotesquely altered, appearances on band flyers and newsletters, and were frequently sampled in their music. They continued to perform and release cassettes – shortening their name to Marilyn Manson in 1992 – until the summer of 1993, when they drew the attention of Reznor, who had just founded his own label, Nothing Records.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Reznor offered the band a contract with the label, as well as an opening slot supporting Nine Inch Nails on their upcoming "Self Destruct Tour". After accepting both offers, recording sessions for their debut studio album began in July 1993 with Swans producer Roli Mosimann at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida. Recording a selection of new songs along with material from their Spooky Kids repertoire, the first version of their debut, titled "The Manson Family Album", was completed by the end of the month. However, it was not well received. The band's members, along with Reznor, criticized Mosimann's production as being flat, lifeless and poorly representative of the band's live performances. At the same time, Gidget Gein had begun to lose control of his addiction to heroin. Before reworking the album, the band played two shows in Florida under the name Mrs. Scabtree. This band featured Manson on drums, Gacy on keyboard, Berkowitz on guitar, and Jessicka from Jack Off Jill sharing vocal duties with Jeordie White of Coral Springs thrash band Amboog-a-Lard. Four other local musicians, bassists Mark Dubin of Sister Venus and Patrick Joyce from The Itch, guitarist Miles Hie and violinist Mary Karlzen were also involved.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Reznor agreed to rework production of "The Manson Family Album" in October 1993 at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles. Gein, who had been hospitalized after his fourth heroin overdose, was not invited to participate, and was fired from the band soon after, replaced by White, of Amboog-a-Lard, who undertook the alias Twiggy Ramirez. After seven weeks of mixing, re-recording and remixing, the album – now titled "Portrait of an American Family" – was presented to Nothing's parent label Interscope. The album was released on July 19, 1994 and peaked at number thirty-five on "Billboard"s Top Heatseekers album chart. The band began its first national headlining tour in December 1994, with Jack Off Jill opening. During the band's stint as opening act on the Nine Inch Nails tour, Manson met Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey. LaVey bestowed the title of "Reverend" on Manson– meaning a person who is revered by the church, and not necessarily one who dedicates their life to preaching the religion to others, as with a priest or minister. Manson would use this title in the liner notes of the band's following album, citing himself as "Reverend Marilyn Manson".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In March 1995, the band began a two-month tour, this time with Monster Voodoo Machine as support. This would be drummer Sara Lee Lucas's last tour with the band. Kenneth Wilson, better known by his stage name Ginger Fish, then joined the group before they embarked on a tour with rock band Danzig and metal band Korn. The band then relocated to the new home of Nothing Studios in New Orleans to begin work on remixes and b-sides for "Portrait"s third single, "Dope Hat", releasing a music video inspired by the boat ride scene from the 1971 movie "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". The proposed single eventually developed into "Smells Like Children", which included the band's version of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", their first hit; the song's music video was placed in heavy rotation on MTV, in stark contrast with the "Dope Hat" video, which the same channel had banished to late-night airplay only a few months prior.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band's second studio album, "Antichrist Superstar", was released on October 8, 1996. It was recorded at Nothing Studios with Reznor, Manson, Sean Beavan and former Skinny Puppy member and longtime producer Dave Ogilvie sharing co-production duties; members of both Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails took part in its recording. The process of making the album was a long and difficult one, highlighted by experiments involving sleep deprivation and near-constant drug use, in an effort to create a violent and hostile environment suited to the album's content. During this time, antagonism between band members was high. Daisy Berkowitz, the band's founding guitarist, departed the band partway through the album's recording process, with Twiggy performing much of the album's guitar work. Timothy Linton responded to an advert seeking Berkowitz's replacement. He would form a close relationship with Madonna Wayne Gacy, who was responsible for the inclusion of one of the major sources of inspiration for the album: Kabbalah. Breaking with the six-year tradition of naming band members after female icons and serial killers, Zim Zum was chosen as Linton's stage name. It was derived from the Lurianic Kabbalah concept of Tzimtzum. "The Beautiful People" was released as the album's lead single. It created enough anticipation for "Antichrist Superstar" that the album debuted at number three on the "Billboard" 200 with first-week sales of 132,000 copies. Manson also appeared on the cover of "Rolling Stone", who awarded the band their 'Best New Artist' accolade in 1997. The year-long "Dead to the World Tour" followed, which was the band's longest and widest-ranging tour yet. In the US, however, the band was receiving more attention than ever before, and not all of it was positive. As the tour was getting underway, the band found itself the target of bipartisan congressional hearings, led by conservative violent entertainment watchdog group Empower America (now known as FreedomWorks) co-directors Republican Secretary of Education William Bennett and Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, to determine the effects, if any, of violent lyrics on young listeners. In addition, nearly every performance of the tour was picketed by religious organizations.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In July 1997, Manson collaborated with British trip hop group Sneaker Pimps for the single "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" from the soundtrack to the 1997 film "Spawn". The band released their second EP, "Remix & Repent", on November 25, 1997. It featured new versions of "Antichrist Superstar"'s four singles: "The Beautiful People", "Tourniquet", "Antichrist Superstar" and "Man That You Fear". In February 1998, Manson released his autobiography, "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell", as well as a live video entitled "Dead to the World". It was also confirmed that "Antichrist Superstar" would be the first installment in a concept album trilogy which the band called their triptych.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band released the second part of their triptych, "Mechanical Animals", on September 15, 1998. Co-produced by the band's lead singer with Sean Beavan and Michael Beinhorn, the album moved away from the industrial rock production of its predecessor and was strongly influenced by 1970s glam rock, particularly David Bowie's 1974 album "Diamond Dogs". Billy Corgan served as an unofficial consultant to the band during the early development of the album. After playing a few songs for him, Corgan advised them that "This is definitely the right direction" but to "go all the way with it. Don't just hint at it", referring to its inclusion of glam influences. To suit their new musical style, the band also recast itself as a glam rock outfit, setting aside the "rotting-corpse chic" of the previous era in favor of attire more suited to the genre, incorporating leather, platform boots and brightly dyed hair. The band also relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles, while Zim Zum was replaced by guitarist John Lowery of 2wo, whose stage name, John 5, was given to him by Manson during their first lunch meeting.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Interscope's promotion of the album was massive, with the label erecting enormous billboards of the lead singer as an androgynous extraterrestrial in both Times Square and Sunset Strip. Repeated appearances on MTV and other networks helped propel the album's lead single, "The Dope Show", to number twelve on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, becoming the band's highest-charting single yet. The song's music video was critically acclaimed, winning two awards at the 1998 "Billboard" Music Video Awards as well as the Best Cinematography award at the 1999 MTV VMA's; while the song was also nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. The album would go on to debut at number one on the "Billboard" 200, with first week sales of over 223,000.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: After a brief promotional campaign, the band set out on the "Beautiful Monsters Tour" with Hole. The tour would be a problematic one, and was marred by frequent on–and–off stage exchanges between Manson and Hole vocalist Courtney Love. Private disputes also arose over the tour's financial arrangements, with Hole unwittingly financing most of Manson's production costs, which were disproportionately high relative to Hole's. The tour was to include thirty-seven shows spanning over a two-month period, although Hole left after taking part in just nine of the scheduled dates. A broken ankle from Manson also forced the postponement of the next two shows, with the remainder of the tour being renamed "Rock Is Dead" and Jack Off Jill and Nashville Pussy taking over select opening slots.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The final four dates of the tour were canceled out of respect for the victims of the Columbine High School massacre. The latter half of 1999 and much of 2000 was a period of relative silence for the band, who refused to take part in interviews and retreated from public life. They shelved plans for a proposed single and music video for their cover of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell", which appeared on the soundtrack to "Detroit Rock City". They spent this period writing and recording in a secluded studio in Death Valley, with only the live album "The Last Tour on Earth" appearing during this time. A studio outtake from "Antichrist Superstar", titled "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes", served as its only single.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: "Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)" was released on November 11, 2000. Produced by the band's lead singer with Dave Sardy, the album also features programming and pre-production editing by Bon Harris of Nitzer Ebb. The band wrote over 100 songs for the album, which was a return to the darker, more abrasive sound of "Antichrist Superstar". Much of its content was written in response to the Columbine massacre, with the album's third single, "The Nobodies", directly referring to the shootings. Described by the band's frontman as the third part of a trilogy which began with "Antichrist Superstar" and continued in "Mechanical Animals", its overarching theme is an exploration of the relationship between death and fame in American culture, and its lyrics and artwork contain many references to John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, John Lennon and Mark David Chapman, and Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. The "Guns, God and Government Tour" elaborated on "Holy Wood"'s central theme, and with its logo – a rifle and handguns arranged to resemble the Christian cross – Manson made no attempt to conceal what he saw as the source of that fascination.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band also revealed that within their concept album trilogy, "Holy Wood" serves as prequel to "Mechanical Animals" and "Antichrist Superstar" despite the latter two preceding "Holy Wood" in release date. Each album contains its own distinct storyline, which can be linked together to create a larger overarching storyline encompassing all three. Manson has offered this much in the way of an interpretation: "["Holy Wood" is about] wanting to fit into a world that didn't want me, and fighting really hard to get there. [The album's deepest elements] are idealism and the desire to start a revolution. If you begin with "Holy Wood", then "Mechanical Animals" really talks about how that revolution gets taken away from you and turned into a product, and then "Antichrist Superstar" is where you're given a choice to decide if you're going to be controlled by the power that you created or if you want to destroy yourself and then start over. It just becomes a cycle."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band initially declined to join the 2001 lineup of Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest, as its June 21 date in Denver would mark their first appearance in Colorado since the Columbine massacre. After the band announced on their website that they would perform in Denver, they were protested by religious groups. The band planned to "balance out" their "violent lyrics" by quoting biblical texts, "so we can examine the virtues of wonderful Christian stories of disease, murder, adultery, suicide and child sacrifice." The tour was documented by a DVD of the same name, which was released on October 29, 2002. In addition to a compilation style concert [songs from multiple individual shows edited together to appear as a single performance], it includes a thirty-minute short film titled "The Death Parade". This was followed by "Guns, God and Government – Live in LA" in 2009, which depicts their performance of January 13, 2001 at Los Angeles's Grand Olympic Auditorium in its entirety.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Earlier in 2001, the band released a cover of Gloria Jones's "Tainted Love" on the soundtrack to "Not Another Teen Movie". The song became the band's biggest international hit yet, peaking at number one in numerous European territories. In 2002, Jonathan Davis of Korn invited Marilyn Manson to record vocals on a track titled "Redeemer", which was released on his to "Queen of the Damned". Manson also appeared in Michael Moore's 2002 documentary, "Bowling for Columbine"; his appearance was filmed on the same day as their Denver Ozzfest performance. When Moore asked what Manson would have said to the students at Columbine, he replied, "I wouldn't say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: With the "triptych" of previous albums complete, the band was free to begin a fresh project. In 2002, Manson created an for the "Resident Evil" film with former KMFDM multi-instrumentalist Tim Skold. Soon after, Skold became an official band member when Twiggy Ramirez amicably left the group, citing creative differences. After finding inspiration through Manson's girlfriend Dita Von Teese in the swing and burlesque movements of 1920s Berlin, the band recorded "The Golden Age of Grotesque", which was released on May 7, 2003 and debuted atop the "Billboard" 200 album chart, selling over 118,000 copies on its first week. It was also an international success, particularly in Europe, where it sold over 400,000 copies on its first week, and topping various national record charts, as well as "Billboard"'s European Albums Chart. The album also appeared on several critics' year-end lists, and won a 2003 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for "Album of the Year".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Eschewing the lyrical depth and symbolism found on "Holy Wood", the album was relatively straightforward: in an extended metaphor, Manson compares his own often-criticized work to the "Entartete Kunst" banned by the Nazi regime. Lyrically, Manson utilizes the narrative mode of stream of consciousness throughout the album to examine the human psyche in times of crisis, specifically focusing on the mindset of lunatics and children, as, according to Manson, "they don't follow the rules [of society]." Several songs incorporate elements commonly found in playground chants and nursery rhymes, which Manson would "pervert into something ugly and lurid." The work of Kurt Weill was also noted as an influence, along with the lucid dreams the singer was having during its production, with Manson explaining that he would "wake up and say, 'I want to write a song that sounds like a stampeding elephant,' or 'I want to write a song that sounds like a burning piano.'"


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Manson began his long-term collaboration with Austrian-Irish artist Gottfried Helnwein, working together on several multi-media projects associated with the album, including the exhibitions and installation art projects featured at the album's launch party at The Key Club in Los Angeles, the album artwork, the music video to lead single "mOBSCENE", as well as the artwork which accompanied Manson's essay for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Limited edition copies of the album included a DVD titled "Doppelherz" (Double-heart), a 25-minute surrealist short film directed by Manson which featured art direction by Helnwein. Another world tour followed, "Grotesk Burlesk", which furthered the album's Weimar Republic-inspired theme by adding Helnwein-created stage dressing and elements of German "Kabarett" to the group's performances. Manson and the band members began appearing both on-and off-stage in designer suits created by Jean-Paul Gaultier.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: "" was released on September 28, 2004 and was referred to by Manson as a "farewell" compilation. It was the last album released under Nothing Records, as the label was dissolved following a lawsuit filed by Reznor against his former manager and business partner, John Malm. The compilation was supported by the "Against All Gods Tour", as well as a single–a cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus". It was the first and only tour to feature Mark Chaussee of Rob Halford's Fight on lead guitar, replacing John 5, whose relationship with Manson had soured over the previous year. Former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna also replaced Ginger Fish, who fractured his wrist, skull and cheekbone after falling several feet off his drum riser during a performance at a German awards ceremony.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: By late 2005, the band had composed 18 new songs, but work on their sixth studio album was halted when Manson focused his attention on various film and art projects, including the development of his screenplay, "", as well as a minor role in the Lucy Liu movie "". He also launched a self-proclaimed art movement, the Celebritarian Corporation, which included artist Gottfried Helnwein, fashion designer Steven Klein and director Anthony Silva, as well as announcing plans to open an art gallery and publish a book of his paintings. It was after opening the Celebritarian Corporation Gallery Of Fine Art on Melrose Avenue in 2006 that work started on new material, with Manson writing lyrics over Skold's already existing compositions.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The resulting material was composed and recorded entirely by Skold, and does not feature writing or performance contributions from any other member of the band. Its content is largely inspired by personal troubles relating to Manson's failed marriage to Von Teese, and his burgeoning relationship with then-19-year old actress Evan Rachel Wood. The band made their debut appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on October 31, 2006, performing their cover of "This Is Halloween" from a deluxe edition re-release of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack. This would be their last performance featuring longtime keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy, who would go on to file a $20m lawsuit against the band the following year for unpaid "partnership proceeds".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The album was preceded by the release of a single, "Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)", whose music video was shot using director James Cameron's 3D Fusion Camera System technology. The video caused controversy upon release, with several sources claiming that it featured genuine footage of Manson and Wood engaged in sexual intercourse. Wood was reportedly paid "the highest [music] video salary in history" to appear in the video. "Eat Me, Drink Me" was released on June 5, 2007, and entered the "Billboard" 200 at number eight with first week sales of 88,000 copies. It also peaked in the top ten of most major international album charts, as well as at number two on "Billboard"'s European Albums Chart. "Putting Holes in Happiness" was released as the album's second single.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: To promote the album, the band embarked on the nine-month "Rape of the World Tour", which featured Skold on lead guitar, former The Prodigy bassist Rob Holliday and longtime drummer Ginger Fish; while Vrenna rejoined the band as their live keyboardist. The first leg of the tour was a co-headlining set with American thrash metal band Slayer, with support coming from Bleeding Through. In November 2007, Manson confirmed that he and Skold had begun work on the band's next studio album, with Slayer's Kerry King, former The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs set to feature. By the beginning of 2008, however, Twiggy Ramirez had rejoined the band as bassist, resulting in the exit of Skold, with Holliday moving from bass to lead guitar for the remaining duration of the tour. Future collaborations with Skold were not ruled out.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In 2008, former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland joined the band for their headlining show at the 2008 ETP Fest in South Korea. However, Borland left the group to reunite with Limp Bizkit, later saying that he was reluctant to be a "hired gun", citing the band's refusal to record any of the nine songs he submitted for their upcoming album. R&B singer Ne-Yo claimed in early December that he would hold writing sessions with the band's frontman on new material, although Manson denied it, saying that he had "never even met Ne-Yo. I can assure him that he would not want to be associated with something this godless."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: "The High End of Low" was recorded throughout 2008, with Manson recording vocals at his Hollywood Hills home studio between November and January 5, 2009. Produced by Manson, Twiggy and Vrenna with "Antichrist Superstar" and "Mechanical Animals" co-producer Sean Beavan, Manson described the album as containing "extreme" autobiographical content relating to the dissolution of his engagement to Wood, and as being "very ruthless, heavy and violent". Its fifteen songs appear on the album in the order they were written. The penultimate track, "Into the Fire", portrays the vocalist's mental state on Christmas Day, wherein he attempted to contact Wood 158 times, cutting himself with a razorblade on the face or hands for each corresponding attempt. The album's final song, "15", was completed on Manson's January 5 birthday – hence the name. Manson utilized his entire home as a canvas to document the disintegration of the relationship, writing its lyrics on walls and coupling them with paintings and drawings relating to Wood, as well as used condoms, bags of cocaine and other drug paraphernalia.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: "We're from America" was released as a free download on the band's website on March 27, 2009, while a Hot Topic-exclusive CD single followed two weeks later. After playing an instrumental version of "Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon" to Interscope's A&R department, it was chosen as the album's official lead single, with an employee telling Manson, "This is gonna be a hit!". Manson then quipped to the employee, "Well, I'm glad that you have no consideration for what I [might] put on top of it." A heavily censored version of the profanity-laced track – re-titled to "Arma ... geddon" – was serviced to radio from April 13, and peaked at number thirty-seven on "Billboard"'s Mainstream Rock chart, becoming their lowest-peaking single in the process. The album was released on May 20, 2009 and debuted at number four on the "Billboard" 200 with sales of over 49,000 copies, their lowest opening week figure since "The Last Tour on Earth" debuted with 26,000 copies in 1999.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Prior to "The High End of Low"'s release, Manson made a series of disparaging comments regarding Interscope and its artistic censorship; as well as its then-CEO Jimmy Iovine, who Manson said "wasn't smart enough to understand what [we] do", and publicly claiming that the label "cares more about Vitamin Water [the private equity venture of Interscope-signed 50 Cent] than music." Reznor – who, as of 2015, remains friends with Iovine – responded by calling Manson a "dopey clown" and claiming that "He is a malicious guy and will step on anybody's face to succeed and cross any line of decency." While promoting the album in the UK, Manson appeared inebriated in a series of interviews. An interview for "" recorded during this time remains unaired, due to graphic language and content. A music video for "Running to the Edge of the World" – in which Manson beats a Wood lookalike to death – was released on November 4 and was condemned as a perceived glorification of violence against women. The band parted ways with Interscope on December 3. They settled the lawsuit filed by former keyboardist Stephen Bier (aka M.W. Gacy), with Manson's insurance company paying Bier's attorney's fees and Bier receiving no monetary value.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Upon parting with Interscope, Manson said "a lot of the creative control on which my hands were tied [has been regained]", while stating that the band had been writing new material while touring their previous album. Manson attested that its lyrical content would be "more romantic" yet "self-abusive", and described its sonic elements as being "suicide death metal". Fred Sablan joined the band in July 2010. By October, Twiggy described the album as being "almost done", and opined that "It's our best record yet. I mean, everyone always says that, but I think this is our best work so far. It's kind of like a little more of a punk rock "Mechanical Animals", without sounding too pretentious." The following month, it was announced that the band had signed a joint-venture deal with London-based indie label Cooking Vinyl. As part of the deal, the band would retain creative control over their artistic direction, with the band and label sharing profits equally after the label recoups costs associated with marketing, promotion and distribution.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: For much of 2011, Manson removed himself from the public spotlight and ceased almost all communication with fans, only taking a break from his self-imposed sequestration to appear in the music video for "Tempat Ku" by Brunei rock band D'Hask. On February 24, longtime drummer Ginger Fish announced his resignation from the group. On May 22, their website underwent a complete overhaul. A 26-second clip of an unreleased song, tentatively titled "I am among no one", was uploaded to their Vimeo account, along with a new logo.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: After being impressed by his directorial work on one of Kid Cudi's music videos, Manson employed actor Shia LaBeouf to direct a short film entitled "Born Villain". Contrary to media reports that the project would be a "making-of" video documenting the album's recording, "Born Villain" was a surrealist short featuring a previously unreleased track, "Overneath the Path of Misery". Containing numerous references to "Macbeth", it was inspired by Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain" and Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí's 1929 silent film "Un Chien Andalou". To promote the project, LaBeouf and his girlfriend, photographer Karolyn Pho, graffitied areas of LA with its artwork. LaBeouf and Pho later photographed their work, and released it as a limited edition book titled "Campaign", which was bundled with a DVD of the film. In November, Vrenna departed the band to focus on other production work, whilst indicating that production of their eighth studio album was "largely completed".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The album was preceded by the release of "No Reflection", which Manson leaked to KROQ-FM on March 7, 2012. Cooking Vinyl CEO Martin Goldschmidt called the leak a "masterstroke", saying "we had all these exclusives lined up around the world, and then Manson blew them all. We're already getting more radio play than the whole of the last record." The song went on to peak at number twenty-six on the Mainstream Rock chart, spending fourteen weeks on the chart, and was their best-performing single there since "Personal Jesus" in 2004. "Born Villain" was released worldwide from April 25, debuting at number ten on the "Billboard" 200 and atop both the Independent Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. The album spent two weeks at number one on the UK Rock Albums Chart. A remix EP for "Slo-Mo-Tion" followed on November 5. The band embarked on the seventeen-month "Hey Cruel World... Tour" from the end of April, which was interspersed by co-headlining tours with Rob Zombie ("Twins of Evil") and Alice Cooper ("Masters of Madness").


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In August 2012, it was announced that Manson would play a fictionalized version of himself in a four-episode arc of the sixth season of TV series "Californication". While filming its season finale at the Greek Theatre in LA, Manson met the series' composer, Tyler Bates, and the two discussed a potential collaboration. Manson confirmed that production started on new material by May 2013. Four months later, Sablan announced that he had left the group.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: One track from the album, "Cupid Carries a Gun" was used as the opening theme to "Salem" from its second episode onwards, which premiered on US television on April 27. In October, a large portion of the album track "Killing Strangers" was predominantly featured in the Keanu Reeves movie "John Wick". "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" was released for free download on the band's website on October 26, and served as the album's first official single. The band performed several new songs live for the first time as they played a handful of concerts around southern California in October and early November. "Deep Six" was released on December 16, with a music video following three days later. It went on to peak at number eight on "Billboard"'s Mainstream Rock chart, making it the band's highest-ever peaking single on "Billboard". "Cupid Carries a Gun" was released as the album's third official single on January 8, 2015.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: "The Pale Emperor" was released on January 15 in the US. It is dedicated to Manson's mother, who died in May 2014 after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. It was both a critical and commercial success, debuting at number eight on the "Billboard" 200 with sales of over 51,000 copies, their largest opening-week figure since "Eat Me, Drink Me" in 2007. Numerous publications referred to it as the band's best album in over a decade. It would go on to appear on several 'best of 2015' lists, with "Rolling Stone" dubbing it the 'best metal album' of 2015. Music videos for both "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" and "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" were released in May and July, respectively.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band embarked on the nearly-two year-long The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour in support of the album, which was interspersed by a co-headlining tour with The Smashing Pumpkins titled The End Times. In February 2016, Manson contributed vocals to a version of David Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" on "Countach (For Giorgio)", a tribute album to Giorgio Moroder curated by Shooter Jennings. A 16-bit music video for the song was released five months later. Also in February, details were announced of another co-headlining tour, this time with Slipknot. The tour was scheduled to begin on June 9 in Salt Lake City and consist of thirty-four dates in Amphitheatres throughout North America, with support from Of Mice & Men. However, the first twelve dates of the tour were postponed after an examination revealed that Corey Taylor had broken two vertebrae in his neck. The tour began on June 28 in Nashville, Tennessee, with the postponed shows rescheduled for August.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: While touring with The Smashing Pumpkins, Manson indicated a "strong possibility" of working with Corgan on new material, and also revealed plans to collaborate with Korn frontman Jonathan Davis on a "Southern-sounding, acoustic" project. Manson announced in an interview with KEGL in November that work had begun on the band's tenth studio album, while also confirming that Twiggy, Bates and Sharone would all be involved in its recording. "Antichrist Superstar" was reissued on cassette exclusively in Europe as part of Record Store Day 2016. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the album's release, Manson indicated that a special edition of "Antichrist Superstar" would be issued on October 20, although this failed to materialize. Among its bonus content would have been a previously unreleased film, created during the "Dead to the World Tour".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: On July 19, Manson announced that the band's tenth studio album had the working title "SAY10", and predicted a release date of Valentine's Day 2017. In September, Manson confirmed that the band were "putting the finishing touches" on the album, and said: "It's not very much in any way like "The Pale Emperor". It's pretty violent in its nature for some reason, and it's not emotional in the same way. It's got a chip on its shoulder. I can't wait for people to hear it. I think they're going to be quite surprised." On November 8 – the day of the 2016 US presidential election – Manson released a teaser clip of a new music video created alongside "Final Girl" director Tyler Shields. It featured scenes of Manson brandishing a knife while standing over a decapitated corpse. According to "The Daily Beast"s Marlow Stern, the decapitated figure is dressed to resemble Donald Trump. Manson would later say that the figure in the video "wasn't anyone except if you wanted it to be them."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The album was not released in February 2017, and instead a long series of cryptic videos were posted to Marilyn Manson's personal Instagram account over the course of just under 2 months, before Manson revealed on May 9 that the album had been named "Heaven Upside Down". The band began their Heaven Upside Down Tour on July 20, 2017 in Budapest. The first single from the album, "We Know Where You Fucking Live", was released on September 11, with the album due to follow on October 6. A second single, "Kill4Me", was released on September 20. The band's founding guitarist, Daisy Berkowitz, died on October 22, 2017 at the age of 49; he had been diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer in 2013. Two days later, Manson announced he had "decided to part ways" with bassist Twiggy, after a rape allegation was made against Twiggy by his former girlfriend, Jack Off Jill vocalist Jessicka; for the rest of the tour, Juan Alderete (formerly of Racer X and The Mars Volta) joined. In July 2018, Manson embarked on the in the US with co-headliner Rob Zombie and special guest Deadly Apples.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In March 2019, Manson announced that he was nearly finished recording his next studio album and that country musician Shooter Jennings was involved. Later that year, drummer Gil Sharone announced he was leaving the band to pursue "other current and future projects", with former Black Flag drummer Brandon Pertzborn hired as his replacement. Manson also revealed that Bates is no longer involved with the group, and that the album would be produced by Jennings and feature contributions from his drummer Jamie Douglass. In July, Manson embarked on the in the US and Canada with co-headliner Rob Zombie, followed by festivals and headline dates with support from Deadly Apples. The band released their cover of The Doors' "The End" on streaming music services in November, with a limited edition vinyl scheduled to be issued on March 6, 2020. The song was recorded for the soundtrack to the upcoming miniseries "The Stand", based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Manson is set to appear in the miniseries. The band are set to appear as the opening act for Ozzy Osbourne during his No More Tours II series, a North American tour beginning in May 2020. However the tour was eventually cancelled along with Manson's performances after Ozzy Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: On January 13, 2020, live bassist Juan Alderete was involved in a bicycle accident which left him with a diffuse axonal injury, a type of traumatic brain injury. A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover the cost of his medical expenses. On April 29, Manson and Jennings confirmed they had finished work on the band's eleventh studio album, with both calling it a "masterpiece". On July 28, Manson announced that a new single titled "We Are Chaos" would be released the following day. The next day, the track was released alongside the announcement of the band's upcoming eleventh studio album titled "We Are Chaos" set for release on September 11, 2020. At the same time, the band revealed the album cover and the track list. The album debuted at number eight on the "Billboard" 200, making it their tenth top ten release on the chart.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In February 2021, Loma Vista Recordings announced they would not promote or participate in the distribution of any future recordings released by the band, following former girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood and various other accusations that the band's vocalist sexually and psychologically abused them. In November 2021, former band member Tim Skold announced he was again working on new material with Marilyn Manson.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Although the band's music has often been labeled as shock rock by mainstream media, Manson disputes the use of the label, preferring instead to identify his band's music as rock and roll. Marilyn Manson's music has been classified under many genres, including industrial metal, industrial rock, industrial dance, post-industrial, alternative metal, progressive metal, hard rock, nu metal, electronic music, glam rock, gothic metal, death metal, blues rock and pop. Although Marilyn Manson's music has often been labelled gothic rock, AllMusic contends that the band merely borrows from gothic rock's imagery.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: From 1996 to his departure in 2002, Twiggy was their chief musical contributor, co-writing many of the band's biggest hits with Manson during this period. Despite never receiving a writing credit, drummer Ginger Fish provided substantial pre-production assistance to both Manson and Twiggy while composing demos for "Antichrist Superstar". His drums loops and sound effects would go on to be predominantly featured on several tracks, most notably "The Beautiful People". John 5 and Tim Skold were also prevalent composers, while "The Pale Emperor" and "Heaven Upside Down" were composed entirely by Tyler Bates.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: All of the band's lyrics are written by Manson, whose songwriting style varies between albums. Utilizing aesthetics often found within spoken-word poetry, his writing features comedy, puns, and double entendres, and he makes frequent use of alliteration. The band's witticisms often take the form of neologisms, delivered several at a time in rapid-fire succession. Lyrical content has emerged from a wide range of subjects, including love, sex and sexuality, sexual abuse, consumerism, politics, revenge, suicide, capitalism, violence and mortality, as well as the Bible and Greek mythology.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Manson predominantly delivers lyrics in a melodic fashion, although he invariably enhances his vocal register by utilizing several extended vocal techniques, such as vocal fry, screaming, growling and crooning. His voice can emit five different tones simultaneously, which mixing engineer Robert Carranza discovered can form a pentagram when imported into a phrasal analyzer. He possesses a baritone vocal type. His lowest bass note of A1 can be heard in "Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon", while his highest note, an E6 – the first note of the whistle register – can be heard on the "Born Villain" song "Hey, Cruel World ...".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Manson's earliest musical memory was listening to Kiss during a family road trip; he has since cited the band as a major influence. As a child, he would imitate Kiss's "kabuki"-like makeup and draw pictures of Gene Simmons and Peter Criss. The earliest incarnation of the band was conceived by Manson at a Fort Lauderdale nightclub called The Reunion Room in December 1989, where he was introduced to Big Black's "Songs About Fucking" by his future keyboardist, Stephen Bier. Daisy Berkowitz played in several punk rock outfits before co-founding the Spooky Kids, and was influenced by acts such as the New York Dolls and the Jim Carroll Band, whose "People Who Died" was covered regularly at live shows.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: As its only permanent member, Manson heads the direction of the band's sound; he has been influenced by the shock rock of artists such as Arthur Brown, Alice Cooper, The Doors, Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne and Iggy Pop. His biggest influence, however, was David Bowie, whom he credited with "changing [his] life forever". The two have often been compared by mainstream media, particularly in relation to their ability to shift genre and style – replete with a new look and musical philosophy – with each studio release. Manson's two favorite songs are Bowie's "Quicksand" and "Ashes to Ashes". For several years, Manson sang Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" as a vocal warm up exercise before live performances; he later covered the song with outlaw country musician Shooter Jennings.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: During their period at Nothing Records, the band's sound gathered sonic elements from other outfits on that label's roster, particularly Nine Inch Nails, with Reznor co-producing their first two studio albums. Manson has cited Queen as an influence on the band's more melodic work, while new wave and synthpop acts such as Depeche Mode and Gary Numan have been noted as influencing their electronic material. Manson said of the latter, "I was always into his apocalyptic fiction lyrics. He pioneered electronic dance music." The work of gothic rock acts such as The Cure and Bauhaus has also been cited, with Twiggy saying that "as far as guitar and bass combinations go", Bauhaus's Daniel Ash and David J were "a really big influence". Manson's other influences include The Beatles, Rihanna, Madonna, Prince, White Zombie, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, N.W.A, The Smashing Pumpkins, Justin Timberlake, Led Zeppelin, the occult, horror comics, and the King James Bible.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Marilyn Manson have been credited with creating some of the most recognizable and visually defining music videos of the MTV Generation, with some commentators suggesting that their music videos played a significant role in the band's commercial success. Their work frequently incorporates surrealist iconography and purposefully grotesque imagery, and their style has been emulated by other performers. Joseph Schafer of "Stereogum" said in 2015 that "perhaps no single artist has mastered the music video as a medium so well [as Marilyn Manson]." They have received numerous awards and accolades for their work. Three of their videos – "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "The Beautiful People" and "The Dope Show" – received a total of five MTV Video Music Award nominations, with the latter winning the Award for Best Cinematography at the 1999 ceremony. The clip for "The Dope Show" also won two awards at the 1998 "Billboard" Music Video Awards. "The Beautiful People" appeared at number fifty-four on MTV's list of the '100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made'. as well as at number one-hundred on MuchMusic's 100 Greatest Videos Ever. Their 2003 video for "(s)AINT" was referred to by "NME" as "one of the most explicit music videos ever made", and was included in lists of the 'Most Controversial Music Videos' by both "Time" and "SF Weekly".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band have received several Kerrang! Awards throughout their career, and were inducted into the "Kerrang!" Hall of Fame in 2000. Manson also received their Icon Award in 2005, as well as their Lifetime Achievement Award ten years later. The publication has ranked "Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)" as the eleventh greatest rock album of the 2000s, and in 2015 they listed Manson as the twenty-eighth greatest rockstar in the world. VH1 included Marilyn Manson at seventy-eight on their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock', and also included "The Beautiful People" at number eighty-six on their list of the "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs". Similarly, Gigwise included Manson at number thirty-six in their list of the '60 Greatest Solo Artists of All Time'. In 2016, Manson was presented with an Icon Award at the Alternative Press Music Awards. The band has also received four Grammy Award nominations, including two for Best Metal Performance, along with nominations for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. Marilyn Manson have sold over 50 million records worldwide.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Several commentators have referred to the band's lead singer as being one of the most iconic and controversial figures in heavy metal music, with some going so far as to call him a "pop culture icon". "Paste" magazine said there were "few artists in the 90s as shocking as Marilyn Manson, the most famous of the shock-rockers." "Rolling Stone" editor Lorraine Ali credited "Antichrist Superstar" with marking the end of the reign of grunge within popular music, writing that Marilyn Manson "[offered] total escapism as a true alternative", elaborating that the album was "a volatile reaction to five years of earnest, post-Nirvana rock." In 2003, Jon Wiederhorn of MTV called Manson "the only major performer today who can justifiably call himself an artist." Graham Hartmann of "Loudwire" said that the band's best songs document "a career that is unlike any other that came before", highlighting their mix of a "rock 'n' roll mentality with profound lyrics narrating the progression of society in real time, Manson has developed a polarizing identity as both a beloved hero and a reviled villain." Hannah Ewers of "The Guardian" wrote in 2016 that the band's music has "never been more relevant [than] at this time of cultural and political turbulence. Whether [his lyrics are addressing] America's gun crime problem, sexual abuse, religious hypocrisy or consumerism, Manson remains a relevant cultural figure rather than a 90s one, because he continues to address the times without lapsing into a parody", and opined: "As long as young people are angry (which they are), he will have listeners."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band has been noted as influencing numerous groups within metal-associated genres, such as American Head Charge, Babymetal, Black Veil Brides, Combichrist, Kittie, Korn, Motionless in White, Murderdolls, Mushroomhead, New Years Day, September Mourning, Slipknot, and Vanna. Outside of heavy metal, both the band and its lead singer have inspired a diverse group of acts, including the Astroid Boys, Avril Lavigne, Charli XCX, Creeper, Die Antwoord, Eminem, Grimes, Halsey, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Lil Uzi Vert, Lisa Marie Presley, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Mykki Blanco, Natalia Kills, Porcelain Black, Salem, Skrillex, Skylar Grey and Years & Years. Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson has called Manson an "amazing figure and provocateur and agitator" and said that he was "always challenging you to think about the church, to think about sexuality and to think about society in different ways. We just don't have singers like that anymore." Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins has commended Manson's manipulation of the culture of celebrity, saying: "He's very savvy, in that he lets people think things about him or plays into things to see what will happen, almost like a performance artist. He's a visionary in a way, because he identified a culture that was coming and now that culture is everywhere."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In December 1996, Secretary of Education William Bennett, along with U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman and former Pennsylvania Secretary of State C. DeLores Tucker, held a press conference wherein they questioned MCA – the owner of Interscope – president Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s ability to head the label competently whilst profiting from "profanity-laced" albums by artists such as Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Marilyn Manson. The following November, Representative Sam Brownback chaired a hearing of the Committee on Government Affairs. At this subcommittee, Lieberman once again criticized the band's music, calling it "vile, hateful, nihilistic and damaging", and repeated his request that Seagram – then-owner of MCA – "start ... disassociating itself from Marilyn Manson." The subcommittee also heard from Raymond Kuntz, of Burlington, North Dakota, who blamed his son Richard's suicide on "Antichrist Superstar—"specifically the song "The Reflecting God".


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band's live performances have also come under fire—the Dead to the World Tour, in particular, was followed by protesters at nearly every North American venue it visited. Several state legislatures, including the Utah State Legislature, South Carolina Legislature and the Virginia General Assembly, enacted legislation specifically targeting the group, which banned them from performing in state-operated venues. These laws would later be repealed, following separate lawsuits from fans, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Ozzy Osbourne, who sued the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority after they forced the cancellation of the New Jersey date of the 1997 Ozzfest at Giants Stadium.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: On June 30, 2003, the mutilated body of fourteen-year old schoolgirl Jodi Jones was discovered in woodland near her home in Easthouses, Scotland. The injuries sustained by Jones closely resembled those of actress Elizabeth Short, who was murdered in 1947 and was popularly referred to by media as the Black Dahlia. Jones's boyfriend, then-fifteen year old Luke Mitchell, was arrested on suspicion of her murder ten months later. During a search of his home, detectives confiscated a copy of "The Golden Age of Grotesque" containing the short film "Doppelherz". It was purchased two days after Jones's death. A ten-minute excerpt from the film, as well as several paintings by Manson depicting the Black Dahlia's mutilated body, were presented as evidence during the trial. Mitchell was found guilty of murder and sentenced to serve a minimum of twenty years in prison.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The band's scheduled appearance at the Park Live Festival in Moscow on June 27, 2014 was canceled moments before they were due to arrive on stage, after authorities received numerous bomb threats, while hundreds of activists affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church protested outside the venue. The incident culminated in the assault of several members of the band and crew near their hotel. Two days later, a performance in Novosibirsk was also canceled when authorities refused to grant permission for the show to go ahead, accusing Manson of insulting the beliefs of the Orthodox church and of "promoting sadomasochism". Later that year, Manson garnered significant media attention when a video depicting the simulated rape of Lana Del Rey was posted onto YouTube by production company Sturmgruppe. The video, titled "Sturmgruppe 2013 Reel", showed simulated footage of film director Eli Roth attacking Del Rey, which was interspersed by unrelated images from two of the band's previous music videos—"No Reflection" and "Slo-Mo-Tion". Manson's representatives released a statement to "Billboard" denying any involvement in the production of the rape scenes.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: In October 2017, Twiggy Ramirez was accused of sexual assault by ex-girlfriend Jessicka Addams during their relationship in the mid-90s. Soon after, Manson announced that he had "decided to part ways" with his longterm bassist. Several days later, Ramirez released a statement which said: "I have only recently been made aware of these allegations from over 20 years ago. I do not condone non-consensual sex of any kind. I will be taking some time to spend with my family and focus on maintaining my several years of sobriety. If I have caused anyone pain, I apologize and truly regret it."


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve students and a teacher, and wounded twenty-one others before committing suicide. In the days following the massacre, media reports surfaced alleging that they were influenced by violence in entertainment, specifically movies, video games and music. The pair were widely reported as being fans of German bands KMFDM and Rammstein, but the majority of blame was directed at Marilyn Manson.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Five days after the incident, longtime music industry critics Republican former Secretary of Education William Bennett and Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman cited the band as a contributing factor to the massacre during an appearance on "Meet the Press". Soon after, sensationalist headlines such as "Killers Worshipped Rock Freak Manson" and "Devil-Worshipping Maniac Told Kids To Kill" began appearing in media coverage of the tragedy (such as Fox News). The Mayor of Denver, Wellington Webb, successfully petitioned promoters to cancel KBPI-FM's annual 'Birthday Bash', at which the band was scheduled to appear. Coloradoan politicians such as Governor Bill Owens and Republican Representative Tom Tancredo accused Manson of promoting "hate, violence, death, suicide, drug use and the attitudes and actions of the Columbine High School killers." Later reports stated that neither Harris nor Klebold was a fan of Marilyn Manson. The band canceled the remaining four dates of the Rock Is Dead Tour out of respect for the victims, while maintaining that music, movies, books or video games were not to blame.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: Eleven days after the massacre, Manson wrote an op-ed piece for "Rolling Stone", titled "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?", where he rebuked the ensuing hysteria and "witch hunt", and castigated America's gun culture, the political influence of the National Rifle Association, and the media's culpability in similarly violent events in the future – through their irresponsible coverage – in facilitating the placement of blame on a scapegoat, instead of informing the populace of genuine societal issues.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: The controversy connecting the band and school shootings continued on October 10, 2007, when 14-year-old SuccessTech Academy student Asa Coon shot four people before committing suicide. After being punched in the face by another student while exiting a bathroom, he shot his attacker – Michael Peek – in the abdomen. Armed with two revolvers, he then proceeded down a hallway, where he wounded another student and two teachers by firing into two occupied classrooms, before entering a nearby bathroom and committing suicide. Coon was wearing a black Marilyn Manson T-shirt during the incident.


title: Marilyn Manson (band)

text: On May 18, 2009, 15-year-old Justin Doucet, a student at Larose Middle School in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, entered the school armed with a .25-caliber Automatic Colt Pistol. When seventh-grade teacher Jessica Plaisance refused to comply with Doucet's demand to say "Hail Marilyn Manson", he fired two shots, narrowly missing her head, before turning the gun on himself. He died from his injuries a week later.


title: Huma Abedin

text: Huma Mahmood Abedin (; born July 28, 1975) is an American political staffer who was vice chair of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for President of the United States. Before that, Abedin was deputy chief of staff to Clinton when she was U.S. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. She was also the traveling chief of staff and former assistant to Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election.


title: Huma Abedin

text: During Hillary Clinton's tenure at the State Department and her presidential campaign, Abedin became one of Clinton's closest aides. Her high-profile political career has caused her personal life to come under public scrutiny over the years, particularly her marriage to former congressman Anthony Weiner.


title: Huma Abedin

text: Abedin was born on July 28, 1975, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to two professors. Abedin is of Indian and Pakistani descent. She has a sister and a brother.


title: Huma Abedin

text: When Abedin was two years old, her parents were offered jobs at the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Abedin moved with her family to Jeddah where she was raised and lived until returning to the United States for college. Abedin traveled frequently during her childhood and teenage years, and attended a British girls' school. Her father died from progressive renal failure when she was 17.


title: Huma Abedin

text: As a teenager, she aspired to be a journalist like her role model Christiane Amanpour and wanted to work in the White House press office. At George Washington University, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree as a journalism major with a minor in political science.


title: Huma Abedin

text: Abedin always identified as an American, but she felt very at home in Saudi Arabia. Her parents and siblings assimilated as Americans, but the family kept their own "cultural and religious values.”


title: Huma Abedin

text: While a student at George Washington University, Abedin began working as an intern in the White House in 1996, assigned to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. From 1996 to 2008, she was an assistant editor of the "Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs". For several years, she served as the back-up to Clinton's personal aide. She officially took over as Clinton's aide and personal advisor during Clinton's successful 2000 U.S. Senate campaign in New York and later worked as traveling chief of staff and "body woman" during Clinton's unsuccessful campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. According to a number of Clinton associates, Abedin is a trusted advisor to Clinton, particularly on the Middle East, and has become known for that expertise.


title: Huma Abedin

text: In 2009, Abedin was appointed deputy chief of staff to Clinton in the State Department. After returning from maternity leave in June 2012, she left her position as Clinton's deputy chief of staff and became a special Government employee, a consultant role; this status allowed Abedin to work for private clients as a consultant while also serving as an adviser to the Secretary of State. Under this arrangement, she did consultant work for Teneo, a strategic consulting firm whose clients included Coca-Cola and MF Global, and served as a paid consultant to the Clinton Foundation, while continuing her role as body woman to Clinton. She failed to disclose her consulting work done while a State Department aide. The "New York Times" reported that an associate of Abedin's said the arrangement also allowed her to work from her home in New York City rather than at the State Department's headquarters in Washington to be able to spend more time with her child and husband.


title: Huma Abedin

text: After leaving her post at the State Department in 2013, Abedin served as director of the transition team that helped Clinton return to private life, and continued her work for the Clinton Foundation. Eleven days before leaving the State Department, Abedin set up a private consulting firm, Zain Endeavors LLC.


title: Huma Abedin

text: Starting in 2015, Abedin served as vice-chairperson for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for president, while continuing to serve as personal assistant to Clinton. In her role as the campaign's vice-chairperson, she screened and interviewed applicants for key campaign roles, including campaign manager Robby Mook, and was the primary channel for communications with Clinton before the campaign officially began. After Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States, Abedin wrote an email to Clinton supporters calling herself "a proud Muslim" and criticized Trump's plan as "literally (writing) racism into our law books".


title: Huma Abedin

text: Abedin wrote a memoir titled "", published in November 2021. The book covers her childhood in Saudi Arabia, her Muslim faith, her time as an aide to Clinton and her relationship with ex-husband former Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner. She has said that writing the book was a therapeutic process, helping her work through a tumultuous time as a result of Weiner's multiple scandals. In the memoir, Abedin also explores the multiple identities that have shaped her, in particular being born in Michigan and then raised in Saudi Arabia by a Pakistani father and an Indian mother.


title: Huma Abedin

text: In the memoir, Abedin wrote that in the mid-2000s, an unnamed U.S. senator had "kissed me, pushing his tongue into my mouth, pressing me back on the sofa"; she wrote that she had "buried" the incident until accusations of sexual assault against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 triggered her memory. In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning to promote the book, she said she did not feel that the senator was sexually assaulting her in that moment.


title: Huma Abedin

text: Abedin appeared on the podcast, The Literary City with Ramjee Chandran, to discuss her memoir. She says the title of the book best describes the plurality she feels in her daily life and her career.


title: Huma Abedin

text: In a letter dated June 13, 2012, to the State Department Inspector General, five Republican members of Congress—Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Trent Franks of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas J. Rooney of Florida, and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia—claimed that Abedin "has three family members—her late father, her mother and her brother—connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations." The five alleged that Abedin had "immediate family connections to foreign extremist organizations" which they said were "potentially disqualifying conditions for obtaining a security clearance" and questioned why Abedin had not been disqualified for a security clearance.