When you were a kid you found some pretty disturbing porno pics that your granddad was æusingÆ. After that experience did you stand a chance of being normal?

I think I am normal, by my standards. A term like ænormalÆ is kind of relative and I donÆt go my other peopleÆs definitions. Equally, I donÆt think ôIÆm gonna behave abnormallyö or ôIÆm gonna do things that are evil or wrong.ö I just do things the way I like to do them. ThatÆs my standard.

So knowing your standard, how well do you like yourself?

I like myself fine half the time. When I donÆt like myself, itÆs pretty evident form my behavior.

Describe your music to someone whoÆs never heard it.

If they havenÆt heard it by now, they can fuck off, because if you donÆt know who I am by this point you can go right to Hades! You can bypass Hell and go straight to Hades, where IÆve heard itÆs worse. I think IÆm famous enough now.

So if you wonÆt tell us what your music sounds like, tell us who you like. WeÆll guess the rest.

Fair deal. I have great admiration for David Bowie. Queen and T Rex and Kiss were all big for me when I was growing up and my new record Mechanical Animals reflects the music that meant a lot to me as a kid, while bringing it up to date.

YouÆre something of a mainstream celebrity in America after your last album, Antichrist Superstar, arenÆt you?

Well even Monica LewinskyÆs a celebrity here now because she sucked a dick. ThatÆs America. That was the inspiration for Marilyn Manson ten years ago and it still kinda holds true today.

Your look will shock a lot of people. Do you ever go out in jeans and a T-shirt?

If IÆm sitting around the house in my underpants thatÆs probably the closest IÆll get to æregularÆ dress. I have plans to get a fake mustache and glue that on to disguise myself as an everyday guy. Smoke a cigarette, talk to people, do æfriendlyÆ, drive around waving.

ThatÆs nice, but we suspect unlikely. Tell us. Has your image made you a fanny magnet?

At various stages of my career it has. Initially I tried to present myself as unattractive - and people seemed to find it appealing. Now IÆm evolving into something else and itÆs all part of redefining what beauty is. I donÆt think IÆm conventionally good-looking, but I present myself in a way that, in the long run, results in a lot of blow jobs. Does that answer your question?

Yes, thanks. OK, what shocks you?

IÆm sitting in a bathtub and someone throws a hairdryer in, that will shock me.

Not bad. You donÆt look like a fun guy, though. WhatÆs your favorite comedy on TV?

The Jerry Springer show. It shows how low we Americans have sunk. ItÆs now evolved to the point where they should give people handguns and let them go on there and shoot each other. I think that would be very American.

Making moneyÆs very American. How much have you made?

Not nearly enough. Money merely gives me the opportunity to create more things. I donÆt own a home or a car. I wouldnÆt describe myself as successful financially, but IÆm getting to do more of the things I want to do.

What items do you always carry with you?

A pair of sunglasses.

Not your æChurch Of SatanÆ membership cards, as awarded by Anton LaVey?

I donÆt think I have that anymore. I lost it.

Maybe you misplaced it on a glass-topped table somewhere.

For cutting up drugs? Is that what you are referring to? Trust me, I have done that. A library card works pretty good too, IÆve found.

Tell us Marilyn. Do you fear death?

My new record represents not so much a fear of dying, but more a reason to live. IÆm finally having feelings, having things to fight for, which represents a reason not to die.

LetÆs talk about æThe Little DeathÆ, then. did you really shag top porn model Jenna Jameson?

If youÆre talking about the story about me and her in my book, then no, I didnÆt fuck her. Not at that particular moment, anyway.

Ah, your book The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell. In it you tell of how you meticulously plotted to kill a former girlfriend. Were you serious?

I came close. Fortunately for me I didnÆt go through with it because IÆd be in jail right now. Unless I got away with it, of course.

On you last tour you used a lot of imagery that looked suspiciously Nazi-like. A bit of a fascist, are you?

I like the idea of elitism when it comes to intelligence, because thatÆs a commodity thatÆs available to anyone - you can learn as much as you really want to. Obviously, some people are always going to be smarter than others, some people are mentally handicapped, but to be as smart as youÆre capable is a fair and almost politically correct form of elitism. Fascism, when it comes to racism or sex, is too lenient. Accept all white people? There are lots of really ignorant white people IÆd never consider my friend. Accepting all men wouldnÆt work either. But intelligence is universal and anyone can achieve it by their own willpower. ThatÆs a healthy, positive thing.

And so, no doubt, are you. Are you a good, clean boy at heart, Marilyn?

I usually disinfect my hands after IÆve shaken hands with people, but then again, IÆve had sex with porn stars, so thereÆs no clear line of whatÆs clean and whatÆs not. Actually, for me to have sex with myself is probably the most unsanitary thing I do. Whenever I masturbate I have to immediately wash my hands afterwards.

And what else disgusts you?

Excessive body hair. And people who live up to stereotypes. people who perpetuate ignorance disgust me too.

How about the fans who come to your shows and beg you to sign your name un their flesh with a razor blade? Or are they just pathetic?

Just because my fans emulate, that doesnÆt mean theyÆre as stupid as what we as a band are reacting against. I think itÆs just their way of identifying and saying: ôIÆm a part of this. I believe in this.ö TheyÆre shunning the way their family wants them to behave, shunning the way society wants them to look. Next year theyÆre not going to be doing the same thing, theyÆre going to have their own identity. I think thatÆs very positive. you have to be intelligent to appreciate half of the things I do anyway - but if you have a sense of irony, most of the time youÆll enjoy it. so there are really only two kinds of people in the world: people who like Marilyn Manson - and stupid people.