Marilyn Manson Admits That He Did Not Actually Invent The Term “Grunge”

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson Admits That He Did Not Actually Invent The Term “Grunge”

Marilyn Manson

Before he graduated to transgressive shock-rock stardom, Marilyn Manson put in some time as a music journalist, writing for the Florida-based magazine 25th Parallel when he was in college. And since he’s a born fabulist, he’s the type to exaggerate his accomplishments in that field, just as he is in every other field. (That level of exaggeration is sort of what makes him a star and an interesting person.) In a recent Noisey interview, Manson even more or less bragged about coining the term “grunge”: “Nirvana was different. That was one of the bands I covered first as a journalist and I’m just going to go ahead and say I coined the term ‘grunge’ in a review of Bleach. You’re welcome.” (For the record: The NME critic Paul Ramball was using “grunge” in 1978.) Manson’s claim made the rounds, and in another interview, Manson has now admitted that, no, that wasn’t him:

Yeah, let me clarify that. I didn’t say I invented the word. I said I coined it, in that I popularized it. I think I actually wrote “grungy.” But it is pretty amusing that that became a headline. I’m like a Furby. You can push me, and then your soundbite comes out, and there you have your headline. So to clarify, I merely claimed that I popularized the word, which is pretty much not accurate, considering the distribution of the periodical that I wrote it in. But I like to self-aggrandize.

(via Esquire)

Manson might not be a journalist anymore, but he still has a bit of editor in him. He would’ve punched up the “Marilyn Manson says he invented grunge” headlines. Here’s what he offers instead: “Marilyn Manson deserves to have his dick sucked for creating the word ‘grunge,’ and for also making rock ‘n’ roll cool again, because he’s a hooligan.”

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