Marilyn Manson And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

I remember watching some late night Comedy Central bit where a standup comedian was giving their take on the Friends theme song. You know the one. The one that goes, "When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year…" All the comedian could do at that point was laugh and offer the advice that if it hasn't been your year, maybe just hit the snooze button and stay in bed.

With that being said, it might be time for Marilyn Manson to hit the snooze and take a personal day.

Hopes started out so high for the goth rocker at the end of last year, with a series of clips hinting at new material, which would eventually manifest in the release of Heaven Upside Down this October. It appeared to many, Manson included, that he was on his way back to a rebranding, after spending years heading toward what most people assumed to be irrelevancy.

Then along Justin Bieber came to snatch that spotlight, claiming that he "made Manson relevant again" after using his likeness on a 2016 tour shirt, which Manson claimed he didn't sign off on. This kick-started a short-lived but bitter feud with Bieber which one could argue was warranted given that Bieber was selling the shirts for ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE DOLLARS; but it's still not really a good look for the Prince of Darkness to be seen in a schoolyard fight with Canada's Biggest Mistake.

The two would eventually settle the feud amicably, and not long after Manson even buried his longstanding grudge with Nine Inch Nail's Trent Reznor. Not bad, huh? Alas, this is usually the part of the play where your hopes get raised just ever-so-slightly, only for things to come tumbling down all around you.

In late September, while performing in New York City, a stage prop fell on Manson during his performance, causing him to hit his head and break his leg in two places, and ultimately cancel the remainder of his tour.

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While recuperating at home, Manson at least had time to be excited about the full release of Heaven Upside Down, except that no one else really was. Though it hasn't tanked, the album has generally received lukewarm receptions, including reviews stating that "the shock value has long worn off", and that Manson is "his own worst enemy". Alas, it seems that in Heaven Upside Down, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

This would all be bad enough if not for the slew of more bad news to emerge this week. Two days ago, Jack Off Jill lead singer Jessicka Addams came forward accusing Manson's bassist Twiggy Ramirez of rape and domestic abuse while the two were dating. Manson has responded, empathizing with Addams, though no word has come yet regarding Ramirez's place in the band.

And now, only hours after this came to light, news came this morning that guitarist and co-founder of Manson's group Scott Putesky, a.k.a. Daisy Berkowitz had passed away at age 49 from colon cancer. Berkowitz was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer in 2013.

"Scott Putesky and I made great music together," Manson wrote on Instagram following Putesky's death. "We had our differences over the years, but I will always remember the good times more."

All of this has amounted to a less-than-stellar year for the shock rocker. With only a little over two months left to go in 2017, maybe Manson should take a lesson from Morrissey and spend the rest of the year in bed.

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