In 1989, Brian Warner was a college student working toward a journalism degree, and gaining experience in the field by writing music articles for a South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel. It was in this capacity that he was able to meet several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.
He met Scott Putesky shortly afterward and, after showing him some lyrics and poems he had written, proposed that they form a band together. Warner, guitarist Putesky, and bassist Brian Tutunick recorded their first demo tape as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in late 1989, taking on the stage names of Marilyn Manson, Daisy Berkowitz and Olivia Newton Bundy, respectively. They were soon joined by keyboardist Perry Pandrea, also known as Zsa Zsa Speck, who shortly left the band after the fourth show. Stephen Bier, who called himself Madonna Wayne Gacy, was his replacement; Bundy was replaced by Gidget Gein in 1990, born Brad Stewart. In 1991, drummer Fred Streithorst joined the band, with the stage name Sara Lee Lucas.
The stage names used by each member were representative of a concept the band considered central: the dichotomy of good and evil, and the existence of both, together, in every whole. "Marilyn Monroe had a dark side," explained Manson in his autobiography, "just as Charles Manson has a good, intelligent side." Images of both Monroe and Manson, as well as of others equally famous and notorious, were common in the band's early promotional materials.
The Spooky Kids' popularity in the area grew quickly, largely because of radio DJ Scott David of WYNX-FM, an early fan who eagerly played songs from the band's demo tapes on the air; and because of the band's highly visual concerts, which drew from performance art and used many shock techniques. It was not uncommon to see onstage naked women nailed to a cross, a child in a cage, or bloody animal body parts; Manson, Berkowitz, and Gein variously performed in women's clothing or bizarre costumes; and, for lack of a professional pyro-technician, they would occasionally set their own stage props on fire.
The band would dramatically contrast these grotesque theatrics with elements drawn from the culture of the members' youth in the 1970s and 1980s: characters from that era's children's television made regular, often somewhat altered, appearances on Marilyn Manson flyers and newsletters, and were frequently sampled in the music. They continued to perform and release cassettes—shortening their name to Marilyn Manson in 1992—until the summer of 1993, when the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who at the time had just founded his own record label, Nothing Records. They would go on to release their debut album Portrait of an American Family under the name 'Marilyn Manson' in 1994.
The Spooky Kids members:
Marilyn Manson - vocals (1989-present)
Daisy Berkowitz - guitar (1989-1996)
Olivia Newton Bundy - bass (1989-1990)
Zsa Zsa Speck - keyboard (1989-1990)
Gidget Gein - bass (1990-1993)
Madonna Wayne Gacy - keyboard (1990-2006)
Sara Lee Lucas - drums (1991-1995)
Discography as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids:
1990 - The Raw Boned Psalms (demo)
1990 - The Beaver Meat Cleaver Beat (demo)
1990 - Big Black Bus (demo)
1990 - Grist-O-Line (demo)
1991 - After School Special (demo)
1991 - Lunchbox (demo)
1992 - Live as Hell (live)
2004 - Lunch Boxes & Choklit Cows (compilation)
2004 - Thrift (single)
red in my head
Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Smiling faces on the wall
I took a walk down the hall
I banged my fist against the door
I tossed a quarter to the whore
The Camera flashes in my eyes
I spread the news she spreads her thighs
Red, red in my head
I grabbed her knuckles and I yanked them all
I bent her in half like a barbie doll
Love, hate, viscerate
Take this flesh and meditate
I sat there with her
We sat there 2
She said to me
What should we do
Well, I know some tricks
And I'll show them to you
Your mother won't mind at all if I do
To you
The poor little girl
The poor little girl
The poor little girl didn't know what to say
For her mother was out of the house today
Today
Today
Red, red in my head
Red, red in my head
(?)
The poor little girl
The poor little girl
The poor little girl didn't know what to say
For her mother was out of the house today
Today
Today
Red, red in my head
Red, red in my head
(?)
Red, red they call me red
Red, in bed
The girl
The lyrics to Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids' song "Red in My Head" are somewhat ambiguous and open to interpretation. The first verse seems to describe the singer's journey down a hallway, encountering various "smiling faces on the wall" and ultimately crossing a threshold into a room where a prostitute is present. The lines "I grabbed her knuckles and I yanked them all / I bent her in half like a barbie doll" suggest an aggressive and violent sexual encounter, possibly non-consensual. The chorus of "Red, red in my head" could be interpreted as a reference to the intense emotional or psychological turmoil that the singer is experiencing in this situation, or perhaps a reference to blood, either literal or metaphorical.
The second verse introduces a dialogue between the singer and the prostitute. The lines "Well, I know some tricks / And I'll show them to you / Your mother won't mind at all if I do / To you" are particularly disturbing, implying that the singer is either a predator or a sadistic manipulator. The repetition of the phrase "The poor little girl / The poor little girl / The poor little girl didn't know what to say / For her mother was out of the house today" adds to the sense of unease and victimization. The final lines of the song, "Red, red they call me red / Red, in bed / The girl," reinforce the impression that the singer is a dangerous and unstable figure who sees the world through a lens of violence and perversion.
Line by Line Meaning
Smiling faces on the wall
The posters or pictures on the wall have happy faces, but they don't make me happy.
I took a walk down the hall
I walked down the hallway of my own mind.
I banged my fist against the door
I am frustrated and angry, and I want to break through the barriers in my mind.
I tossed a quarter to the whore
I paid for sex from a prostitute because I feel empty and numb inside.
The Camera flashes in my eyes
I feel like I’m always being watched and judged by others, like a celebrity.
I spread the news she spreads her thighs
I will tell everyone how she gave into me and had sex with me.
Red, red in my head
I feel like I am consumed by anger and destructive thoughts.
I grabbed her knuckles and I yanked them all
I am hurting her and asserting my dominance over her.
I bent her in half like a barbie doll
I am manipulating her like a toy. Her body is mine to control.
Love, hate, viscerate
My emotions are intense and overwhelming, and I feel the urge to annihilate.
Take this flesh and meditate
I use physical pleasure as a way to escape from my own chaotic thoughts.
I sat there with her, We sat there 2. She said to me, What should we do. Well, I know some tricks, And I'll show them to you. Your mother won't mind at all if I do.To you
I am trying to groom and manipulate this vulnerable girl into thinking I have power and control over her life, and that having sex with me is acceptable even if her mother doesn't approve.
The poor little girl, The poor little girl, The poor little girl didn't know what to say, For her mother was out of the house today, Today, Today
I am preying on the innocence and naivete of this young girl and using her mother's absence as an opportunity to abuse her.
Red, red they call me red, Red, in bed, The girl
My nickname is 'Red' which represents my violent and explosive nature. I am in bed with this girl, treating her like a plaything only for my pleasure.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
goofball the vic
Smiling faces on the wall
I took a walk down the hall
I banged my fist against the door
I tossed a quarter to the whore
The Camera flashes in my eyes
I spread the news she spreads her thighs
Red, red in my head
Red, red in my head
I grabbed her knuckles and I yanked them all
I bent her in half like a barbie doll
Love, hate, viscerate
Take this flesh and meditate
I sat there with her
We sat there 2
She said to me
What should we do
Well, I know some tricks
And I'll show them to you
Your mother won't mind at all if I do
To you
The poor little girl
The poor little girl
The poor little girl didn't know what to say
For her mother was out of the house today
Today
Today
Red, red in my head
Red, red in my head
The poor little girl
The poor little girl
The poor little girl didn't know what to say
For her mother was out of the house today
Today
Today
Red, red
Red, red
Red, red they call me red
Red, in bed
The girl
Kiko -
Their old music is sooooo underrated
betty white
some old school Manson always puts me in a better mood 😜
Papa Joe
Every version of Marilyn Manson does for me
The Autistic Teacher
@Papa Joe same
lee Bass
Same here
djr3000
Definitely. It's kickin'!
DireClown
Awesome...thanks for uploading this! When I first became a fan in the '90s, I remember these songs were so hard to track down!
Yon Yensen
DireClown My pleasure
Solve Laureano
I spent a good amount of my teenage life searching for these songs! How things change
Vladimír Zábranský
Thanks dude for uploading such a masterpiece