Composition
Unlike Marilyn Manson's previous work, Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals is, on an aesthetic level, far less dark. In both image and music, Mechanical Animals is inspired by 1970s style, Bowie-esque glam rock (Manson has often cited David Bowie as his biggest influence). The album also borrows heavily from Bowie's 1974 concept album Diamond Dogs. Most songs contain lighter melodies, however, this 'lightness' does not necessarily extend to the lyrics. The music is also far more complicated than most of his work.
The song "Great Big White World" raised concerns, among some groups, of possibly being a racially-motivated reference until Manson himself cleared up the rumors by stating that it was about cocaine.
Rolling Stone described Manson's crooning on the title track, "Mechanical Animals", as evocative of "the sultry vibe of T. Rex's Marc Bolan".
"I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" features guitar work by Dave Navarro.
Read more about this topic: Mechanical Animals
Famous quotes containing the word composition:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
“The naive notion that a mother naturally acquires the complex skills of childrearing simply because she has given birth now seems as absurd to me as enrolling in a nine-month class in composition and imagining that at the end of the course you are now prepared to begin writing War and Peace.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“Every thing in his composition was little; and he had all the weaknesses of a little mind, without any of the virtues, or even the vices, of a great one.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)