Talking to a kinder, gentler Marilyn Manson.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Marilyn Manson no longer wants to corrupt the youth of America. That's become too cliche. These days, he's got more important things to do _ like taking drugs and feeding baboons.

"The other day, I had the wonderful opportunity of going to the Busch Gardens (zoo) and taking ecstasy," Manson said during a tour stop in Washington, D.C. "And _ for reasons I'll never understand _ the staff let me inside the baboon cage. Now, baboons are very dangerous animals, but it had always been my dream to see one in person. I've always been obsessed with monkeys. And they even let me feed it. They told me not to look the monkey in the eyes, because it might make them attack. But I did it anyway, because I was wearing sunglasses. And I was on drugs."

Who would have thought that "The Long Hard Road out of Hell" would have led to a corporate theme park in Tampa, Fla.? And who would have guessed that Manson _ a man who made a career out of being self-consciously controversial _ would eventually develop into a soft-spoken, 32-year-old who seems legitimately hurt by the failure of a romantic relationship?

Gone are the days when interviews with Manson focused on his desire to smoke the ...