There is a point in One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 where the language of survival finally becomes the language of retaliation. “The Arsonist” is that point. The song is not simply about having survived an attempt to destroy you. It is about what happens afterward, when the person who has been burned decides that the fire did not finish him and that the scars it left behind have become part of his strength. Manson himself described the song as the moment when the narrative of the two chapters “crystallizes into a battle stance,” and, referring to the painting he created for it, said that the “burned scar tissue” had formed into armor. That description gets very close to the heart of the song. The fire has not disappeared. It has changed him. The title is important because Manson does not call the song The Survivor or The Victim . He calls it "The Arsonist." An arsonist deliberately starts a fire, and this changes the entire perspective of the song. The speaker is no...
Love and Rockets Concert Poster from March 1996 In the journal section of Marilyn Manson's autobiography The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell , he describes his first meeting with the band members of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets - Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins and David J. It is dated January 29, 1997 and says it was written in San Diego at 7 A.M. It is an interesting description of their first meeting. It basically begins with Daniel Ash wanting to hang out with Manson, Manson showing hospitality to his guests and musical idols, and him kissing Manson's ass and wanting to remix a Manson song. But then Daniel Ash takes a 180 turn out of nowhere and starts making accusations against Manson based on rumors and tells him his career is going nowhere. Manson seemed to be very disappointed with the fact that a musical idol of his turned on him over a bunch of false rumors that he was a devil worshiper and rape advocate. When you read this in light of the accusations brought against Manson to...