Mobscene

"Mobscene" (stylized as "mOBSCENE") is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released in April 2003 as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003). The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, but lost out to Metallica's "St. Anger". As of 2020, the song sold around 50,000 copies in the United Kingdom, where it has also been streamed almost 4 million times.^[2] In the US, the song reached number 18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 26 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

"Mobscene"
Single by Marilyn Manson
from the album The Golden Age of Grotesque
Released	April 2003
Genre	Industrial metal nu metal[1]
Length	3:25
Label	Nothing Interscope
Songwriter(s)	John 5 Marilyn Manson
Producer(s)	Marilyn Manson Tim Sköld
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
"Tainted Love" (2001) "Mobscene" (2003) "This Is the New Shit" (2003)
Audio sample
"Mobscene" file help

Composition

Manson has said that "Mobscene" was "pulled from the weirdest parts of my imagination." Prior to writing the song, Manson had seen several Busby Berkeley films with all-female chorus lines. He then met with his band and told them that he wanted to create a song that evoked Berkeley's films, the writings of Oscar Wilde, and an elephant stampede.

Critical reception

In PopMatters, Lance Teegarden deemed "Mobscene" the best track on the band's greatest hits album Lest We Forget: The Best Of (2004), writing "Here Manson finds the little bit of irreverence he is looking for." Teegarden praised Sköld's production.^[3] BuzzFeed's Richard James opined that the song "proves nu metal is the greatest gift to music ever".^[1]

Track listings

• International CD single

1. "Mobscene"
2. "Tainted Love" (Re-Tainted Interpretation)
3. "Mobscene" (Rammstein's Sauerkraut Remix)
4. "Paranoiac"

• US CD single

1. "Mobscene"
2. "Paranoiac"

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[4]	31
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5]	15
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[6]	8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7]	38
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)	4
Denmark (Tracklisten)[8]	7
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9]	16
France (SNEP)[10]	61
Germany (GfK)[11]	20
Hungary (Single Top 40)[12]	6
Ireland (IRMA)[13]	27
Italy (FIMI)[14]	9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15]	84
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16]	32
Norway (VG-lista)[17]	20
Portugal (Billboard)[18]	1
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[19]	10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20]	18
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21]	6
UK Singles (OCC)[22]	13
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[23]	26
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[24]	18

References

1. James, Richard (August 5, 2014). "17 Tracks That Justify Your Secret Love Of Nu Metal". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
2. White, Jack (September 15, 2020). "Marilyn Manson's Official Top 20 biggest UK hits". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
3. Teegarden, Lance (January 4, 2005). "Marilyn Manson: Lest We Forget: The Best Of". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
4. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
5. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
7. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" (in French). Ultratop 50.
8. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". Tracklisten.
9. "Marilyn Manson: Mobscene" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
10. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" (in French). Les classement single.
11. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
12. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mobscene". Irish Singles Chart.
14. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". Top Digital Download.
15. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
16. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". Top 40 Singles.
17. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". VG-lista.
18. "Hits of the World". Billboard. May 24, 2003. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
19. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene" Canciones Top 50.
20. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". Singles Top 100.
21. "Marilyn Manson – Mobscene". Swiss Singles Chart.
22. "Marilyn Manson: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
23. "Marilyn Manson Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
24. "Marilyn Manson Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.

External links

• mOBSCENE on YouTube
• Semiotic Analysis of mOBSCENE (in Czech)