At a time when extreme sex and violence are available 24/7/365 at the click of a mouse, Devil Incarnate is a career choice that pays increasingly diminishing returns. But Marilyn Manson still wants the gig. In 1996, refrains like "You're as pretty as a swastika" and "It's Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin'-geddon" might have raised a few hackles, but in 2009 those lyrics hold little shock value. The best moments come in ballads like the blues-tinged "Four Rusted Horses." In such songs, Manson is almost endearing: just a big, melancholy dude with face paint. It's a less glamorous job title than Antichrist Superstar, but these days, it suits him better.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.