Alice Cooper is the modern day personification of shock rock. With makeup, a racing crop, eerie songs, and rumors of having bitten the head off a chicken, Cooper knows how to galvanize an audience, garner eyeballs, and create an atmosphere that is as surprising as it is rambunctious. In fact, his persona is so big it’s even more well known than any song of his.
Here below, we wanted to explore three tracks from Cooper’s classic rock catalog that continue that legacy for the Detroit-born artist. A trio of tunes that enliven, energize, and might even put a scare in your soul with each heavy guitar chord. Indeed, these are three Alice Cooper classic rock songs that shock, rock, and stand the test of time.
[RELATED: Exclusive: Alice Cooper Talks Audible Original, Being the Villain, and Loving the Stage]
“Feed My Frankenstein” from Hey Stoopid (1992)
A cover of the 1991 song by the British-born band Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, Alice Cooper released his own version the next year. Music fans of a certain age may also remember the song showing up in the comedy film Wayne’s World, with Alice Cooper onstage singing the track in front of a giant skeleton (footage from the film can be seen in the official music video below). But the song itself showcases the raging, growling Cooper, talking about monsters hungry for love. On the aggressive sexual rocker, he sings,
Well, I ain’t evil
I’m just good lookin’
Start a little fire
Baby, start cookin’
I’m a hungry man
But I don’t want pizza
I’ll blow down your house
And then I’m gonna eat ya
Bring you to a simmer
Right on time
Run my greasy fingers
Up your greasy spine
Feed my Frankenstein
Meet my libido
(He’s a psycho)
Feed my Frankenstein
Hungry for love
And it’s feeding time
“Poison” from Trash (1989)
This track, which hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is one of Cooper’s best-known to date, puts the idea of love, affection and admiration on their heads. On the song, Cooper sings about desire but it’s a desire for something that is bad for him. The same way people want drugs or alochol for their brains, Cooper sings of a love or desire that is only going to harm him in the long run. Sometimes, of course, this is how love can feel even if it’s not the way we often think about it. On the subversive song, Cooper sings,
I hear you calling and it’s needles and pins (and pins)
I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name
Don’t wanna touch you, but you’re under my skin (deep in)
I wanna kiss you, but your lips are venomous poison
You’re poison running through my veins
You’re poison, I don’t wanna break these chains
Poison
“School’s Out” from School’s Out (1972)
On the face of it, a shock rocker singing about school being out is surprising enough. But the way he does it in this iconic track is so devilish and aggressive that it adds another level to the concoction. It’s as if Cooper wants to take TNT to every educational institution out there and blow it all up. The song is also a bit of an extension of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” which directs teachers to leave the kids alone. This song does the same … on steroids. On the track, Cooper sings,
Well, we got no choice
All the girls and boys
Making all that noise
‘Cause they found new toys
Well, we can’t salute ya
Can’t find a flag
If that don’t suit ya
That’s a drag
School’s out for summer
School’s out forever
School’s been blown to pieces
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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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