OFF: Truth (oh no) and Shock Rock

[John A Swartz]

> Like Elvis not being allowed on TV, and
        then only from the waist down.

Uh Chip...

>3) Everyone whining here about Marilyn Manson probably has an
        Ozzy album or two somewhere - what's the difference?  WHAT ABOUT
        ALICE COOPER?  The people here complaining about MM have
        probably tapped their fingers to "I'm 18" or "School's Out" at
        least once in their lives - EVER SEEN AN ALICE COOPER SHOW?
        It's GWAR and MM combined.

Good points, for what I know about Ozzy, Alice (both of which I've seen),
MM and GWAR (which I haven't - well, did catch some live footage of a
recent GWAR show in Boston - decapitated corpse spewing blood everywhere
via a hose - all seemed very silly to me).

My dislike from what I know about MM is the blantant attack on my religious
beliefs (agree or disagree with me, but I believe in God, and feel that an
album titled "Anti-Christ Superstar" crosses the line for me personally).
Ozzy, despite what people wanted you to believe, never came across to me
as "satanic" - sure, there was some evil imagery, but it was more like a
horror movie.  And, if you look at much of Ozzy and Black Sabbath's
lyrics, you can see that they are more political than religious, and often
speak of loving eachother -- Ozzy, despite his image, is basically a
hippie from the 60s.  Also, the guy says "God Bless You" in concert far
too much to be a satanist, IMHO.  As for Alice Cooper, he definitely had
some graphic shows - again, I saw it more like a horror movie though.
Also, and maybe this is a meaningless point, but Cooper didn't, to my
knowlege cover the audience in blood + guts (and other fluids that GWAR
uses).  I wonder if getting the audience involved in such a way somehow
changes the concert from just a "show" to some sort of "experience" (for
lack of a better term).

Anyways, this isn't a disagreement with Chip - just some food for thought.

>That's what I mean about perspective.  People here have
        complained about "how awful" things are today and "how could
        they get any worse?"  Parents have been saying the same thing
        since the beginning of time.

True enough.  You wonder though - and this is not meant as an argument
of Chip's points - when does it end?  I mean, at some point (and some
would think we're getting close), almost nothing becomes shocking or
"over the top".  What will be shocking in 50 or so years?

Final food for thought - there's a saying that if you throw a frog in a
pot of boiling water, it will jump out.  But, put him in a pot of lukewarm
water and slowly turn up the heat over time, and he'll eventually be
cooked alive.

John