9 Times Marilyn Manson Was The Greatest Rockstar In Any Circle Of Hell

Album: Mechanical Animals (1998)

Killer Lyrics: There’s a hole in our soul that we’ll fill with dope / And we’re feeling fine

In what Manson called “the most hollow anthem on the record”, the band are accompanied by a trio of gospel singers and Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction), who plays the track’s guitar solo. The glam rock song is often compared to David Bowie’s Fame and Fashion. Manson’s influences are barefaced and unashamedly blatant.

The deceptively funky bass line manages to both compliment the heavier rock aspects of the track as well as its more subdued gospel moments. Manson’s vocals blend sharp annunciation with a violent spitting delivery that gives an immediacy to the lyrical statements.

On the lyrics, Manson said, “[t]he song actually uses drugs on different levels – the obvious and even the metaphorical.” Drugs are presented as a path towards freedom, an escape from a “white and oh so hetero” existence with p*ss tests and missionary sex. Rehab is equated to public shame. “I Don’t Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)” is a witty and acerbic retort, blaming the commodity which one consumes for their own behaviours of excess.