Alice Cooper

Released: June 10, 2013

[Alice Cooper]
I just feel like this whole generation maybe need to all eat a steak, you know. Maybe they just need to quit eating, you know, vegetarian food, and get out there and get some blood pumping on their system. You know, I mean, rock n' roll is not about 'happy, happy, happy, everything's okay, we're The Lumineers, let's clog dance.' Hey, there's a place for that. If I wanted to go see a great clog dancing band, I'd go see The Lumineers. Mumford & Sons are great at what they do, but it's not rock n' roll. Don't call it rock 'n roll. That's an offense to rock n' roll.

[FUSE]
Your take on modern rock n' roll?

[Alice Cooper]
Well, for one thing, I guess I get that they want to be folk rock, you know. And I guess they wanna look like everybody else. I'm old school when it comes to - if you're in a band, you're an outlaw. You don't play by those rules. You're a rock n' roll outlaw. Doesn't mean you have to be on drugs. Doesn't mean you have to be a, you know. But, when you get on stage, you don't play the guitar up here, and it's not an acoustic guitar. You play the guitar down here. It doesn't come to from brain, it comes from your guts. It comes from your groin. Rock n' roll is played down here. It's sexual. It's tribal. And I'm seeing this: 'oh, I hate oil and I hate war. And I hate all bad things that I don't like. Be my girl.' You know. And I'm going, 'what?' And then I look at a magazine and it says, 'best new rock band.' And I look and I go, 'rock bands don't have accordions or lutes in them. Or flutes. Unless, maybe, you're Jethro Tull.' Finally, I'd just be like, 'okay. If you guys don't want to be rock bands, great. Cool, that's better for us. There's more for the Foo Fighters, more for Green Day, more for the bands that really are rock bands. Great. But I don't understand why everybody is so afraid to be in a rock band. You don't want to offend anybody.

Alice Cooper is the stage name and ‘fun villain’ character of Vincent Furnier. Cooper became the target of parents and ministers for his dark lyrics and gory theatrical performances that earned him the title Godfather of Shock Rock. Despite once claiming the name was conjured from a ouija board that told him he’s the reincarnation of a 17th century witch, Cooper laughs the topic off with flippant answers like “It was either a Scrabble board or a bowl of alphabet soup” and “I didn’t want a name like Iron Butterfly or Black Sabbath. I wanted it to be something your aunt might be called.”

The band Alice Cooper was originally signed by Frank Zappa to his own record label. Their first notoriety came when Cooper tossed a wayward chicken (possibly arranged by long-time manager Shep Gordon) into the crowd, who then tore it apart at the 1969 Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival Festival. Newspapers claimed he’d bit the bird’s head off and drank its blood. Zappa advised them to not deny the story and Cooper used it as inspiration to make his character darker.

The band’s teaming with producer Bob Ezrin for their third album Love It To Death led to their US breakthrough with a top 30 hit “I’m Eighteen” in early 1971. By then, the band was already infamous for their stage show, which had escalated into simulated torture and executions. That same year, Killer was released with its two singles “Under My Wheels” and “Be My Lover” finding moderate US success, and both albums being certified gold the following year.

Alice Cooper popular songs

Alice Cooper Slams Lumineers and Mumford & Sons: FUSE TVAlice Cooper

Alice Cooper