Waking Eyes (Part 2 of Bitter End).

"I refuse to be a Queen, I refuse to control even the smallest of creatures, let them be in control of themselves, specially you, White Rabbit, " These were Alice´s last words. "Break up, break up, wake up, wake up...

...wake up, wake up!"

1. Monologue from Manson.

"All these visions, what a hell of a storm. Damn, how long was I dozed off?  Almost twenty minutes. 6:19 A.M on the grandfather´s clock. The roof of the house looked so huge and I, I was so small to jump....the full Moon filled me. I feel nourished now, my senses are highlighted.

I am normally not a man of faith but I kept a the Bible opened by my night table in a passage, Matthew 6:19:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I possessed her, but I didn´t her to be another one of my possessions.

What´s today, I hate keeping a notion of time, I always feel like the goddam White Rabbit...

CHRISTMAS. Of course, another chance, a time for rebirth. The ghosts are no longer lurking around the corners of the house. But there´s one I still remember:

"Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes."

I smiled. Something tells me I will see her with waking eyes soon."

This story hasn´t ended yet...

2. EPILOGUE:

Looking for literary and visual parallels between  Alice In Wonderland, EAT ME, DRINK ME and vampirism was amazing. It shows us that imagination soars whenever you have the chance to listen to the record.

We gladly put it out of the vault because it was somewhat underrated and it deserved to have a second look. Manson´s music has always been filled with tons of references, including symbolism. If you have it, treasure it, it´s not just a possession. The order in which the songs were reviewed was arranged to fit more or less the storyline of Alice In Wonderland and here´s how it ended:

1. If I Was Your Vampire (Chapter I: Down the Rabbit-Hole)
2. Putting Holes In Happiness (Chapter I: Down the Rabbit-Hole, Chapter II: The Pool of Tears)
3. Just A Car Crash Away (Chapter II: The Pool of Tears, Chapter III: A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale)
4. They Say That Hell´s Not Hot (Chapter III: A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale, Chapter IV: The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill)
5. "Are You The Rabbit?" (Chapter V: Advice from a Caterpillar, Chapter VI: Pig and Pepper)
6. Heart-Shaped Glasses (Chapter VII: A Mad Tea-Party)
7. Evidence (Chapter VIII: The Queen's Croquet-Ground)
8. The Red Carpet Grave (Chapter XI: Who Stole the Tarts?)
9. Mutilation Is The Most Sincere Form Of Flattery (none)
10. You And Me And The Devil Makes Three (Chapter 2 - The Garden of Live Flowers)
11. EAT ME, DRINK ME (Chapter 2 - The Garden of Live Flowers, A boat beneath a sunny sky)

Of course, not all the chapters were included, while other characters were not mentioned. Thus, there are other similarities:

- Did you know that Alice In Wonderland  and Through The Looking Glass consist of twelve chapters each, while EAT ME, DRINK ME has eleven studio songs and an extra track, making that 12.

- 11 is a very symbolic number as well.  In "Through The Looking Glass" Alice beats the Red Queen in eleven moves (see: http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/books/2chess.html) while in Chapter 11  and 12 of "Alice In Wonderland" Alice is put into a trial and comes out victorious of Wonderland? Plus, the album ends in Track 11: EAT ME, DRINK ME, which mentions:


    But then our star rushes in,
    feeling like a child and looking
    like a woman...
    She has been forecast with an
    attempt to kill ourself,
    but the ending didn't test well.
    
    She has been forecast with an
    attempt to kill ourself,
    but the ending didn't test well.


This was just an experiment for inspirational purposes, thanks for reading More to come soon!

Queen Alice? (Part 1 of Bitter End).

EAT ME, DRINK ME
This is only a game,
This is only a game

"I survived the garden of the flowers of evil exactly like you wanted," said Alice to the White Rabbit as she crushed the carcasses of the poppies, knife in hand. "But how much farther?"

"Not much now," as the fields die the road to the palace reveals itself slowly.

The young girl with eyes so blue felt a sudden rush of adrenaline and triggered her heart. "How curious," she said softly. "It feels as if I had sipped some very exotic tea; not too hot to burn your tongue, not too cold to make it tasteless."

"It´s in her blood now, I can feel it," the rabbit thought to himself as he rubbed his furry paws.

"But then our star rushes in,
Feeling like a child and looking
Like a woman...
She has been forecast with an
Attempt to kill herself,
But the ending didn't test well."

Alice didn´t like very much what she saw next, but she moved on anyway...her heart was pounding faster than ever, almost at the same rate as a rabbit´s heartbeat...

" I see HER!" Alice shouted, her voice sounded raspy, "But she´s even bigger than me! Whatever will I do?"

" She might appear bigger and stronger, but certainly not faster..." whispered The White Rabbit in her ear. "The Red Queen once said:

"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!' 


(from "Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There).

Ans so she did, she ran twice as fast until she could see her face to face. And then Alice with he wind against  her hair lifted the blade, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

The scene faded away, gone with the winter breeze and then she woke up in a very wide but elegant place. The throne room where the "Her Majesty" was once.

Alice´s eyes turned to a funny, man made chair made of glass.

"That´s impossible!" she said. "I´ve seen chairs made of wood, probably metal, or even stone like the cavemen used to have, but a throne made of glass is so very fragile that it should shatter into tiny crystals if anyone sat there!"

"But dear girl," replied the White Rabbit. "How will you know that it breaks if you haven´t even tried it yet?"

"I have heard, you see," continued Alice. "Cups when they fall on the ground, windows when they get accidentally smashed, and also, looking-glasses..."

"That´s what you have learned so far, my dear," said the cottontail ." Down here, the strength of things is measured by your own. If now you think you´re as fragile as that chair then go ahead and sit on it and watch it become something irreparable."

"I am strong, I sure am." said Alice. "But this chair doesn´t belong to me, if I´m destined to be queen then I shall be Queen Alice. Furthermore, it means that I shall rule over you and you´ll become my servant, then our work will never be done. I may have destroyed your demons, but I shall not become another one of them."

The White Rabbit grew puzzled and his tiny knees were shaking.

"This throne is for you, but this is the symbol of what you had with the Queen, it was a mockery of a kingdom. It means NOTHING."

"Word witchcraft again, word witchcraft again," muttered the rabbit as he covered his long, velvet-like ears.

Alice approached the magnificently crafted chair. "Thank you for carrying me all the way up to here, you silly little thing, and then she talked out loud as she sat:

    "This is where it starts.

    This is where it will end.

    Here comes the moon again."

"Watch this, you need to," she continued and got up. Single-handedly she lifted the glass throne with such ease. The White Rabbit saw dozens and dozens AND DOZENS of shards fly across the room, were they diamonds? No, but it seemed like they were...

The diamond storm turned now into a big fire:

The Flowers Of Evil...

WARNING:  This part might still be nonsense, but it´s inspired from the previous post and other things, we´re almost near the Queen Of Hearts´ palace


                                     

The White Rabbit began a new transformation as his symbolic "birthday" arrived revealing the shape of a full-fledged blood-thirsty killer. But it seems facing the Queen wouldn´t be that simple; the way was paved by a garden of evil flowers...

"I should see the garden far better,' said Alice to herself, `if I could get to the top of that hill: and here's a path that leads straight to it -- at least, no, it doesn't do that -- ' (after going a few yards along the path, and turning several sharp corners), `but I suppose it will at last. But how curiously it twists! It's more like a corkscrew than a path! Well, this turn goes to the hill, I suppose -- no, it doesn't! This goes straight back to the house! Well then, I'll try it the other way.' 

(from "Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There"). 

How very curious, for "You And Me And The Devil Makes Three" begins:

     " I'm just like rolling a stone up

    a hill in the Hades

    if you want to lie with me

    you're going to be a liar."

For all we know Alice stepped into a garden of live flowers. She saw this new wonder as well: a live white rose.

Another example of the white rose, a connection
with the Mystic Rose.

But as she bravely approached the badlands with Mr. Rabbit on her back, she encountered a seductive crimson field with a rather queer looking flower.

Untitled picture by Perou depicting the garden of poppies,
flowers of evil?

Les Fleurs Du Mal, a watercolor painting by MM.

An example of an actual opium flower.

Artwork for EAT ME, DRINK ME´s booklet,
adopting a more vampiric image.

I found it very curious that in another world called Oz the Wicked Witch Of The West had the similar kind of weaponry:

Dorothy falls asleep in the field of poppies.

"Watch out, watch out, dear Alice!" shouted The White Rabbit. " I should have told you about this earlier.  As soon as you lay your head on this bed of crimson flowers the Queen shall have you beheaded in an instant!"

"My, then Her Majesty is playing a rather deadly game, isn´t she? I´m not afraid," said Alice quite confident. "You always led the way, now I ask you once again, what shall we do this time?"

The White Rabbit jumped into Alice´s arms and whispered softly as he intentionally started at her with gleaming eyes, 

EAT ME, DRINK ME, this is only a game...

"I beg you pardon?" she responded.

Scene from Disney´s "Alice In Wonderland". In the original story
Alice drank from the DRINK ME bottle to grow larger...
However the cookie jar resembles a chalice.

"Remember the day you went to my house? When you EAT ME you shrink, when you DRINK ME you grow. A wise man like most of the folk stuck down this hole once said :

"This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

"I am life and death as well, love and hate, drink from my blood and you shall grow just enough to take this bouquet of knives and slay the Queen."

At this point Alice stopped feeling like a child, but when she stared at those big round eyes from that cuddly furball she just couldn´t say no.

"Murdercute happyrape, murdercute happy, happy, happyrape killer."

 `It was much pleasanter at home,' thought poor Alice, `when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit-hole--and yet--and yet--it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life! 


(from Chapter 4: The Rabbit Sends In A Little Bill)




With blood-shot eyes Alice felt ready to take on the wicked Queen and her insignificant pack of cards, but something inside of her was growing and growing besides her size...


"Soon, my dear Rabbit soon, these knives look like sharp teeth..."

Today Is My Birthday...

WARNING: These next lines are inspired by the evidence found recently by comparing the album EAT ME, DRINK ME with Alice In Wonderland.


"No more unbirthdays for me!", shouted the White Rabbit jumping with joy.

"I dreamed I stopped by a forest and as I walked through I saw a bunch of rabbits, of all shapes and sizes, but most of them were golden brown.

I tried to reach them but I was stopped by a small snake. It's one of those that's usually striped in it was poisonous. I grabbed the beast and I attempted to kill it not caring whether it bit me. A while later I discovered it wasn't real, it was mechanical; a pathetic mechanical animal. Why would an insignificant slithering creature have such a huge strength?

And then I remembered, that was no snake! It's the Queen Of Hearts in disguise, she always does this! How I wanted to behead her, I felt that I could do it so easily."

Alice woke up and said smiling, "I felt it too, but in a different way!"

I had a dream, this dream I feel the need to mention, I was happy for a while and I stopped being scared.

And The White Rabbit continued sobbing, "And as I watched that I heard this song:

"Hush now baby, baby, dont you cry.
Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mother's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She wont let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm.
Ooooh baby ooooh baby oooooh baby,
Of course mama'll help to build the wall."


(Mother, from Pink Floyd´s The Wall)


"She wouldn't hurt me, but she'll never let me go, she's got me in her clutches. Do you honestly think I can get rid of her for good?" asked The White Rabbit quite timidly.

"Not really, in a way she'll always haunt us," answered Alice. But for now we can only remove one of her many heads, specially the one that you fear the most.

"Absolutely! Today we celebrate, since is her unbirthday."

The unbirthday is the opposite of the celebration of being born. While it's an apparent nonsense and a chance for more fun, it has a terrible darkside, it's like turning back time, in other words, something worse than Death.

When the Death Tarot Card is upside down it's quite clear that this means being caught in the inescapable, not being born, which means the unbirthdays shouldn't be happening in the real world.

Death Card in right position. The white rose is
drawn in the manner of the Rosacrucian symbol,
which explains Alice In Wonderland´s connection with
the world of the Occult. 

Example of a Rosacrucian symbol.
As a matter of fact it has been said that
Lewis Carroll belong to these secret orders.

Death Card, upside down. When it´s shown in this position
means lack of progress or awareness, interrupting the natural course of life,
exposing why the Victorian era in which the Alice book were written
could have been repressive for the artists and thinkers of the time.

"We planted the white roses by mistake", but then again it could
have meant a symbol of their faith

The Rosa Mystica applied in "Rozen Maiden" a popular anime that is
heavily inspired by Alice In Wonderland. The rose is the element that
keeps the dolls alive.

"The white roses the Clovers planted, was that really a mistake dear Rabbit?" asked Alice.

"I hardly believe so..."

If you notice The Death Tarot Card carries a flag with a White Rose on it. The origin comes from the Mystic Rose, which means life or rebirth.

"But then how are we to give birth by killing?"

"Isn't it obvious, she doesn't give death..." said The White Rabbit.

Soon, we will be able to plant as many White Roses as we want then, what a curious afternoon this has turned out to be!

Notice how at this point Alice/Lolita and The White Rabbit/Manson characters and their universe have found a common ground:

- Both agree that a change is needed against a society which has failed to evolve.


- Both have hidden messages and inspire to research occult themes.


- They are free spirited and are determined to speak their minds. They want to wake up, they want to be born.
 

From "Phantasmagoria". Observe that so-called White Rabbit has
a black band around his eyes, like eyeliner.They are actually born this way.
It remains caged. Do you see if it resembles anybody you know?

Artwork for EAT ME, DRINK ME´s booklet which shows Manson
below the lyrics to "Are You The Rabbit?", coincidence?

Alice and The White Rabbit reunite. Thus, a new journey begins...

"Yesterday everything, I thought I believed in died,  but today is my birthday,"  

(from "15" in The High End Of Low)

A Red Carpet Massacre...

WARNING: In this next part we painted our roses red and we´re not ashamed of it, we are plotting to behead.

"They call her bulldozer speech demon without distractions of hope, she makes the depression business look surprisingly novel."

The Queen Of Hearts, demon woman, whatever, embodies all the elements of ruling with heavy authority. She refuses to listen, sit down and dialogue. In fact, she hates anything that makes sense. In fact, she thinks that anything can be solved just by chopping off everybody´s heads off. And, as the Caterpillar said, "why" the head?. Because it is the only way to grow as a person, by learning.

NOTE: In real life the person that Manson was describing in the song is believed to his ex-wife, but it could have also been a reference the imposing mainstream culture who, acts like a bulldozer and removes the real artists.

"Us boys are all dressed up like a mediocre suicide omen,
 here comes the red carpet grave..."

The King of Hearts was also known as The Suicide King because his card looks like he is holding a knife in his head. However, in the illustrations by John Tenniel he doesn´t have such weapons. However, our Clover boys have other names and meanings. You see, their "distant relatives" the Tarot Cards predict the near future, but they advise an evil omen?

Let´s see:

The Ace of Clovers is equivalent to The Ace of Wands! Think, think, think, this reminds me of someone. Aha! Remember we spoke of the King Of Wands? The Ace is actually a card that brings good luck, like a four leaf clover...

The Deuce of Clovers is equivalent to The Two Of Wands! It means it´s a card that invites us to take a bold journey to face the unknown , new experiences

The Three of Clovers is equivalent to The Three of Wands of course. It is a card of nobility, balance. He has plans to complete a mission..

So, were these boys traitors, probably. But their days were counted anyway. And what about the King Of Wands, or Clovers? In the old he was fashioned after a legendary king, Alexander The Great.

    "I can't turn my back on you,

    when you are walking away."

A rebellion in Wonderland? That´s unheard of. Fear this goverment!

    "The trees in the courtyard are painted in blood,

    so I've heard.

    She hangs the headless

    upside down to drain." (from Eat Me, Drink Me)

If the cards are upside down for everyone to contemplate indeed they will become a bad omen or perhaps our hopes and dreams of a better future will be forgotten. Not if Alice and The White Rabbit can help it.

"It´s easy to beat the system, had a hard time beating the symptoms."

Lots of  ideas are brought back to life in these lyrics, and this last part reminds us of a quote from Manson´s Journal from 2002:

"We are being told that the sounds and images of art are now the symptoms of the creator. We as the artists, are now considered unhealthy and incurable."

The White Rabbit knew well when he stumbled upon Alice. Her virtues are needed to destroy and rebuild, and the only way will be by beheading The Queen...what a gruesome task for a child to perform, but if she already has a way with words, she can handle a blade pretty well...

OFF WITH HER HEAD!

The White Rabbit´s Evidence...

Goodness, did it just sound like a broken watch at the end of "Heart-Shaped Glasses"? Of course it did. And it was "exactly two days slow". That explains why the White Rabbit was highly concerned about it.


      "Faster, faster
    faster-faster-faster
    faster-faster-faster
    I'm late, I'm late
    And the hands on my clock
    are starting to shake"

The notion of time was quite tricky in Wonderland. No one was ever late for tea because it always happened around The Mad Hatter, and yet the White Rabbit is tied to the clock like a ball and chain. It just doesn´t make any sense, and that´s the whole point.

But as the watch broke we found some funny shapes in it, like cogs and springs, some of them even reminded us of the spiral, one of the most ancient symbols in the world:

A simple spiral which can be found in many
elements in nature.

The Spiral Heart designed for EAT ME, DRINK ME ,
an emblem for a new era.

The Card Maze, another possible source of inspiration for the
Spiral Heart design, notice the uneven lines and edges.

In conclusion, all these elements are living, moving elements. And isn´t the heart one of the most treasured things ever? Then why did it become a symbol of tragedy, who tainted it and stripped it from all its beauty? Ask the Queen Of Hearts, of course.

 `Would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, `why you are painting those roses?'

Five and Seven said nothing, but looked at Two. Two began in a low voice, `Why the fact is, you see, Miss, this here ought to have been a RED rose-tree, and we put a white one in by mistake; and if the Queen was to find it out, we should all have our heads cut off, you know. So you see, Miss, we're doing our best, afore she comes, to--'

  

    "...and we'll paint

    over the evidence".

Alice eagerly painting the roses red.

But here´s another piece of EVIDENCE:

"...your lips look like they were made for something else,

but they just suck my breath".

"A hunter from the darkest wild... makes you feel just like a child."  (Jumanji, 1995)


White could be an analogy for innocence. While there was no white suit of cards in Poker, just black and red a white rose is seen as a "mistake", one that was heavily punished by The Queen Of Hearts. Another explanation could have been because of The White Queen (from the chessboard in Through The Looking Glass).

"The Queen she likes 'em red

If she saw white instead

She'd raise a fuss

And each of us

Would quickly lose his head

Goodness!

Since this is the part we dread".

We're painting the roses red

(from the Disney song: Painting The Roses Red)

Thus, we understand that the Queen of Hearts clearly identifies herself with the red roses,  which have a universal meaning of love and romance. However, in her case they could stand for wrath, so said the Caterpillar to Alice;

"don´t lose your temper..."

for you might end up like Her Majesty, who also refuses to dialogue; if there is anything she doesn´t like she´ll shout, "off with your head!", an obvious reference to beheading.

This concept could be taken one step further and "beheading" could also mean destroy anything produced by the head; the brain, reason, logic. This becomes even more EVIDENT in this scene:

Carroll wrote the following:

"I pictured to myself the Queen of Hearts as a sort of embodiment of ungovernable passion – a blind and aimless Fury."

Clearly she knows nothing about the matters of the heart. Looks to us as if she were actually the Queen Of Spades.

`That's the most important piece of evidence we've heard yet,' said the King, rubbing his hands; `so now let the jury--' 

I Want To Go Among Mad People...

WARNING: In this next part Manson makes an imaginary encounter with an Alice/Lolita- inspired girl inside Wonderland and is cleverly disguised as The White Rabbit, for in the previous chapter we sketched out that he could have been the rabbit after all...

"Together as one against all others"...

(Running To The Edge Of The World, 2009)

Until now our fallen idol has realized that he´s just a rabbit, a helpless creature living in a cage, being watched and enjoyed by millions and millions of people around the world. A singing bird who has no wings to fly. A shadow, a servant of the Queen Of Hearts. "Faster, faster, I´m late, I´m late..." What are you really afraid of White Rabbit, being slain or becoming a slayer, well?

Alice was just on her way to the tea party, you see , but it took her quite a while to come to such a conclusion.

`Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. `Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. `Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

`I don't much care where--' said Alice.

`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' 

`How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice. 

`You must be,' said the Cat, `or you wouldn't have come here.' 

Obviously she landed on the right place; being here seems doubtful, huh? 

"Little girl, little girl, do you even know what you´re
doing in a place like this?"

In the video version of the song "Heart-Shaped Glasses" a young Evan Rachel Wood appears portraying the character of Dolores Haze, better known as Lolita, also a novel by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov. In it, Dolores is described by his stepfather Humbert Humbert as a "nymphet" (from the term nymph) a child between the age of nine and fourteen, more likely at puberty or early developed.

There is no apparent relation between Alice and Lolita, yet if one is quite a good observer, the little girl in the blue dress was sort of precocious.

"little girl, little girl, you should close your eyes, that blue is getting me high, making me low."

We may not be in a tea party, but for sure we´re among mad people.

Mr. Lewis Carroll imagined these next episodes with the March Hare, the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse, but Mr. Disney introduced the White Rabbit as a new guest. And the frisky cottontail didn´t come here exactly for tea. He claimed he was always late, but now he´s just in time to meet this demon of a girl, this Alice/Lolita steps into the room with heart-shaped glasses and all...

Pay closer attention in the scene from the Disney movie where Alice jumps excited to see The White Rabbit again:

     " She reminds me of
    the one in school
    when I was cutting
    she was dressed in white
    and I couldn't take my eyes off her
    but that's not what I took off that night."


For she (Alice) appears as the ideal Queen of Hearts, the one who dabbles in the realms of the mind and has mastered the art of being desired. The White Rabbit feels shocked, and at the same time wrapped up with a familiar feeling, one that remained dormant.


     " And I don't mind you
    keeping me
    on pins and needles.
    If I could stick to you
    and you could
    stick me too.
    Don't break, don't break 
    my heart
    and I won't break your
    heart-shaped glasses."

A promise is made, a ritual to renew the passion and the love which were swiped from his hands. However, Mr. Rabbit doesn´t mind being victimized every now and then.

The part, "keeping me on pins and needles" could be a loose reference to voodoo dolls, where we can stick pins anywhere we want, except for the heart. This last part reminded me of a song from some time ago, "Tourniquet", from Antichrist Superstar.

"take your hatred out on me, make your victim my head, you never ever believed in me, I am your tourniquet."

The pact that night was sealed with a kiss. The White Rabbit´s heart eventually would heal, but it would never forget.

`Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

See how in this scene blood plays an important role.

A storm of blood fills the bedroom, almost like a ritual.

Once the deal is done, a promise is made:

"Together as one against all others"...

With a lucky rabbit´s foot we´re on our way to pay a visit to the Queen, or perhaps behead her?

`That's very curious!' she thought. `But everything's curious today. I think I may as well go in at once.'

Notice how Evan plays with a butcher knife and compare it to American Mc Gee´s Alice. Curiously, Manson was involved in the creative process of the videogame. Another similarity is shown in the poster art of Stanley Kubrick´s Lolita.

American Mc Gee´s Alice with
The Vorpal Blade

Stanley Kubrick´s Lolita Poster Art

Evan with butcher knife

Watch the full video for "Heart-Shaped Glasses" here, (but if you´re naughty I recommend you hunt for the uncensored version).

Let us end this golden afternoon with these clever words:

"Once more she found herself in the long hall, and close to the little glass table. `Now, I'll manage better this time,' she said to herself, and began by taking the little golden key, and unlocking the door that led into the garden. Then she went to work nibbling at the mushroom (she had kept a piece of it in her pocked) till she was about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and THEN--she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains."

Dirty Word Witchcraft...

WARNING: In this next part we decided to go hunting and our guns are out words. Are you bold enough to 'pull the trigger' on these poor creatures?

Evidence of a not so recent dream:


I remember this one particular dream (don't recall the date, though) where I was in elementary school and there was a tall young man mistreating a poor blonde girl with eyeglasses and calling her names. The spectacles were quite large and very outdated. I saw her weep for she was helpless and I turned to the one who bullyied her. I placed both hands upon his shoulders and then mentioned quite clearly, "Now you're a black rabbit!"

The man shrunk and was immediately transformed into a fluffy black bunny with wide blue eyes. We put him in a cage and we gazed at our little victory that day.

Of course, this was an innocent game. Could it have meant something else?

She had dirty word witchcraft I was in the deep end of her skin

This watercolor could have been inspired from the chapter of Alice In Wonderland: Pig and Pepper. In it, Alice carried the oversized baby in her arms and gradually turned into a pig.

The truth is he was already in the process of becoming one when he was in the house of the Duchess. He couldn't stop sneezing, as if some sort of accidental witchcraft was set upon him.

 

`Speak roughly to your little boy,

And beat him when he sneezes:
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases.'

"Sometimes I Squeeze Things Too Hard",
some say it´s a rabbit, or a pig?

While this chapter can have infinite interpretations (and if you haven't come up with one, don't feel bad) we paired it with another song of  EAT ME, DRINK ME named "Are You The Rabbit?"

Manson was always fond of dualities and in the Alice painting it seems to be very evident. While it is very simple to blame it on somebody else, in fact you are actually blaming yourself. Based on this the song would be that he is addressing his alter ego:

"So ask yourself before you get in
I know the insurance won't cover this
Are you the rabbit
or the headlight
and is there
room in your life for one more breakdown?"

Manson did admit that the private side of him had come to life in this album, click here for the whole interview:

"When I made this record, I realized a lot of things. Apart from a very close circle of friends, few people know my true self, and it's normal, I never put it into my music... this record is me. Listen to the first songs, it starts with these words: "6am, Christmas morning", and effectively I wrote it on the Christmas morning and sang it that day. I decided that the private Manson would be at the centre of this record."

(Interview:2007/05/18 Alejandro Jodorowsky Interviews Marilyn Manson)


I found another rabbit, a pink one:

"Harlequin Jack And The Absinthe Bunny"

And yet another one, all done by Manson:

Releasing the rabbit or pig could be a loose reference of reducing your fears or demons to something that's within your reach or control.

In this example from Alice In Wonderland:

"So she set the little creature down, and felt quite relieved to see it trot away quietly into the wood. `If it had grown up,' she said to herself, `it would have made a dreadfully ugly child: but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think.' And she began thinking over other children she knew, who might do very well as pigs, and was just saying to herself, `if one only knew the right way to change them--' when she was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off."

The 'demon' becomes an object of mockery and is set free. In the case of Manson's rabbit it might be referred to as a helpless, needy creature and the "headlight" is the guiding light, the one who knows the way out and is willing to get out of the hole (or tunnel) or the ones from the car which are blocked by the presence of an insignificant creature. Read:

"I'm a kick stand in your mouth
and I'm the tongue slamming on the brakes
pull the choke in
pull the choke in
as hard as it will take.
All your pictures are getting dirty
I don't want anyone else's
hand on my gears
And I'll choke on
all the diamonds
like a vulture on your face"


Alternatively, the words "rabbit or the headlight?" could be a pun of "Rabbit In Your Headlights", a song from the side project band UNKLE, which featured Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke. Curiously, it contains a quote taken from the movie "Jacob's Ladder":

"If you're frightened of dyin' and you're holding on...

You'll see devils tearing your life away.
But...if you've made your peace,
Then the devils are really angels
Freeing you from the earth.....from the earth....from the earth."

This last part could be easily compared to the lyrics of "Are You The Rabbit?"

"You can't escape
Can't escape
all your demons
All you demons
"Watch out, watch out
for your lovers"

In a way, to keep it simple, the rabbit, or pig, or demon or baby is someone who's getting in the way. But who was in the way of this ill-fated relationship, the real Manson or the "other one"?

I'll leave with this other innocent little painting called "Do I Have To Do Everything For You?"

If you're going to turn into a pig, my dear,' said Alice, seriously,
`I'll have nothing more to do with you. Mind now!'

Some Very Good Advice...

WARNING: This next part is introspective. The songs are analyzed with the Alice In Wonderland storyline, so never mind the order in which they appear in the album, but we do respect it anyway...

"Love is a fire, burns down all that sees..."

So after the fire, there's nothing but ashes left. What a sad crime scene, for there should have been a phoenix bird rising from the ashes, instead:

"I came out of this naked, a featherless bird," MM.

And exactly how does one come out of this predicament, how to grow and come back to normal size. Is it by introspection:

"The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender."
William Booth

If these words applied to the song, these lyrics could explain the concept of being powerless.

"And so I'm waiting
With the sound turned off
I'm waiting
Like a glass balloon
And I'm fading
Into the void and then
I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone..."

The Caterpillar said to Alice when she was confused:

`Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, `I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

`What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. `Explain yourself!'

`I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, `because I'm not myself, you see.'

`I don't see,' said the Caterpillar.

`I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly,' Alice replied very politely, `for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.'

`Keep your temper,' said the Caterpillar.

Still confused?

But a second analysis of the lyrics in "They Say That Hell's Not Hot":

"I kill myself in small amounts

In each relationship it's not
About love.
Just another funeral and
Just another girl left in tears."

If fire is the same as love, then the part of "In each relationship it's not about love," tells us that there is no fire, no passion, nothing.

"And so I'm waiting

With the sound turned off
I'm waiting
Like a glass balloon
And I'm fading
Into the void and then
I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone..."

The "glass balloon" has also been referred in alchemy as a flask. Take a look at this part:

To keep fire in a glasse, that whilest the glasse is shut will not burne, but as soone as it it opened will be inflamed. (John French, The Art of Distillation, London 1651)

Applied to human emotions, fire will not burn if it's contained, if the glass is not opened it will last for thousands of years.

Still confused? The Caterpillar said as he smoked on his hookah:

`What size do you want to be?' it asked.

`Oh, I'm not particular as to size,' Alice hastily replied; `only one doesn't like changing so often, you know.'

`I DON'T know,' said the Caterpillar.

Alice said nothing: she had never been so much contradicted in her life before, and she felt that she was losing her temper.

Patience, patience, little dears, the answers will come soon. While trying to answer so many questions, a tranformation or mutation begins for Manson.

And we close this part with a clever quote from Jodorowsky:

"What is the definition of alchemy? It's the spiritualization of matter and a materialization of the spirit. What is at the bottom is like what is at the top. A demon is an angel fallen to Earth, an angel is a demon raised to Heaven."

`Serpent!' screamed the Pigeon.
`I'm NOT a serpent!' said Alice indignantly. `Let me alone!'