Rippin' Me Off

Album: Alien Youth (2001)
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Songfacts®:

  • Skillet frontman John Cooper was inspired to write this after hearing anti-Jesus comments at a Marilyn Manson concert. He told HM Magazine: "Before I saw Marilyn Manson, I honestly thought that his hate for Jesus was more of a gimmick. I went to the concert because I wanted to see how this generation responded to him. I was shocked at some of the things that he said against Jesus, and in my seat, I got mad and said, 'Man, you're ripping me off!' I wrote a song on the new album at that concert that talks about how the things people say about God can steal bits of truth from us. There are lots of bands saying things that steal away the greatness of God. I would never be one to say that listening to secular music is a sin, but there is no question that the messages are coming across."
  • Cooper revisited the topic of Marilyn Manson in a 2019 Loudwire interview, explaining how he still enjoys Manson's music despite not agreeing with the messages in his songs. "There's lots of great music that I love that if I really get down to it, I'm like 'Yeah, I don't agree with those lyrics,'" he said. "I guess Marilyn Manson comes to mind. I love Marilyn Manson, he sings a lot of things that I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm probably not into that.'"

    He added: "To me, great music is about authenticity, and it's about singing something you believe. If I'm listening to someone saying something they believe, I usually don't really care what it is."

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