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Background and development

[edit]
Further information: Beautiful Monsters Tour

We're history after this. You'll get to see the crack of someone's ass (a reference to Manson's habit of dropping his pants onstage). It will be fun.

—Courtney Love, announcing their withdrawal from the Beautiful Monsters Tour.[1]

After a series of public spats between the extremely outspoken lead vocalists of Hole and Marilyn Manson during their joint Beautiful Monsters Tour, Hole vocalist Courtney Love officially announced their withdrawal on March 14, 1999 as they took the stage at The Forum arena. They went on to do a series of shows in North America before leaving for the United Kingdom to join the Glastonbury Festival.[2]

During Marilyn Manson's performance on the night of Hole's departure, Manson suffered a hairline fracture on one of his ankles while jumping between on-stage platforms. His injury caused the tour to be temporarily suspended while he recuperated.[3] The March 16, 1999 San Diego, California concert was cancelled while the March 17, 1999 Las Vegas, Nevada and March 18, 1999 Phoenix, Arizona engagements were postponed to a later date.[4] In spite of the highly-publicized animosity, Manson insisted Hole's departure was "not a personal thing."[5]

The tour resumed on March 21, 1999, rebranded as the Rock Is Dead Tour after the Marilyn Manson single "Rock Is Dead", despite the fact that the name was already being used by American rock bands Korn and Rob Zombie for their own concurrent joint US tour. This led to a minor dispute that was quickly resolved by both parties.[6] Manson kept all of the remaining scheduled engagements intact.[7]

Now exercising full control over the tour's itinerary, Manson immediately withdrew Imperial Teen's billing in favor of Grammy-nominated American psychobilly band Nashville Pussy, who took over the opening act slot from Monster Magnet beginning from the April 2, 1999 concert at the Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina until the completion of all North American dates on the tour. Manson explained to MTV that the initial inclusion of Imperial Teen on the tour was "by Courtney's request. I think we're probably better off, because that would've been an additional torment for our fans that they didn't need." He added that while he enjoyed their music on CD, he felt there was too much difference in their musical and performance approach for their continued inclusion on the tour to work.[7]

Fellow Floridians and longtime friends of the band Jack Off Jill joined Manson's tour for four dates from March 25, 1999, at the Uno Arena in New Orleans until March 30, 1999, at the National Car Center Arena in their shared hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for both groups' homecoming concert.[7]

Incidents

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Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Youth Violence Senator Jeff Sessions on Columbine:

They are able to hook into the Internet and play video games that are extraordinarily violent, that cause the blood pressure to rise and the adrenaline level to go up, games that cause people to be killed and the players to die themselves. It is a very intense experience. They are able to get into Internet chat rooms and, if there are no nuts or people of the same mentality in their hometown, hook up with people around the country. They are able to rent from the video store—not just go down and see "Natural Born Killers" or "The Basketball Diaries"—but they are able to bring it home and watch it repeatedly. In this case, even maybe make their own violent film. Many have said this murder was very much akin to “The Basketball Diaries,” in which a student goes in and shoots others in the classroom. I have seen a video of that, and many others may have. In music, there is Marilyn Manson, an individual who chooses the name of a mass murderer as part of his name. The lyrics of his music are consistent with his choice of name. They are violent and nihilistic, and there are groups all over the world who do this, some German groups and others. I guess what I am saying is, a person already troubled in this modern high-tech world can be in their car and hear the music, they can be in their room and see the video, they can go into the chat rooms and act out these video games and even take it to real life. Something there is very much of a problem.[8][9]

Columbine High School massacre and its aftermath

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Further information: Columbine High School massacre and Marilyn Manson–Columbine High School massacre controversy

I think there's something going on that you can't see from the outside ... his whole thing is part of a drug-cultural type of thing, with a subculture of violence and killing and hatred, and anti-family values, anti-traditional values, anti-authority ... We're having an alarming rate of killings in schools, and youth violence and an increase in drugs. I would say that though they're not all to be blamed on a shock entertainer like Marilyn Manson, I think he promotes it and can be part of the blame.

—Michigan State Senator Dale Shugars' concerns on the influence of Marilyn Manson on concert-goers.[10]

On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot dead 12 students and a teacher and wounded 21 others, before committing suicide.[11] In the aftermath of the school shooting, the band were widely reported to have influenced the killings;[12][11] early media reports alleged that the shooters were fans, and were wearing the group's T-shirts during the massacre.[13][14] Although these claims were later proven to be false,[15] speculation in national media and among the public continued to blame Manson's music and imagery for inciting Harris and Klebold.[12] Later reports revealed that the two were not fans—and, on the contrary, had disliked the band's music.[16] Despite this, Marilyn Manson (as well as other bands and forms of entertainment, such as movies and video games) were widely criticized by religious,[17] political,[18] and entertainment-industry figures.[19]

A day after the shooting, Michigan State Senator Dale Shugars attended the band's concert, along with policy advisers, a local police officer and the state senate's sergeant-at-arms, at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan to conduct research for a proposed bill requiring parental warnings on concert tickets and promotional material for any performer that had released a record bearing the Parental Advisory sticker in the last five years.[10][20] According to Shugars, the show began with the singer wearing "satanic wings" as he leapt from a cross that was eventually set on fire.[10] He then described seeing fans, whom he described as normal kids, "under [Manson's] control" as he performed a sequence that "glorified the killing of a police officer."[10] Finally, he reported the singer recounting a dream sequence in which cops perform sex acts on him before Jesus Christ descended out of a sky made of LSD and told him the real name of God is "Drugs."[10] After which, the band launched into "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)".[10] Shugars expressed concern that these shows had adverse effects on concert-goers.[10]

On April 25, 1999, conservative pundit William Bennett and longtime Manson adversary U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman called the group a contributing factor to the massacre during their appearance on Meet the Press.[14][21] Three days later, the city of Fresno, California passed a unanimous resolution condemning "Marilyn Manson or any other negative entertainer who encourages anger and hate upon the community as an offensive threat to the children of this community."[22] Its author, Councilman Henry Perea, justified the resolution pointing out that people would face arrest if they publicly "engaged in some of the same behaviors that [Manson] demonstrates onstage"[23] In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, students were barred from wearing Marilyn Manson T-shirts in school premises.[22]

He or she or whatever the case might be realizes that he can be tremendously booed and that his work is tremendously offensive.

—U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch's conjecture on why the band decided to abandon the rest of their US tour.[24]

On April 29, ten US senators (led by Sam Brownback of Kansas) sent a letter to Edgar Bronfman Jr. – the president of Seagram (the owner of Interscope) – requesting a voluntary halt to his company's distribution to children of "music that glorifies violence". The letter named Marilyn Manson for producing songs which "eerily reflect" the actions of Harris and Klebold.[25] The signatories were eight Republicans and two Democrats namely, U.S. Senators Wayne Allard, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Susan Collins, Tim Hutchinson, Rick Santorum, Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan, John Ashcroft and Jeff Sessions.[23] Later that day, the band canceled their remaining North American shows.[26] Two days later, Manson published his response to these accusations in an op-ed piece for Rolling Stone, titled "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?", where he castigated America's gun culture, the political influence of the National Rifle Association, and the media's irresponsible coverage, which he said facilitated the placing of blame on a scapegoat, instead of debating more relevant societal issues.[16][27]

On May 4, a hearing on the marketing and distribution practices of violent content to minors by the television, music, film and video game industries was conducted before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.[24] It was chaired by Senator Brownback and composed of eleven Republicans and nine Democrats, including U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Lieberman as well as cultural observers, professors and mental-health professionals that included William Bennett and the Archbishop of Denver, Reverend Charles J. Chaput.[24] The band was among those criticized by the participants, besides fellow label-mate Nine Inch Nails and the 1999 Wachowski brothers film The Matrix, for their alleged contribution to the environment that made a tragedy like Columbine possible.[24] Among the invited guests, the CEOs of four of the world's major music distributors declined to attend.[24] This was denounced by Bennett who said their absence, nevertheless, amounted to a "[p]ublic shaming. My hunch is they will continue to ignore you like they did today."[24] Outside observers such as Nina Crowley, director of the anti-censorship organization Mass Mic, expressed chagrin regarding the hearings, commenting that it was "a very stacked-looking thing."[24] Hilary Rosen, president and CEO of the RIAA, shared this opinion and thought "it was staged as political theater [...] They just wanted to find a way to shame the industry, and I'm not ashamed."[24]

Senators Brownback, Hatch and Lieberman concluded the proceedings by requesting an investigation from the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice on marketing practices of the entertainment industry to minors.[24][28] The following month, President Bill Clinton granted that request lamenting that "kids steeped in the culture of violence do become desensitized to it and more capable of committing it."[28][29] The release of the FTC report on September 13, led Lieberman, by then the vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, and Hillary Clinton to introduce the Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001 before the 107th United States Congress.[30][31][32][33] This legislation proposed to ban the entertainment-industry from marketing suspected violent or explicit material to minors.[34][35]

After concluding the European and Japanese legs of their tour on August 8, the band withdrew from public view.[12] Manson entered into a three-month period of seclusion at his home in the Hollywood Hills,[36] during which he considered how to respond to the controversy.[12] Manson said the maelstrom made him re-evaluate his career: "There was a bit of trepidation, [in] deciding: 'Is it worth it? Are people understanding what I'm trying to say? Am I even gonna be allowed to say it?' Because I definitely had every single door shut in my face ... there were not a lot of people who stood behind me."[37] He told Alternative Press that he felt his safety was threatened to the point that he "could be shot Mark David Chapman-style."[36] He nevertheless found solace in writing new music which resulted in his 2000 release Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death).[36][37] The singer described this record as his "counterattack."[37]

  1. ^ Moran, Caitlin (1999-09-01). "The Girl Who Wanted To Be God". Select. Ascential plc: 92.
  2. ^ "All's Fair in Love". NME. Time Inc. UK. 1999-04-18. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MTV Hole Walks Out was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Paul, Brannigan (October 2003). "All-American Reject". Kerrang!. No. 977. Bauer Media Group. pp. 24–27. ISSN 0262-6624.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference notpersonal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Marilyn Manson Talks Rock Survival As Tour With Hole Marches On". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. 1999-03-10. Archived from the original on 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  7. ^ a b c "Manson Resumes Tour Without Hole, Taps Nashville Pussy And Jack Off Jill For Upcoming Dates". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. 1999-03-22. Archived from the original on 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  8. ^ Cherkis, Jason (2017-02-03). "Sen. Jeff Sessions Blamed Culture, Not Guns, For Columbine Massacre". HuffPost. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  9. ^ Sessions, Jeff (1999-04-28). "Floor Statements: Violence in Colorado - Columbine". Senate.Gov. United States Senate. Archived from the original on 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Nelson, Chris (1999-04-22). "Best Of '99: Lawmaker Says Marilyn Manson Puts Fans Under Spell". VH1. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  11. ^ a b France, Lisa Respers (2009-04-20). "Columbine left its indelible mark on pop culture". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, (Time Warner). Archived from the original on 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  12. ^ a b c d Bryant, Tom (2010-11-10). "Screaming For Vengeance". Kerrang!. No. 1338. Bauer Media Group. pp. 40–42. ISSN 0262-6624.
  13. ^ Cullen, Dave (1999-09-23). "Inside the Columbine High investigation". Salon. Salon Media Group Inc. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
  14. ^ a b O'Connor, Christopher (1999-04-27). "Colorado Tragedy Continues To Spark Manson Bashing". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  15. ^ "Marilyn Manson: Media Storm After Columbine 'Really Shut Down My Career Entirely'". Blabbermouth.net. Borivoj Krgin. 2015-06-24. Archived from the original on 2015-06-27. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
  16. ^ a b Marilyn Manson (1999-04-24). "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  17. ^ Kessler, Ted (2000-09-09). "Marilyn Manson Goes Ape". NME. Time Inc. UK. pp. 28–31. ISSN 0028-6362.
  18. ^ Burk, Greg (2001-01-18). "Marilyn: A Re-Examination". LA Weekly. Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  19. ^ Uhelszki, Jaan (1999-08-13). "Lynyrd Skynyrd Threaten Marilyn Manson With a Can of Whoop Ass". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  20. ^ "Directors call for tougher ratings". BBC News. BBC. 2000-09-15. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  21. ^ Strauss, Neil (1997-05-17). "A Bogey Band to Scare Parents With". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  22. ^ a b "California City Asks Marilyn Manson To Stay Away". VH1. Viacom Media Networks. 1999-04-28. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  23. ^ a b O'Connor, Christopher (1999-05-01). "Politicians Go On Offensive Against Marilyn Manson". VH1. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i O'Connor, Christopher (1999-05-04). "Senators Criticize Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails At Hearing". VH1. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  25. ^ "Outraged Senators Write To Manson's Label". VH1. Viacom Media Networks. 1999-04-29. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTimesStern was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ "Marilyn Manson: The Write To Be Wrong". NME. Time Inc. UK. 1999-05-01. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  28. ^ a b Tapper, Jake (2000-08-29). "Hollywood on trial". Salon. Salon Media Group Inc. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  29. ^ Sylvester, Sherri (1999-06-30). "Hollywood, government face off over violence in media". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, (Time Warner). Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  30. ^ Mancini, Al (2000-04-26). "Commentary: Media Violence Report Is Flawed". ABC News. Disney–ABC Television Group. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  31. ^ Lieberman, Joseph (2001-04-26). "S.792 - Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001". 107th United States Congress. Congress.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ "Hollywood denies 'selling violence'". BBC News. BBC. 2000-09-12. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  33. ^ "Lieberman steps up Hollywood attack". BBC News. BBC. 2001-07-06. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  34. ^ "Entertainment industry an issue, asset for presidential campaign". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, (Time Warner). 2000-11-06. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  35. ^ Eszterhas, Joe (2000-09-14). "They came, they caved". Salon. Salon Media Group Inc. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  36. ^ a b c Lanham, Tom (November 2000). "Marilyn Manson: Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder". Alternative Press. No. 148. pp. 76–86. ISSN 1065-1667.
  37. ^ a b c Childers, Chad (2016-11-14). "16 Years Ago: Marilyn Manson Emerges From the Eye of the Storm With 'Holy Wood' Album". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on 2017-01-28. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
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