Shirley Manson Quotes

I'd never imagined myself in a band. So the fact that I've had such a long career without really naturally pursuing it is really astounding. It's taken me a long time to accept what I do for a living and actually feel like I have anything of value to add to the equation. ~ Shirley Manson

People in day-to-day life tend to skim the surface of things and be polite and careful, and that's not the language I speak. I like talking about feelings, fears and memories, anguish and joy, and I find it in music. ~ Shirley Manson

Everybody's trying to be the biggest, because if you're not the biggest, you don't survive. ~ Shirley Manson

I'm 41, I'm a woman not a kid. I have no interest in making silly pop music. ~ Shirley Manson

If you have any opinions at all or if you're even remotely verbal then they're going to call you fiery. ~ Shirley Manson

P.s. I am pretty certain Beyonce doesn't need you fighting any battles on her account. Seems like she's got everything covered perfectly well on her own. ~ Shirley Manson

I am naive. I make mistakes - But I don't give a rat's arse how I am perceived! ~ Shirley Manson

I feel privileged, to be honest. ~ Shirley Manson

I don't find any kind of tension very productive, I find it destructive, actually. ~ Shirley Manson

I like the feeling that I'm giving young women self-confidence. It sounds so cliched, but it can be very moving. ~ Shirley Manson

Being a musician makes you very - musicians in general tend to be quite sensitive, I think, to the environment around them, which helps when you are trying to interact with others on screen, to be aware, to be sensitive, and to try to understand what's going on in the scene. ~ Shirley Manson

I say embrace the total geek in yourself and just enjoy it. Life is too short to be cool. ~ Shirley Manson

Somehow or another, my mother taught me to push through my fear, always. Feel the fear and do it anyway. ~ Shirley Manson

Being a singer, being a performer, you have tricks, somehow, to calm yourself when things feel a little overwhelming. I don't do breathing exercises, per se, but I definitely have to have a sort of internal word with myself before things got completely out of hand and I fainted on the floor. ~ Shirley Manson

I was always embarrassed because my dad wore a suit and my mother wore flat pumps and a cozy jumper while my friends' parents were punks or hippies. ~ Shirley Manson

Starbucks is my main fix and it's usually you people working in there - sometimes they're actually shaking. It just makes me feel horrendous because I've been in that situation. ~ Shirley Manson

That's a difficult question, because to consider yourself a rebel is sort of ridiculous. ~ Shirley Manson

I'm fairly in control and I don't like to flirt particularly. I mean, obviously if I meet someone who I think is hot, of course I'll want to flirt with him, But in general I don't use it in day-to-day life. ~ Shirley Manson

I had taken some of my solo music into the record label. They didn't really care for the direction I was moving in and I found it really disheartening. They wanted a pop hit, which I understand in terms of making money. I get that. But what they were going to ask of me was something I wasn't prepared to deliver and I felt kind of trapped. I just stopped writing. I just stopped. It was stifling. ~ Shirley Manson

The first real concert, other than going with my dad to see Three Dog Night, was Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage. I was fourteen or fifteen. I liked Shirley Manson because she reminded me of Annie Lennox. They both have these deep, sexy, powerful alto voices. ~ Amy Lee

I have such a crush on Shirley Manson. I think she's the coolest thing. ~ Garret Dillahunt

It's a torturous time when you learn almost everything you really have to know about survival. The important thing to remember when you are living through it, however, is that you have absolutely no idea quite how smart and strong and beautiful the pain will make you. So go forth and suffer ... you'll rule the world. ~ Shirley Manson

I think a lot of people in their lives feel like they don't fit in, even if it looks like they do. People feel like outsiders even if others think we, the lives we live, have everything. If they are popular or they have everything they are supposed to have. Even then, people still don't feel quite included. ~ Shirley Manson

It's really difficult to navigate attention and stardom and celebrity status and still try to maintain yourself and hold onto your intelligence and integrity. It's really challenging. ~ Shirley Manson

It's definitely an intrinsic part of my makeup that makes me want to see black when everyone else is seeing white. ~ Shirley Manson

People don't associate red hair, pale skin, and freckles with beauty. ~ Shirley Manson

I want to hang out in Edinburgh with my friends and eat fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. ~ Shirley Manson

I am a contradictory mess but I see it as my prerogative to change my mood like the weather. ~ Shirley Manson

At the end of the day, though, the band members have to be strong. It's down to the individuals in the unit. Listen to me, I'm talking like I'm in the army and this is my squadron. ~ Shirley Manson

You don't really hear a female perspective on the radio, because so many of the songs are being written by men. ~ Shirley Manson

When somebody asks me a question, I try to be as straightforward about it as possible. I try not to overthink what I'm going to say in an interview. ~ Shirley Manson

I'm 45 years old. I used to be a club girl, but that's not my world anymore. That doesn't mean I can't make music that excites. I think it's inspiring to see an artist you grew up with take another crack. ~ Shirley Manson

I have a temper on me that could hold back tides. ~ Shirley Manson

I've always been an outsider. I am an outsider in Garbage. I'm the odd one out by default. ~ Shirley Manson

I know lots of people who've never been lucky enough to get to this stage in their life. And I'm not gonna hide it for anybody. ~ Shirley Manson

We should never listen to our feelings. They lead us astray. ~ Shirley Manson

My style icons are Leigh Lezark, Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson. ~ Marina And The Diamonds

I think it's a great thing to have failed in life and then pulled yourself up by the boot straps and actually done something, because then you appreciate it more. ~ Shirley Manson

I mean, I tend to do my own thing, and that usually crosses purposes with everyone around me. ~ Shirley Manson

I feel the same way I did when I was in school. I'm having the same insecurities. ~ Shirley Manson

It is so hard for musicians when they step into acting is they're not coming in as a blank slate, they're coming in with a real set idea of who they are, where they're coming from, what their politics are, what their tastes are. ~ Shirley Manson

You know, it doesn't matter how beautiful you are, if you don't have anything interesting to say, then you're still boring. ~ Shirley Manson

Here's the tragedy of the modern record business: It's radio. If you're not on radio, nobody really is going to hear you or see you or care about you. ~ Shirley Manson

We're living in a time when people are struggling to appear perfect. ~ Shirley Manson

A lot of celebrities just want money, fame, power, fancy cars, houses all over the world and have people bow down to them. To me, that's frightful behaviour. ~ Shirley Manson

No, I like being a role model because I know how much comfort my musical idols brought me. ~ Shirley Manson

Obviously, from the experience you get from making videos, you understand where the camera is and how some of the actual technicalities work and so on and so forth. ~ Shirley Manson

There's a stereotype of what we are all meant to find attractive and erotic, but I don't neatly fall into those categories. Satin lingerie, a heart-shaped tub, flowers and champagne don't turn me on. You shouldn't be scrubbed clean before you have sex. I hate boys who are frightened of pee and shit and menstrual blood. I say no to boys who want to wake up next to a fully made-up woman. I say no to boys who prefer stockings and garters to perfect nudity. Who wants a boy who won't kiss you when you've just been sick? I want a man who will let me pee in his belly button. I want a man to accept the beast in me. I don't want a man who thinks the woman of his dreams doesn't go to the toilet. One does, you know. ~ Shirley Manson

I would say I'm pretty well at ease with my sexuality, but I'm an individual before I am a female. ~ Shirley Manson

I wouldn't say that cutting was pleasurable, but there is a sense of euphoria that follows cutting yourself. The quick pinch of pain and the sight of blood snaps you back to the surface and you start to appreciate being alive. ~ Shirley Manson

I think women in pop have been declawed and defanged, and they're just meant to look pretty and sing pretty. ~ Shirley Manson

I refuse to step inside the ring and fight like a gladiator against my own. I'm not playing that game. Any woman who has survived a year or more of making music has my undying respect. ~ Shirley Manson

Selling millions of albums is a sign you've infiltrated the culture. ~ Shirley Manson

Humans all want to beat the clock but nobody ever does. ~ Shirley Manson

I've got a lot of stamina and I enjoy people, so having lots of people around doesn't freak me out. ~ Shirley Manson

I just am fascinated by other female artists, probably because I feel a kinship with them, no matter who they are and what they do. ~ Shirley Manson

I wanted to put out a solo record because I was stuck on a major label and sick of it. ~ Shirley Manson

In the '90s, the radio was still alive with all different kinds of points of view, and I think that's why people are longing for that time. It was the first time that alternative music broke through to the mainstream. ~ Shirley Manson

I am greedy, and most importantly, game for what's next. ~ Shirley Manson

It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry. You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work, and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like BECK. ~ Shirley Manson

How you present yourself is nobody's business but your own. The stylists have an opinion. The hair people have an opinion. The fans and the management have opinions. Ultimately, you have to trust that you are the safe-keeper of yourself. ~ Shirley Manson

It's unhealthy for people to never express any kind of negativity or doubt. To have balance, you need to address that side of your thoughts as well as the positive. Otherwise, you tend toward crazy. ~ Shirley Manson

You have to watch all sides of your advancement, you have to make sure people's bodies and minds are healthy and their morale is cool before you can really go out and play great music. ~ Shirley Manson

There's nothing I've done that I feel a lot of regret over because I stuck to my guns, even when it got uncomfortable - and it will get uncomfortable because you're going up against the wall. ~ Shirley Manson

I was a redhead and a middle child; both can make you feel excluded. It's like fighting to be included, in the swim of things. After a while you start to develop a bit of a victim mentality, which isn't great for a happy life. ~ Shirley Manson

I have women who offer to sleep with me all the time. But not men. They're all talk and nay action - as we'd say in Scotland. ~ Shirley Manson

I have a lot of very close girlfriends and sisters - I'm from an all female family. My father often quips that even the cat was neutered! ~ Shirley Manson

I just want to live my life a little freely and not adhere to any schedule - just make music and have fun. ~ Shirley Manson

Until we command the exact same salary as every male counterpart, I feel a political desire to stand by other women. If we don't stand together, that equality will never be fully realized, and that bothers me. ~ Shirley Manson

The sensation of never feeling good enough or pretty enough will always be there. It's a constant dialogue, and you just learn to be more powerful than that other voice. When you hear it come up, you shut it down. ~ Shirley Manson

I've got no timetable. I'm sort of sick of timetables, to be honest. ~ Shirley Manson

I think it's about time the world embraced its geekiness and stopped trying to be cool. It's just ... you have way more fun as a geek than as a cool person. ~ Shirley Manson

I think young artists are always inspiring because they are coming at worlds from a different point of view. ~ Shirley Manson

While most people whittle their days chasing another buck, or a little bit more fame and attention, or a little bit more assurance that they're right or loved, death confronts all of us with a far more painful and important question: What is your legacy? How will the world be different and better when you're gone? What mark will you have made? What influence will you have caused? They say that a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa can cause a hurricane in Florida; well, what hurricanes will you leave in your wake? ~ Mark Manson

I chose not to jump into the media frenzy and defend myself, though I was begged to be on every single TV show in existence. They want to blame entertainment? Isn't religion the first real entertainment? People dress up in costumes, sing songs and dedicate themselves in eternal fandom. ~ Marilyn Manson

If I was a musician it would probably be something between Marilyn Manson and The Prodigy. ~ Daniel Marques

We can be truly successful only at things we are willing to fail at. ~ Mark Manson

Eleanor looked up, surprised; the little girl was sliding back in her chair, sullenly refusing her milk, while her father frowned and her brother giggled and her mother said calmly, 'She wants her cup of stars.'

Indeed yes, Eleanor thought; indeed, so do I; a cup of stars, of course.

'Her little cup,' the mother was explaining, smiling apologetically at the waitress, who was thunderstruck at the thought that the mill's good country milk was not rich enough for the little girl. 'It has stars in the bottom, and she always drinks her milk from it at home. She calls it her cup of stars because she can see the stars while she drinks her milk.' The waitress nodded, unconvinced, and the mother told the little girl, 'You'll have your milk from your cup of stars tonight when we get home. But just for now, just to be a very good little girl, will you take a little milk from this glass?'

Don't do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don't do it; and the little girl glanced at her, and smiled a little subtle, dimpling, wholly comprehending smile, and shook her head stubbornly at the glass. Brave girl, Eleanor thought; wise, brave girl. ~ Shirley Jackson

I'm completely unlike a lot of other performers in the past who have been forgiven or come to terms with the real world because they tell everyone their performance is 'just a show.' And so, people say, 'Oh, it's OK then. We don't care. He's not really a bad person.' It's not just a show for me. It's my life. ~ Marilyn Manson

Conran's Law of Housework - it expands to fill the time available plus half an hour. ~ Shirley Conran

Even Grace still imagined there might be words, the words that could reach Dora and that had so far, unaccountably, not been hit upon. Only Caro recognized that Dora's condition was exactly that: a condition, an irrational state requiring professional, or divine, intervention. ~ Shirley Hazzard

Well, I didn't really grow up playing or listening to metal, like many of the kids I went to school with. I only got into it in my late teens, so when Marilyn Manson formed, it was at a time when I was still excited about approaching music from that angle. ~ Daisy Berkowitz

For Anne to take things calmly would have been to change her nature. All 'spirit and fire and dew,' as she was, the pleasures and pains of life came to her with trebled intensity. Marilla felt this and was vaguely troubled over it, realizing that the ups and downs of existence would probably bear hardly on this impulsive soul and not sufficiently understanding that the equally great capacity for delight might more than compensate. Therefore Marilla conceived it to be her duty to drill Anne into a tranquil uniformity of disposition as impossible and alien to her as to a dancing sunbeam in one of the brook shallows. She did not make much headway, as she sorrowfully admitted to herself. The downfall of some dear hope or plan plunged Anne into 'deeps of affliction.' The fulfillment thereof exalted her to dizzy realms of delight. Marilla had almost begun to despair of ever fashioning this waif of the world into her model little girl of demure manners and prim deportment. Neither would she have believed that she really liked Anne much better as she was. ~ L.M. Montgomery

I try to live with few rules, but one that I've adopted over the years is this: if it's down to me being screwed up, or everybody else being screwed up, it is far, far, far more likely that I'm the one who's screwed up. I have learned this from experience. I have been the asshole acting out based on my own insecurities and flawed certainties more times than I can count. It's not pretty. ~ Mark Manson

Now we are going to have a new noise, Eleanor thought, listening to the inside of her head; it is changing. The pounding had stopped, as though it had proved ineffectual, and there was now a swift movement up and down the hall, as of an animal pacing back and forth with unbelievable impatience, watching first one door and then another, alert for a movement inside, and there was again the little babbling murmur which Eleanor remembered; Am I doing it? She wondered quickly, is that me? And heard the tiny laughter beyond the door, mocking her. ~ Shirley Jackson

We are the things and shapes to come, your freedom's not free of dumb. ~ Marilyn Manson

I don't flatter myself with much dependence upon the present disposition of the Eastern Indians, who are many ways liable to be drawn into a rupture with us by the artifices of the French, their own weakness and the influence which the French Missionary Priests have over them. ~ William Shirley

If we praise God when things are tough, we show our trust in Him. ~ Shirley Corder

If you feel crappy, it's because that's your brain telling you that there's a problem unaddressed or an issue unresolved. In other words, negative emotions are a call to action. When you feel them, it's because you're supposed to do something. Positive emotions, on the other hand, are rewards for taking proper action. When you feel them, life seems simple and there is nothing else to do but enjoy it. Then like everything else, positive emotions go away, because more problems inevitably emerge. ~ Mark Manson

My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all, I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in our family is dead. ~ Shirley Jackson

The most dangerous extremists know how to dress up their childish values in the language of transaction or universal principle. A right-wing extremist will claim she desires "freedom" above all else...But what she really means is that she wants freedom from having to deal with any values that do not map unto her own...A leftie extremist will say that he wants "equality" for all, but what he really means is that he never wants anyone to feel pain, to feel harmed, or to feel inferior. He doesn't want anyone to have to face moral gaps, ever. And he's willing to cause pain and adversity to others in the name of eliminating these moral gaps. ~ Mark Manson

The only true form of freedom, the only ethical form of freedom, is through self-limitation. ~ Mark Manson

Don't ever empty the bucket of mystery. Never let people define what you do. It's not about zigging when you should zag. It's not about doing something unprecedented and unpredictable. It's just about never being a word, or something that is not in the process of transformation. ~ Marilyn Manson

I needed to stop being victimized by my own weaknesses and insecurities about other people, ~ Marilyn Manson

My grandfather had been the ugliest, darkest, foulest, most depraved figure of my childhood, more beast than human, and I had grown up to be him, locked in the basement with my secrets as the rest of the family reveled in the petty and ordinary upstairs. Down there, I saw my black, ancient, ineluctable core exposed, like a crab forced out of its shell--dirty, vulnerable, and obscene. For the first time in my life, I was truly alone. ~ Marilyn Manson

As a first-generation "Asian American woman," for one thing, I knew there was no such thing as an "Asian American woman." Within this homogenizing labeling of an exotica, I knew there were entire racial/national/cultural/sexual-preferenced groups, many of whom find each other as alien as mainstream America apparently finds me. ~ Shirley Geok-lin Lim

He was familiar enough with pleasure to know it might become jaded or reluctant; but joy was literally foreign to him, a word he would never easily pronounce, an exhilaration that had some other reckless nationality. For this reason, Caro's wholeness in love, her happiness in it, made her exotic. ~ Shirley Hazzard

Often the only difference between a problem being painful or being powerful is a sense that we chose it, and that we are responsible for it. We don't always control what happens to us. But we always control how we interpret what happens to us, as well as how we respond. ~ Mark Manson

I say no to drugs, but they don't listen. ~ Marilyn Manson

Whatever your problems are, the concept is the same: solve problems; be happy. Unfortunately,
for many people, life doesn't feel that simple. That's because they fuck things up in at least one of two
ways:
1. Denial. Some people deny that their problems exist in the first place. And because they deny
reality, they must constantly delude or distract themselves from reality. This may make them feel
good in the short term, but it leads to a life of insecurity, neuroticism, and emotional repression.
2. Victim Mentality. Some choose to believe that there is nothing they can do to solve their
problems, even when they in fact could. Victims seek to blame others for their problems or blame
outside circumstances. This may make them feel better in the short term, but it leads to a life of
anger, helplessness, and despair. ~ Mark Manson. “The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck.”