Lady Gaga will be in town this weekend, and although avid Rocks Off readers may think otherwise, we really aren't her biggest fans - with the exception of Craig's Hlist, of course. Still, what we do respect about the glam-pop artist is her ability to bring Marilyn Manson's marketing tactics to the forefront of the music business. Although metal has its faithful fans, it will never have the influence of pop.
We're not calling Gaga a thief, but ever since she stepped into the spotlight, parallels between her and Manson have been drawn in our mind. And maybe his.
"I think she's very funny and creative, because I did a remix with her, but at the same time, I like when people at least give credit to their inspirations," Manson said of Gaga in an interview.
"You can't create without borrowing from what's already been done, so you have to take it and make it your own, and a lot of people don't know how to do that now, so that's why we have a bankruptcy of good art."
Since Gaga's rise to stardom, commenters and bloggers alike have not only compared the two, but some even asked if they were the same person.
Rocks Off believes that this may very well be the case, and until we see the two together with our own eyes, we'll continue to believe one is Bruce Wayne and the other Batman. It's not too much of a stretch, really: The way they dress, the way they pose for pictures, and the calm, almost blank stare they constantly give in photographs.
As of late, Manson seems to have returned to mostly leather garb and bleach-white makeup, while Gaga looks like an extra in any video from Manson's Mechanical Animals album.
Gaga also takes the reins of her sexuality in a similar way. Manson's dark lyrics about sex, which have haunted and comforted listeners for over a decade, aren't too different from Gaga's. And if they're different, the outcome is still the same: The artist creates a sexual image from him/herself that transcends barriers between most artists and their fans of the opposite sex.
For example, we're a fan of a few female pop stars, but their sexual imagery is sexy, while Gaga's is dirtier, grittier, and she almost makes us feel bad for looking at her body during her music videos.
Manson and Gaga seem to be on good terms, at least for the time being . And although we'll never have the ear for Gaga's sound that we have for Manson's, we can surely appreciate her achievements in bringing some substance to pop music, because it's been needing it for a while.
The fame and the recognition from the masses may not go to Manson, but at least the general public is getting a taste of how music can be fun and scary, sexy and revolting, happy and sad, choreographed and spontaneous and have an artful undertone. In the case of these two, it's hardly a subtle one.
But then again, maybe we've got it backwards, and it's actually Gaga who influences Manson. According to Popcrunch.com, Manson has a crush on Gaga and couldn't respect her more.
And he could probably use a new muse anyway, so we're all for it.
