He was always just a great glam guy in elaborate corpse paint. That often dates it it’s a laugh to peer back out of the daily absurdity of 2018 to a time when the country seemed united in terror at the sight and sounds of an artist like Marilyn Manson. Transgressive art resonates as response to the very specific social sensibilities of the times in which it is created.
Disaffected teens fought stasis and conformity. Their favorite bands’ arch-nemesis was plain old Middle America. All those black-clad teens shuffling around small town malls in Tripp pants and band tees got rides there and back from loving parents. I think a lot of ’90s youth angst was cosmetic. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for FYF
