Have you ever liked Alice Cooper?

[johnnie]

It's his birthday and they are playing a block of his tunes on the radio and I am remembering how much I liked The Alice Cooper band and even some of Alice's solo stuff.
They are playing "Ballad of Dwight Fry" and it's still a pretty good tune.
So..even though I know most of you dislike his music now because he is considered a freeper, have you ever liked him or the band?

[Fenris]

1. flamingyouth will chime in here soon.

She loves the original band.

[johnnie]

5. Well flamingyouth has great taste in music

For what I have seen on here anyway.

[redqueen]

2. Yeah I like some of his stuff.

Not enough to buy any of his music, but enough to borrow my friend's albums and make tapes of some songs. :)

[meegbear]

3. Lost me on Special Forces ...

but I keep vowing to check out his later stuff, well at least before "Poison". NOTHING with John Bon Jovi is a good thing.

[AverageJoe]

4. Used to listen to him some when I was in high school

This was back in the 1970s. I saw him in concert once at the Kentucky State Fair, probably around 1976. I was really into *Welcome to My Nightmare* for a while.

Come to think of it, that could be America's theme song right about now....

[johnnie]

7. Remember him on the Muppet show..

Dancing with those huge muppets to Welcome to my nightmare?

[Magrittes Pipe]

6. It's the height of asininity to dislike art...

...because of the artist's politics.

I dislike recent A.C. because he's made shitty music for the past quarter-century.

But the original Alice Cooper band... Pretties for You, Easy Action, Love It to Death, Killer, School's Out, Billion Dollar Babies.... God, they put out some incredible fuckin' records.

As long as he's not SINGING about his politics, the one has nothing to do with the other.

[johnnie]

11. I agree

He doesn't seem to mouth off too much about politics, unless I'm missing something. Then again, I usually just like the music and don't pay much attention to the person in most cases. If the music sucks, then I don't pay attention either way.
Yeah, the band's early records were great.

[fudge stripe cookays]

25. You've missed it.

He's made some incredibly callous, jerkoff statements about liberals and our views. There was a thread here a couple months ago that detailed some of them. Sorry I don't remember when or the title.

I'd never really listened to him before that, and now I have no reason to start. Asinine or not, I'm not going to go out of my way to support a conservative dickhead. I don't care how many people like his music.

FSC

[purji]

8. I did

I'm still torn.I have been to 5 of his concerts(1986-1990)and they were great.He used to come to Detroit every halloween.
Now every time something comes out of his mouth now I cringe.

[DODI]

9. I love Alice.

A lot of his stuff isjust fun to listen to. I wish he wasn't a freeper. One of his guitarist, Steve Hunter, is one of my favorites. Hunter is probalbly best known for the live, rockin' intro to Sweet Jane with Lou Reed.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Yes, Quite A Lot

Back in the day of course. But, the first three albums after "Pretties..." were in my heavy rotation.
The Professor

[Texasgal]

12. Your lips are venomous POISOOOOON!

YOur poison to my brain!

LOVE Alice!

[BarbaRosa]

13. Yes

One of the coolest Tee shirts I've had was a plain white shirt with Alice's eye makeup on the front, nothing else. Killer T.

[redqueen]

14. Who was that hot guitarist he had?

I went to a concert and was soooo pleasantly surprised. :)

[qnr]

15. Absolutely n/t

[Beware the Beast Man]

16. Melvins did a great cover of "Dwight Fry"

on their Lysol EP.

[Dervill Crow]

17. Hell yeah!

Billion Dollar Babies was great. That's the only album I bought, but I sincerely loved it. In fact, now you mention it, I might just hook up the old turntable this weekend and rock out.

[LostInAmerica]

18. Alice changed my life

I was only 10 when my brother bought "Love it to Death." I haven't been the same since. I stopped listening to the crap on the radio and the rest is history. I have thousands of albums and CDs and it all began with Alice.

I don't care if he's a Republican, a bible-thumper, or whatever. He'll always be a god to me.

[jswordy]

19. Absolutely like Alice Cooper...

...still like to rock to his music now. I also still play Ted Nugent, love his stuff as well.

So sue me if I don't let politics rule over my every move in life! Heheheheh. I'm not about to, either.

[jswordy]

20. I mean, who couldn't like a guy who sang...

I love the dead before they're cold
They're bluing flesh for me to hold
Cadaver eyes upon me see nothing
I love the dead before they rise
No farewells, no goodbyes
I never knew your rotting face
While friends and lovers mourn your silly grave
I have other uses for you, Darling

:evilgrin:

[bif]

21. Liked him, and met him once!

[6000eliot]

22. I love his music

I don't care about his politics. Nothing he did in the '70s could be construed as supporting a RW agenda, anyway.

[Blue-Jay]

23. "You'd poison a blind man's dog and steal his cane!"

I can like his music and dislike his politics. I see no problem with that at all.

[silvermachine]

24. Loved him

'Til he ditched his band.

[last1standing]

26. I used to but just kind of grew out of it.

And that was before I found out about his politics. I think of Cooper now as a rite of passage for teenagers. That's not to besmirch any adults here who still love him, I'm only speaking for myself and my personal beliefs.

Hell, sometimes it's good to be a teen again.

[Floogeldy]

27. Not really. But I have always respected him. ***

[Rabrrrrrr]

28. Totally - I'm a big Alice fan!

And I still love his music. Who cares what his politics are? The music stands on its own.

[flamingyouth]

29. I'm a huge fan of the original band

I've been in contact with Neal Smith, the drummer. He's now a Realtor in Connecticut! Check out his website (it's funny) at www.nealsmith.com - he has the drum intro to "Billion Dollar Babies" on his home page. :D

"Love it to Death" is one of my all-time favorite albums - one of the flamingyouth Desert Island Discs. I have a great video called Prime Cuts; the first half is awesome. I don't care at all about his solo stuff, or even "Muscle of Love," the last album he did with the original band. (That has "Teenage Lament '74" on it, which is an okay song.)

Glen Buxton had a lot of health problems and was sort of pushed aside as the band was recording the Billion Dollar Babies album, and on that tour, they took an additional guitarist with them.

Michael Bruce, the other guitarist, wrote a lot of their songs (the music) and wrote a really unflattering book about Alice a few years ago called "No More Mr. Nice Guy." I haven't read it, but I'd love to (it's hard to find).

Right now, Neal Smith and the bassist Dennis Dunaway are touring with one of the guys from Blue Oyster Cult. Alice's snake Kachina was actually Neal's pet, and his sister is married to Dennis Dunaway (she also designed a lot of their cool, early '70s stage costumes, like those great silver spacesuits they wore around the time "I'm Eighteen" hit it big). :hi:

On edit - I give this band a huge amount of credit in getting me interested in punk later on. I saw them do "I'm Eighteen" on TV when I was about three and just fell in love with how over-the-top they were. But I was a weird kid. I was afraid of Mickey Mouse, yet I loved Alice Cooper!!

[johnnie]

38. I remember checking out Neal's website a few years back

I was very bummed when Glen died because there were talks of a reunion (or so I heard) and that might have been cool.
I like some of Alice's solo stuff, but not a lot. And I agree with Muscle of Love album too, it wasn't as good as it could have been. :hi:

[HEyHEY]

30. Crap cock-rock

[El Fuego]

31. NO MORE, Mister nice guy!!!!

After all these years, the opening riff sends me into HEAVEN!

[hippiechick]

32. Yes ! When I was a kid my brother used to do an impersonation !

I grew up thinking Alice Cooper was so totally anti-culture ... and now looking back at "Welcome to My Nightmare" - it's just campy theatrics ....

[Kat45]

33. "School's Out", "Eighteen" - those were out when I was in high school

And that was the right age to enjoy the songs. I was never a big fan of his, but I did really like a lot of those songs. Then in the early '90s, I saw him live (as one of the acts on a five-band show that I was reviewing). I thought he was an excellent performer; put on a really good concert. One funny thing, which I noted in my review, was that a lot of teenagers at the show were pumping their fists and singing along to songs that their parents were probably doing the same thing to almost 20 years before!

[Bunny]

34. I loved Alice in the 70's, when I was in high school.

He was great! I was disappointed to discover recently that he's a winger. Dang.

[Bunny]

35. I loved Alice in the 70's, when I was in high school.

He was great! I was disappointed to discover recently that he's a winger. Dang.

On edit: Holy crap! Did I say that twice? :silly:

[katinmn]

36. Yes, I saw him in the 70s on his "Nightmare" tour.

He was one of the first, if not the first, to use all kinds of special effects and themes on stage.

I still like "Schools out...."

[Cadence]

37. Oh heck ya! Back in ninth grade I was really into him.

He made a "comeback" album or something that had a bunch of cool songs.
I saw him once in Santa Barbara. He sat down at the table next to mine and everyone started murmuring... that's how I knew to look over. He had that eyeliner on.. I wonder if it's permanent? Anyway he looked really old and frail in person and that was ten years ago.

[donheld]

39. For one very brief moment in time

it passed quickly.

[Spirochete]

40. I still like Alice Cooper

a lot of his stuff, anyhow.

[Martin Eden]

41. Hell Yes

Despite the Macabre appearance, he was a damn good rocker with some very creative music. Killer was an early classic favorite of mine.

[ObaMania]

42. Thanks for reminding me!

< I need to change my avatar back to the 'Coop!

Yes I love Alice. Been listenin' to him since '74. Have all his 30-some albums (and then some), seen him in concert 'bout 10 times, and plan on buying his latest in April (Dirty Diamonds).

He is the one artist I will never get tired of rockin' out to. His music influenced many bands of today, and I think it is a shame he has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's the master showman. How many bands can you say that started in the '60's is still touring today? He tours annually. He usually skips my state every other year, and I hope he makes it here this year.

Yes, I was shocked to hear that he was a FReeper, although what should I expect from a super-religious dude who hangs out with John McCain in his home state of AZ? I can't stand him for that, but I will still listen to his music.

If you like him and haven't listened to him in years, I suggest you buy a CD he put out last year called The Eyes of Alice Cooper. It is a lot of old school Coop, and I'm hoping his follow-up this year is just as great. Also, drop in at hs restaurant in Phoenix AZ sometime, Cooper'sTown.. every now and again, friends I know who live there say they catch him hanging out there.

Remember the Coop

[Squeech]

43. Emphatically yes

Love It to Death was halfway there, but I think they really hit their stride on Killer, especially "Halo of Flies."

Note that the CD has some terminal wussiness in the remastering; all the guitars disappeared :grr: So, unless they've corrected that, you have to get the vinyl to hear it properly.

And I was gonna mention Smith and Dunaway playing with ex-Blue Oyster Cult drummer and singer Joe Bouchard (he wrote "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll"), but I see that flamingyouth already did.

[Joe Power]

44. Don't care about his politics

Alice is the greatest.

[CRK7376]

45. Only one I ever liked was

"School's Out"