MARILYN MANSON On TWIGGY's Return: 'I Think We're Going To Start Writing Right Away'

Barry Thompson of BostonHerald.com recently conducted an interview with Marilyn Manson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

BostonHerald.com: So, Twiggy's back?

Manson: He's officially back. This is just the beginning. I think we're going to start writing right away, with the attitude we've made music with in the past, without any care at all. For Marilyn Manson, it seems to have become about the death toll, because we get blamed for every act of violence. They don't have a Grammy award for school shootings, but I guess I would get one if they did, whether I asked for one or not. It's good to have my partner back, who was the only person able to stare all of that in the face and not be afraid of it. He and I are like brothers in that when we're together, we're not afraid of anything. I think that's how we've made our best music.

BostonHerald.com: How different a person are you without the makeup on — like when you go to the supermarket?

Manson: I never go to the supermarket. When I'm onstage, I'm putting all my personal feelings in front of strangers. I still have those feelings when I'm offstage, and that's how I find myself as a person. Marilyn Manson is just semantics. It's what I called myself a long time ago, but it doesn't have to be about lipstick. I mean, that's a part of it, and that's what people often associate it with. But everyone understands what I do differently. That's all I can be, is a question mark. I'm not the answer.

BostonHerald.com: What's the secret to freaking people out?

Manson: If it was a secret, I probably wouldn't want to tell anyone. It's the same reason I started the band. I felt like there wasn't anything out there doing what I wanted it to be doing, so I had to do it. My last record ("Eat Me, Drink Me") was me saving myself from not being Marilyn Manson anymore. That record has helped me get back to where I was, so it couldn't be a better time for me and Twiggy to get back together. Now I have to make music that everyone else is afraid to make, and not care what anybody thinks. When you do that, it ends up being something honest. You can't fake that, so I've never tried. But there are a lot of people who do. I think that's the difference. I'm comprised of a fake name. It's a lie on top of a lie, but that's more honest than anything, because I'm the one admitting it.

Read the entire interview at BostonHerald.com.

MARILYN MANSON performing in Atlanta, Georgia on January 22, 2008: