About as transgressive as a Scooby Doo villain?if not quite as scary? Manson’s attempts to present himself as a serious artist have always been laughable, and his political insights have similar cultural resonance to his fifth-form paintings. His singles, though, are frequently tremendous, revealing Manson to be an endearing glam-pop oaf. The daft versions of ’80s synth-pop?”Personal Jesus”, “Sweet Dreams”, “Tainted Love”?are all here. But it’s his own fantasias that show his truly subversive side: selling fabulous Gary Glitter stomps to a studiously alienated, pop-hating congregation.
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