| "The Dope Show" | ||||
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| Single byMarilyn Manson | ||||
| from the albumMechanical Animals | ||||
| Released | September 15, 1998 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:47 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Marilyn Manson singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "The Dope Show" onYouTube | ||||
"The Dope Show" is a song by Americanrock bandMarilyn Manson. It was released in September 1998 as the lead single from their third studio albumMechanical Animals. The lyrics were written byMarilyn Manson and the music composed byTwiggy Ramirez.
After the release ofAntichrist Superstar (1996), an album which sparked controversy amongChristian fundamentalists, Marilyn Manson did not want to resume playing the role of abogeyman. He feared that this would cause him to be "consigned to the one-note rock theatricality" ofKiss andAlice Cooper.[4] He desired to convince casualrock andpop fans who had previously dismissed him that he was "more than a cartoon". For his next album,Mechanical Animals (1998), he took inspiration from theglam rock music thatDavid Bowie made in the 1970s, and adopted a wardrobe and hairstyle similar to Bowie's.[5]
The album contained numerous references todrugs, which Manson said were inspired by the work of writers likeWilliam S. Burroughs andPhilip K. Dick. Manson explained: "I advocate the use of drugs, but have always looked down on the abuse of drugs. The people who misuse them give the rest of us a bad name, and I'm not only talking about street drugs. There are a lot of references in the album to the prescripted lifestyle that a lot people have followed and numbed out their emotions and become mechanical." "The Dope Show" was envisioned by Manson as "'We Are the World' for drug addicts."[5] However, Manson's guitarist,Twiggy Ramirez, described the track as a rip-off of theIggy Pop song "Nightclubbing" (1977) that takes influence from the music ofT. Rex andOasis.[6]
Three weeks prior to their official release, "The Dope Show" and thetitle track ofHole'sCelebrity Skin were played on stations in New York City and Los Angeles. Shortly afterward, "The Dope Show" was leaked to the internet by a fan, withMTV News describing the leak as "near CD-quality".[7]
"The Dope Show"'s single release was accompanied by a surrealisticmusic video directed byPaul Hunter, which premiered on August 20, 1998.[8] In scenes reminiscent ofThe Man Who Fell to Earth, Manson appears — red-haired, with his entire body, including prosthetic rubberbreasts, covered in white latex paint — as anandrogynousextraterrestrial wandering around theHollywood Hills. He is captured, studied in a laboratory, and eventually transported bylimousine to a stage where he and the other members of the band — the fictional band Omega and the Mechanical Animals — perform the song in concert before hysterical fans who end up rioting and crossing the security barriers. ActorBilly Zane makes acameo appearance in the limo sequence, as a recording industry executive. This same sequence features parodies ofSpin magazine (as "Spun" in the video) andThe National Enquirer.
The video's imagery employs several direct homages toThe Holy Mountain, most specifically a sequence involving the destruction of plaster casts of the main character's body in a crucifixion pose. In addition, sculptural pieces by German artistRebecca Horn are re-created such as "Overflowing Blood Machine" in which Manson is bound by long, red, blood-flowing tubes. In the limo sequence, "Cornucopia" a construction which seems to join the mouth and breasts with a self-nursing effect.
The video won aMTV Video Music Award for "Best Cinematography", as well as the "Maximum Vision" award. It was filmed on standard cinema-gradeKodak35 mm film stock; the contrast, saturation, and color tinting were all altered dramatically to obtain its vintage look. The video was filmed over two weeks — extreme in comparison to the industry standard of two days.Interscope Records funded the video, while HSI Productions produced and filmed it. Manson co-directed.[citation needed]
The "Hollywood Hills" scene with Manson walking outside was actually filmed in the city ofSimi Valley in southern California. The building in the background is theHouse of the Book building at theBrandeis-Bardin Institute.
"The Dope Show"'s performance sequence was filmed in front of the Los Angeles Municipal Traffic Court Building.[citation needed] TheBrutalist architecture did not permit a reasonable angle or height from which to film; instead, the band was placed on top of the trailer of an 18-wheeler transport truck. Cameras situated on mechanical arms, and at a distance across the street, were used to film the dramatic concert shots. These scenes are interspersed with cuts of underground transgender performerGoddess Bunny (aka Sandie Crisp) dancing in a yellow, sequined dress, similar to that worn by Twiggy Ramirez in the same video.[9][10] The costumes for the video, including the dresses and Marilyn Manson's red, diamond-patterned boots (which featured a 6-inch sole and heel) were designed jointly by Manson andTerri King.[citation needed] The Goddess Bunny's custom couture sequin gown (worn for the video and the live MTV awards performance), was designed and hand sewn by Kris Hendrickson Testanier of San Francisco.[citation needed]
The video reached number 16 on MuchMusic's "50 Most Controversial Videos", for Manson's shocking appearance. The video is available on a DVD included with some editions ofLest We Forget, as well as on the VHS compilationGod Is in the TV, which also included "uncensored" outtake footage, such asTwiggy Ramirez,Madonna Wayne Gacy and theGoddess Bunny undressing in the back of a limousine.
An alternate version of the video just featuring Manson and various close ups was released on the old Marilyn Manson website Marilyn Manson.net prior to the official release. Parts of this first video can be seen in the finished video.
Barry Walters ofThe Village Voice commented "The Dope Show is the first Manson single as memorable as its video. Over a skippingGary Glitter beat, the pied piper of gloom celebrates theClinton-era narcotics of oral stimulation and headrushing authority. Its sing-along chorus lends the social study a levity theReznor period denied, and the bite-sized lyrics—bon mots like "Cops and queers make good-looking models"—help the medicine go down. Despite the guitars pumping the hook in the provengrunge tradition, this bouncy sugar pill is radical for Manson not only because it's pop, but also because it's something few '90s rockers have attempted: it's sexy." He went on to conclude, "This born sophist once merely dared to deconstruct sexiness. By now embodying it, Satan's ambitious little helper has relocated Manson theory out of its logical head and into a freshly liberated and femme-y cyborg that sets it in motion. Its slinky gloss going against the rough Reznor grain, Manson's alien mannequeen declares independence from the industrial factory."[11]Spin described the song as a "Warholian discourse on [...] celebrity narcissism set to a creeping, pounding synthetic beat." They described the lyrics as simultaneously "pedantic" and "mildly alarming" but complimented "Manson’s campfire-ghost-story vocals and industrial rhythms" as the perfect complement to "druggy reveries and stomping choruses straight out of T. Rex’sElectric Warrior."[12]
"The Dope Show" was nominated forBest Hard Rock Performance at the41stGrammy Awards (1999).[13]Spin ranked "The Dope Show" the 3rd Best Single in their 1998 End Of Year List and 17th in their 2018 retrospectiveThe 88 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1998.[12][14] The music video for the single would later win theBest Cinematography in a Video category at the1999 MTV Video Music Awards.[15] The video also won twoBillboard Music Awards.[16]
"The Dope Show" and "The Beautiful People" written byMarilyn Manson andTwiggy Ramirez; "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" written byAnnie Lennox andDavid A. Stewart; "Apple of Sodom" written by Manson.
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Credits adapted from the liner notes ofMechanical Animals and "The Dope Show".[17][18]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[19] | 20 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[20] | 17 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[21] | 14 |
| Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[22] | 3 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[23] | 51 |
| Finland Airplay (IFPI Finland)[24] | 32 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[25] | 4 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] | 63 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] | 28 |
| Scotland (OCC)[28] | 16 |
| Spanish Airplay (AFYVE)[29] | 36 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] | 53 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[31] | 12 |
| USAlternative Airplay (Billboard)[32] | 15 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[33] | 12 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden (GLF)[34] | Gold | 15,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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