Yeah, we went there. It is Friday the 13th after all, and when diving into the video vaults there are few videos that raise the hair on the back of our collective necks more than this Willy Wonka-inspired video for Marilyn Manson’s “Dope Hat”.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there’s no denying the impact Marilyn Manson had, not only on music culture, but American culture as a whole. From lawsuits to being banned from performing, controversy always followed these guys around in their heyday, often for utilizing questionable imagery and lyrical content. Advocates of nonconformity and iconoclasm, the band and their members took their names from combining the first name of an iconic female sex symbol and the last name of an iconic mass murderer or serial killer, doing so to demonstrate the odd dichotomy of society (American society, in particular). Seriously, that reason alone makes this a perfect Friday the 13th video.
Starting out as Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids in 1990, they took on the stage names of Marilyn Manson, Daisy Berkowitz and Olivia Newton Bundy, respectively. They were soon joined by Madonna Wayne Gacy, while Bundy was replaced by Gidget Gein, who was later replaced by Twiggy Ramirez because of an ongoing heroin addiction. In 1991, drummer Fred Streithorst joined the band, with the stage name Sara Lee Lucas.
While “Get Your Gunn” was the first official video, Marilyn Manson started their ascension into stardom on the heels of the incredibly creepy third single, “Dope Hat”. Despite being banished to late-night only airplay on MTV, the video featuring Manson in the role of Willy Wonka in a shock-horror version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory eventually led to the development of the hour-long Remix album, Smells like Children. The album’s fifteen tracks of covers, remixes, and bizarre sonic experiments also included the band’s version of the Eurythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, which would prove to be Marilyn Manson’s first legitimate hit.
Marilyn Manson – “Dope Hat”
February 13th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
what a ridiculous song. but I secretly like it.