Charles Manson was not a good songwriter

Charles Manson, despite (or rather because of) his infamy as a charismatic cult leader and vicarious spree-killer, is often posed as a serious and influential musician. His fleeting connections to late-60s artists of repute are threaded into music history as metaphors for the dangerous genius and subversion of rock itself, a flame occasionally nursed by covers released by popular artists. But Manson wasn't a genius and his music is crazy trash. People only say otherwise because of the murders.

The BBC reviews his oevre: (more…)